korea 141the mid 760’s Silla annually sent envoys. Missions are recorded for
767, 768, 772, and 773 (2). Chiu T’ang shu 199A:12b says that from
774 to 777 Silla annually sent envoys. No less than seven missions are
recorded for that period. Congratulations on the New Year Days are
either directly mentioned or can be surmised from the arrival times
of the missions; but obviously not all of them were recorded or they
were not a regular feature throughout the period under discussion.
This is the distribution by 20-year periods of the 122 recorded mis-
sions from Silla to Sui, Tang, Later T’ang, and Wu-yüeh:
587-806: 1
607-626: 6
627-646: 11
647-666: 8
667-686: 4
687-706: 7
707-726: 20
727-746: 21
747-766: 5
767-786: 13
787-806: 2
807-826: 10
827-846: 7
847-866: 0
867-886: 0
887-906: 0
907-926: 4
927-946: 3
For the period 587 to 666, the figures are compatible with those for
Koguryo and Paekche, 26 in comparison to 27 and 31. After the
unification of Korea the missions at first became fewer, presumably
because China was unhappy with Silla’s achievement, but then reached
their highest level in the reign of Hsüan-tsung (712-756). After the
rebellion of An Lu-shan in 755, the missions continued to come, but
they again became fewer, and eventually ceased altogether. This was
not only due to the disruptions in China but also the disintegration
of Silla. In addition to the 122 Silla missions to China, the texts also
record two to the Liao.
The purpose of the missions was diplomacy concerning war and