Biographies CLXIX: Foreign Peoples, Part XI: Sui, Tang and the Five Dynasties (Wu-Yue)

Sui

¶Under the canopy of Heaven and Earth, in the world lit by sun and moon, there are ten thousand states within the four seas and living creatures of a thousand kinds, and their customs differ so widely that none could list and know them all. Among the lands whose writing and institutions are shared with ours and whose records survive, the greatest is the Sui. The Sui has broad lands and a numerous people; since antiquity sage and worthy rulers have taught the people through virtue, humanity and righteousness, and so its statutes and institutions are well ordered. Even in recent antiquity its rites and culture, its men of talent and its wealth were beyond comparison with any other country. Concerning our country (Wa) before the Sui, it is handed down that some descendants of Qin and Han came and naturalized here, but we hear of no formal exchange of envoys. Moreover, where the histories of that country (China) describe our customs, truth and falsehood are mixed in equal parts. And when they go so far as to record that we sent tribute or received enfeoffment and titles, there has never been any such fact, past or present. It seems that at that time a Japanese government office (Nihon-fu) had been established in Mimana, and generals were divided among the garrisons to keep order; and although Koma (Goguryeo) at the time styled itself a vassal and sent tribute, from generation to generation it had received the Chinese calendar and Chinese titles of investiture, so that those who became commanders and ministers in Mimana may have followed this example and received Chinese titles. Or perhaps treacherous people in western Kyūshū, impersonating envoys of the court, offered tribute as a means of profit, and the histories of that country recorded it just as it was. In any case, none of it is credible. The real exchange of envoys began in the reign of Empress Suiko. From then on the comings and goings of envoys are recorded in the histories without interruption, and these cannot be left unrecorded. Therefore the various books have been gathered to compile accounts of the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming. In addition, those who drifted to this country by shipwreck are appended as well.

Tang

¶Sui. The Sui lies to the west of Tsukushi. Before the Sui, the dynastic title of that country changed many times, but written records survive from the age of Tang and Yu. Tang Yao possessed sage virtue and was styled Taotang-shi. In his old age he yielded the throne to Shun, who carried on Yao's work well and was styled Youyu-shi. Shun yielded the throne to Yu, who was styled Xiahou-shi. The house of Xiahou lasted seventeen generations, but Jie was dissolute and arrogant. King Tang of Yin drove him out and succeeded him, set his capital at Bo, and called the dynasty Shang. Because Pan Geng moved the capital to Yin, it was also called Yin. King Zhou indulged in wine and women, and the feudal lords ceased to obey him. King Wen of Zhou, Chang, cultivated virtue, and the people's hearts turned toward Zhou. King Wu, Fa, attacked Yin and replaced it. But his descendants fell into disorder, and the Rong and Di barbarians encroached upon them. King Ping, Yijiu, moved the capital to Luoyang; this is called the Eastern Zhou. The seventeenth year of King Hui of the Eastern Zhou, Tian, is said to correspond to the first year of our Emperor Jimmu (660 BCE) (Note: following the histories and biographies of the successive Chinese dynasties).

¶When the governance of Zhou declined, the Ying house of Qin destroyed it, but after two generations the people turned against Qin. Liu Ji rose and became Son of Heaven, and set his capital at Chang'an. This was Gaozu of Han. After fourteen reigns his subject Wang Mang usurped the throne and styled his dynasty Xin. Liu Xiu, a member of the Han imperial house, put down the rebels and restored the Han line; this was Emperor Guangwu. After another fourteen reigns Cao Pi usurped the throne, set his capital at Xu, and styled his dynasty Wei. Liu Bei took the throne at Chengdu and also styled his dynasty Han. Sun Quan held Wuchang and took the name Wu. The two states of Wu and Shu-Han were destroyed by Wei. After five reigns of Wei, Sima Yan replaced it; this was Wudi of Jin, who set his capital at Luoyang. The Sun house of Wu lasted four reigns, but Jin annexed it as well. The Five Hu tribes threw Jin into disorder, the power of the Sima house declined, and the capital was moved to Jiankang. Tuoba Gui rose in the land of the Xianbei, established his capital at Pingcheng, and styled his dynasty Northern Wei; thus the realm was divided into north and south. After thirteen reigns of the Sima house, Liu Yu replaced it; this was Wudi of Song. After eight reigns of Song, Xiao Daocheng destroyed it and styled his dynasty Southern Qi. Southern Qi was destroyed by Xiao Yan, who changed the dynastic title to Liang, which lasted four reigns. Chen Baxian destroyed it and made the dynastic title Chen. The state of the Tuoba lasted one hundred and forty-nine years, but Wei split into east and west. Yuan Baoju set his capital at Chang'an; this is called Western Wei. Wendi and Shanjian set their capital at Ye; this is called Xiaojingdi of Eastern Wei. Eastern Wei yielded the state to Gao Yang, who styled it Qi. After six reigns Qi was destroyed by Yuwen Jue, who changed the dynastic title to Zhou. After five reigns Zhou yielded the throne to Yang Jian, Prince of Sui (Note: following the histories and biographies of the successive Chinese dynasties).

¶Yang Jian had served Northern Zhou as chancellor and had been enfeoffed as Prince of Sui. He then received the abdication of Zhou and ascended the throne. Taking his former title of enfeoffment, he made the dynastic title Sui and changed the era name to Kaihuang. That year corresponds to the tenth year of our Emperor Bidatsu, Kanoto-ushi (581). In the ninth year of Kaihuang (589) the Sui destroyed Chen and annexed its lands. In all it obtained thirty provinces, one hundred commanderies and four hundred counties, and so the realm of north and south was united as one. Yang Jian died after reigning twenty-four years and is called Gaozu. His Crown Prince Guang took the throne and changed the era name to Daye (Note: following the Sui shu). This corresponds exactly to the thirteenth year of Empress Suiko (605). In autumn of the fifteenth year of Empress Suiko (607), Ono-no-Imoko, of the Dairai rank, was sent as envoy to the Sui, with Kuratsukuri-no-Fukuri as interpreter (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). The letter addressed to the Sui emperor said in outline: "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises addresses a letter to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets. Are you well? ..." (Note: following the Zenrin Kokuhōki and the Sui shu). In summer of the sixteenth year (608), the Sui emperor sent Pei Shiqing, guest officer of the Honglu si (Court of State Ceremonial), and others as envoys. A lodging for the envoys was built above the Koma-no-Murotsumi (Korean hostel) at Naniwa, and they were met and welcomed with thirty decorated boats and seventy-five decorated horses. Pei Shiqing and his party reached the palace gate, bowed twice, and presented the letter and gifts in the courtyard. The letter said: "The Emperor inquires after the Sovereign (Kimi) of Wa. Your envoy, the chief official Su Yingao of the Dairai rank, and his party came to court and explained matters in detail. We respectfully receive the Mandate of Heaven and reign over the realm, and we intend to spread the teaching of virtue and extend it even to every living thing. Our heart of nurturing knows no distinction between far and near. We have heard that you, Sovereign, dwell beyond the sea yet soothe and govern your people, bring peace within your land, and keep your customs harmonious and orderly. With truly deep sincerity you have fulfilled, from afar, the rites of tribute; we commend the beauty of your devotion. The season has grown somewhat warm, but we are as usual. We have therefore sent Pei Shiqing, guest officer of the Honglu si, and others to convey something of our thoughts, and we send gifts as listed on a separate sheet." Pei Shiqing and his party were feasted at court (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). The emperor asked the Crown Prince (Shōtoku Taishi), "How were the words of the letter?" The Prince replied, "This is the form of letter bestowed on feudal lords. Yet whether one says 'Sovereign' or says 'Emperor,' the meaning is the same. Since their letter uses the character for 'Sovereign,' it is well to answer in kind in our reply." The emperor followed this (Note: following the Shōtoku Taishi Denryaku). The Prince took up the brush himself and wrote: "The Emperor of the East respectfully addresses the Emperor of the West. Your envoy, the guest officer of the Honglu si Pei Shiqing and his party, have arrived, and what has long weighed on my mind is at last resolved. In late autumn it has turned somewhat cool; how fare you in your country? I trust you are in pure joy. We are as usual. Now we are sending Su Yingao and Onari of the Dairai rank and their party. Respectfully stated, though without fully expressing my meaning." He also made Ono-no-Imoko the chief envoy, Naniwa-no-Onari the junior envoy, and Kuratsukuri-no-Fukuri the interpreter. Eight students, including Yamato-no-Aya-no-Fukuin, Nara-no-Osa Emyō, and Takamuko-no-Kuromaro, accompanied them, escorting Pei Shiqing and his party. In autumn of the following year (609) Imoko returned. Kuratsukuri-no-Fukuri stayed in the Sui and did not return (Note: Su Yingao is Imoko, and Onari is Naniwa-no-Onari). In the twenty-second year of Empress Suiko (614), Inugami-no-Mitasuki and Yatabe-no-Miyatsuko were sent to the Sui. The next year (615) Inugami-no-Mitasuki and the others returned from the Sui. In the twenty-fifth year (617), the Sui emperor Guang was murdered by his subject Yuwen Huaji. This was Yangdi. His grandson You took the throne, but yielded it to Li Yuan, Duke of Tang, and the Sui fell (Note: following the calendar records cited in the Shōtoku Taishi Denryaku, and the Sui shu).

¶Tang. The Tang emperor was of the Li clan, his name Yuan. Having received the abdication of the Sui, he made the dynastic title Tang, changed the era name to Wude, and set his capital at Chang'an (Note: following the Tang shu). That year corresponds to the twenty-sixth year of Empress Suiko (618). In the thirty-first year (623), the student monks Esai and Ekō, together with the physicians Enichi and Fukuin, returned from the Tang and reported: "The Tang is a land of ritual propriety. It would be well always to send envoys and cultivate friendly relations" (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). Li Yuan died and is called Gaozu. His son Shimin took the throne; this was Taizong. He changed the era name to Zhenguan (Note: following the Tang shu). This corresponds exactly to the thirty-fifth year of Empress Suiko (627). In autumn of the second year of Emperor Jomei (630), Inugami-no-Mitasuki, of the Dainin rank, and Kusushi-no-Enichi, of the Dainin rank, a physician, were sent to the Tang. In the fourth year of Emperor Jomei (632), the Tang emperor sent Gao Biaoren, Governor of Xinzhou, to escort Mitasuki. The next year (633), Kishi-no-Omaro and others were sent to see Gao Biaoren off as far as Tsushima, where he was sent back (Note: following the Nihon Shoki. For the imperial envoy from Xinzhou, following the Jiu Tang shu). The Tang emperor died, and his son Zhi took the throne. This was Gaozong (Note: following the Tang shu). In the fourth year of Hakuchi under Emperor Kōtoku (653), Kishi-no-Nagani, of the Shōsenjō rank, and Kishi-no-Koma, of the Shōotsujō rank, were sent to the Tang. Murohara-no-Mita served as escort envoy. The students Kose-no-Kusuri and Hi-no-Oyu, and the student monks Dōgon, Jōe, Andachi, Dōkan, and others, over twenty in all, accompanied them. In addition, Takada-no-Nemaro of the Daisenge rank was made chief envoy and Kanimori-no-Omaro of the Shōotsujō rank deputy envoy, and the student monks Dōfuku, Gikō, and others, over one hundred and twenty in all, set out together. Haji-no-Yatsute served as escort envoy. But the ship of Nemaro and his party met a gale off Takeshima in Satsuma and capsized, and only five, including Kadobe-no-Kane, were able to return alive. In spring of the fifth year of Hakuchi (654), Kawabe-no-Maro, of the Shōkinge rank, as chief envoy, Kusushi-no-Enichi, of the Daisenge rank, as deputy envoy, and Fumi-no-Atai-Maro, of the Daiotsujō rank, as judge, were sent to the Tang. Takamuko-no-Kuromaro served as plenipotentiary envoy (Ōshi). The Tang emperor asked about the geography of Japan and the names of the gods at the beginning of the country, and Maro and his party answered as they were questioned. But Takamuko-no-Kuromaro died in the Tang (Note: according to the book of Iki-no-Hakatoko cited in a later note of this work, in this year the students Hi-no-Oyu and Kō Ōgon, the student monk Myōi and eleven others, as well as Kan Chikō, Zhao Yuanbao, and others, returned together with the envoys. But the one who returned in this year was Nagani, not Maro, so this note should properly have been placed under the entry for Nagani's return, or under the following year, when Maro returned. Yet there is no other book with which to check it, so for the present it is appended here following the old account). In the seventh month of autumn, the envoy to the Tang Kishi-no-Nagani and his party returned. In the first year of Emperor Saimei (655), Kawabe-no-Maro and his party returned (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the fifth year of Emperor Saimei (659), Sakaibe-no-Iwashiki, Tsumori-no-Kisa, and Iki-no-Hakatoko were sent to the Tang, and several Emishi accompanied them. Iwashiki's ship met a storm and drifted to the southern sea, where he was attacked and killed by bandits of an island. Kisa and his party reached Kuaiji county in Yuezhou, rode post-horses, and proceeded to the Eastern Capital (Dongjing). At that time the Tang emperor was at the Eastern Capital and summoned the envoys to court. The Tang emperor first asked after the emperor's well-being, and then comforted the envoys. Seeing the Emishi, he asked about their land and their people. The Emishi presented white deerskins and bows and arrows. Because the Tang planned to attack Kudara (Baekje) the following year, our envoys were detained in the Western Capital (Xijing) (Note: following the book of Iki-no-Hakatoko cited in a note to the Nihon Shoki). In the sixth year of Emperor Saimei (660), the Tang general Su Dingfang and others attacked Kudara and took its king, Uija, prisoner (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and another account). Only then were our envoys released. In the seventh year of Emperor Saimei (661), Kisa and his party returned (Note: following the book of Iki-no-Hakatoko cited in a note to the Nihon Shoki).

¶In the Mizunoe-inu year (662) of Emperor Tenji, the Tang again attacked Kudara. In the Mizunoto-i year (663), our army fought the Tang troops at Hakusukinoe and was defeated. In the Kinoe-ne year (664), Liu Renyuan, the Tang garrison commander in Kudara, sent Guo Wusong, Chaosan dafu (Grand Master of Court Gentlemen), and others, and the Uchitsuomi Nakatomi-no-Kamatari sent the monk Chishō to present goods to Guo Wusong and his party (Note: according to the Zenrin Kokuhōki, when Guo Wusong came to court, the monk Chiben was made to ask him whether he had a letter of submission and tribute goods, and Wusong replied that he had a letter from the general and tribute goods. Chiben reported this, and the deliberation at court concluded that since he was not a formal envoy of the Tang Son of Heaven he should not be admitted to the capital. The Dazaifu was therefore ordered to send a letter to the garrison commander in Kudara, to convey this purport to Wusong and his party, to return the tribute goods, and to send them home from the Dazaifu). In the Kinoto-ushi year (665), Liu Degao, Chaosan dafu, Sima of Qizhou and Shang zhuguo (Supreme Pillar of the State), and Guo Wusong, Right Weiwei langjiang and Shang zhuguo, were sent and came to court (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and another account). They also sent back the student monk Jōe (Note: following the book of Iki-no-Hakatoko cited in a note to the Nihon Shoki). An edict ordered that Liu Degao and his party be feasted in Tsukushi. Mori-no-Ōishi, of the Shōkin rank, Sakaibe-no-Iwatsumi, and others were sent to escort Liu Degao and his party (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and another account). In the Hinoto-u year (667), Liu Renyuan, the Tang garrison commander in Kudara, sent Sima Facong, magistrate of Xiongshan county in the Ungjin Governor-Generalship, to bring Sakaibe-no-Iwatsumi and the others back to the Governor-Generalship in Tsukushi. For Facong's return, Iki-no-Hakatoko, of the Shōsenge rank, and Kasa-no-Moroiwa, of the Daiotsuge rank, were made escort envoys. In winter of the first year of Emperor Tenji (662), Tang forces destroyed Koma (Goguryeo). In the second year (663), Kawachi-no-Kujira, of the Shōkinchū rank, was sent to the Tang. In the fourth year (665), Liu Renyuan, the Tang garrison commander in Kudara, sent Li Shouzhen to present a memorial. In winter, the Tang envoy Guo Wusong and his party of six hundred, together with the escort envoy Sataek Sondeung and fourteen hundred others, anchored at Hichi-no-shima in forty-seven ships. Because their numbers and ships were so many, Guo Wusong and his party feared that a sudden arrival would arouse suspicion and provoke defensive measures, so they first sent the monk Dōmon and others to Tsushima to announce their intention to come to court. The governor of Tsushima reported this to the Dazaifu, and the Dazaifu at once dispatched a fast horse to inform the court. Emperor Tenji died. In spring of the first year of the Emperor's younger brother, Prince Ōtomo (672), Azumi-no-Inashiki, of the Naishōshichi rank, was sent to the Dazaifu to announce the emperor's death to Guo Wusong. Guo Wusong and his party all changed into mourning dress, raised their voices three times in lamentation, bowed twice with foreheads to the ground facing east, and handed over their tribute and gifts. In summer, 1,673 bolts of coarse silk, 2,852 tan of cloth, and 666 kin of floss silk were distributed to Guo Wusong and his party. Separately, armor, bows and arrows were granted to Guo Wusong, and he was sent home (Note: following the Nihon Shoki).

¶In the third year of Emperor Tenmu (674), thirty Tang people naturalized and were settled in Tōtōmi. In the twelfth year (683), the students Haji-no-Oi and Shirai-no-Hōnen, who had gone to the Tang to study, together with Koshu and Miyake-no-Tokō, sons of men captured by the Tang in the war with Kudara, returned with an envoy from Shiragi (Silla). In the fourth year of Empress Jitō (690), Ōtomobe-no-Hakama, a Tsukushi soldier, returned from the Tang. Hakama was one captured by Tang troops in the war to aid Kudara in the seventh year of Empress Saimei (661). In Emperor Tenji's time, four others, Haji-no-Hodo, Hi-no-Oyu, Tsukushi-no-Satsuyama, and Yuge-no-Ganpōji, had likewise been held captive in the Tang. Hodo and the others heard that the Tang people were plotting something, and planned to return secretly and report to the emperor, but had no funds for the journey. Hakama offered to Hodo, "Now sell my person and use the price as your travel money." Hodo followed this plan and was able to escape home. Hakama remained in the Tang for thirty years, and at this time returned with an envoy from Shiragi. The empress issued an edict commending him, granted him four chō of rice land, and exempted his family from tax and labor service for three generations (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the first year of Taihō under Emperor Monmu (701), Awata-no-Mahito, Kami of the Ministry of Popular Affairs and of Jikidaini rank, was made plenipotentiary Kentōshi (envoy to the Tang) with the Sadaiben Takahashi-no-Kasama as chief envoy and Sakaibe-no-Ōkita, Uhyōe-no-kami, as deputy envoy, and they went as far as Tsukushi to wait for a fair wind. The next year (702), they crossed to the Tang (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). Earlier, the Tang emperor had died and the Crown Prince Xian took the throne. This was Zhongzong. His mother, of the Wu clan, was styled Empress Dowager. Wu soon deposed the Tang emperor, making him Prince of Luling, and installed Dan, Prince of Yu, as emperor. Before long she overturned the Tang mandate, changed the dynastic title to Zhou, and demoted Dan to the title of Huangsi (Heir). Awata-no-Mahito reached the Tang in the second year of Chang'an of the Zhou (Note: following the Tang shu). Mahito and his party returned, but the student monk Benshō remained in the Tang. Benshō was eloquent, and when Longji, Prince of Linzi, was still in his princely residence, Benshō was praised for his skill at the game of go (Note: following the Kaifūsō). When Wu died, Xian, Prince of Luling, was restored to the throne, but the empress Lady Wei murdered him and set up the child Chongmao. Longji, Prince of Linzi, entered the palace, killed Lady Wei, deposed Chongmao, and returned Dan, Prince of Yu, to the throne. This was Ruizong. He made Longji Crown Prince. Soon after he yielded the throne to the Crown Prince, who was Xuanzong (Note: following the Tang shu).

¶In the second year of Reiki under Empress Genshō (716), Tajihi-no-Agatamori was sent to the Tang as plenipotentiary envoy (Oshi), with Ōtomo-no-Yamamori as chief envoy and Fujiwara-no-Umakai as deputy envoy. This was the fourth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang. In the second year of Yōrō (718), Tajihi-no-Agatamori and his party returned. In the fifth year of Tenpyō under Emperor Shōmu (733), Tajihi-no-Hironari was sent to the Tang as chief envoy, with Nakatomi-no-Nashiro as deputy envoy. In the seventh year of Tenpyō (735), Hironari and his party returned. The Tang man Yuan Jinqing came to court together with Hironari and was later appointed Genban-daigaku-no-kami (Director of the Bureau of Buddhists and Foreigners and of the University) and Awa-no-kami (Governor of Awa), and was granted the surname Kiyomura. In the fourth year of Tenpyō Shōhō under Empress Kōken (752), Fujiwara-no-Kiyokawa, of Senior Fourth Rank Lower, was sent to the Tang as chief envoy, with Ōtomo-no-Komaro, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper, as deputy envoy, together with the student Fujiwara-no-Yoshio. On the first day of the first month of the next year (753), the Tang emperor received the New Year's congratulations at the Hanyuan Hall of the Penglai Palace. On that day Fujiwara-no-Kiyokawa and his party took the second place in the western row, below Tubo (Tibet). The envoy of Shiragi took the first place in the eastern row, above the Dashi (Arabs). Ōtomo-no-Komaro did not accept this seating, and told the guest officer, "Shiragi is a dependency of our country. It is not fitting that its envoy sit above ours." The matter was argued at court, the Tang people could not refute it, and so Kiyokawa and his party were seated first in the eastern row, while the Shiragi envoy was moved to the second place in the western row. In the sixth year of Tenpyō Shōhō (754), Ōtomo-no-Komaro returned. The Tang monk Ganjin (Jianzhen) came to court with Komaro. In the second year of Tenpyō Hōji (758), Ono-no-Tamori returned from his mission to Bohai (Balhae) and reported: "On the ninth day of the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Tianbao in the Tang (755), An Lushan, Yushi dafu (Grand Censor) and military governor of Fanyang, rebelled. He wrongfully claimed the imperial title and made the dynastic title Yan, changed Fanyang to the Commandery of Lingwu, renamed his residence the Palace of the Hidden Dragon, and changed the era name to Shengwu. He made his son An Qingxu the garrison commander of Fanyang commandery, and himself advanced leading more than two hundred thousand elite cavalry. In the twelfth month he took Luoyang and arbitrarily appointed the hundred officials. The Tang emperor had Geshu Han, military governor of Anxi, lead three hundred thousand troops to hold Tongjin Pass, and the grand general Feng Changqing lead one hundred and fifty thousand troops to defend Luoyang. The next year, An Lushan had his general Sun Xiaozhe lead twenty thousand troops to attack Tongguan, and Geshu Han destroyed the road along the bank at Tongjin. Sun Xiaozhe cut through the mountains to open a road and led his troops into Xinfeng. On the sixth day of the sixth month, the Tang emperor fled to Jiannan. In the seventh month, on the Kinoe-ne day, the Crown Prince Yu took the throne at Lingwu and changed the era name to the first year of Zhide (756). On the Tsuchinoto-u day, the Tang emperor reached Yizhou, and Xu Guidao, acting commissioner of Pinglu, sent Zhang Yuanjian, Guoyi duwei (Brave Commandant) acting for Liucheng county and concurrent judge for the military administration of the four prefectures, to Bohai to seek reinforcements. Bohai suspected that behind it lay some treacherous scheme, and detained him without sending troops. On the Hinoe-uma day of the twelfth month, Xu Guidao killed the Guoyi Liu Zhengchen, assassinating him at Beiping, and secretly communicated with An Lushan and the false military governor of Youzhou, Shi Siming, plotting to attack the Son of Heaven. Wang Xuanzhi, Protector-General of Andong, learned of this plot, led more than six thousand troops, took Liucheng, and beheaded Xu Guidao. He styled himself acting military governor of Pinglu and stationed himself at Beiping. In the fourth month of the third year of Zhide (758), Wang Xuanzhi sent his general Wang Jinyi to Bohai to seek reinforcements, and at the same time told them the state of the country: 'The Son of Heaven has returned to the Western Capital, has welcomed the Retired Emperor (Xuanzong) back from Shu, and has settled him in a separate palace. The rebels' power is gradually dying away.' Bohai still did not believe it, detained Jinyi, and sent an envoy to the Tang. The Tang emperor issued an edict to Bohai, and Bohai presented it for our attention together with the return of Ono-no-Tamori." Thereupon an edict was issued to the Dazaifu, saying: "An Lushan is a mad, cunning petty man of the Hu people, one who defies Heaven and offends his superiors, and so his affairs will surely not succeed. If he cannot subdue the west (the Tang heartland), he may turn and plunder east of the sea (the direction of Japan). The men of old said, 'Even bees and scorpions have poison; how much more men.' The officials of the Dazaifu are to understand this situation well and make preparations in advance." At that time the former chief envoy to the Tang, Fujiwara-no-Kiyokawa, still remained in the Tang and had not returned (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

¶In spring of the third year of Tenpyō Hōji (759), as an envoy from Bohai happened to arrive, Kō Gendo (Gao Yuandu), of Outer Junior Fifth Rank Lower, was made envoy to fetch Kiyokawa, with Kura-no-Matatari as judge, and they set out together with the Bohai envoy Yang Chengqing and his party. An edict was also sent to the king of Bohai to have him escort Gao Yuandu to the Tang. Yuandu reached the Tang together with the Bohai envoy. The next year (760), the Tang emperor had a palace envoy proclaim an edict, saying: "Fujiwara-no-Kiyokawa, Tejin mishujian (Special Advancement Director of the Palace Library), should be sent home as he originally requested, but the remnant rebels have not yet been pacified, and we fear that the road will be full of difficulties. Yuandu should for the time being take the southern route, return first, and report." Thereupon the palace attendant Xie Shihe was ordered to escort Yuandu and his party as far as Suzhou, where the prefect Li Hu prepared one large ship and had Shen Weiyue, zhechong (brigade commander) of the Puyang garrison in Yuezhou, and the assistant commander Lu Zhangsheng escort Yuandu. In the fifth year of Tenpyō Hōji (761), Yuandu returned and reached the Dazaifu. Kamitsukeno-no-Hirohama, of Junior Fifth Rank Upper, and Hirota-no-Otoko, of Outer Junior Fifth Rank Lower, were sent to Aki to build ships for the envoys to the Tang. When Yuandu was about to return home, the Tang emperor, because after the wars there was a shortage of material for bows, had asked Yuandu for oxhorn. Yuandu reported this on his return. Seven thousand eight hundred oxhorns were therefore levied from the provinces of the Tōkaidō, Tōsandō, Hokurikudō, San'indō and Nankaidō and sent to the Tang. Naka-no-Iwatomo, Uko-hon'ei-no-kami (Commander of the Right Tiger-Guards), was made chief envoy to the Tang, and Isonokami-no-Yakatsugu, Kazusa-no-kami, deputy envoy. In the sixth year of Tenpyō Hōji (762), Isonokami-no-Yakatsugu was relieved, and Fujiwara-no-Tamaro, Sako-hon'ei-no-kami (Commander of the Left Tiger-Guards), became deputy envoy. In summer, thirty-eight Tang people headed by the Tang deputy envoy Ji Qiaorong lodged a joint complaint with the Dazaifu that the chief envoy Shen Weiyue had amassed wealth dishonestly and was unfit for his post. The Dazaifu reported this to the court. The court replied: "Both the chief envoy and the deputy envoy were appointed by their own country, so they cannot now be replaced. Their stipends on their return are to be given as before." In the seventh year of Tenpyō Hōji (763), the Bohai envoy Wang Xinfu reported: "The Retired Emperor of the Li house (Xuanzong) and the young emperor (Suzong) have both died. Prince Guangping (Daizong) is acting in the government. The crops have failed, and the people are in such misery that they eat one another. Shi Chaoyi secretly usurps the imperial title, but he is of generous character and the hearts of the people mostly follow him. His forces are very strong, and Dengzhou and Xiangyang have already fallen into the hands of the Shi. The Li hold only a part of Suzhou. The road of tribute is not easily passable." Thereupon an edict was issued to the Dazaifu, saying: "The land of Tang is in desolation and disorder, and it is difficult to exchange envoys. Shen Weiyue and his party should be settled at ease and treated generously. If they long for their homeland and wish to return, give them ships and send them off." In the end Shen Weiyue remained at the court and served there. In the Hōki years (770-781) he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, given the surname Seikai-no-Sukune, and enrolled in the register of the Saejifu (Left Guards of the Gate).

¶In the eighth year of Hōki under Emperor Kōnin (777), Saeki-no-Imaemishi was made chief envoy to the Tang, with Ono-no-Iwane and Ōmiwa-no-Suetari as deputy envoys. Imaemishi fell ill when he had gone as far as the Settsu-shiki and could not go on. An edict therefore had the deputy envoy Iwane carry the sword of authority (Setsutō) and set out first, acting in the chief envoy's duties. If any official from the judges downward committed a crime meriting death, the envoy bearing the sword of authority was permitted to decide it on his own authority. Soon an edict was sent to Iwane saying: "On the day you reach the Tang, if that country asks why there is no chief envoy, explain according to the circumstances." In the seventh month, Iwane and his party arrived at Haining county in Yangzhou. Chen Shaoyou, observation commissioner and chief secretary, said: "Since the rebellion of An Lushan the post-stations have been exhausted, and the envoys are limited to sixty persons who may enter the capital." Soon afterwards a dispatch from the Zhongshu-Menxia (Secretariat-Chancellery) arrived and the number of attendants was reduced further. The envoy bearing the sword of authority, with the deputy envoys, judges, clerks and others, forty-three persons in all, reached the guest house in Chang'an on the thirteenth day of the first month of the next year (778). They were treated generously at the guest house, and palace envoys came without interruption. A few days later they were received in audience at the Xuanzheng Hall and presented their gifts. The Tang emperor was greatly pleased and showed them to his ministers. Soon afterwards a banquet was held at the Tingying Hall, and the envoys were received. The palace envoy Zhao Baoying was sent with gifts in return and was to escort the envoys. The envoy bearing the sword of authority declined, saying: "The sea route to our country is long and the dangers of drifting are beyond reckoning. If the palace envoy is now to accompany us, he will have to cross the waves at great risk. I fear that, if anything should happen, the emperor's command would be wasted." The Tang emperor sent word again to the envoys: "We have a small gift, and have ordered Zhao Baoying and others to escort it. It is a matter of duty, so do not think of it as hardship." Zhao Baoying and his party therefore sailed in the ninth month. But on the sea they met a violent storm, and Ono-no-Iwane and thirty-eight others, and Zhao Baoying and twenty-five others, drowned when their ship broke up. The ship of the deputy envoy Ono-no-Shigeno reached Tachibana-no-ura in Matsura district, Hizen, and he reported the circumstances to the court. An edict ordered the Dazaifu to meet and console the Tang envoys, and Shigeno was admitted to the capital. In the tenth year of Hōki (779), the Tang envoys Sun Xingjin and Qin Fuqi entered the capital. The officials who received the Tang guests reported: "The Tang envoys' party raises flags to left and right. In addition, armed officers stand before and behind the flags. We have examined the old records but have seen no precedent for this. We ask for your instructions." The court deliberation concluded: "Arms are permitted, but the raising of flags is not allowed." They further reported: "Previously, when Awata-no-Mahito and his party set out from Chuzhou and reached Changle post-station, a fifth-rank attendant met and greeted them in the suburbs, but on that occasion no rite of thanks and obeisance was seen. On the day that the Shiragi tribute envoy, Prince Tairen, entered the capital, the court envoy proclaimed an edict and bestowed a horse to receive him, but the prince kept the reins drawn tight and answered from horseback. Only the Bohai envoys all dismounted, bowed twice, and performed the rite of stamping and dancing. In receiving the present Tang guests, which precedent should be followed?" The order of procession, the manner of advancing and withdrawing, the banquets, and the forms of reply were therefore fixed and issued to the receiving officials. Sun Xingjin and his party were received at court and presented their letter and gifts. They were then feasted in the Court Hall. Mononobe-no-Yakatsugu, Chūnagon (Middle Counselor), proclaimed an edict: "Are the Son of Heaven of the land of Tang, his dukes and ministers, and the people of the realm well? The sea road is dangerous, and we have heard that several envoys have drifted and died at sea, or been reduced to distress in Tamna (Cheju). We were grieved to hear it. It is fortunate that you have arrived safely. Was the reception by the provincial governors along the road in accordance with the law?" Sun Xingjin and his party replied: "When we set out, the Son of Heaven of our country, his dukes and ministers, and the people were well. The favor of the court reached far, and the sea road was safe. The reception by the provincial governors along the road was truly attentive." Thereupon ranks were conferred and goods bestowed according to each person's standing. Fuse-no-Kiyonao was made envoy to escort the Tang guests, with Kannabi-no-Kiyono and Tajihi-no-Hamanari as judges, and they escorted Sun Xingjin (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). In summer of this year the Tang emperor died, and his son Kuo took the throne. This was Dezong (Note: following the Tang shu). In winter, the Tang man Gao Helin came to court with the Shiragi tribute envoy Kim Ran-son and his party (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. Perhaps Gao Helin was on his way to court with Zhao Baoying, was blown off course and drifted to Shiragi, and only now came to court).

¶In the seventeenth year of Enryaku under Emperor Kanmu (798), ten Tang people naturalized. In the twenty-third year of Enryaku (804), Fujiwara-no-Kadonomaro was sent to the Tang as chief envoy, with Ishikawa-no-Michimasu as deputy envoy (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). The student Tachibana-no-Hayanari and the student monk Kūkai accompanied them (Note: following the Zenrin Kokuhōki). They reached Changxi county in Fuzhou in the Tang (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku), where the officials of the prefecture and county, suspicious that they carried no tally or seal, questioned them closely. Kadonomaro sent a letter to Fuzhou, saying in outline: "The ruler of our country, mindful of the policies left by his ancestors and admiring the virtuous teaching of the present emperor, has respectfully appointed Kano and others (Note: Kano is a reading that corresponds to Kadono) as envoys to present a letter of state. Kano and his party crossed the waves at the risk of their lives, and that we may see this day alive again is owing to the sage virtue, not to any strength of ours. Moreover, in the Great Tang's treatment of Japan, even when envoys of many barbarian peoples gather like clouds, our envoys are received as honored guests and permitted to see the emperor's face directly and receive his edicts in person. This is not to be placed on a par with the other trifling barbarians. Moreover, bamboo tallies and bronze contracts were originally provided to guard against fraud. If the age is simple and the people honest, what use are such documents? For this reason our country has been simple and honest since its founding and has always valued friendship with its neighbors. The goods we offer do not require sealed documents, the envoys we send do not deceive, and this custom has been handed down from generation to generation without a break. In addition, the man who is to be an envoy is always chosen from among trusted confidants. Having appointed a confidant, why would a contract be needed besides? The books say that in the east there is a land of gentlemen, whose people are honest; that it is called a land of ritual propriety and a land of gentlemen is surely for this very reason. Yet now the officials of your prefecture question us, demanding that we show documents, suspect our confidants, search inside our ships, and investigate us in both public and private matters. This accords with reason and with the statutes, and it is indeed natural for officials to do their duty. Even so, we who have come from afar have only just arrived, and at every stage we meet with much anxiety. The unease of the sea has not yet left our hearts, and before we have fully tasted the welcome wine we are suddenly subjected to investigation, so that we do not know where to put our hands and feet. Moreover, before the Jianzhong years, the ships of our envoys went straight to the lands of Fan, Yang and Su and suffered no hardship of drifting. The officials of the prefectures and counties received us with courtesy, allowed us to move freely, and did not inspect the cargo of our ships. Now matters differ from that, and the treatment seems to have grown distant. Foolish and base-minded people will secretly be astonished and resentful. We humbly pray that you extend gentle favor, regard the duty of friendship, accept our customs as they are, and not find strange our unusual ways. Then the many barbarian peoples, like trickling streams flowing together, will pay tribute to the sea of Shun, and the gazing multitudes will stretch out their necks toward the sun of Yao like mallow flowers. Unable to bear our small everyday wish, we present this letter. We beg your pardon that it does not express our meaning in full" (Note: following the Seireishū). Then in the eleventh month they reached the city of Chang'an and had an audience with the Tang emperor at the Xuanhua Hall. At the New Year's assembly of the following year (805), the Tang emperor received congratulations at the Hanyuan Hall. In that month the Tang emperor died. The Crown Prince Song took the throne. This was Shunzong (Note: for Shunzong, following the Tang shu. That book says that his mother, of the Wang clan, took charge of the government of the court, which is probably an error and is not adopted here). In autumn, Kadonomaro returned with the monk Saichō, and reported on the political upheavals in the Tang: "Li Shigu, military governor of the Zi-Qing circuit and prefect of Qingzhou, maintains five hundred thousand soldiers and horses. The Tang emperor sent an envoy to announce the emperor's death to the various circuits, but when the envoy reached Qingzhou, Li Shigu refused to receive him. Li Shigu, leading a hundred thousand troops, used the pretext of condolence to attack Zhengzhou himself. The prefectures each exerted all their strength to meet him. The Tang emperor then sent a palace envoy to appease Li Shigu. Wu Shaocheng, military governor of Caizhou, likewise maintains many soldiers and horses and secretly harbors the ambition of seizing the throne. The Tang emperor also sent Xue Shen, Longwu jiangjun (General of the Dragon Martial Guard), to Tubo to seek peace and alliance by marriage, but when Xue Shen arrived Tubo detained him and would not let him go. Xue Shen said falsely, 'I have come to arrange the marriage of an imperial princess,' and only then did Tubo release Xue Shen and discuss the marriage. The Tang emperor was angry and ordered: 'This is not something I agreed to. Go quickly and restate the earlier purport. If it cannot be accomplished, do not return again.' Xue Shen went once more, but Tubo refused to receive him. In the twelfth month of last year, the Tubo envoy fled home and did not come to the New Year's congratulations. Tubo lies to the northwest of Chang'an, about five hundred li away, and its raids do not cease. The land of Tang is pressed within by its military governors and fears Tubo without, and the capital is in uproar and has no rest even for a moment" (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). The Tang emperor, long ill in bed and unable to attend to government, yielded the throne to the Crown Prince Chun. This was Xianzong (Note: following the Tang shu). That year was the first year of Daidō under Emperor Heizei (806). Earlier, Takashina-no-Tōnari had been sent as envoy to the Tang. At this time he returned together with Tachibana-no-Hayanari and the monk Kūkai (Note: see the Ruijū Kokushi and the Tang shu. According to one account, the Ichidai Yōki, Kūkai returned in the second year of Enryaku).

¶Under Emperor Saga, in the tenth year of Kōnin (819), the Tang men Zhou Guangchao and Yan Shengze of Yue-Xiang, and others, came on a Shiragi ship. When asked about conditions in the Tang, Guangchao said: "I was born in the frontier and do not know the situation in the capital, but I have heard only that in the eleventh year of Yuanhe last (816) Li Shidao, military governor of Yuanzhou, rebelled (Note: according to the Tang shu, Li Shidao, as military governor of Zi-Qing, plotted rebellion with the monk Yuanjing of Mount Song. But this book says Yuanzhou, which is doubtful. Probably the plot of Yuanjing and the military governor Li Shidao was wrongly transmitted as Yuanzhou. It is left as in the original text and the real circumstances are only inferred), and with five hundred thousand soldiers and horses he is extremely strong. The Son of Heaven has sent out the troops of the various circuits to attack him, but he has not yet been pacified, and the realm is in uproar" (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku. Examining the Tang shu now, in the fourteenth year of Yuanhe under Xianzong (819), Li Shidao was killed by his acting garrison commander Liu Wu, and the lands of Zi-Qing were divided into three military commands. Zhou Guangchao was a frontier man and so would not have known the later circumstances. Moreover, examining the Nihon Kiryaku, it says that in the eleventh year of Kōnin Tang man Li Shaozhen drifted to Dewa. According to the Zoku Nihon Kōki, Li Shaozhen was a man of Shiragi. Whether these are different persons of the same name and surname cannot be known. Li Shaozhen is treated in detail in the account of Shiragi). In the eleventh year of Kōnin (820), the Tang emperor died. The Crown Prince Huan took the throne. This was Muzong. Muzong died and the Crown Prince Zhan took the throne. This was Jingzong. Jingzong died and the eunuchs set up Ang, Prince of Jiang. This was Wenzong (Note: following the Tang shu). This year was the fourth year of Tenchō under Emperor Junna (827). In the first year of Jōwa under Emperor Ninmyō (834), the Sangi and Sadaiben Fujiwara-no-Tsunetsugu was made Jisetsu-taishi (chief envoy bearing the sword of authority) and the Danjō-shōhitsu Ono-no-Takamura deputy envoy. In the second year of Jōwa (835), Nagamine-no-Takana was made judge for the mission to the Tang. In the third year of Jōwa (836), the late chief envoy to the Tang, Fujiwara-no-Kiyokawa, of Posthumous Senior Second Rank, was further granted Junior First Rank, the late student Abe-no-Nakamaro, of Posthumous Junior Second Rank, was granted Senior Second Rank, and Ishikawa-no-Michimasu and others who had died in the course of missions to the Tang were each likewise granted rank. Tsunetsugu and his party set out, but met a storm and turned back, and repaired their ships. In the fourth year of Jōwa (837), the first ship of the Tang mission was given the name Taiheira and granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower. In summer of the fifth year of Jōwa (838), Tsunetsugu crossed to the Tang in the first ship, and the monk Ennin accompanied him. The deputy envoy Ono-no-Takamura pleaded illness and did not go. In autumn of the sixth year of Jōwa (839), Tsunetsugu returned and gave back the sword of authority. The emperor appeared at the Shishinden and himself spoke words of consolation (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki. For Ennin, following the Sandai Jitsuroku). In the eighth year of Jōwa (841), the Tang emperor died, and Yan, Prince of Ying, took the throne. This was Wuzong. In the fourteenth year of Jōwa (847), the Tang emperor died. Chen, Prince of Guang, took the throne. This was Xuanzong (Note: following the Tang shu). In the second year of Kashō (849), a Tang merchant ship arrived at the Dazaifu (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki). The Tang emperor died and the Crown Prince Cui took the throne. This was Yizong (Note: following the Tang shu). That year was the first year of Jōgan under Emperor Seiwa (859). In the third year of Jōgan (861), Imperial Prince Takaoka took the tonsure and went to the Tang to seek the Buddhist Law, and the monk Shūei accompanied him. In the eighth year of Jōgan (866), the Tang merchant Zhang Yan and forty others arrived at the Dazaifu (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku. For Shūei, following the Fusō Ryakki). The monk Shūei returned, and the Tang man Li Yanxiao came with him (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). In the fifteenth year of Jōgan (873), the Tang emperor died. The Crown Prince Xuan took the throne. This was Xizong (Note: following the Tang shu). In the sixteenth year of Jōgan (874), the Tang merchant Cui Ji and thirty-five others arrived at the Dazaifu. In the eighteenth year of Jōgan (876), Yang Qing and thirty others arrived at Aratsu, and all were given generous provisions on the model of naturalized persons. In the first year of Gangyō under Emperor Yōzei (877), the Enryakuji monks Saisen, Annen, Risshō, and Kankei (Note: Kei is also written Kan) went to the Tang to seek the Buddhist Law. The Tang merchant Cui Duo and sixty-two others arrived in Chikuzen. Earlier, Emperor Seiwa had sent Tajihi-no-Yasue and others to the Tang to buy incense and medicines, and this time Cui Duo escorted Yasue and his party and brought goods as well. An edict ordered that they be supplied as usual. The monk Chisō, who had gone to the Tang to seek the Buddhist Law, arrived at the Dazaifu together with the Tang scholar Luo Hanzhong and others. An edict therefore ordered the Dazaifu to supply clothing and food to Hanzhong and his followers. In the fifth year of Gangyō (881), the monk Chūkan, who was staying in the Tang, reported to the throne: "Imperial Prince Takaoka tried to cross the Flowing Sands and reached the land of Raetsu (Langkasuka), where he died" (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

¶In the fourth year of Ninna under Emperor Uda (888), the Tang emperor died. The Crown Prince's younger brother Ye took the throne. This was Zhaozong (Note: following the Tang shu). In the fifth month of the sixth year of Kanpyō (894), an envoy from the Tang came to court (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki. This book does not record the envoy's name), and delivered as well a letter that the monk Chūkan, who was staying in the Tang, had submitted to the Daijō-kan (Grand Council of State). In the seventh month, an edict ordered that gold be bestowed on Chūkan. The memorandum of the Daijō-kan said in outline: "Having received the imperial command, we have read Chūkan's letter in detail. It says that, long obstructed by war and disorder, matters have only now begun to settle. The letter says: 'Zhu Bao, Prefect of Wenzhou, has specially sent an envoy to distant Japan.' The waves are boundless and far, and though we feel the old affection, in light of former precedent we cannot lightly doubt the news, nor can we decide how it ought to be received. By the reason of the matter, too, it cannot simply be set aside. We have heard that merchants, when they speak of conditions in the land of Tang, have often said: 'For more than ten years since the bandits raised their revolt, Zhu Bao alone has kept his jurisdiction intact, and the Son of Heaven has especially valued his loyal service.' Even if this is only rumor passed on by hearsay, what ruler would hear it and not be glad? The deliberation of the court has already been settled and an envoy is to be sent, but during the preparations the months and years may perhaps be prolonged. If you are questioned by your superiors, answer in accordance with this; we send this memorandum of the imperial command so that you may understand its purport. One hundred and fifty small ryō of gold dust are bestowed upon Chūkan, that they may serve, however slightly, for the robe and bowl of his lodging on the road" (Note: following the Kanke Bunsō). In the eighth month, the Sangi and Sadaiben Sugawara-no-Ason (Michizane) was made chief envoy to the Tang and Ki-no-Haseo deputy envoy (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). Michizane submitted a memorial saying: "In my humble examination, the record that the monk Chūkan, who is staying in the Tang, sent last year in the third month by the hand of the merchant Wang Nu and others describes in detail the exhaustion of the Great Tang. There was in addition word that tribute should be discontinued, and so in the end the sending of an envoy to the Tang was suspended. Chūkan is only a humble wandering monk, yet he devotes his sincerity to the court. As the horses of Dai neigh in the north wind and the birds of Yue nest on the southern branches, longing for one's homeland is born in us by nature. In humbly consulting the old records, we find that among former envoys to the Tang there were those who perished without crossing the sea, and those who met bandits and lost their lives, but as yet no instance of any who, once arrived in the Tang, suffered the sorrows of destitution, hunger and cold. If matters are as Chūkan reports, what is to come may be inferred. I humbly pray that the contents of Chūkan's record be shown widely to the Kugyō (court nobles) and the doctors, and that the merits and demerits be discussed in detail. This is a great matter of state and not a matter for me alone. I set forth my sincerity here and humbly await your instruction" (Note: following the Kanke Bunsō). In the seventh year of Kanpyō (895), the mission to the Tang was cancelled (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki and the Kanke Denki). In the third year of Engi under Emperor Daigo (903), the Tang man Jingqiu presented sheep and white geese (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). In the fourth year of Engi (904), Zhu Quanzhong murdered the Tang emperor and set up the Crown Prince Zhu; this was Aidi. In the seventh year of Engi (907), Zhu Quanzhong murdered him as well, and the Tang fell (Note: following the Tang shu). In the ninth year of Engi (909), one hundred ryō of gold dust were bestowed on the monk Chūkan, who was staying in the Tang. An edict was issued to the Dazaifu: "Hitherto, according to precedent, an envoy was sent to inspect the cargoes of Tang merchants; this is now discontinued. On the strength of a memorandum from the Kurōdo-dokoro (Chamberlains' Office), record in full the kinds of goods, and send officials of the Dazaifu to inspect them." In winter, a Tang man presented a peacock. In the nineteenth year of Engi (919), Taima-no-Arinari, the Kōeki-tōbutsushi (Commissioner for the Trade in Chinese Goods), presented a peacock. It had been offered by the merchant official Bao Zhiqiu. The Tang monks Chōshū, Tan'yo, and Chisō came to court. In the fourth year of Enchō (926), Kanken, a monk of the Kōfukuji, submitted a petition: "I wish to board a Tang merchant ship, go to the Tang to seek the Buddhist Law, and make a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai." It was granted, and he was given one hundred ryō of gold. The Retired Emperor Uda also gave fifty ryō of gold. Kanken further petitioned that he be given anthologies of poetry and prose by the literary men of our country. An edict granted two volumes each of the Sugawara and the Ki, two volumes of the Tachibana, one volume of the Miyako, and one volume of the semi-cursive and cursive calligraphy of Ono-no-Michikaze (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki).

¶The house of Li lasted twenty generations and two hundred and eighty-nine years, and then perished. Zhu Quanzhong replaced it, took the dynastic title Liang, and it lasted seventeen years. Li Cunxu destroyed Liang and again changed the dynastic title to Tang (the Later Tang); it lasted four reigns and thirteen years. Shi Jingtang (Note: the source writes the last character as 塘, where the usual form is 瑭) borrowed the troops of the Khitan to destroy it, took the dynastic title Jin (the Later Jin), and it fell after two reigns and twelve years. Liu Zhiyuan replaced it and changed the dynastic title to Han (the Later Han); after two reigns and four years it was destroyed by Guo Wei. Guo Wei changed the dynastic title to Zhou (the Later Zhou), which lasted three reigns and ten years and then yielded the throne to Zhao Kuangyin. At the end of the Tang, Qian Liu occupied the lands of Liangzhe (the two Zhe regions) and styled himself King of Wu-Yue. When Qian Liu died his son Guan succeeded him; when Guan died his son Zuo succeeded him; when Zuo died his younger brother Hongshu succeeded him (Note: following the Wudai shi. That book writes Hongshu simply as Shu, but here the Fusō Ryakki is followed). This year corresponds to the first year of Tenryaku under Emperor Murakami (947). Hongshu favored Buddhism, and hearing through the coming and going of merchant ships that the teaching of Tiantai Zhizhe (Zhiyi) flourished in this country, he sought its scriptures and sent a letter to the Udaijin (Minister of the Right) Fujiwara-no-Saneyori, but the histories do not transmit its details. Saneyori's reply said: "Jiang Gun has come a second time and has taken the trouble to bring your letter. I opened and read it, moved and filled with deep feeling. Your words came one upon another, as though I were meeting you in person, and I count it a great fortune. During their journey I extended to Jiang Gun and his party some small expression of solicitude, but in a remote region, with the road so long, I fear there were shortcomings. Now the negotiations are complete and the ship for the return voyage is about to depart. The air of autumn has turned cool, and I trust that Your Great Highness remains well and unchanged. The gifts you sent I should hesitate to accept, and, fearing dealings across our borders, yet I cannot simply keep them by me. Still, your goodwill from afar is hard to refuse, and with trepidation I have received it. I am sending separate gifts in return; please accept them. We are separated for a lifetime by the sea, with cloud and wave layered many times between us. Even the wild geese flying south and north can hardly carry the greetings of the season through the autumn sky, and the moon that passes east and west can only be gazed at in the dawn while thoughts go out to you. Incidentally, around the fourth month of the first year of Tenryaku I rose to the rank of Sadaijin (Minister of the Left). By the time you read this letter it may still be before that, but whether before or after, I beg you not to doubt me. I am sending Jiang Gun and his party home; please forgive me that I cannot fully express my meaning. Two hundred ryō of gold dust, though truly modest, I offer as a product of this land and a small token of sincerity." In the seventh year of Tenryaku (953), Hongshu again sent a letter, this time to the Udaijin Fujiwara-no-Morosuke. Morosuke's reply said: "Jiang Chengxun has come and delivered your letter from afar. Though ten thousand li of blue waves lie between us, I have received a single letter full of sincerity. You have moreover shown me such courteous consideration that my heart is filled with joy. Now, in the way of a subject, it is held that one's associations do not cross the borders of the state. As to accepting brocades and rare goods, what is to be done in light of the laws of our country? Yet your goodwill is woven like the colors of clustered bamboo, and the fragrance of your virtue drifts like the scent of aloeswood and sandalwood. To accept would be to forget the jade statutes (the laws of the realm), but to decline would be to bring doubt upon our friendship. That I have ventured to accept is solely because I was moved by the gentleman's principle of cherishing those close to him. Now, with some measure of sincerity, I send you modest gifts in return; please accept them. In this early autumn season I trust you are well and unchanged. Gazing vainly at the evening sun, I can only feel my thoughts of distant lands grow stronger. I am sending Jiang Chengxun home; a letter cannot express all my meaning" (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). Now, during the Tenkyō years (938-947), a shamon (Buddhist monk) of Hizen had crossed to the Tang, and returned around the end of the Tenryaku years (957). He told the provincial governor: "Before the Kentoku years (954-960), the realm suffered a great famine, and the followers of Huang Chao gathered together and plundered the frontier prefectures. Hongshu campaigned against this wicked band for nine years and, in twenty-four battles great and small, cut off more than fifty thousand heads. In the spring of the first year of Kentoku (954), famine broke out. Bandits rose again, gathered like ants as a rabble, and plundered the commanderies and counties. Hongshu led his army against them and defeated the bandits on the banks of the Wen River; so many drowned that the Wen River was dammed in its flow. From then on the realm was clear and well governed. The Son of Heaven granted him the honor of the Nine Bestowals and enfeoffed him as King of Wu-Yue. Before long Hongshu fell ill and lay in his bed; suddenly he cried out as if mad and rolled about, raising his hands to beg pardon for his offenses. A monk told him: 'If the King will cast a bronze pagoda and vow to enshrine the Hōkyōin-kyō (Baoqieyin sutra) in it, your illness will be healed.' Hongshu joined his palms and bowed in apology, and his illness was healed at once. Hongshu cast eighty-four thousand bronze pagodas and enshrined in each a printed copy of the Hōkyōin-kyō. The monk of Hizen obtained one of the pagodas and returned to this country. The pagoda was a little over nine sun in height, and on its four sides were cast images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. A Buddha image was installed inside, about the size of a jujube stone. The Hōkyōin-kyō was also enclosed, and at the end of the scroll was written: 'Qian Hongshu, Marshal of the Armies of All the Realm, King of Wu-Yue.'" (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki. This book has Huangjin (Yellow Turbans), which is probably an error for Huang Chao. On examining the Wu-Yue shijia, Dong Chang raised troops together with Qian Liu, but Dong Chang later rebelled and styled himself emperor, with the dynastic title Luoping. His central army wore yellow garments and his outer army wore white. The "Yellow Turbans" mentioned here may perhaps refer to this. When Hongshu came to the throne, he followed the Later Zhou army in attacking Li Jing, and this was the only campaign. The monk of Hizen, hearing of the deeds since the Qian house began to govern Wu-Yue, must have mistaken them for the deeds of Hongshu's single lifetime. For this reason the statements about dates contain many discrepancies. Here only the substance of the account is preserved, and no attempt is made to force it into agreement with the histories of China.) Hongshu later surrendered his territory to the Song, and the state was abolished (Note: following the Wudai shi).