introduction 7came more than once, even “promoted”. It pleased the court to believe
that it thereby expanded its bureaucacy beyond the borders, although
in reality the titles were purely nominal.
Missions went naturally in two directions, to and from China, but
the sources are richer on the former. The larger countries sent mis-
sions of their own. Smaller ones sometimes attached their envoys to
missions of larger states. All brought presents. These were not always
accepted. Those which were, were catalogued, evaluated for recom-
pensation, employed for conspicuous consumption, put to practical
use, or placed in the Imperial Storehouse for Offerings.^2
The missions could be large and apart from the chief envoy and
his deputy included physicians, clerks, attendants, cooks, grooms, and
military escorts. These received travel money and food allowances
from their home countries in accordance with their ranks. Once they
had crossed the border, the host country took care of all further travel
expenses, housing, food, and drink. In China, foreign envoys fell under
the jurisdiction of the Herald who was one of the ministers of the central
government. It was therefore in the interest of the Chinese government
to limit the size of foreign missions, and orders were issued to that
effect. If missions came unannounced, Chinese border or port officials
had to report their arrival to the capital before they were allowed to
proceed. It happened that permission was not granted.
The purpose of the missions to and from China and between its
neighbours embraced the entire range of diplomatic relations: to offer
good-will, to discuss protocol, to form alliances for war, to make peace,
to delineate borders, to spy, to negotiate joint markets, to request or
arrange marriages, to ask for books and medicines, to congratulate on
a New Year’s Day or birthday, to inquire about health, to announce
an enthronement or death, to condole and sacrifice, to contribute to
funeral expenses, to attend a burial, to confer posthumous titles, and to
convey testamentary gifts. The Chinese also had an insatiable appetite
for knowledge of the customs of foreign peoples, their geographical
settings, the names of their rulers, and curent events. But all missions
and their personnel engaged in trade, and some exclusively so. Not
only did foreign countries expect payments for their gifts, but there are
cases on record where they stated what they expected in return. This
(^2) On Feb.16, 1264, the Southern Sung sold pearls, aromatics, elephant tusks,
rhinoceros horns and other goods from the Imperial Storehouse for Offerings in a
last effort to raise money for the defense against the Mongols (Sung shih 45:17a).