Book XI 663
seeing how the gifts were produced and presented, I could not help but be
disappointed and skeptical, because such an unfavorable beginning of our
new relationship foreboded an undesirable consequence in the end. A good
friend of a superior man is a person with whom one can communicate
through understanding and affection even if one is far apart and unable to
see each other notwithstanding his wishes.
‘Chosŏn at the present deals with me falsely despite my expressions of
sincere desire to have a good relationship with it. How, then, is it possible
for us to communicate through understanding and affection, transcending a
long distance? Unless this relationship is severed at the beginning, I am
afraid that I will certainly regret it later. Since it is no longer possible to
discuss marriage with Chosŏn, I want you, the officials of the Ministry of
Rites, to send a letter to break off the marriage discussion but treat the
Chosŏn envoys with hospitality so that they may persuade their government
not to cause trouble on the borders when they return home.’ ”
Another letter from the Ministry of Rites was as follows:
“Our Ministry of Rites received a sacred instruction from the emperor,
which was as follows: ‘In order to establish a new dynasty and continue to
preserve it, petty people should not be allowed to serve in the government.
When one reads the memorials and letters submitted by Chosŏn, one can
find out what kind of people the newly founded Chosŏn has in its govern-
ment. They are not the ones who can bring good fortune to the people of
Chosŏn; they are the main source of trouble for them.
‘In ancient China the emperor established, were many states of feudal
lords, but very few succeeded in bequeathing the lands to their posterity.
Why was that? It was because they allowed petty people to rule the state.
For this reason, the emperor set down the nine regulations concerning the
suppression of feudal states that failed to employ the right people.^30 There
- The Nine Regulations (Jiufazhifa) here refers to the law and responsibility in the Rites
of Zhou to be carried out by the minister of war (dasima). According to this law, the suzerain
state has the right to rectify the irregularities of the vassal states under nine different circum-
stances by taking military action against them or replacing their ruler or reducing their terri-
tories. The nine circumstances are: when they despise the weak and oppresses minorities;
when they harass the wise and harm the people; when they act tyrannously, showing disrespect
to neighboring states; when they make their land waste and their people scattered; when they
are disobedient and intransigent, trusting something they want to rely on; when they harm or
kill their kinsmen; when the subjects murder or expel their monarch; when they violate the
orders of the emperor, neglecting affairs of state; and when they bring chaos to the whole
country, leaving birds and beasts to overrun the streets.