Goryeo 1 — King Gwangjong and King Seongjong高麗 一

Goryeo was originally called Goguryeo. When Yu divided the Nine Provinces, its land belonged to Jizhou. Under the Zhou it was the country of Gija, and under the Han it was the commandery of Hyeondo. It lies in Liaodong, and is broadly a separate branch of Buyeo. It made the walled city of Pyongyang the capital of the country. From the Han and the Wei onward it always kept up its tribute and service, yet it also raided the border many times. Emperor Yang of Sui raised troops twice, and Emperor Taizong of Tang rode out in person to attack it, and neither prevailed. Emperor Gaozong ordered Li Ji to campaign against it. He took its walled city and divided its land into commanderies and counties. At the end of the Tang, when the Central Plain had many troubles, it set up a ruler of its own.

In the Tongguang and Tiancheng years of the Later Tang, its ruler of the Go house presented tribute and service several times. In the Changxing years, Wang Geon, acting head of state, succeeded to the place of the Go house and sent an envoy with tribute. Geon was made Area Commander of Hyeondo Prefecture, was appointed Commissioner of the Daeui army, and was enfeoffed as King of Goryeo. In the Tianfu years of the Later Jin he came with tribute again. In the second year of Kaiyun, Geon died, and his son Mu (Hyejong) succeeded to his place. At the end of the Qianyou years of the Later Han, Mu died, and his son So (Gwangjong) became acting head of state. In the first year of Guangshun under the Later Zhou he sent an envoy with tribute, and So was made Specially Advanced (特進), Acting Grand Guardian, Commissioner Bearing the Tally, Area Commander of Hyeondo Prefecture, Commissioner of the Daeui army, and King of Goryeo. In the second year of Xiande he again sent an envoy with tribute, and Commander Unequalled in Honour and Acting Grand Commandant were added to him, and Grand Preceptor was added as well.

In the tenth month of the third year of Jianlong, So sent Yi Heungu, vice minister of the Gwangpyeong Board, the deputy envoy Yi Yeohui, and the administrator Yi Bin with tribute to the court.

In the spring of the fourth year an edict came down. "The wise rulers of old took their seat in the central region. When did they ever fail to make writing and wheel tracks one in all directions, and to spread the voice of their teaching to the four seas? I look on my own thin virtue, and unworthily I bear a great name. Now I have brought a king to come as a guest to court, so the gift of investiture (錫命) should be made generous. So, Commander Unequalled in Honour, Acting Grand Preceptor, Area Commander of Hyeondo Prefecture, appointed Commissioner of the Daeui army, King of Goryeo, has gathered the pure essence of the place where the sun rises and is raised up as a hero east of the Liao. He studies the teaching left by Gija and soothes the old customs of Jumong. He reads the clouds and gauges the sea, and bears his offerings into the courtyard. When I think of the sincerity he pours out, my praise for it is deep indeed. Therefore a fair title is bestowed on him, and public fields (公田) are given in return, spreading the grace that gathers in the far places and encouraging the will that circles the north star. Ah, he comes to court from ten thousand li, and the trust of his love and support is fair to see. Let him soothe the borders on all four sides, so that within and without may become one without division. Let him guard the eastern frontier forever and carry on the beauty of Heaven. Let seven thousand households of fief be added, and let him be given the title of Meritorious Subject Who Advances Sincerity, Follows the Civilizing Rule, and Guards Righteousness."

In the ninth month of that year he sent the envoy Sichan and others with tribute. Crossing the sea they met a great wind, and their ship broke apart. More than seventy men drowned, and Chan barely escaped. By edict they were comforted and generously relieved.

In the fifth year of Kaibao he sent an envoy to present local products. By edict his fief was increased, and he was given the title of Meritorious Subject Who Advances Sincerity, Follows the Civilizing Rule, Keeps His Duty, and Guards Righteousness. To Seo Hui, the tribute envoy and vice minister of the Naeui Board, Acting Minister of War was added. To Choe Eop, the deputy envoy and minister of the Naebong Board, Acting Chief Minister of Agriculture was added, together with the concurrent post of Censor-in-Chief. Gang Rye, the administrator and vice minister of the Gwangpyeong Board, was made Probationary Vice Director of the Palace Treasury. To Yu Eun, the recorder and vice director of the Gwangpyeong Board, Acting Minister and Director of the Bureau of Treasury were added. All were sent off with generous ceremony.

So died, and his son Ju (Gyeongjong) took charge of the affairs of state for the time.

In the ninth year Ju sent the envoy Jo Junrye to present local tribute. Because his father had died and he was to succeed him, he came to hear the will of the court. Ju was granted Acting Grand Guardian, Area Commander of Hyeondo Prefecture, and Commissioner of the Daeui army, and was enfeoffed as King of Goryeo.

When Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, Acting Grand Tutor was added, and the Daeui army was renamed the Daesun army. Yu Yanchao, vice commandant of the Left Escort Guard, and Xu Zhaowen, assistant in the Court of Agriculture, were sent as envoys to that country. Ju sent Kim Haengseong, a man of his country, to enter the National University and study there.

In the second year of Taiping Xingguo he sent his son Wonbo with fine horses, local products, and weapons as tribute. In that year Haengseong was chosen in the presented scholar examination.

In the third year he again sent an envoy with tribute of local products and weapons, and Acting Grand Preceptor was added to Ju. Zhang Ji, adviser to the heir apparent and duty officer of the Drafting Office, and Gou Zhongzheng, editorial director and duty officer of the Historiography Institute, were made envoys.

In the fourth year Wang Zhuan, a court attendant and usher of the Palace Gate Office, was again sent as envoy to that country.

In the sixth month of the fifth year he sent an envoy again with tribute of local products, and in the sixth year he sent an envoy with tribute once more.

In the seventh year Ju died, and his younger brother Chi (Seongjong) took charge of the affairs of state. He sent the envoy Kim Jeon with a robe and a mattress of gold and silver thread wool lined with brocade, with swords, daggers, bows, and arrows adorned in gold and silver, with famous horses, and with fragrant medicines as tribute, and he asked to succeed to the throne. Chi was granted Acting Grand Guardian and Area Commander of Hyeondo Prefecture, was appointed Commissioner of the Daesun army, and was enfeoffed as King of Goryeo. Li Juyuan, the investigating censor, and Kong Wei, erudite of the Book of Rites, were sent as envoys.

In the first year of Yongxi he sent the envoy Han Suryeong with tribute of local products.

In the second year Acting Grand Tutor was added to Chi, and Wang Zhu, calligrapher in attendance of the Hanlin Academy, and Lü Wenzhong, reader in waiting, were sent as envoys.

In the third year troops went out on a northern campaign. Because that country bordered on the land of the Khitan and was always being invaded by them, Han Guohua, the investigating censor, was sent bearing an edict to instruct the king. "I have received the great work and hold all directions, and among the Chinese and the barbarians there are none who do not follow and serve. Those stirring tribes of the northern frontier have invaded and broken the royal domain. The lands of Youzhou and Jizhou are the soil of the Central Court, but the Jin and the Han had many troubles, and by such connections the tribes stole them and hold them. Now, wherever the light of the state reaches, writing and wheel tracks are one. How could I let my own people stay sunk in savage ways? The armies have already been drawn up to wipe out that baleful air. The king has long admired the ways of China and has always held clear plans. He offers the pledge of a pure loyalty and soothes a country of rites and right. Yet he touches that border and has suffered its venom. The time to let out his stored anger lies surely in this! Let him give orders to his troops, and let each side support the other from front and flank, joining with the neighbouring country so that together they may sweep the enemy away. Let him rouse the courage of a single drumbeat and strike down these bandits who are already near their end. A good time does not come twice. Let the king plan for it! All captives taken alive, all oxen and sheep, goods and gear, shall be given to the officers and men of his own country, to spread reward and encouragement."

Before this, when the Khitan attacked the country of the Jurchen, their road passed through the borders of Goryeo. The Jurchen thought that Goryeo had lured them on and brought the disaster about, so when they came with tribute of horses they made their appeal to the court. They said further that Goryeo had made friendship with the Khitan and leaned on them for support, plundering the Jurchen people and not sending them back. When Han Suryeong, the envoy of Goryeo, came with tribute, Emperor Taizong brought out the wooden tally (木契) of urgent report that the Jurchen had submitted and showed it to Suryeong, and he told him to go back and report to his own country and to return the people they had taken. Chi heard this and was anxious and afraid. When Guohua arrived, Chi had a man speak to Guohua.

"At the end of last winter the Jurchen sent a wooden tally in haste to tell us that the Khitan had raised troops and entered their borders, and that, fearing our land might not know of it, we should prepare beforehand. We and the Jurchen are neighbouring countries, but the road is long and far, and we have always known what is true and what is false in them. They are greedy and full of deceit, so we did not believe it. Afterwards they sent a man again to say that the horsemen of the Khitan had already crossed the Mae River (梅河). We still doubted that it was true, and we had no time to go to their aid. Soon the Khitan gathered like clouds and struck the Jurchen hard, killing and taking a great many. The remaining tribes were beaten and scattered and fled, and the Khitan pressed on their backs in pursuit. They came as far as the borders of Deokchang, Deokseong, Wihwa, and Gwanghwa in our northwest, and took captives and went away. At that time one Khitan horseman came to the north of the Deokmi River and called out loudly to the garrison soldiers of the frontier fort, 'I am a horseman of the Khitan. The Jurchen plunder our border as a matter of course, so now that our revenge is fully paid we have drawn up our troops and are going home.' Though we heard that their army had withdrawn, we still feared something unforeseen, so we supplied more than two thousand Jurchen who had fled here from the fighting and sent them home.

The Jurchen also urged us to hold the ford and the strong points on the Mae River and to build walls and ramparts there as a guard, and we thought this right as well. Just as we were sending men to look the ground over and begin the work, the Jurchen secretly sent troops and came upon us suddenly. They killed and plundered officials and people, drove off the able bodied men, made them slaves, and moved them away to other parts. Because we send tribute to the Central Court every year, we did not dare raise troops to avenge the wrong. How could we have thought that they would instead frame us with false charges and trouble the hearing of the sage emperor? For generations we have received the calendar of the dynasty and have kept up our tribute and service. Would we dare hold a second heart and deal with an outside country? Still more, the Khitan lie beyond the Liao sea (遼海), and there is the further barrier of the two rivers, the Great Mae and the Little Mae. The Jurchen and Balhae have no fixed dwelling, so by what road would we come and go and keep up dealings with them? We have met with slander and abuse without cause, and anger fills our breast. The sun and the moon are utterly bright, and we trust that they will shine clear upon us.

Of late, among the Jurchen who fled the troubles and came to us, there were none we did not relieve, and some were even given office and are still in our country. Among those of higher rank there are Mulgulniu, Nawon, Yun Neungdal, Naro Jeong, Wi Gayabu and others, some ten men in all. We wish that they might be summoned to the capital to argue the matter face to face in the court with the envoy who brings our tribute. Then our sincerity, firm as cinnabar and stone, would surely be cleared."

Guohua agreed to this, and then ordered that troops be sent out to join the muster in the west. Chi delayed and did not at once receive the edict. Guohua pressed him many times, and having got word that troops would be sent he went back, and he recorded the affair of the Jurchen in full and reported it. In the tenth month an envoy was sent with tribute, and the students Choe Han and Wang Bin of that country were also sent to the National University to study.

In the first year of Duangong, Acting Grand Commandant was added to Chi. Lü Duan, vice director of the Bureau of Evaluations and concurrently attending censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs, and Lü Youzhi, secretary of the imperial diary, were made envoys.

In the second year an envoy came with tribute. By edict his envoy Han Ingyeong, vice minister of the Seongwan Board, and the deputy envoy Wi Deokyu, director of the Byeonggwan Board, were both granted Grand Master of Gold and Purple Brilliance, and the administrator Yi Gwang, assistant in the Palace Treasury, was granted Acting Vice Director of the Bureau of Waterways. Before this, Chi had sent the monk Yeoga bearing a memorial to come to court and ask for the Buddhist canon. Now it was bestowed, and a purple robe was given to Yeoga as well, and he was sent home together with them.

In the third month of the first year of Chunhua, by edict a thousand households of fief were added to Chi, and Chai Chengwu, director in the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhao Huacheng, vice director in the Ministry of War and duty officer of the Historiography Institute, were sent as envoys. The customs of that country trust in the affairs of yin and yang and of ghosts and spirits, and its taboos are many. Whenever an envoy of the court arrived, they would always pick a good month and a lucky day before they would set out the rites and receive the edict. When Chengwu had passed a month in the guest house, he sent a letter to Chi. "The king has been a hedge and a helper for generations, honouring and upholding the royal house, and whenever a great celebration was held he was the first to receive its fair badge. Now the state has sped a trusted envoy to him in particular, to spread an uncommon favour. The envoy has not only passed over far streams and roads, he has also trodden the danger of the boundless sea. The regard of the imperial court is deep indeed. And yet you are dragged along by taboos and stuck fast in the counting of divination. You are dazzled by the idle words of those who choose days, and you hold back the letter of the Son of Heaven's command. The writings handed down in the canons are not what diviners can understand. Thus the Book of Documents speaks of the first day (上日) and does not push it off to the chief day of the sixty cycle, and the Book of Rites sets down midwinter (仲冬) and takes only the fair meeting of the single yang (一陽). The clear teaching of old is enough to go by. You ought to think again and bow quickly to what your ruler bestows. If the edict is not delayed, the sincerity that circles the north star will be made plain, and only then will the envoy's tally have its lustre and escape the blame of shaming its charge. I tell you this in sincerity. Let the king hear it." Chi read the letter and was ashamed and afraid, and sent a man to give his thanks. Just then the long rains did not stop, so he asked again to wait for clear weather. Chengwu sent another letter to reproach him, and the next day Chi came out and received the command.

In the second year he sent the envoy Han Eongong with tribute. Eongong set out Chi's wish in a memorial and asked to have the Buddhist scriptures printed. By edict the Buddhist canon was given, together with the Mizang quan, the Xiaoyao yong, and the Lianhua xinlun, which the emperor had made.

In the first month of the fourth year Chi sent the envoy Baek Sayu with tribute of local products and with thanks for the gift of the canon and of the works made by the emperor. In the second month Chen Jing, assistant of the Palace Library and duty officer of the Historiography Institute, and Liu Shi, assistant of the Palace Library, were made envoys. Acting Grand Preceptor was added to Chi, and an edict was also sent down to comfort the officers and the elders. Jing and the others went from Dongmou toward the sea mouth of Bajiao. There they found the seagoing ship that Sayu had ridden, and Goryeo sailors, and at once they went aboard. From the island of Jigang they took a fair wind and put out on the great sea. After two nights they reached the mouth of Ongjin and came ashore. They travelled a hundred and sixty li and reached Haeju on the border of Goryeo, another hundred li to Yeomju, another forty li to Baekju, and another forty li to that country. Chi met the envoys outside the city and gave them the full rites of a vassal subject. He kept Jing and the others more than seventy days and then sent them back, giving them a set of clothing, a gold belt, several hundred taels of gold and silver vessels, and more than thirty thousand bolts of cloth, and he sent a memorial of thanks with them.