542 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
uninhabited and full of dense trees and grass. Unless our traveling envoys
are provided with escorts, we are afraid that they will be harmed by tigers
and wolves. This is the reason we decided to bother you with this letter and
request that you command the Regional Commission of Liaodong to pro-
vide us with escorts as before.”The king admonished various princes, saying, “It is very wrong to kill the
chickens and dogs of the people in order to raise your falcons. From this day
forward, stop raising falcons.”The king also stopped the practice of giving falcons as personal gifts except
when presenting them as tribute to the king.Hongsu, the son of Chang Paek, director of the Court of Interpreters returned
with his father’s remains. Paek visited China on a diplomatic mission and
died of illness in Dengzhou. His son Hongsu submitted a petition to the
government, and the latter sent an official letter to the Ministry of Rites of
China. Hongsu went over to the Chinese capital and appealed with tears to
the Chinese authorities. Thus, he was able to gather the bones of his father
out of ground and rebury them at home.30th Day (Kyŏngsin)
At night, the king invited Chŏng Tojŏn and other merit subjects to enjoy a
banquet together. He had music performed while they drank. At the peak of
the excitement during the banquet, the king said to Tojŏn, “I got to where I
am today thanks to the support from you officials. I want you to respect one
another and be cautious with your conduct so that your blessings can reach
a thousand generations of your descendants.”
Tojŏn replied, “Duke Huan of Qi asked Baoshu Ya about the way of gov-
erning the state, and the latter answered, ‘I wish Your Majesty would not
forget the days when you resided in the land of Ju, and Zhongfu [Guan
Zhong] the days when you were carried on a vehicle as a captive.’^48 So I- When Duke Xiang (r. 679–686 b c) of Qi died, succession struggles broke out between
Prince Jiu and Xiaobo (later Duke Huan). Though the latter eventually defeated the former, he
initially fled to the land of Ju. In the contest, Guan Zhong, who supported Prince Jiu, became
a captive of Duke Huan. So both Duke Huan and Guan Zhong, who started out as mutual
enemies, had a difficult time, in their own ways, at the beginning.