316 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
21st Day (Kyehae)
The king dispatched Yi Chik, academician of the Security Council, to the
Chinese court to express his gratitude and request the emperor to allow
Chosŏn to continue paying tribute as it did before. The memorial he sub-
mitted to the Chinese emperor was as follows:
“Your servant Nam Chae returned from his trip to the Chinese capital
with your imperial instruction. Deeply impressed and awed by the sincerity
of your words, my people and I can hardly suppress our excitement and
gratitude. Your sacred admonitions show such kindness and generosity that
they make me feel ashamed though my sincere loyalty toward you has been
constant
“Last June I sent your servant Kim Ipgyŏn to your court to express my
gratitude to you for paying for our tribute horses, and in July I sent another
your servant, Yun Sadŏk, to celebrate your imperial birthday. However, our
envoys returned because the Regional Commission of Liaodong denied
their entry according to your imperial decree.
“This time I hurriedly sent your servant Yi Chi with my memorial that
explains what has really happened in response to your reprimands, and I
hope you will realize how distressed I am at the moment and that the memo-
rial will clear up all the misunderstandings about me.
“Your servant Nam Chae has recently brought your sacred message. You
said to him, ‘When you return to your court, tell your government that
tribute should be paid only once every three years from this day forwards.
Since you are so sincere in carrying out your duty, I called you to have an
audience with me by sending a man.’ Thus, you graciously granted permis-
sion for us to pay tribute once again and I am deeply grateful for your sage-
like generosity.
“Your Imperial Majesty looks upon a small kingdom with benevolence and
gives me a fresh start after ascertaining the sincerity of my devotion, with your
great wisdom. The only thing that concerns me, however, is not being allowed
to pay tribute more often, which I am afraid may prevent me from carrying
out my duty properly. Hence, I request that you allow me to pay tribute as
frequently as the usual practice, and I extend my wishes for your longevity.”The government elevated the status of Kokchu, the birthplace of Consort
Hyŏn,^61 from county to prefecture (pu) and renamed it Koksanbu.- Lady Kang, or Queen Sindŏk, T’aejo’s second wife.