Diplomacy and Trade in the Chinese World, 589-1276

the northeast 215

707-726: 16
727-746: 21
747-766: 5
767-786: 28
787-806: 7
807-826: 20
827-846: 10
847-866: 0
867-886: 0
887-906: 0
907-926: 12

After T’ang had recognized the state of Po-hai in 712, missions arrived
in large numbers until the middle of the 9th century. The lower
figure for 747-766 was due to the rebellion of An Lu-shan in 750.
The other for 787-806 is unexplained. Perhaps it was due to unsettled
conditions, following the uprising of the Military Governors from 781
to 786. No missions are recorded by date from 847 to 906, although
it is known from Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao that three arrived between 860
and 874. The decline during that period is characteristic, and has
been observed also for Silla and the Hsi. It probably was not worth
the trouble for Po-hai and the others to send missions through unsafe
countryside to an impoverished court. With the Five Dynasties, the
missions revived.
The specified goods brought by the Po-hai missions fall into the
following categories:

Humans

777: 11 Japanese dancing girls.
909: men and women.
925: delicate women.
926: 3 males and 3 females.

Animals and Animal Products

Horses

730: 60 horses.