王仁献书说辨疑

A Discrimination of Wang Ren's Sending Books as Tribute to Japan

颇受质疑的王仁献书说绝非子虚乌有,《古事记》有关王仁带来《千字文》一卷的述笔和《日本书纪》明记的应神天皇十六年的年号并不足以挑战和动摇王仁献书说的历史真实性和可信性。但是,王仁的负笈东渡只是具有某种文化的象征意义而已,远谈不上发汉籍东传之先声,事实上早在王仁之前,汉籍和汉字就已传入日本。

The saying about Wang Ren's sending books as tribute to Japan, which has been in considerable question and discussion, is not a sheer fiction but really such a thing. Wang Ren's tribute of a volume of Chien Tzu Wen (Thousand Character Essay) described in Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) and the reign title of 16th year of O-jin Emperor in Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) neither challenges nor shakes the historical reality and reliability of the saying. However, Wang Ren's sea-voyage eastward is only a symbolic meaning for some kind of culture but not a herald of ancient Chinese books sent eastward. In fact, ancient Chinese books and Chinese characters had been brought into Japan before Wang Ren.