A passenger ship named after Jian Zhen (688-763), a Chinese monk, left Kobe, Japan, on Tuesday for Shanghai on a voyage commemorating the 35th anniversary of the normalization of the Sino-Japanese relations and the 1,400th anniversary of Japan sending envoys to China.

Virginia Stibbs Anami, wife of former Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami, headed the 12-strong delegation, which included Joseph Caron, the Canadian Ambassador to Japan. The group expanded to 27 people from China, Japan, Canada and the United States when it arrived in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, Jian Zhen's birthplace.

Virginia Stibbs Anami, a historian on East Asia, decided to launch the journey in the spring, as this was the time of year when Onono Imoko, the first Japanese envoy, was sent to China during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The other group is due in the fall, when she and her entourage will follow the footsteps of the last Japanese envoy, a monk, who stayed in Shandong while visiting China.

The two-day trip was more than symbolic. It helped the two countries get to the root of their exchanges. Separated by a strip of water, China and Japan have learnt from each other through frequent contact. The water remains the same, but the places visited have changed beyond recognition over the past 1,400 years.

During the golden years of the Tang Dynasty, China's economy and national power reached a new high. This led to unprecedented friendly relations and cultural exchanges between China and Japan.

To learn about the political system and culture of the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent many envoys, including students, monks and scholars, to China.

Chinese envoys also sailed to Japan for cultural exchanges, among whom Buddhism Master Jian Zhen made the most significant contributions to Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges. Well versed in Buddhism, literature, art, medicine and architecture, he was admired by many Japanese monks studying Buddhism in China.

After six attempts, the determined blind monk finally arrived in Japan in 753. In Nara, the then capital of Japan, the Japanese Emperor received Jian Zhen and his entourage. During his 10-year stay in Japan, he not only preached Buddhism but also imparted his knowledge about Chinese medicine, language, literature, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy, and printing to the Japanese people.

The exchanges between China and Japan today have expanded far beyond culture. Reciprocity needs to remain essential in bilateral relations.

(China Daily April 27, 2007 )