Book IV 297*
Censors, including An Kyŏnggŏm,^24 memorialized to the king: “We request
that the walls of the capital be constructed on their original sites [without
reducing their scale].” The king did not grant their request.
When the imperial envoys Hwang Yŏnggi and Ch’oe Yŏn^25 returned to
China, the king saw them off in the Western Suburbs (Sŏgyo). The king
dispatched Yi Chi, assistant director of the Security Council, to China with
a memorial requesting that tribute missions be allowed to continue. He also
had him lead over four hundred Jurchen men and women to the Chinese
capital.
The memorial submitted to the Chinese emperor was as follows: “Kim
Ipgyŏn, an envoy of your tributary state [Korea] and assistant grand coun-
cilor of the Chancellery, as well as his diplomatic entourage, arrived in
Liaodong, but the Regional Military Commission of Liaodong refused them
entry into China, citing imperial orders, which said, ‘All the memorials and
tributes from Chosŏn, as well as the envoys who carry them, shall be pro-
hibited.’ Now that our envoys have returned without accomplishing their
mission, my people and I are quite surprised and cannot help expressing the
way we feel on this matter.
“In order that a vassal state serve the suzerain state, it should be able to
pay tribute to the latter, and the latter in turn should provide the former with
an opportunity for presenting an appeal. Located far away, Koryŏ was igno-
rant of propriety. The false king Sin U attempted to attack Liaodong, endan-
gering the Sino- Korean relationship, and Wang Yo [King Kongyang], his
successor, also committed the same error. However, I declared that their
action was against principle, making efforts to eliminate the cause of the
troubles. Your Imperial Majesty was so sagacious and gracious that you
commanded me to assume control of the state and use Chosŏn for our
country name once again.
- An Kyŏnggŏm (?): an official of late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. He was the son of An
Ch’uk, a famous scholar- official. In 1390, when he served as second inspector, he impeached
U Hyŏnbo and others who were implicated in the conspiracy of Yun I and Yi Ch’o. After the
Chosŏn dynasty was founded, he served as left policy advisor and secretary of works. - These Chinese envoys were originally Koreans.