Letter sent to Chancellor Jingyeong (晉卿)送晉卿丞相書
云云。季冬。伏惟鈞體佳勝萬福。予竊伏海濱。聞高誼之日久矣。今丞相閣下以公才公望。黼黻帝化。經濟四海爲己任。雖千里之外。想趨鼎席。倍萬瞻企。小國。曾於己卯辛卯兩年投拜講和已來。擧一國欣喜。方有聊生之望。惟天日照臨。言可飾哉。其享上之心。尙爾無他。近因上國大軍連年踵至。故人物凋殘。田疇曠廢。由是阻修歲貢。大失禮常。進退俱難。以俟萬死之罪。孰爲之哀哉。但丞相閣下。通詩書閱禮樂文墨位宰相。則其古人所謂修文來遠之意。豈不蓄之於胸次耶。幸今以土地輕薄所產。遣使介奉進皇帝闕下。惟冀丞相閣下。少諒哀祈。以下國小臣可矜之狀。善爲敷奏。導流帝澤。更不遣軍興。保護小邦。俾孑遺殘民得全餘喘。則其嚮仰閣下。祝台壽萬年。烏有窮已。謹以不腆風宜。餉于左右。庶或領納。無任惶悚之至。云云。
And so forth. In the last month of the year, prostrate I consider and pray that your person be everywhere at ease and rich in happiness. I, lying quietly by the sea, have long heard of your lofty righteousness. Now Your Excellency the Chancellor, with a talent that is public and a renown that is public, embroiders the Emperor's teaching and takes as your own charge the governing and rescuing of the four seas; so that, though I am a thousand li away, my heart that would run to the minister's seat and looks up to you is ten thousand times over.
Ever since the small country submitted, presented itself and made peace in those two years, Gimyo (己卯) and Sinmyo (辛卯), the whole country rejoiced and had at last a hope of living. Heaven and the sun alone shine down upon us — can words be dressed up? Our heart in upholding the country above us is still without any other intent.
Of late the great armies of the country above us have arrived year after year, and so men and goods have withered and the fields lie fallow. For this reason the tribute offered year by year has been blocked and we have greatly failed in the constant rite; to go forward and to withdraw are both hard, and we await the guilt that deserves ten thousand deaths. Who will take pity on this?
Only, Your Excellency the Chancellor is versed in poetry and in letters, has looked widely into rite and music, and holds the minister's seat by your writing; how should you not cherish in your breast what the ancients called cultivating letters so that men of far places come? Happily we now put the poor produce of our land into the hands of envoys to be borne up beneath the Emperor's palace.
We only hope that Your Excellency the Chancellor will weigh even a little our sorrowful prayer, and set forth and report well the pitiable condition of a small vassal of the country below. Draw the Emperor's bounty and let it flow, and let no army be raised and sent again, and so keep the small country, and let the people who remain make whole even their last breath. If you do so, how should there be any end to our looking up toward Your Excellency and praying for your ten thousand years? Reverently I send poor produce of our land to your retinue; by all means receive it. I cannot contain the utmost of my awe. And so forth.
卷終
The volume ends here.
Interlinear notes 1
卷終 — a marker the base text appended at the end of the volume, not the author's own writing, and so removed from the body. — Translator