conclusion 685T’ang was 4.8, during the Five Dynasties and Northern Sung 4.9, and
during Southern Sung a lowly 1.4. As has been shown, the Southern
Sung decrease was due to the persistant xenophobia of the time.
The purposes of the missions depended on the locations of their
home countries and also on their attitudes to China. Some sought
inspiration from Chinese civilization and statecraft, and from Bud-
dhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, while at the same time trading with
the Chinese courts. This was true in various degree for the Japanese,
Koreans, Mo-ho, Tanguts, Khitan, and Jurchen, less so for the Viet-
namese, and hardly at all for the Tibetans. The countries of South Asia,
the islands, and the Middle East had their own civilizations, religions,
and forms of government. The countries of East and West Turkestan,
Kashmir, and Afghanistan were not interested in Chinese culture. Mis-
sions from these states consequently did not come to China to learn
or negotiate. Their only purpose was commerce. China’s immediate
neighbours had political issues to discuss, particularly the Tibetans,
Turks, Uighurs, Tanguts, Khitan, and Jurchen. Alliances were formed
to keep others in check. The Khitan and Jurchen set up protocols for
the exchange of missions on the New Year Days, imperial enthrone-
ments, birthdays, and deaths, which became more rigid in the course
of time. But these missions for negotiations and ritual also conducted
trade. This commerce was conducted on two levels, official exchange
of goods by the governments and private trade by the envoys.
Proof for this trade is the frequent mention in the sources of Chinese
payments, consisting chiefly of gold, silver, copper cash, and silk, and
from Sung onward also porcelain and tea. Another proof is the fact
that the foreign missions not only offered luxury articles and curiosi-
ties for the pleasure of the court but also goods of value for China as
a whole. To these belonged naphta, various ores, fish glue, nails, yak
tails, and vast herds of horses, camels, and sheep, to give only a few
examples.^93
(^93) Small flocks of horses were actually brought to the capitals. In 647, T’ai-tsung
of T’ang personally selected for his own use the ten best horses out of 100 offered by
the Ku-li-kan and gave each a name. In 959, Shih-tsung of Later Chou personally
inspected 40 horses offered by the Tang-hsiang. It stands to reason, however, that
herds of thousands of horses, camels, and sheep were not trotted to the capitals but
delivered to pastures near the border, and that the envoys then proceeded, perhaps
with receipts. In a similar case, the Sung court accepted an elephant from Champa
in 983, but ordered that it be kept in Canton. At times, foreigners first inquired
whether an animal was acceptable. In 693, Arabs proposed to offer a lion, which was