566 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
capital and sent another memorial to the Ministry of Rites in response to the
imperial letter:
“On the ninth day of the second month of the twenty- ninth year during
the reign of Hongwu, Ko Inbaek, a military retinue member responsible for
equipment,^11 along with other people of our small kingdom, all of whom
had accompanied an envoy dispatched to your court to celebrate the New
Year, returned home with the official letter from the Ministry of Rites. Upon
reading the letter, Your Servant became surprised and deeply mortified.
“Pondering the cause of the matter quietly, the language and speech of
our small kingdom, which is located in the remote corner across the sea, are
not like those of China. So it is hard for us to understand the Chinese lan-
guage without the help of an interpreter. Moreover, we are shallow in
learning, crude in the use of words, and too ignorant to master the various
ways of composing memorials, which naturally and inevitably prevented us
from employing the correct words or expressions. How dare we provoke
trouble by deliberately using frivolous and offensive language? As Heaven
is my witness, this is indeed no lie.
“Fortunately, Your Majesty, being gracious and generous, has decided
not to punish us for our mistakes and forgave us. We are so moved and
gratified to receive the favors from you, while we are deeply ashamed of
ourselves, and the favors you bestowed upon us are too great to be repaid
even with my life.
“As I looked into the matter concerning the memorials, I found that the
memorial on the occasion of the New Year, which we submitted to con-
gratulate Your Majesty on the twenty- ninth year of the reign of Hongwu,
was drafted by Chŏng T’ak, chancellor of the National Academy, and the
one submitted to the heir apparent, drafted by Kim Yakhang, director of the
Court of Royal Ceremonies and Sacrifices. Since Chŏng T’ak is presently
suffering from paralysis, we are unable to send him to you. So I send you
only Kim Yakhang, who composed the memorial to the heir apparent, and
let interpreter Kwak Haeryung escort him to the Chinese capital. I will
await your decision.”The king gave orders to provide relief to the people of Kyŏngsang Province
who were suffering from famine.- According to a previous record (ninth day of the second month), Ko Inbaek was a ret-
inue member responsible for horses.