the northeast 223In the 2nd month (Mar./Apr.) of 842, a Shih-wei mission of 15
men, led by the Military Governor, arrived at the T’ang court. All
were received in audience in the 12th month (Jan./Feb., 843) of the
same Chinese year, given a banquet, and presented with gifts, each
in accordance with his rank (T’ang hui-yao 96:9a;Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei
p.5033).
In the 1st month (February) of 846, Shih-wei envoys were received
at the T’ang court (Chiu T’ang shu 18A:16b; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5033).
In the 1st month (Jan./Feb.) of 860, Shih-wei envoys were received
at the T’ang court. Thereafter, the Office of History had no informa-
tion (T’ang hui-yao 96:9a; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 347:27a).
The fact that the T’ang conferred on some of the Shih-wei chiefs
the title of Military Governor or Grand Military Governor shows that
it attempted to set up another fictitious Area Command. Its name is
not recorded. But the diplomatic value of the Shih-wei to the Chinese
cannot have been great. They could have been a counterweight to the
Hsi, but, as far as can be judged, the Shih-wei and Hsi were on good
terms with each other. Together they looted Chinese border lands
in 788. Furthermore, the Shih-wei missions to the T’ang must have
passed through Hsi territory, which required a fair degree of amity.
The Turks were a common danger to the Shih-wei and Chinese, but
there is no evidence of serious cooperation against them. While to the
Chinese the Shih-wei may have been a minor pawn in the complicated
diplomatic game of balancing foreign countries and tribes against each
other, China was to the Shih-wei chiefly a trading partner. This is
also proved by the fact that the missions might stay in China for the
better part of a year, as in 842.
Chiu T’ang shu 199B:10a states that from 713 to 756, Shih-wei envoys
arrived each year or each second year. According to Wen-hsien t’ung-
k’ao 347:27a, they arrived during that period ten times. The texts
record exactly ten missions. According to Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 347:
27a, 11 missions arrived from 766 to779. 13 are actually recorded.
According to Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 347:27a, missions arrived three times
from 827 to 835. Two missions are recorded. According to Chiu T’ang
shu 199B:10a, missions arrived three times from 831 to 834. None is
recorded. According to Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 347:27a, one mission arrived
between 847 and 860. One is recorded. The statistics are therefore
almost complete.
The prefered times of arrival were the 11th, 12th, and 1st months,
when 3/4 of the missions were received at the Chinese courts. The
envoys obviously combined New Year congratulations with commerce.