Diplomacy and Trade in the Chinese World, 589-1276

670 chin

since 1129. In 1155, a Southern Sung envoy on his return from a mis-
sion was sentenced to dismissal for disrespect. In 1161, Southern Sung
envoys were arrested by the Dismissed Emperor. In 1204, a Southern
Sung envoy died on his way home from a New Year celebration in
Chin. In 1206, a Southern Sung official proposed the execution of
Chin envoys. The fact that men still were willing to serve as envoys
was patriotism only in a very few instances, such as that of Wang Lun,
and the lure of making profit in the majority of cases.
This is the distribution by 20-year period of the 71 recorded mis-
sions from the Jurchen to Liao and the 208 recorded missions from
the Jurchen/Chin to the Later T’ang, Later Chou, Northern Sung,
and Southern Sung:

Missions from the Jurchen/Chin

To Sung To Liao

907- 926 1 1

927- 946 0 23

947- 966 11 4

967- 986 5 7

987-1006 2 14

1007-1026 3 6

1027-1046 0 2

1047-1066 0 1

1067-1086 0 6

1097-1106 0 6

1107-1126 20 1

1127-1146 16

1147-1166 40

1167-1186 40

1187-1206 47

1207-1226 23

Before 1115, relations between the Jurchen and Sung swung like a
pendulum. When the Jurchen were politically close to the Liao, they
were distant to Sung and vice versa. The last Jurchen mission to Liao
was in 1114. After A-ku-ta had founded the Chin empire in 1115,
relations between Chin and Southern Sung were lively and reached
their peak between 1187 and 1206. With the disintegration of Chin,