184 korea
states were not “allowed” to congratulate. This is dynastic vocabulary
without any relation to reality.
When Wang Hao of Koryo had been overthrown by his younger
brother Cho, Chang-tsung of Chin sent an envoy in 1198 to make
inquiries. This is no more significant than the Chin mission of 1170,
since Chang-tsung recognized Wang Cho before the end of 1198.
There are two further entries which require consideration. In the
8th month (Aug./Sep.) of 938, local authorities on the northern cost
of the Shan-tung peninsula informed the Later Chin court that the
hostage Wang Jen-ti, who served in the Imperial Bodyguards, wished
to be released so that he could return home to Koryo. He was allowed
to do so (Wu-tai hui-yao 30:5a-5b). This account is as misleading as the
previous ones discussed for Silla. Hostages, usually sons of foreign kings
or chiefs, served as guarantors for the good faith of their countries and
risked execution if this faith was broken. They were therefore kept in
the capital in case of future need, not in the countryside. Furthermore,
Koryo was on excellent terms with the Later Chin and had no reason
whatsoever to provide hostages. Judging from the name, Wang Jen-ti
could have been a member of the new royal Koryo house. He had
probably, as had so many other foreign princes, come to China to to
take up a sinecure appointment in the guards, perhaps to do some
studying, and certainly to amuse himself. Wishing to return, he had
proceeded to a port in northern Shan-tung. He needed a permit to
board a ship, and this was requested by the local Chinese authorities.
The rest is imagination.
The other entry is to the effect that on Apr.12, 1088, Liao remitted
Koryo’s “annual tribute” (Liao shih 25:2a; 115:4a). This tribute is in
the beholder’s eye. Koryo, in exchange for proper payment, offered
gifts to Liao on an almost annual basis. A more likely explanation
for the cancelation of what Liao preferred to call tribute is therefore
that it did not expect any gifts that year or rationalized the fact that
it did not receive any.
To repeat, Koryo was not a vassal with tributary duties to the Five
Dynasties, Sung, Liao, and Chin. In spite of its smaller size, it was
able to stand up to Liao and Chin, and did not have to buy peace.
This required clever diplomacy and a minimum of appeasement. In
spite of window-dressing, rhetorics, and even a pinch of nostalgia for
the good old times of Korean-Chinese friendship, Koryo succeeded
in keeping its autonomy until the advent of the Mongols.
The attitudes of China, Liao, and Chin to Koryo differed. All rec-