Why Kublai failed to conquer Japan back then

I thought the moustache was Mongolian, brought by the Mongols, but our wise masters took it as a national treasure. （Students studying in Japan (at the end of the Qing Dynasty), who hated Japan, longed for the Great Yuan and said, "If it had not been for the luck of God, this island would have been destroyed by us!" This is what Mr. Lu Xun wrote in Tomb? Speaking of Whiskers". What Mr. Lu Xun was referring to was that in 1274 and 1281, Kublai sent his army across the ocean to conquer Japan twice, i.e. the Yuan Dynasty's war against Japan. This war had a profound impact on the subsequent history of China and Japan - in Japan, the national myth of the "kamikaze" was formed; in China, there was the sentiment that the time of heaven was not favorable. Different views, but **** the same determination: if not suffered a typhoon, Japan was never a match for the Yuan Dynasty. Is this really the case? Through the examination of historical materials, scholars Zhou Sicheng found that the facts are far more complex than the legend: First, the two expeditions, the Yuan dynasty military strength is obviously insufficient, in the course of the war, the Yuan army results in very little, basically in the wind; Second, the Yuan army did not send a first-class commanders, a few high-ranking generals are constrained by each other. Thirdly, the Yuan Dynasty was seriously underprepared, not even knowing who their opponents were and not understanding each other's geography. Fourthly, although the Yuan army had many ships, they were shoddily built to meet the deadline, and even converted from riverboats, which could not withstand the wind and waves. Combined above factors, it can be seen that the Yuan Dynasty will lose the battle of Japan. Kublai even have the motive of defeat: the main force of the Yuan army in the war is the Southern Song Dynasty pawns, these soldiers have a low social status, they are tattooed, released into the community is also harmful, not as good as in the battlefield to consume. Based on these details of the hook, there will be "the wrath of the Khan: the Yuan dynasty conquest of Japan, a small history" (Han Tang Sunshine? Shanxi People's Publishing House), the book's most distinctive feature is that, while depicting the course of history, it presents the previously neglected minor characters involved in the war. Jia Sidao, who was regarded as a treacherous minister by later generations. For example, the Southern Song monk Zuyuan, who was once admired by Jia Sidao, a powerful minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, arrived in Japan due to the scourge of war, and was highly regarded by Hojo Tokimune (the eighth ruler of the Kamakura Shogunate), who happened to be the Japanese presiding officer of the Yuan Dynasty's battle against Japan. ...... Then there is the case of Takezaki Jichijo, who was a lower-ranking samurai, and who was subjected to much ridicule by the neighbors because of his many presumptuous remarks. Luckily, when the Yuan army attacked, the undisciplined Takezaki was the first to charge the battlefield, and was wounded and returned, accidentally becoming a symbol of courage. But after the end of the war, but not rewarded, Takezaki had to embark on a long *** road ...... Japanese depiction of Takezaki season long charge. There is also the Japanese General Shao Gai Zi when he was only twelve or thirteen years old. According to the Japanese combat etiquette at the time, a single rider came to the front of the formation, shot a small rattling arrow, indicating the start of the battle. Unexpectedly, the Yuan army broke out in a burst of laughter, because the Yuan army before the battle, "all kinds of musical instruments sound and song group rise", compared with such hilarity, ringing shot is too much child's play. The lesser twenty-four senior was red in the face and ran back to the home front ...... The Wrath of the Khan: A Short History of the Yuan Dynasty's Conquest of Japan is a small book, but it presents the richness and plurality of history. In order to better interpret it, an interview with Mr. Zhou Sicheng, the author of the book, was conducted. Japan was beaten by others for the first time Q: From the afterword of this book, you completed this small book during the writing of your doctoral dissertation, why are you so concerned about this history? Zhou Sicheng: China and Japan have a history of friendship for more than 2,000 years, during which three great wars took place, namely, the Battle of Baijiangkou in the Tang Dynasty, the Imjin Japanese Rebellion in the Ming Dynasty (i.e., the Battle of Resistance against Japan and Aid to Korea in the Ming Dynasty), and then the Battle of the Yuan Dynasty to conquer Japan. There is little historical information on the Battle of Baijiangkou, and more attention has been paid to the latter two battles. Kublai Yuan Dynasty war against Japan is significant for the formation of Japan's nationalism, before the modern era, Japan is the first time to be beaten by others, *** the national consciousness, before it is it to beat others. From the Meiji Restoration until the Showa period, Japan repeatedly brought up this war, emphasizing the role of the "kamikaze" and referring to itself as a "kamikaze". In World War II, when the Japanese army set up suicide attack teams, they were named "Kamikaze Attack Teams". In China, it is debated what relationship the Yuan Dynasty had with the traditional Middle Kingdom, and it is not as highly regarded as the Strong Han or the Sheng Tang. However, the Yuan Dynasty's war against Japan was fought against Japan, so in recent times, once subjected to the Japanese ***, the topic comes back to people's mind. There are still many stereotypes about this war, both in Japan and in China, and it is necessary to sink the facts. The main historical information has been exhausted Q: Yuan Dynasty war against Japan is too little historical information, can sink what new things? Zhou Sicheng: Indeed. Because of the age, left very few records, the Japanese related research more, the materials used, the way of presentation is similar, the main historical materials have been basically exhausted. The actual ruler of Japan at the time, Hojo Tokimune In contrast, the Ming Dynasty's war against Japan and North Korea is much richer. It is possible to restore the original historical picture from the records of China, Japan, and Korea, while the records of the Yuan Dynasty's battle against Japan are too simple. The breakthroughs in related research are in two aspects: first, the archaeological records of the relevant sea areas have been coming out one after another over the years. Secondly, we can find some relevant materials from the collections of the literati of the Yuan Dynasty and the tablet biographies; after all, the battle of the Yuan Dynasty against Japan had a large social impact. In the latter aspect, I did some work to combine the detailed materials found and put them in this book. Rendering this battle was to fabricate "a united nation" Q: Why did Japan attach so much importance to this war? Zhou Sicheng: After the coming of the Black Ship (1853), Japan was forced to open its doors, and in order to rally its national identity, it needed to erect a specimen of "a nation united". The Genji war against Japan was molded into a national myth - the emperor personally prayed, the strong clans fought with all their might, the samurai showed bravery, and the nation was supportive ...... This myth was preached over and over again. In fact, the actual ruler of Japan at that time was the Kamakura Shogunate, which was a military ***, and once it compromised with Yuan, the legitimacy of its rule disappeared, so it could only fight to the death. It can be seen that the Kamakura Shogunate entered the war for its own interests, and it was not "united as a nation". At that time, the Japanese samurai joined the war only to gain personal honor and benefits, and it was not the so-called ""unity of the nation"" as emphasized by Japanese national historiography. Why Kublai wanted to invade Japan Q: Some popular historical works claim that Kublai invaded Japan because he coveted the gold produced in Japan, is that so? Zhou Sicheng: before the felling of Japan, Kublai did not make a perfect plan, what is the specific purpose, from the historical materials, can not find any evidence, the writers can only play their own imagination. Part of the "Drawing of the Attack of the Yuan Invaders" drawn by Japan I think that Kublai faced the pressure of a legitimacy crisis; he came to power by power and was not recognized by other family members, so he could only continue to open up new frontiers and expand his territories to prove that he was a qualified great khan. However, if the internal problems were solved and it was a healthy empire, the expansion might be favorable. If the internal problems were not solved and it was not a healthy empire, the expansion not only could not cure the disease, but might be poison. Q: Why did the Yuan Dynasty, which had superb war power, suffer two crushing defeats in the war against Japan? Zhou Sicheng: One of the major reasons why the Mongol Empire was invincible was that it did good intelligence work and fully understood its opponents, but in the battle against Japan, it did nothing and did not even know who the enemy general was. Of course, the Kamakura Shogunate did not know much about the Yuan Dynasty either, and only referred to them in general terms as "foreigners". Strategically and tactically, Kublai may have been too contemptuous of his opponents. After the failure of the two Japanese invasions, the Yuan Dynasty learned a lesson and made some changes, such as hiring two pirate chiefs to lead the navy and switching to more wind-resistant ships. Kublai wanted to invade Japan for the third time, but he died and failed to do so. Kublai did not take out all the power to deal with Japan, including the failure to fight Annam, made the same mistake. Without the typhoon, the war against Japan might not have been successful. Q: In the war, Japan also did not send any main force, but overwhelmed the Yuan army almost the whole time, why? Zhou Sicheng: At the beginning of the war, it was the period when Kamakura *** was at its peak, it was a martial regime, which was very martial and emphasized on military training, and the warriors were very capable of fighting. After the battle of Bun-ei, a large number of meritorious samurai demanded to honor their rewards, and Kamakura *** could not afford to take out so many assets, so it went from strength to strength. The senior Japanese warriors who fought in the battle of Bunyong, Japanese literature suggests that they used poisoned arrows and inflicted great losses on the Yuan army, but this book believes that this claim is unfounded. Kublai was unaware of the information and sent too few troops. In my opinion, given the size of the Yuan army at that time, it was barely able to conquer Kyushu, and it was difficult to conquer all of Japan. Q: In that case, why did Japan regard the Yuan army as a formidable enemy? Zhou Sicheng: There was a problem with the Japanese fighting style and weapons. At that time, the Japanese army's way of fighting is still fighting alone, the samurai on horseback against the charge, to a certain distance after shooting arrows at each other, to decide the winner, a little like the modern European knight's method of warfare. This way of fighting decided that the Japanese army armor heavy, heavy arrows, shooting distance, frequency are not as good as the Yuan army. Yuan army is used in group combat, with fast bow to cover type shooting, will fight the sky full of arrows, the Japanese army is very suffer, more deaths and injuries, so the Yuan army as a formidable enemy. The people of the Yuan Dynasty even thought that the battle was won Q: For the wrong decision to cut down the Japanese, the Southern Song Dynasty surrendered generals are strongly supported, why they can fool Kublai? Zhou Sicheng: in the Southern Song Dynasty generals, there are some people are talented, but at this time they are older, the rest of the people in the Yuan destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty did not make much effort. Kublai looked down on these people, in order to give not surrendered to the Southern Song generals tree a typical, will also reuse some of the surrendered generals, sealing a "" Jianghan Governor "and so on sounds very beautiful, in fact, not much authority of the official. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the surrendered generals could not even get such a false title, and they agitated to fight Japan in order to prove the value of their existence. In the Yuan Dynasty war against Japan, Kublai did not put the surrendered generals on the important position, just as cannon fodder. It can be seen that they were just utilizing each other. Q: the first time to attack Japan failed, one of the Yuan's main generals, Liu Fuheng, instead of being rewarded, his later epitaph says that he "commanded 40,000 troops and 900 warships to conquer Japan, and the Japanese army 100,000 encountered and defeated in battle," which is not open-eyed blindness? Zhou Sicheng: Not surprisingly, the people at that time neither cared nor understood the war. The History of Yuan? Japanese biography" says: "but the captives plundered the four borders and returned." The History of Yuan? Shizu Benji" also says: " "Reward the Eastern Expedition Marshal Office of Japan for the war work, brocade silk, bows and vectors, saddles and leathers." When the Yuan Dynasty unilaterally declared victory, everyone assumed it, so when they saw Liu Fuheng's epitaph, they didn't know he was lying. Individual Fate is the Charm of History Q: There are many minor characters in this book, which are often neglected in previous writing, why do you pay special attention to their fate? Zhou Sicheng: Personal interest. I like history because I am concerned about the fate of individuals, who were either in war or in peace, from which I can realize how people would be in different environments, so I especially like to read biographies, which is the charm of historical research. In historical research, the main thing to analyze is the trend of thought, system and so on, but I am very concerned about the individuals in history. After all, history is presented by a variety of minor characters, and in the Yuan Dynasty's battle against Japan, I was touched not only by Kublai, but also by the beheaded Yuan envoys, and even bystanders who were caught up in the war. In the history, I read such a case: a small man, he lives in the north, because of the big family oppression, the family property is lost, but also a lawsuit, had to run to the south, participated in the Yuan Dynasty war against Japan. For him, the war was just a way to fulfill ambition; he wanted to build a career in a distant country to get out of his personal predicament. This war was waged by the ruler to prove his prestige, and individuals participated to fulfill individual needs, not nationalism. In the book, I didn't write about this case, but it struck me y. There should be a sense of distance from that history Q: What is the significance of understanding this history for today's readers? Zhou Sicheng: It may help us to understand history better. The significance of history is not only the victories and defeats, but also what is behind the victories and defeats. The battle of the Yuan Dynasty against Japan has become a resource for Japan's modern national myths, but it has distorted the social psychology, which in turn has affected the development of the nation, and all people should learn from this historical lesson. The battle of the Yuan Dynasty against Japan was called by Japan as "10 million people (the population of Japan at that time) defeated 200 million people (the population of the Yuan Dynasty at that time)", but in fact, the Yuan Dynasty did not send any main force In addition, there is a difference between the real history and the history that has been shaped. For example, in the Ming Dynasty's war against Japan, the Ming Dynasty included it in the "Three Great Conquests of Wanli" to build up the image of the Wanli Emperor, and it became imperial glory. It was also cited by later generations to prove that ""history can be won". But the task of the historian is to seek the truth without being confused by stereotypes shaped by the ideology of the empire. History has different sides and different characters that cannot be labeled. If this book helps readers realize this, I will be satisfied. Q: What is your advice for reading this book? Zhou Sicheng: Reading is a personal matter, and everyone's feelings vary greatly, so it's not good for me to make any suggestions. My personal hope is that we can have a little distance from that period of history, so that we can be objective and calm. If you bring too much into it, you may have preconceived ideas. Wen/Tangshan Zhou Sicheng: a doctoral student in the Department of History at Peking University, now working at the Central Academy of Party History and Literature, the main research areas for the history of Mongolia and Yuan Dynasty, ethnic history and military history, fluent in English, French, German, able to read Japanese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Persian, *** language, Tibetan, *** 尔文, and Mongolian.