662 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
16th Day (Musul)
The king dispatched O Chonji, vice minister of the Palace Directorate
(Chŏnjung sogyŏng), to provide famine relief to the Northwest Region.The king bestowed robes upon each of four Jurchens, including Wuduli and
Yudiha, and five surrendered Japanese chiefs, including Kyuroku and
Toji r o.17th Day (Kihae)
Sŏl Changsu, director of the State Finance Commission and tribute emis-
sary to China; Sin Yuhyŏn, assistant director of the Security Council and
vice tribute emissary; Chin Ch’unggwi, former military commissioner of
Ŭiju; Yang Ch’ŏnsik, former minister of taxation; and others returned from
the Chinese capital and delivered the letters from the Ministry of Rites of
China. One of the letters was as follows:
“Our Ministry of Rites received a sacred instruction from the emperor,
which was as follows: ‘The four barbarian states (siyi) are all different in
their distance from China, but Chosŏn, being located on our eastern border,
is much closer to us than the other places. Some time ago, the Wang clan
came to their end after negligence in governing the people, and the Yi clan
rose to replace them. Subsequently, trouble on the borders has been fre-
quent. Though I admonished them several times, I was unable to stop the
troubles until now. Worried that they might lead to war if they are allowed
to continue, I proposed marriage between the members of the two royal
families, which I believed would bring peace and stabilize the lives of the
people in both countries. Several years have already passed since I first
entertained such thoughts. Therefore, in the sixth month of the twenty- ninth
year [of the reign of Hongwu], I had the imperial messenger convey my
message [to the king of Chosŏn]. The messenger returned and reported that
the king of Chosŏn had come out to welcome him, so I believed that the
marriage between the two royal families would certainly take place sooner
or later.
‘In the spring of the thirtieth year [during the reign of Hongwu], Chosŏn
also sent us an envoy and expressed its sincerity [in relation to my marriage
proposal], presenting horses with saddles. The following day, we examined
the horses and found that both saddles and animals were all flawed. Upon