Du Halde revised and expanded
In the Universal History (1759)
From the encyclopedic multi-volume compilation: The
Modern Part of an Universal History, From the Earliest
Account of Time,
Compiled from Original Writers - Vol. VIII - The History
of China. S.
Richardson, London, 1759.
(Wikipedia
says: Contributors included George Sale, George
Psalmanazar, Archibald Bower, George Shelvocke, John Campbell
and John Swinton.)
The text about China and Korea in this volume owes much of
its information to the description of Korea originally
written in French by Fr. Jean Baptiste du Halde on the basis
of an account composed by Fr. Jean-Baptiste Regis, published
in Volume 4 (from p.529) of Description
géographique, historique, chronologique, politique,
et physique de l'empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie
chinoise, enrichie des cartes générales et
particulieres de ces pays, de la carte
générale et des cartes particulieres du
Thibet, & de la Corée; & ornée d'un
grand nombre de figures & de vignettes gravées
en tailledouce (1736) which is followed by an abbreviated
history of Korea (from page 538) translated from
Chinese sources, the source of Section II below. Du
Halde's work was published and re-published in English prior
to the composition of this "Universal History": The
general history of China. Containing a geographical,
historical, chronological, political and physical
description of the empire of China, Chinese-Tartary,
Corea, and Thibet. Including an exact and particular
account of their customs, manners, ceremonies, religion,
arts and sciences .. Done from the French of P. Du
Halde. Volume 4, second edition corrected. London: John
Watts. 1739. The
account of Korea is divided between a general
description and a brief history from Chinese sources.
A PDF file containing a
corrected text of the whole section devoted to Korea in
Du Halde's volume is available by clicking on
the link.
The entire Universal History was then translated
into French and published as: Histoire
Universelle, Depuis Le Commencement Du Monde Jusqu'A
Présent: Composée en Anglois par une
Société de Gens de Lettres : Nouvellement
Traduite En François Par Une Société
De Gens De Lettres. Histoire Moderne ; 14 : contenant
la suite de l'histoire de la Chine, celle de la
Corée, et partie de celle du Japon, Paris: Moutard,
1783 (the section on Korea begins on page 387)
[page
520 of Volume 8 of the Universal History]
APPENDIX
to
the Chinese History; (images of original)
Containing
the Description and History of the tributary Kingdom of
Korea.
WE
have had frequent occasion, in this and some of the preceding
volumes, to
remark, that the Chinese empire had three considerable
kingdoms, which were
either tributary vassals, or paid only a kind of tributary
homage to it,
without any farther subjection. Of the latter sort are those
of Tung-king [page
521] and Cochin-china, which, for that reason, and to avoid as
much as possible
our deviating from the geographical order we have prescribed
to ourselves in
this Indian history, we have already give an account of about
the end of the
preceding volume. This therefore of Korea, and indeed the most
considerable of
the three, is the only one of consequence we have left to
speak of in this
place, as being not only contiguous to some part of China on
the north, but as
being likewise held in stricter subjection by the Chinese than
any other, but
more especially by the Tartar monarchs, since their conquest
of that empire, as
will be more fully shewn in the sequel of this appendix.
SECT.
I.
KOREA, or Corea, called by the inhabitants Tio-cen-koak, by the Tartars Solko, or, as others write it, Solgon, and Solho Kuron, and, by the Chinese, Kau-li-que (A), is a large oblong peninsula, situate in the most eastern part of China, between it and the Japanese islands. It hath by some late writers been supposed an island; but is allowed now, by the most recent authors, to be contiguous, on the north, to the eastern or Manchew Tartars, as it is on the north-west to the Chinese province of Lyau-tong. It is divided from the rest of the Chinese empire by the Whang-hay, or Yellow Sea; from Tartary by a strong natural rampart, consisting of a long ridge of high and inaccessible mountains; and on the east, from Japan, by the sea of that name; and, on the south, is bounded by the Chinese ocean. Its extent from south to north is from 34° to almost 43°, and breadth from 8° 10' to 14° east longitude from the meridian of Peking(a). Its utmost extent northward is bounded by the river Tu-men-ula, which name is common both to the Koreans and Manchews, and answers to the Chinese name of Wang-li-kyang, or river of 10,000 lis, or Chinese stades, which falls into the Japan sea. It was likewise parted from the Manchew Tartars, and part of the province of Lyau-tong, by a strong wall, not much inferior to that of China, elsewhere described(b); but some part of it was in a great measure destroyed
(2)
Baudraud, La Martinière. Regis ap. Du Halde, vol. ii.
& al. plur. (b) See
before, p. 289, & seq.
(A)
The words Kuron, or Kuroun, in the Manchew, and Qua or Que in
the Chinese, signify
a kingdom. The Chinese books sometimes give it the name of
Chau-tsyen, and other
nations that of Kaoli, Trozembuk, and some others not worth
mentioning, besides
a variety of old ones which it hath borne through the several
hands and stages
it hath passed (1).
(1)
Regii Observ, Geogr, in Korea, ap. Du Halde, vol.ii.
[page
522]
by the Manchews in their irruptions into
that peninsula, which they made one of
their first conquests. The rest, especially on the more
northern side, was still
standing, and almost intire (B), till about a century past,
since which it is
become daily more and more ruinous(c); however, there is no
going into Korea,
either from Tartary or China, without express permission from
the emperor.
The whole
country hath been differently divided by the Chinese monarchs,
whose tributary
it is pretended to have been from time immemorial. At present
it consists of
eight provinces which contain in all forty Kyun, or grand
cities; 33 Fus, or
cities of the first rank; 58 Chews, or cities of the second;
and 70 Hyen, or
cities of the third rank; in all, 201; besides a vast number
of fortresses and
castles dispersed in most parts of the country, and chiefly
built upon hills,
all which are well garrisoned by a proportionable number of
officers and soldiers.
The first or chief of the eight provinces is situate in the
centre of the
kingdom, and is called King-hi, or the province of the court.
The next on the
east of it is styled Kyang-ywen, or source of the river,
(c)
Regis ap. Du Halde, vol. ii. & al. plur.
(B)
Korea, on the side of Lyau-tong, or, as it was also called,
Quau-tong, was
parted from it by a wooden palisade, called from thence the
palisade of Quau-tong,
which was a kind of barrier between them; but, whether built
before its conquest
by the Manchews, or since, is hard to guess. However, after
that time it was
agreed that a space of land between the Manchew Tartars and
this peninsula should
be left uncultivated to serve as a boundary between them.
Father
Regis concludes his description of the latter with a curious
conjecture, which
is not at all improbable, viz.. that it was formerly
contiguous to the province
of Pe-cheli, till the Whang-hay, or Yellow Sea, formed that
large gulph which
lies now between them. The reason on which he founds it is,
that, in the Chinese
abridgement of chorography, intituled, Quang-yu ki, the city
of Chau-tsyen,
where Ki-pe, then king of that territory, resided, is in the
territory of Yong-ping-fu,
a city of the first rank in the province of Pe-cheli. From
which he rightly
concludes it improbable, that that prince should fix his
residence out of his
dominions, especially with such a large sea between them. He
confirms his conjecture
with some other speculations no less curious, which we cannot
dwell upon. The reader
may see them in that author; and by the map of that country,
and the situation of
the city of Yong-pin, may easily convince himself of the
probability of the sea
having, in aftertimes, made that large chasm between that city
and the opposite
coast (2).
(2)
Reg. Observ. geogr. on Korea, ubi sup ad fin.
[page
523]
and
was antiently the country of the Me's; the third, on the west,
hath its name
from the Whang-hay, or Yellow Sea, and includes part of the
old kingdom of
Chau-tsien, and country of the antient Mahan. The 4th, or
northern, styled
Ping-ngan, or the pacific, was formerly another part of the
Chau-tjyen kingdom;
and 5. Tswen-lo, on the south side, was the residence of the
Pyen-hau. 6. Chu-sin,
or the faithful and pure, on the south-western side, is the
antient Mahan, Kye-king,
or the happy. 7. That on the north-eastern was the antient
dominion of the
Kau-kiu-li. And, 8. King-shan, on the south-eastern side, was
formerly the seat
of the Chiu-hau. Some late authors are of opinion, that the
sea of Korea hath a
communication with the northern ocean, because whales are
sometimes caught in
the former with European hooks, and harping-irons sticking to
their flesh. To
which one of our authors adds, that, upon asking some of the
Korean mariners,
What countries lay on the north of theirs? they answered,
None, nor any thing
but a boundless ocean *. But we shall find a more proper place
to make a
farther inquiry into that pretended communication between the
northern and Japan
sea.
The cities both
in the inland and on the sea-coasts are built and walled much
after the same
manner as those of China, though much inferior in largeness,
populousness,
beauty, and richness. The houses are much in the same style,
one story high; in
the cities of brick, and in the country mostly of earth. The
metropolis of the
whole peninsula is situate almost in the centre of it, and is
by the
inhabitants styled King-ki-tau, but
by
the Chinese Kong-ki-tau , because they reckon the word King of
too great a
dignity to be given to any court but their own. We know but
little of it,
except that the Chinese maps place it in latitude 37° 38'
20", which is
about five degrees and a half from the northern boundary, and
its longitude
about 11 degrees east of Pe-king.
KOREA hath but
two rivers of any note, viz. the Ya-lu and Tu-men, called by
the Chinese Ya-lu-kyang
and Tu-men-kyang; and, in the maps, by the Manchew names of
Ya-lu-ula and
Tu-men-ula; the words Ula and Kyang signifying each, in its
particular
language, a river. These two rise out of the same mountain,
said to be one of
the highest in the world, and called by the Manchews Shan
Alin, and by the
Chinese Chang Peshan, that is, the ever-white mountain; but
take opposite courses,
the one running westward, and the other eastward : they are
both deep and
rapid, and full of
*
Hamel Journal, in Collect. of Voy.
[page
254]
exceeding
good water. As for the others, which are less considerable,
the reader may see
their course marked in the map, according to the Korean
Observations.
The northern
part of Korea is but barren, woody, and mountainous, full of
wild beasts, and
but thinly inhabited. It neither produces rice, nor any other
corn but barley,
of which the inhabitants make a coarse kind of bread. But the
southern is rich,
and fertile of every necessary of life; breeds great
quantities of large and small
cattle, besides fowl wild and tame, and great variety of game.
It likewise
produces silk, flax, cotton, and other such commodities, all
which are
manufactured among them, except the silk, which they know not
how to weave, but
send abroad unwrought, either to China or Japan, the only two
countries they
have any commerce with. The passage to either is short, tho'
not equally easy
and safe at all seasons. The Korean coasts are no less
difficult of access,
they being full of rocks, shelves, &c. which make the
sailing along them
very dangerous to those who are not used to them : and what
makes the Japan sea
still more so, if what the Dutch relation says be well
founded, is, that there
is a current that comes from another and greater sea on the
north-east, in
which are caught whales in great number, some of which are
found with hooks and
cramp-irons, such as the Dutch and Greenlanders use in the
striking of them.
This, if true, shews that there must be a passage or
communication between Korea
and Japan, which answers to the streights of Veygatz; but
whether so or not, we
dare not affirm upon that bare authority. However that be, the
Koreans drive a
considerable trade with those two neighbouring countries; and,
besides the raw silks
above-mentioned, export silver, lead, and some other coarse
metals, rich furs
which come from the north parts; and, above all, the famed
root Jin-seng we
have elsewhere described(d), which grows here in great plenty,
and of which
they make no small gain, besides their paying part of their
tribute to the
Chinese emperors in that valuable commodity(e). The
last-quoted relation tells
us farther, that they have mines of gold; and that their seas
produce pearls, and
variety of fish; and that the inland is infested with a kind
of crocodile of a
monstrous length, some of them being 18 or 20 Dutch ells long.
They have likewise
some very venomous serpents in the southern parts, and great
variety of wild
beasts in the northern, particularly
(d)
See before, p. 98, (C). (e) See the Dutch relation, printed An
1670, and Collect.
of Voyag. printed at Amsterdam, Anno 1718, by Bernard, vol.
iv.
[page
525]
(C)
The Dutch relation above quoted tells us, that every province
in the kingdom is
obliged to to send once in seven years all the freemen that
are able to bear
arms to his court, to do duty there for two months. Each
province hath its
general, who hath four or five colonels under him, and each of
these as many
captains, every one of whom hath either the government of some
city, town, or fortress.
The very villages have some inferior officer, who hath a
proportionable number
of men under him; and these, as well as the rest, are obliged
to give an account
every year of the people under their government; so that the
king always knows
what
number
of people he can raise upon any emergency,
(D)
Three sides of the peninsula being surrounded by the sea,
every maritime city
is obliged to maintain a vessel, or galley, ready equipped,
and furnished with
all necessaries, at its own charge. These vessels have
commonly but two masts,
and about 30 oars, with five or six men to each oar, besides
other common sailors,
the whole amounting to about 500 each. They have likewise some
few pieces of small
cannon, and a large quantity of wild-fire, to serve upon an
attack. Each
province, therefore, is obliged to have its yearly admiral,
who takes a
particular review of all the vessels under him, and sends an
account of it to
the high admiral, who conveys it to the king.
[page
526]
Their language
is different from the Chinese, or rather is a mixture of that
and the Manchew
Tartar; but they use the Chinese characters in their writings
and books. They
have some learned men among them who admire the doctrine of
Confucius, and despise
the superstitions of the bonzaic sect; but that doth not
hinder that monkish
tribe from being numerous all over the country : their idle
life, and the gain
and respect they extort from the people, invite them to it;
and still more so,
as they may renounce it when they please. As for the common
people, they scarce
have any religion; and all the worship they pay to their idols
is only lighting
a stick of some odoriferous wood before them, and making a
very low bow to them
at parting. Their temples and monasteries are numerous; but
are not suffered to
be in their towns, but in the country, and mostly upon or by
the side of their
hills, and some of them contain between 400 and 600 monks. The
same sort of worship
runs through the whole peninsula; so that they seldom fall out
about religion,
except that the wiser and genteeler sort rather shew a
contempt for those idols
and temples; yet one common notion runs among them, that he
that doth well shall
be happy, and he that doth ill shall be punished, in another
life. As for Christianity,
there is not the least appearance of its having ever got
footing in this
country, even when the missionaries were in such high favour
with the Chinese
emperor, without whose leave they durst not have attempted to
introduce it;
much less likelihood is there of its ever gaining admittance
there, since the
Chinese court made such severe laws against it.
The Korean
government is altogether monarchical and despotic; for though,
as hath been
already observed, their kings are tributary to the emperors of
China, yet,
excepting the tribute and homage he is obliged to pay to them,
he governs with
an absolute sway, and hath neither prime ministers, nor any
other counsellors,
that dare to controul or even advise him, unless he desires
them. His council
chiefly consists of the governors and general officers
mentioned in the two last
notes, who are obliged at proper times to attend the court,
and to be every day
there within call. These, though they have held the highest
dignities, and many
times to a very great age, yet dare not offer their counsel
unless it be asked,
nor meddle with any affair of state unless they be appointed
to it by him.
There are few of them, except by a particular favour, that
hold their posts
above three years, especially among those of the subaltern
rank; and many of
them are turned out before that time, for some fault or other,
the king having
his spies everywhere to inform him of their [page 527]
conduct; so that the
fear of incurring his displeasure obliges them to concur with
him in every
thing, and to conceal their dislike to whatever he orders or
doth.
He suffers
neither lords, nor any other grandees, to hold cities or
towns, or even
villages, by right of inheritance, but only during their
lives, after which
they revolve to him; so that their chief revenue consists only
in certain lands
which they hold of him during pleasure; and a great number of
slaves, which
they keep to cultivate them; whilst the lands and places,
which they enjoy under
him, intirely depend on his will, and revert to him after
their death. His
chief revenue consists in a tenth, which the people pay to him
yearly out of the
product of their lands; and some customs laid on the
commodities either imported
or exported; other taxes are
not
known among them, except on emergent occasions.
What their laws
are we know not, except that Ki-tse, one of their first
monarchs, of whom we shall
speak in the sequel, compiled a set of them out of the Chinese Shu-king, which he reduced into eight,
and caused them to
be published in his new kingdom; and that they had so good an
effect on his subjects,
that theft and adultery were crimes unknown unto them, nor did
any of them shut
their doors at night; and though many revolutions, which that
kingdom hath gone
through since, have made them deviate, yet our author(f)
assures us, they may
be still justly looked upon as a pattern to other nations (E).
They are not
indeed so eminent for their continence; since they abound with
loose women, and
the young men and maids are very familiar with each other.
They marry without
making such presents to each other as they do in China, or
using any other
ceremony. The princes and princesses of the blood always match
with each other,
and the grandees follow the same rule in their families.
(f)
Vide Hamel Journal in Collect. Voy. vid. & Chevr. hist, of
Korea, Art. V.
(E)
This is in a great measure contradicted by the Dutch relation
often quoted,
which represents the Koreans as so naturally given to
pilfering and stealing,
that he says they are forced to have very severe laws against
it. The reader
may see an account of their several punishments in that
author, amongst which
that against adultery is one of the severest, except such as
the king in some
cases causes to be inflicted on traitors and obnoxious
persons, which are commonly
arbitrary, and against which it would be equally dangerous to
make any
objection or demur (2).
(2)
See vol. iv. of the Relat, above-mentioned, printed at
Amsterdam by Fred. Bernard,
1718.
[page
528]
They
keep their dead three years unburied, and so long wear
mourning for their
parents, but for a brother only three months. When the bodies
are interred,
they place by the side of the grave the clothes, chariots,
horses, arms, &c.
of the deceased, and in general whatever they were fond of in
their life-time,
which are carried off by those who assist at the funeral. They
are for the most
part very superstitious, as are all the worshippers of Fo(g),
and abhor the
depriving of any creature of life. Their punishments are
commonly of the mild
kind; and such crimes as are esteemed capital in other
countries, are punished
only with banishment into some of the neighbouring islands.
Petty crimes are
punished with bastonading on the back; but those who are
guilty of ill language
are put to death. When a criminal is to be punished, they
commonly throw a sack
over his head, which comes down to his feet; by which means
they conceal his shame,
and hold him faster in their power.
Their houses
have but one story, and are very plain, and thatched : they
have no beds, but
lie on mats. They use plates and dishes, and most of their
furniture is plain.
They are moderate in eating and drinking; and are commonly
healthy, and take no
physic. Their wine is made of a grain which they call Paniz,
which we take to
be a coarser kind of rice, fitter for that purpose than for
eating. We do not
read of any vines, or of those exquisite fruits, and
odoriferous gums and
woods, among them, which are so plentiful in the warmer soil
of China; but they
have a tree not unlike the palm, whose gum makes an excellent
varnish, and of so
beautiful a yellow, that it looks like gilding. They make a
sort of cotton paper,
which is stronger and more lasting, and bears a greater price,
than any in
China. They have few natural rareties, except a breed of
horses not above three
feet high, and a sort of hens whose tails are three feet in
length. Their
common weapons were cross-bows, and long sabres without
ornaments, but they
have since learnt the use of fire-arms from the Chinese.
They are wholly ignorant of the liberal sciences; and their literati know so little of geography, that they divide the whole world into no more than 12 kingdoms, antiently all subject to that of China, but since become independent, and their maps extend no farther than that of Siam; so that, when they hear Europeans talk of the many kingdoms which that and the other three parts of the world contain, they cannot forbear asking them with a smile, How it is possible for the sun to enlighten
(g)
Vide sup. p. 108, et seq. 114, & seq.
[page
529]
them all, unless indeed they give the name
of kingdom to such contemptible
countries, or inconsiderable islands, as hardly deserve that
of a district, or
barren hamlet. This is indeed very different from what we are
told by other
writers, that some of their books affirm, that the earth
contains above 80,000
different countries; but this last they probably had from the
Chinese.*
SECT.
II.
Origin,
Antiquity, and History, of the Koreans.
WE
can say little concerning the origin and antiquity of the
Koreans, except that
it is as dark, impenetrable, and, according to some of their
own accounts, as
fabulous and absurd as that of any other eastern nation; they
making no scruple
to cry up the heads of their several hords or tribes as the
miraculous
offspring of some god, demigod, or hero, after the manner of
the old fabulous
Greeks (F). They are however allowed by most Europeans to be
of Tartarian extract;
and their country to have antiently been inhabited by various
tribes of them,
the principal of which were the Me, the Kaw
*
De hoc, vid. sup. vol. viii. p. 6, & (D)
vid. & Hamel, ubi sup. & al. mult.
(F)
To give our readers one instance, for all,
of this their vanity, the Kau-kyuli, who are descended from
the Fu-yu, a people
of eastern Tartary, give the following account of one of their
antient heroes :
A daughter of the god Ho-hang-ho being detained in close
confinement by the
king of the Kau-kyuli, conceived one day by the rays of the
sun, and was
afterwards delivered of an egg as large as a bushel, wherein
was found a male
child; who, when grown up, was called Chu-mong, or good
archer, and made overseer
of his studs. Chu-mong starved the good horses, and fattened
the bad, by which
means the king chose the latter, and left him the former. One
day, as they were
hunting, his majesty gave him leave to shoot what game fell in
his way; and he slew
so great a number of fallow deer, as made the king think of
cutting him off.
Chu-mong, perceiving his intention, fled; and, being closely
pursued, and
coming to a large river which he could not cross, cried out,
Ah! shall I, who
am the offspring of the sun, and the grandson of the god
Ho-hang-ho, be
prevented by this river from escaping? He had no sooner ended,
than a vast multitude
of fishes, binding themselves together, made a bridge, over
which he passed to
the other side, where he met three persons, one dressed in
hempen cloth, the second
in a quilted garment, and the third with sea-weeds. These
three accompanied him
to the city of Kyi-shing-ku, where he took the name of Kau, to
signify that he
was of the Kau-kyulian race (3).
(3)
Regis ubi supra.
[page
530]
kyuli,
and the Hau; the last of which were again divided into three
hords, viz. the
Ma-hau, the Pyeu-hau, and the Chin-hau. We have lately
mentioned the several
parts of the country which they inhabited, in speaking of
their eight
provinces, at which time they were governed by their
respective princes, till
in process of time they all coalesced into one kingdom, and
were at length subdued
by the Chinese(h).
The Chinese
annals pretend, that the Koreans have been subject to them
ever since the reign
of Yau, their eighth emperor from Fo-hi, and continued so till
the tyranny of
Tau-kang, the third monarch of the Hya, or first dynasty (who,
according to their
chronology, began his reign in the year before Christ 2188)
caused them to
revolt. Kye, who ascended the throne 1818 before Christ,
obliged them to become
tributary to him; but his oppressive sway soon caused them to
revolt, and even
to seize on part of his dominions. Kye, being dethroned by
Chin-tang 1766 years
before Christ, reduced them soon after his becoming head of
the Shang, or second
dynasty. They again attacked China in the reign of Chong-ting,
which began 1562
before Christ, and continued sometimes submissive, sometimes
rebellious, till
the year 1324 before Christ, when, through the weakness of the
emperor Vu-ting,
they subdued the provinces of Kyang-nan and Shau-tong, and
kept possession of
them till they were again subdued by Tsin-chi-whang.
These times,
however, are allowed to be obscure hitherto; , and the Chinese
history,
confirmed by the calculation of several eclipses therein
mentioned, begins not
the foundation of this Korean monarchy till the time of
Ki-tse, a prince famous
for his wisdom, and uncle to the then emperor Chew, the last
monarch of the second
dynasty*, who caused him to be imprisoned, for the sound and
free counsels he
ventured to give him. Ki-tse, however, was soon after restored
by Vu-vang, the
founder of the next or third dynasty, who mounted the throne
1122 years before
Christ, to whom he delivered the instructions contained in the
Shu-king, book
iv. c. 6.; but, being unwilling to live under a prince by whom
his own family
had been dethroned, he retired into that part of Korea then
called Chau-tsyen,
where, by the emperor's assistance, and his own merit, he was
made king, and
introduced the Chinese politeness; and, by his singular
wisdom, so firmly settled
himself on the throne, that his posterity enjoyed it
successively till Ching-tsi-whang,
who came to the Chinese crown in the year 246 before Christ,
made Chau-tsyen
dependent on Lyau-tong, allowing only to the descendants of
(h)
See p. 522, & seq. *
De hoc, vid. sup,
p. 392, & seq.
[page
531]
Ki-tse
the title of Hew, or Earls, till Shun reassumed that of Vang,
or King, about
forty years after.
He did not,
however, enjoy it long, before he was defeated at several
encounters by Weyman
(G), who at length put an end to the family of Ki-tse, and
seized upon that
crown. He was afterwards, though after several refusals,
confirmed in it by the
emperor Wey-ti, or rather by his mother, who governed during
his minority, and
by degrees brought the Me, the
Kay-kyuli,
and the rest of the Koreans, under his government. Yew-kyu,
his grandson, about
the year before Christ 110, having put to death the Chinese
ambassador, the
emperor Vu-ti sent an army against him, but without success;
but it was not
long before Yew-kyu was assassinated by his own subjects, who
voluntarily submitted
to the emperor; upon which Chau-tsen was reduced into a
province, and called by
him Tsang-hay; and Korea divided in to four more, viz.
Chin-fau, Ling-tong,
Lo-lang, and Huen-tu; and the emperor Chau-ti, who began his
reign Anno 86
before Christ, since reduced Korea into two provinces.
About
sixty years after, the emperor Quang-vu-ti reduced the kingdom
of Chau-tsyen,
and made it dependent on that of Lyau-tong, then under the
government of
Chyi-tong, famed for his wisdom and probity. In the mean time
the king of Kau-kyuli
conquered the Me, Hau, Fu-yu, and some part of Japan; but
still continued
tributary to the Chinese emperors, till Kong carried his arms
into China for
the first time, took the city of Huen-tu, and killed the
governor of Lyau-tong
in battle. Kong was however defeated in his turn by a son of
the king of Fu-yu;
and was succeeded by his son Swi-chin, who restored Huen-tu to
the emperor, and
paid him the usual tribute. But, in the weak reigns of Whan-ti
and Ling-ti, he again
invaded the country of Huen-tu, whence he was afterwards
expelled by Kew-lin,
governor of that province; part of his own kingdom was
likewise taken from him,
and the remainder destroyed under a succeeding dynasty.
But here it will
not be improper to observe, that the Chinese annals make not
the least mention
of the conquest which the Japanese made of this peninsula
about the year 201
after
(G)
Wey-man, or, as others call him, Nyan, was a native of
Pe-cheli, and took
advantage of the confusion that then reigned in China, whilst
Kau-tsu, alias Lyew-pang,
founder of the Han
or
fifth dynasty, was reducing all the several kingdoms into
which China was
divided under his government (4), to enter Chau-tsyen at the
head of some disbanded
soldiers, where he defeated and killed Chun, and destroyed the
rest of the
royal family (5).
(4)
See before, p. 392, & seq.
(5) Regis,
ubi supra.
[page
532]
Christ,
under their emperor Tsin-ai, or rather of his martial empress
Dsin-gu, a
celebrated heroine, who assisted him in it; for, that monarch
dying soon after
his entering upon that expedition, left it to be completed by
her; which she
did with such success and speed, that the whole Korean kingdom
was in a very
few years reduced, and made tributary to the Japanese empire.
How long they
continued under that subjection, the Japanese history doth not
inform us; but
owns, that in process of time, and by the assistance of the
eastern Tartars,
they found means to shake off the yoke, and restored their
government to its
antient form, till again subdued by the Chinese. From that
time the Japan
emperors have made frequent attempts to recover it, sometimes
with, but oftener
without, success; so that they were glad at last to let them
continue unmolested
for a considerable space. Tay-cho, the secular monarch of
Japan, was the first,
who, after that long interval, revived his pretensions, but
disguised them
under the colour of designing to invade China, and desiring
their assistance;
but the Koreans seeing through his views, and having murdered
his ambassadors,
a war was renewed, which lasted seven years, and of which we
shall give a
farther account in a proper place.
But to return
from this necessary digression, Chan, or Kau, the great
grandson of Song,
lately mentioned, being made king of Chau-tsyen by the emperor
Tong-kya, the
kings of Korea continued to be created to that dignity during
the dynasties of
Tsin, Song, Tsi, the latter Wey, and Chew, till the seventh
year of Yang-ti,
the second emperor of the Swi dynasty, when Ywen, then king of
it, invaded Lyau-tong
at the head of an army: for this, Yang-ti summoned him to
appear before him;
and, upon his refusal, marched against him in person; but, the
Koreans taking shelter
in their cities, and defending themselves stoutly in them, the
emperor was
obliged to retire, for want of provisions. He attempted thrice
more to reduce
them, but without success. Kyen-vu, the son of Ywen, succeeded
his father, and
was honoured with the title of Shang-chu-que, or the pillar of
the state, by
the founder of the Tang or thirteenth dynasty. At this time
Korea was divided
into five governments; viz. that of the court, or middle; and
the other four respecting
the four points of the compass; and Kay-su-ven, of the family
of Ywen, then
governor of the eastern canton, and a brutish and treacherous
person, assassinated
Kyen-vu his sovereign, used his body with the utmost
indignity, and set up Tsang,
a younger brother of the deceased, on the throne, but only
under the title of
Molichi, and reserved the power in his own hands. This traitor
pretended to be
the son of a river-god, [page 533] in order to secure a
particular regard from
that superstitious people.
In the mean time
the emperor Tay-tsong, being informed of his murder and
treason, marched against
him at the head of a powerful army, and was joined by the
kings of Ki-tau-hi,
Pe-tsi, and Sim-lo, took several towns from him, and sat down
before that of
Lyau-tong, which he took by stratagem, reduced to a city of
the second rank,
and called it Lyau-chew. He next took the city of Ngan-shi, to
the relief of which
two brave Moko generals came, at the head of 150,000 of their
troops. These the
emperor attacked in their trenches, and routed them. The
generals, upon their submission,
were kindly received; but he ordered 3000 of the Moko of
Pin-jam to be buried
alive; and caused a monument to be erected on the mountain at
the foot of which
he had incamped, in memory of this victory. Not long after
Kay-suen, dying, was
succeeded as Molichi by his son Nan-seng; but a discord
arising between him and
his younger brothers, they came in person to the emperor
Kau-tsong, who was
then sending some forces to the assistance of the Siu-lo,
against whom the Koreans
and Moko had declared war. That monarch sent an army against
the Koreans, under
the command of his general Li-tsing; and inquiring of the
Kya-yeu-chong, or censor
of the empire, his opinion of that expedition, was answered,
that the secret
memoirs declared, that the dynasty or race of Kau should not
reign full 900 years,
and that it would be ruined by a general aged 80 years. Now,
continued the censor,
this is the 900th year since the family of Kau succeeded that
of Han, and the
generalissimo Li-tsing is fourscore years old. Besides, the
people are divided
among themselves; and so distressed by famine, that the very
wolves and foxes
appear in their cities; by which prodigies they are
intimidated, so that the destruction
of the Kau dynasty is at hand. Accordingly the Chinese general
besieged Pin-jam;
and Tang, the titular king of Korea, with about 100
attendants, surrendered himself
to him, and met with a kind reception; notwithstanding which,
Nan-kyen defended
the city with singular bravery, till one of the gates was
betrayed to the
imperial forces, and he was made prisoner. Then was Korea
again divided into
five provinces, consisting of 170 principal cities, and
690,000 families.
In the reign of the empress, or rather usurperess, mother of Vu-hew(k), Pay-ywen, the grandson of Tsang, last king of this country, was created king, of the second rank, of Chau-tsyen, to which Korea had changed its name, instead of Kau-ti. In this state the government of it continued till the reign of one of its kings named Van-kien, who assumed the dignity of king, subdued
(k)
See before, p. 445, & seq
[page
534]
the kingdoms of Pe-tsi and Sin-lo, and
removed the court from Pin-jam eastward
to the foot of the mountain Song-yo. However, his three
successors paid homage
to the Chinese emperors, till the last of them, named Chi, was
obliged to pay it
to the Kitan Tartars, who had conquered the north parts of
China, which were
called Lyau, and taken six towns from Vang-sun, the succesor
of Chi, and
obliged him to remove his court further from them: but he,
making an alliance
with the Newche Tartars (H), who destroyed Lyau, and fixed
themselves in the
north of China, expelled the Kitans out of his dominions, and
paid homage again
to the Chinese monarch, and, for his bravery was highly
honoured by him. His successors
were no less favoured by them; and indeed, considering the
then reigning contests
between the northern and southern monarchs of China, in which
the Koreans were
courted by both sides, their alliance was so considerable,
that they might make
their own terms with either; and the emperor Kau-tsong, upon
his mounting the
throne, was so afraid of their joining with the Kin, or
northern family, that
he sent them a grand ambassy, to gain them to his side but he
was disappointed
by the Kin's sending thither Vang-chu with the title of king.
Some time after
Che, then king of Korea, sent his son Ching to pay homage to
the emperor Li-tsong;
but, his father dying about the time, he returned to take
possession of his
kingdom, and had it confirmed to him by that monarch. This
prince had paid
tribute 36 times, when Shi-tsu, as the Chinese, or Hu-pi-lay,
as the Tartars,
call him (the son of the famed Jenghiz Khan, and the Koblay of
Marco Polo the
Venetian traveller)(k), was meditating the conquest of Japan,
and designed to
pass through Korea thither. In pursuit of which project he
sent an ambassador
to Japan, whom he ordered to pass through Korea, and to take
his guides from
thence; but, the Koreans not consenting to it, the emperor so
highly resented
it, that though Ching had never neglected to pay his tribute
to him, yet he seized
upon Si-king, or Pin-Jam, and called it Leng-nin-fu. But, upon
(k)
See before, vol. iv. p. 515, & seq.
(H)
These had formerly been subject to the Koreans, and had in
their turn subdued them.
Their princes had assumed the title of emperors, and give the
name of Kin to
their family, though they are not reckoned among the
dynasties, because they
never were sole master of China, the emperors of Song family
still keeping possession
of the southern provinces, as we have seen in the Chinese
history. As to the
farther particulars of the Newche Tartars, Kitans, &c.
their various names,
tribes, territories, &c. we shall refer our readers to the
Tartar history.*
*
See before, p. 462.
[page
535]
Shin's
succeeding his father Ching, he married a daughter of the
emperor, and received
the seal of the emperor's son-in-law, with the title of king
of Korea. He then
took the name of Kyu, and his third successor was called Song,
and from Vang-kyen
to Song are reckoned 28 kings of Korea, of the Vang family,
within the space of
400 years. When Hong-vu, founder of the Ming or twenty-first
dynasty, mounted the
Chinese throne(l), Kyu or Chew, then king of Korea, sent an
ambassy of homage
and congratulation to him, and was by him created king of
Kau-li (or Korea),
and was presented with a silver seal, and the antient
privilege of sacrificing
to the gods of the rivers and mountains of that kingdom. But,
in the seventeenth
year of that emperor's reign, the king's ambassadors having
joined in a conspiracy
against him, the Koreans were declared enemies of the empire.
The matter,
however, was soon after compromised, and that monarch
satisfied, by a new ambassy
and submission; upon which he sent to Korea to buy horses;
and, the king refusing
to take any money for them, Hong-vu had them valued, and paid
for them; but at
the same time ordered him to deliver up the towns of Lyau-yang
and Shin-ching,
which they had seized in the province of Lyau-tong. Soon after
this, Kyu, then
on the throne, was deposed; and Vang-chang raised to it by
Li-jin-jin, then
prime minister of Korea, whose son Li-ching-que dethroned
Vang-chang, and set
the crown upon Vang-yau's head, and in a little time after
took it from him,
and placed it on his own. And thus ended the line of Vang-tan.
(l)
De hoc, vid. sup. vol. v. 60, & seq. viii. 471, & seq.
SECT.
III.
The
Sequel and Conclusion of the Korean History.
LI-CHING-QE,
who then changed his name into that of Vang-tang, failed not
to dispatch a
pompous ambassy, with considerable presents, to Van-lye, then
emperor of China,
with a petition to be confirmed on his throne; but both that
and his presents
were rejected; and Ching-se, who had drawn the petition,
banished by the
emperor. Soon after that, Tau resigned the crown to his son
Fang-ywen, who
obtained a confirmation from the emperor Yang-lo, who mounted
the throne Anno
1403; and sent him 10,000 oxen by way of tribute, in order to
stock certain
lands which that monarch had assigned to the garrison of
Lyau-tong. Tau, the son
and successor of Fang-ywen, sent his tribute in gerfalcons, or
sea-eagles; but
the emperor refused them, saying, that jewels and rare animals
were not what he
liked. We find little in their history, worth taking notice
of, till the reign
of [page 536] the
emperor Van-lye except
that one of their kings, named Van-ky-whang, prevailed upon
the emperor Shi-tsong,
alias Kya-tsing, the twelfth monarch of the Ming dynasty, to
erase out of the
book of the antient customs of the Ming, the article in which
Ching-que was
recorded for having deposed his lawful sovereign, and usurped
his crown; because,
said the Korean king, it was done at the solicitation of the
grandees, and of
the people. But, in the twentieth year of Van-lye, the
fourteenth emperor of
the Ming dynasty, Korea was invaded by Ping-syew-kyi, chief or
king of Japan
(I).
This conqueror,
according to the Japanese history, finding, in the annals of
that empire, that
Korea had been formerly subdued, and made tributary to it, and
being now raised
to the height of secular power, thought it a proper time to
revive his pretensions
to that peninsula, not without a farther view of opening to
himself a way to
the conquest of China. He sent accordingly an ambassy thither,
to demand of the
Koreans a passage for his army through their country; and at
the same time that
they should acknowlege the emperors of Japan as their
sovereigns, and pay
homage to them. But the Koreans, instead of an answer, killed
his ambassadors,
and, by that hostile act, highly provoked him to hasten the
war which he had
premeditated against them. The Chinese, however, without
taking notice of
either of these circumstances, only pretend that he was
induced to this invasion
by the small distance there is between the mountain King-Shang
in Korea, and
the island Twi-ma-tau, belonging to Japan, and then in
(I)
This conqueror is said to have been originally a slave, and
afterwards a
retailer of fish; and, being found asleep under a tree by a
Japanese Quan-pe,
or governor, who was then hunting, and was just going to kill
him, awoke, and spake
to him in such a taking manner, that the Quan-pe took a liking
to him, and made
him overseer of his studs, giving him the name of
Ping-syew-kyi, or The man from
under the tree. He soon after gave him some lands, and made
him his chief
confident; but, being a little after assassinated by one of
his counsellors,
Ping syew-kyi put himself at the head of his master's troops,
under pretence of
revenging his death, which he did by killing the murderer; but
presently after
raised himself to the dignity of Quan-pe, and made himself
master, by fraud or
force, of about 60 small provinces. This is the account which
the Chinese and
Koreans give of the great Tay-cho, who raised himself by his
valour and merit
to the secular empire of Japan. But we shall find a proper
place, in the next
chapter, to do him that justice which his noble actions
deserved. In the mean time
we thought it not improper to give this one instance, among
many more, of the Chinese
pride, and the contempt they have of the Japanese, by the
disadvantageous light
in which they have set one of their greatest heroes and
conquerors
[page
537]
his
possession (K); for, by the commerce carried on between them,
he was informed,
that Li-seu, who then reigned in Korea, was a prince so wholly
devoted to his
pleasures, that he might be easily surprised. Accordingly Kyi
sent two of his
generals, with a numerous fleet, to attack it; who, landing
their forces
unperceived, took the city of Son-te, and several others, the
Koreans being so softened
by a long peace, that they fled upon the first approach of the
enemy; and the
king, leaving the government in the hands of his second son,
retired first to
Pin-yang, and next to I-chew, in the province of Lyau-tong.
From thence he sent
an ambassy to the emperor, to beg his assistance against the
invaders, to
receive him as his subject, and promising to make Korea a
province of the
empire; but, whilst that was transacting, the Japanese had
already demolished
the sepulchres, plundered the treasury, taken the mother,
children, and
officers, of the king, and made themselves masters of the
greater part of the
kingdom. They had likewise fortified the capital, and posted
their troops in
the most important passes; and pretended still, that they had
no design on the
empire, but only to make the river Ta-to-kyang the boundary of
their conquests;
but were still moving nearer towards Lyau-tong, insomuch that
he was forced to
remove farther from I-chew to Ngay-chew. All this while he was
dispatching
couriers upon couriers to the Chinese court, to hasten the
succours which came
but slowly on; and some of them that arrived had been defeated
and cut in
pieces by the Japaners.
At length
Song-ing-chang was sent at the head of 60,000 Chinese forces,
and with the
quality of King-lyo, or generalissimo; and dispatched
Li-yu-song, a general
under him, with those forces, through Lyau-tong, and the
difficulty which their
cavalry found in crossing the mountain Song-wang-shang was
such, that their horses
are said to have sweated blood. However, Li-yu-song had sent
beforehand a
proper general before him, to try to over-reach that of the
Japanese, by
endeavouring to persuade him that he was not coming with an
intention to oppose
him, but to create his master a king, for which he was
invested with full power
from the emperor. Hing-chang, that was the Japanese general's
name, readily swallowed
the bait, and sent twenty
(K)
These two are said by some to be situate within sight of each
other, and, by
others, within three days sailing with a fair wind; however
near enough they
are to carry on a commerce, and even intermarry, with each
other; by which means
Kyi came to learn, that the Koreans, and their king, lived in
such peace and
pleasure, that the conquest of them might be easily atchieved
(f).
(f)
See Regis, Kaempfer, & al. ubi sup.
[page
538]
officers
to meet Li-yu-song, who had ordered a party to take them
prisoners; but they
defended themselves so stoutly, that three only of them were
taken. This action
might have opened Hing-chang's eyes; but, being told that it
happened through a
misunderstanding of the interpreters, he was caught a second
time, and sent a
fresh message to compliment the Chinese general.
We took notice a
little higher, that the Japanese had fortified themselves in
the capital, and
other cities, particularly in that of Pin-yang, which was
besides a very strong
place by its situation, having the river Ta-tong-kyang on the
south-east, and a
considerable eminence on the north, then guarded by a good
number of their
forces. The Chinese general arrived before the city on the
sixth day of the first
month of the twenty-first year of Van-lye's reign; and, having
drawn up his
forces in order of battle, began to march into the city, the
Japanese, in their
richest accoutrements, lining the way, and their general being
placed on a
tower to view the procession: but the Chinese officers behaved
in such a
manner, as soon alarmed the Japanese, and forced them upon
their guard; upon
which Li-yu-song made a feint to attack the eminence on the
north side, and
ordered the detachment to retire after the first charge, in
order to draw the
Japanese from their post; instead of which, they in the middle
of the night
attacked the Chinese camp, but were repulsed with loss. On the
eighth day the
general assault was given by break of day, and the attack made
on the south side
of the city, with great vigour on both sides. At length the
Chinese, having scaled
the walls, forced the enemy to retire to their fortress,
whence a good number
of them, with their general, made escape about midnight; but
had near 300
killed in the action, besides a great number of others that
were drowned in crossing
the river : a detachment of 3000 Chinese killed 400 more of
them in their
flight, and took others prisoners. On the 19th they took the
city of Fu-kay by storm,
killing 165 of the enemy, who, by so many defeats, were now
stripped of four of
the Korean provinces. From that time the Chinese proved so
successful against
them in almost every encounter, some of which proved very
bloody on both sides,
that they had only the capital left to reduce, to which
Ching-king, another
Japanese general, had retired. The Chinese general, who was
within 70 Chinese
li's or furlongs from it, marched with double speed against it
with his light
horse, upon a false report, which he too easily gave credit
to, that the Japanese
had abandoned it; and thereby fell into one of their
ambuscades, near a bridge
within thirty li's of the place; upon which a bloody battle
ensued, in which
great numbers fell on [page 539] both sides; and, tho' the
enemy was put to
flight, yet the Chinese lost the flower of their troops. They
were moreover, on
their approach to the city, much incommoded by the thaw and
rains in their camp;
whilst the Japanese were advantageously seated on a dry
eminence, with a river
in front, and a mountain on their rear. The town had likewise
reared high
machines filled with destructive weapons, upon which the
Chinese were forced to
retreat to Kay-ching.
Here, on the 3d
month of the same year, their spies brought intelligence that
200,000 Japaners
were about the capital, and that they were plentifully
furnished with corn;
part of
which
Li-yui-song having fortunately burnt, the enemy, fearing a
scarcity, agreed to
peace, and yielded the capital; which he entered on the
eighteenth of the
fourth month, and found in it 40,000 bushels of rice, and
forage in proportion.
After the surrender of the place, the Japanese sent an ambassy
of submission to
the emperor; and, in the seventh month, delivered up the
children and principal
officers of the king of Korea; and the emperor, in the
twenty-second year of
his reign, agreed, at the intreaty of that prince, to accept
of the tribute
offered by the Japanese, and to create Ping-shyew-kyi Tay-cho
or king of Japan,
on the following conditions :
1
. That he should deliver up all his conquests in Korea.
2.
That he should send no ambassy to China. And, 3. that he
should swear never to
enter into that peninsula (m).
This
peace had like to have been broken both by the indiscretion of
the Chinese ambassador,
by whom Van-lye sent the imperial patent to the new Tay-cho,
and much more by
the contemptuous ambassy which the reinstated king of Korea,
sent to him on his
being raised to the royal dignity. The first of these, a
marquis of the first
rank, but a person of a very lustful disposition, had been
gratified in that
favourite passion, on his arrival in Japan, by the governor of
Twima, who sent
three of the most beautiful women of that country to him one
after another;
but, the marquis being afterwards informed that the governor's
wife was
extremely beautiful, and having made no scruple to demand her
of him, he resented
the affront. About the same time a Japanese of quality, named
Long, having disputed
the way with the ambassador, had like to have been killed by
him, but was happily
rescued by his own retinue, so that the marquis had no way
left to escape but
by flight, and leaving every thing, even his very credentials,
behind him. He
wandered all the night, and at length in a fit of despair,
hanged himself; but
was cut down by some of his followers, and fled back to
(m)
See Regis ap. Du Halde, vol. ii. p. 376.
[page
540]
China,
where, by the emperor's orders, he was tried for his
misconduct, and another
ambassador sent in his room. The Chinese tell us, that
Ping-shyew-kyi, having
fasted and bathed three days, went in great ceremony to meet
the emperor's
patent, before which he prostrated himself fifteen times;
after which he was
created king in all the usual formalities, and expressed the
deepest gratitude
to the Chinese monarch for his new dignity. But soon after
this, the king of
Korea, being advised by one of his favourites to treat the
Tay-cho with
contempt, sent his compliments to him only by a
deputy-governor of a city of
the second order, and with a few ordinary presents of silk.
Ping-shyew-kyi
highly resented the insult; and said to the ambassador, Hath
thy master so soon
forgot that I conquered his kingdom, and have restored it to
him out of mere
regard to the emperor? What doth he imagine me to be, in
sending me such a Present
by one of your rank? Whom doth he afront, me, or the emperor?
but, since he
treats me in so unworthy a manner, let him know that my forces
shall not stir
out of Korea till the emperor hath duly chastised him. On the
next day he sent
with his tribute, which was very rich, two remonstrances, the
one acknowleging
his obligations to the emperor, and the other demanding
justice against the
Korean king. He waited for the latter till the 25th of that
emperor's reign,
for a satisfaction for the affront; but, finding him rather
inclined to side
with the Korean king, as the sequel shews he did, he resolved
to renew the war;
and accordingly invaded Korea with a fleet of 200 sail, and a
powerful army
under the command of his two old generals Tsing-ching and
Hing-ching. These
two, being thoroughly acquainted with the country, renewed the
war with double
vigour, and took Ngan-ywen-fu, the governor of which fled
barefoot upon their
first approach; and soon made themselves masters of many other
considerable
cities and passes on all sides, insomuch that the Chinese
capital was in a
great measure blocked up. The former had already fixed his
quarters at Tun-sin,
600 li's, and the latter at King shang, 400 li's, from it. The
Chinese, headed
by Han-quey, laid siege to the latter with a numerous army;
but, upon a report
that the enemy had received fresh succours, fled; whereupon
his forces dispersed
themselves, 20,000 of them were killed, and their general
punished for his
cowardice.
In the ninth
month of the 26th year of Van-lye's reign, Lew-ting, another
Chinese general,
marched against Hing-chang; and proposed to him a conference,
wherein matters might
be amicably adjusted. To which the Japanese general agreed;
and, on the next
day, went to the place appointed, attended only by fifty
horse. But the
treacherous Lew-ting [page 541] had laid an ambuscade for it;
and, having
appointed one of his officers to personate him, attended the
meeting in the disguise
of a common soldier. Hing-chang was received by the pretended
general with the
usual honours; and, as he sat at table, could not keep off his
eyes from the disguised
Lew-ting, and crying out, Surely that soldier has been
unfortunate. Lew-ting, surprised
at his speech, went immediately out, and gave the signal to
the ambuscade by firing
a gun; upon which Hing-chang, suspecting the treachery,
mounted his horse in an
instant, with his attendance, who formed themselves into a
triangle, and, with
a dreadful slaughter, forced their way through the treacherous
Chinese, and escaped.
On the next day the Japanese general sent to thank the Chinese
one for his
entertainment; who had no other way of excusing it, but by
pretending, that the
firing of the gun was altogether accidental. However, though
his treachery had
miscarried, it did not hinder his attacking him openly, and a
fierce engagement
ensued, in which the Chinese were every-where worsted. The war
would in all
likelihood have lasted much longer, and the Koreans have been
severely chastised
for their treachery by the highly incensed Tay-cho, had not
his unexpected
death, or, if we may believe the Japan history, some more
cogent motives,
induced him to recall his shattered forces; and put an end to
all future hostilities,
by laying them only under a tribute to him. What those motives
were, will be
better seen in the history of Japan; however, that brave hero
died whilst his
generals were on their way home; and Ijejas, whom he had
appointed guardian over
his son and successor, then but six years old, thought fit
only to oblige them
to send an embassy to him every three years, and to acknowlege
him for their sovereign.
And thus ended the Korean war, after it had lasted seven
years; since which
time they relapsed again, under the dominion of the Chinese
Tartars, and drove
out all the garrisons which the Japanese had left there, as
far as the coasts
of the province of Tsiot-sijn, which is the only place they
have remaining of all
their conquests in that country. The emperors of Japan seem to
be satisfied
with the possession of those eastern coasts, as a sufficient
security to their
own dominions; and keep some garrisons there to guard them,
which are put under
the government of the princes of Iki and Tsusima, two islands
lying about the
mid-way between Korea and Japan; whilst those Koreans are only
obliged to send
an ambassy to court, to take an oath of allegiance to every
new emperor. This was
the condition they were in Junio 1693, when Kaempfer was in
Japan. As for the
rest of the Koreans, they have continued tributary to the
Chinese ever since;
and, to all appearance, [page 542] been kept more strictly
under them since the
Tartars became masters of China. The prince that reigned there
when our author
wrote his account was called Li-tun, and was descended from
the family of Li.
In the year 1694
he presented a petition
to the emperor Kang-hi, the contents and occasion of which
being something
curious, and confirming what we have just now hinted of their
being under
greater subjection than formerly, we shall give it to the
reader in the sequel
(L). Whenever any of them dies, the emperor immediately
deputes two grandees to
confer upon the successor the title of Que-vang, or king, who
receives the investiture
upon his knees, and makes certain presents to the
commissioners, which are settled
and specified, besides about 8000 taels in money. After that,
he is obliged to send
an ambassador to the Chinese court with the usual tribute and
homage; which last
is paid by prostration and knocking his forehead against the
ground before the
imperial throne. If the Korean king is apprehensive of any
disputes arising
after his death, about
(L)
This petition, for which we shall find a more proper place at
the close of this
appendix, was presented to the late famed emperor Kang-hi,
lately mentioned, in
order to obtain a permission from him for rectifying some
wrong steps which he had
taken with regard to his own private family, but such as one
would have
imagined were vastly below the cognizance of so great a
monarch, and concerned
only the restoring of a favourite barren queen, whom he had
deposed, in favour
of a concubine, who had brought him forth a son and heir. Yet
this step, inconsiderable
as it seems, was such as he dared not venture upon till he had
previously obtained
leave by a petition couched in the most abject and servile
terms, and backed
with the most earnest wishes and suffrages of all his Korean
subjects.
Neither was this
request received at court as a matter of a trivial nature,
seeing the emperor
was pleased to refer it to the consideration of one of his
high tribunals of
ceremonies; by whom it was no sooner approved, than a proper
mandarin was dispatched
to the Korean court, to reinstall the queen, and degrade the
concubine. We shall
have occasion, in the sequel, to add an instance or two more
of this extreme subjection:
in the mean time that which we have given above is sufficient
to convince our
readers, that the Korean monarchs are far enough from enjoying
the same despotic
sway under the Tartar which they did under the Chinese
monarchs, when it was
reckoned treason to controul their will in any case, provided
they took care
constantly to pay their homage and tribute to them. All that
we shall add with
relation to their present state, is, that they send yearly an
ambassador to receive
the almanack which is published at court the first day of the
tenth month, for
the ensuing year (7).
(7)
Regis, ubi sup. ad fin.
[page
543]
the
succession, he nominates an heir to the crown, and gets him
confirmed by the
emperor; nor dares the royal consort assume the title of
queen, before she hath
obtained it from him : all which ceremonials have been so
exactly regulated,
that disputes can never arise; and to this is owing the
peaceful state they
have so long enjoyed. We shall beg leave to subjoin the
afore-mentioned instance
of the extreme regard which the Korean kings pay to the
Chinese monarch; which
will not only prove what we have said, but shew likewise how
much superior the Tartars
are to the Chinese, in point of governing their tributary
provinces, and
keeping them under a due subjection and dependence.
It happened in
the 32d year of the emperor Kang-hi's reign, in the year 1694,
when the prince
then on the Korean throne, being dissatisfied at some changes
he had made in
his family, sent him the following remarkable request by his
ambassador :