Chapter 29 end of the west

There are two situations that are most likely to cause nostalgia, one is facing the bright moon, and the other is facing the sea.These days, I have stood on the west coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez many times, and it happened to be a moonlit night. I am not homesick, but I am scratching my historical memory, recalling when did the Chinese first set their sights on this place? The first thing that comes to mind is Gan Ying, the envoy of the Han Dynasty 1,900 years ago.At that time, Ban Chao, who was in charge of affairs in the Western Regions, had a long-standing heart disease. He felt that China had always only done business with Anxi (now Iran), and Anxi was actually just an intermediate transfer link.There should still be a lot of world in the west, why don't we do business with them directly?So Gan Ying was sent to travel west to see what was going on there.

Gan Ying went through hardships on this trip and returned to the Persian Gulf.But he inquired everywhere along the way, and he knew that the Persian Gulf will encounter a sea after passing some countries to the west. This is probably the Red Sea in front of me now. Gan Ying heard that a truly great empire was in sight at this place.Gan Ying called this great empire the Great Qin for various reasons, but it was actually the Roman Empire.At that time, Egypt by the Red Sea was also occupied by Rome, so I think that most of the Rome by the Red Sea that Gan Ying knew was Egypt. Therefore, starting from the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", the Chinese have dimly regarded this place as the end point of looking west.

After Gan Ying came back, Chinese people still seldom traveled westward. We only know that a soldier named Du Huan in Tang Dynasty was captured by the army of the Western Regions and wandered westward. He may have finally entered North Africa from the Mediterranean Sea.But this is just a guess from some of the place names he made up. Whether he really arrived in Africa is not sure at all.In the future, with regard to Africa, except for the possible detours of merchants on the Silk Road, Zheng He once arrived during his voyages to the West, and the Chinese culture basically had no substantive communication with Africa in ancient times.It is said that the images that astronauts can recognize when looking at the earth from space are the Great Wall of China and the pyramids of Egypt. I once wondered why the ancient ruins surpassed the modern giant structures in the distance, and sighed that they have supported the world for thousands of years, but I didn’t know it at all. the presence of the other party.

This reminds me of Mr. Liang Qichao’s point of view more than 80 years ago. He believes that Chinese history can be divided into three major periods. The second is China in Asia. From the Qin Dynasty to the end of Qianlong, that is, the end of the eighteenth century, China’s battles and communications with the outside world were basically limited to Asia, and China realized itself within Asia; In the twentieth century, China, which can be called the world, started from being passive and humiliated, and gradually learned about the world and China's position in the world.I like Mr. Liang Qichao's division very much.

Mr. Liang Qichao did not read some newly discovered historical facts of Sino-foreign exchanges in the 20th century. The classification is somewhat simplified, but it is basically correct.Before the 19th century, China had little relationship with countries outside of Asia, but after the 19th century, it had to collide with some relatively young countries in Europe, which had nothing to do with Greece, let alone Egypt. On the whole, communication is always a good thing, but there is no need to make negative comments on the lack of communication between ancient Egyptian civilization and Chinese civilization.The roads are too far, and it is difficult to reach each other. The two civilizations are their own conservative systems, and it is almost impossible to intervene in each other.

From the standpoint of China, even if we look at all the ancient Egyptian spiritual achievements and practical artifacts that are known today, none of them will make the ancient Chinese government and people happy, which will make exchanges lose the basis; It is certain that the emperor will not go to Egypt, and it is almost impossible for the pharaoh's fleet to go to China and win the battle.In the era of cold weapons, how could such a big China care about a few foreign warships coming from afar?Therefore, China and Egypt are destined neither to be allies nor enemies.These are distant neighbors who live in peace, and there is nothing wrong with each other not knowing the existence of the other, as long as you want to know, you will always know.Similar to interpersonal relationship, the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, let alone two old gentlemen who have never met, there is no need to be too warm.International politics pays more attention to material benefits than interpersonal relationships, especially geographical benefits. The friendship of confidantes in the sea and neighbors in the world is difficult to gain a foothold in international politics, so there is no need to look forward to it.

Not hot, not easily broken; not intimate, not easily disappointed.In ancient times, China did not have a deep friendship with several other ancient civilizations, and there were not many grievances. This has instead become the basis for peaceful coexistence.The Chinese civilization has endured a lot of grievances and grievances. Now that the smoke and dust have fallen, it is found that it still maintains a kind of objectivity that is not biased in general. This is a good sign for future development. Not to be distorted by passion or resentment is the appearance of a great civilization. October 20, 1999, Cairo, overnight at Les 3 Pyramides Hotel