A Chinese Traveler in Medieval Korea: Xu Jing's Illustrated Account of the Xuanhe Embassy to Koryŏ

Description

The king and ministers, superior and inferior, move with ritual and refinement. When the king goes on an inspection tour, everyone has the correct ceremonial attributes and the divine flag [troops] gallop in front while armored soldiers block the road. The soldiers of the Six Divisions all hold their attributes. Although it is not completely in uniformity with classic rites, compared with other barbarians it is splendid to behold. This is why Confucius thought it would not be a shame to reside here. And is not moreover Kija's country a close relative of the hallowed dynasty? So observed the Song envoy Xu Jing in the official report of his 1123 visit to Korea--a rare eyewitness account of Koryŏ (918-1392) society in its prime. Officially, the purpose of Xu Jing's visit was to condole the new king, Injong, on the death of his father and present him with a letter of investiture; unofficially, he was tasked with persuading Injong to align with Song China against the newly emergent Jin dynasty. Although famous for its celadon and Buddhist paintings, the Koryŏ period is still very much terra incognita in world history because of the lack of translated source materials. The present work, the first fully annotated, complete translation of a key source text on Koryŏ, fills this gap. Xu Jing spent a little more than a month in the Koryŏ capital, Kaesŏng, but he was a meticulous chronicler, compiling a veritable handbook on Koryŏ that is full of fascinating details found nowhere else on daily life, history, customs and manners, buildings, the military, food, among others. However, Xu Jing was not unbiased in his observations and supplemented his work with unreliable information from earlier chronicles--a fact often ignored in previous studies of the Illustrated Account. In a substantial introduction to his translation, Sem Vermeersch not only places this important work in its historical context, but also reveals both the sources used by the author and the merits and limits of his observations, allowing historians of medieval Korea to make fuller use of this singular primary source. Cover Contents List of Illustrations Preface Conventions Part I Translator's Introduction Part II Translation: Xu Jing's Illustrated Account of the Xuanhe Embassy to Koryo Chapter 1 Founding of the Country Chapter 2 Dynastic Lineages Chapter 3 Cities Chapter 4 Prominent Gates Chapter 5 Palace Halls, 1 Chapter 6 Palace Halls, 2 Chapter 7 Official Dress Chapter 8 Famous People Chapter 9 Ceremonial Attributes, 1 Chapter 10 Ceremonial Attributes, 2 Chapter 11 Guards and Armies, 1 Chapter 12 Guards and Armies, 2 Chapter 13 Arms Chapter 14 Flags and Pennons Chapter 15 Horses and Carts Chapter 16 Officials and Offices Chapter 17 Shrines and Temples Chapter 18 Taoism and Buddhism Chapter 19 Common People Chapter 20 Women Chapter 21 Official Servants Chapter 22 Various Customs, 1 Chapter 23 Various Customs, 2 Chapter 24 Embassy Guards Chapter 25 Receiving the Edict Chapter 26 Banquets Chapter 27 The Embassy Hostel Chapter 28 Tents and Other Accessories, 1 Chapter 29 Tents and Other Accessories, 2 Chapter 30 Vessels, 1 Chapter 31 Vessels, 2 Chapter 32 Vessels, 3 Chapter 33 Shipping Chapter 34 Sea Lanes, 1 Chapter 35 Sea Lanes, 2 Chapter 36 Sea Lanes, 3 Chapter 37 Sea Lanes, 4 Chapter 38 Sea Lanes, 5 Chapter 39 Sea Lanes, 6 Chapter 40 Matching Culture Account of Conduct of the Deceased Assistant Office Chief of the Department of Punishment of Song, Duke Xu Appendix: Dynastic Lineages Notes Bibliography Index