Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 229

Records of Geographical Survey

Page 419; Sheet: 2

...regarding what was to be compensated. The Emperor original: "上" (shang); a term referring to the sovereign. rebuked their lack of sincerity and rejected the offering.

In the seventh year 1374 CE, the Emperor issued an instruction to the officials of the Central Secretariat, saying: "In ancient times, when the feudal lords original: "諸侯" (zhuhou); referring to the idealized ritual system of the Zhou Dynasty. served the Son of Heaven, there was a minor diplomatic mission every year, a major mission every three years, and a formal audience at court every five years. As for the various tribes and groups original: "夷戎" (yirong); traditional terms for non-Chinese peoples to the east and west. outside the Nine Provinces The traditional heartland of China., they were only required to appear once in a generation. Goryeo is close to the Central Kingdom and understands the Classics, History, the Rites, and Music; it cannot be compared to other foreign lands. It is appropriate to order that they send a formal mission once every three years; otherwise, they would be sending missions every year. Previously, Goryeo's tribute missions were so frequent that their envoys often drowned at sea and barely returned. This greatly displeased me. Let the Chancellor original: "丞相" (chengxiang). clearly convey this to the King."

In the eighth year 1375 CE, Jeon King Gongmin of Goryeo. was assassinated and died. His son, U King U of Goryeo., succeeded him. When the tribute did not arrive at the scheduled time, the Emperor rejected it and detained their envoy, Zhou Yi. Furthermore, he issued an imperial decree to the defense officials of Liaodong, ordering them to sever all communications.

In the seventeenth year 1384 CE, Goryeo submitted a petition requesting a posthumous title for the late King and formal investiture for the successor. This was not granted. In the eighteenth year, the Emperor finally granted the request. The following year, Goryeo offered a tribute of one thousand horses and ten thousand bolts of cloth. In their message of thanks, they requested permission to change their official headwear and dress original: "冠服" (guanfu); a request to adopt Ming-style court attire as a sign of loyalty and cultural alignment., but this was not granted.

The Commander Gao Jianu returned from purchasing horses in that country and reported that U's words...