68 Boundaries and Beyond
from the Western Ocean (Xiyang ren) rented their lodgings”. Other
“foreign countries” included Luzon, Borneo, Ka-la-pa (Dutch Batavia),
Siam, Annam, Cambodia and Japan on the one hand, and Portugal, Spain,
France, and England on the other. The countries in the latter group were
located at a distance of “two years’ voyage” and hence had never been
visited by Chinese junks.^36
In the meantime, the imperial rhetoric continued. Liuqiu is a case
in point. It had been considered a most loyal and respectful tributary
state by both the Ming and Qing governments. Soon after the founding
of the Ming, Liuqiu responded to a Ming mission to the kingdom in 1372
by s ending a tribute mission to China for the βirst time. In 1392 during
the Hongwu Reign, the King of Zhongshan in Liuqiu sent students to
study in the imperial capital.^37 The Chinese were impressed by Liuqiu’s
compliance with the Chinese lunar calendar, which was considered in the
Chinese political concept a symbol of submission. Since the Chenghua reign
(1465‒87), it had been a practice of Liuqiu to send high-ranking ofβicials
to inform China of the accession of new kings and request the conferment
of titles.^38 A Chinese imperial proclamation sent in 1532 observed that,
despite Liuqiu’s location in a distant part of the seas, it had long been
inβluenced by Chinese culture (shengjiao). Following compliance with the
emperor’s duty of benevolence, the Ming Jiajing emperor (r. 1522‒66)
sent Censor Chen Kan as envoy to confer on the new king of Liuq’iu,
Shangqing, the title “King of Zhongshan of the Liuqiu State”. The king
was instructed to perform the duty of a minister and perpetuate peace
and tranquility.^39 In 1600, Shangning, then the king of Zhongshan, sent a
memorial to request the conferment of kingship. This was 12 years after
he had acceded to the throne. The delay had been occasioned by Japanese
incursions. Censor Xia Ziyang was appointed envoy for the conferment
mission. The delegation left the capital for Fujian in 1603. The conferment
vessel was specially built in Fujian and took three years to complete. The
envoy left Fujian for Liuqiu in 1606. The presence of Japanese troops in
Liuqiu during this time might have involved the envoy in a confrontation,
a prospect that aroused great anxiety among high-ranking ofβicials in
Fujian.^40 Both the touring censorial inspector, Fang Yuanyan, and the
- Qingchu haijiang tushuo 清初海疆圖說 [Illustrated descriptions of the
boundaries during the early Qing Dynasty] (hereafter QCHJTS), in Taiwan
wenxan congkan 台灣文獻叢刊 (hereafter TWWXCK), no. 155, pp. 5, 7–9, 11, 59. - Wang Shizhen 王世禎 (1635–1711), “Liuqiu ru taixue shimo” 琉球入太學始末,
in TWWXCK, no. 292, p. 17. - Chen Kan 陳侃, “Shi Liuqiu lu” 使琉球錄, in TWWXCK, no. 287, preface, p. 1.
- Ibid., p. 3.
- Xia Ziyang 夏子陽, “Shi Liuqiu lu” 使琉球錄，in TWWXCK, no. 287, p. 171.
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