Book X 615
4th Day (Muo)
Ha Yun, envoy to the Imperial Throne, and Ch’ŏng T’ak, who had drafted
the [controversial] memorial to the Chinese emperor, returned home with a
letter from the Ministry of Rites of China. The letter was as follows:
“The officials of the Ministry of Rites, including Zhang Bing, left vice
minister (zuo shilang) of the Ministry of Rites, received an imperial order
from the emperor, which was as follows:
The memorials that Chosŏn submitted previously contained some friv-
olous and insulting remarks that seemed to be deliberately made. So I
had six Chosŏn envoys, including Yu Ku, detained in our capital and
demanded that Chŏng Tojŏn, an author of that problematic memorial,
be sent to our capital.
The envoys of Chosŏn have now arrived with a reply from their
king, which said, “Being seriously ill, Chŏng Tojŏn is unable to travel.”
So the king sent only three officials, including Chŏng T’ak, who par-
ticipated in drafting the memorials, and chose not to send Chŏng Tojŏn.
I ordered them to be investigated, and they stated that it was certain
that the memorials submitted to me were drafted by outstanding
scholars and that the memorials submitted most recently were no
exception. The envoys, including Yu Ku, who were here last time did
not belong to that group of outstanding scholars, so I had already let
them return to their country even before the current visiting envoys
arrived. I intend to return the current visiting envoys soon, together
with those who visited last time.
I believe that these envoys are all conversant with histories and prec-
edents; nevertheless, they secretly included some frivolous and insult-
ing words when they drafted the memorials. Wouldn’t the king of
Chosŏn say that their mistake is only that of a few aberrant Confucian
scholars?
When those Chosŏn scholars are compared with their counterparts
in ancient China, they are no better than a Confucian scholar who was
base in his rank and status. In antiquity, when the State of Chu attacked
the State of Zheng, it suffered defeat because it was outnumbered by
the Zheng army. The State of Zheng captured Lord Zhongyi of Yun
(Yungong Zhongyi), who was a musician, and presented him to the