Penglai / 蓬莱

Penglai / 蓬莱 appears in Qinji 122-2 as the immortal island invoked in 徐福’s explanation for his failed sea mission. Xu Fu says he encountered a sea deity and saw Penglai, but could not bring back the medicine because Qin’s offerings were insufficient. The source uses this as a concrete case of 求仙政治 and 方士骗术与权威.

In this episode, Penglai is not treated as a mapped destination. It functions as unverifiable sacred geography: distant enough to justify failure, alluring enough to keep imperial desire alive, and concrete enough to ask for more resources, including children, craftsmen, grain, and seeds.

Key Claims

• Penglai’s political power comes from being reachable in promise but hard to verify in practice.
• The island name helps convert Qin Shi Huang’s fear of death into an organized maritime expedition.
• Later destination stories should be separated from the early 《史记》-anchored account.

Connections

• 徐福 - fangshi who uses Penglai in the source’s sea-search narrative.
• 秦始皇 - ruler who sponsors the mission.
• Immortality Quest Politics / 求仙政治 and Fangshi Fraud And Authority / 方士骗术与权威 - interpretive concepts for the episode.
• Japan and Xu Fu Japan Descent Legend / 徐福日本后裔传说 - later reception branch that the source treats cautiously.
• 燕国, 齐国, and 史书异文政治重量 - regional fangshi background and source-boundary frame.