Imperial Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom


Imperial Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom were diplomatic missions which were intermittently sent by the Yuan, Ming and Qing emperors to Shuri, Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands. These diplomatic contacts were within the Sinocentric system of bilateral and multinational relationships in East Asia.
Some missions were sent to perform investiture ceremonies for the King of Ryukyu, formally acknowledging him as King on behalf of the Chinese Imperial Court, and as a tributary subordinate.

The Envoys in Shuri

Shuri was the royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It is today part of the city of Naha, Okinawa.
Upon the accession of a new king, the news was generally communicated to the Chinese capital, along with a petition for investiture, by a formal Ryukyuan tribute mission. Following the 1609 invasion of Ryukyu, beginning with the succession of Shō Hō, Satsuma Domain also had to be notified and asked for approval and confirmation of the new king.
Chinese envoys would then be dispatched - sometimes quite quickly, sometimes not until over a decade later - arriving in ships called ukwanshin in Okinawan. The mission would usually consist of two official envoy ships, separate crafts carrying the chief envoy and his deputy, as some uncertainty accompanied the journey; these would be accompanied by a number of merchant ships. During Japan's Edo period, an agent from Satsuma known as a kansen bugyō would be sent down to Ryukyu to supervise the exchanges and interactions between Chinese and Ryukyuan officials, albeit from somewhat of a distance, given the policy of hiding Satsuma's involvement in Ryukyu from the Chinese.
Envoys generally stayed in Ryukyu for four to eight months, and were extensively entertained by the Ryukyuan royal court. A number of structures built for this purpose, including the Ryūtan pond and the Hokuden of Shuri Castle, can still be seen today on the castle grounds. The total Chinese entourage generally numbered between 300 and 800 people, and hosting and entertaining the Chinese envoys was an extremely expensive endeavor for the Ryukyuan court.
A "Dance Magistrate" oversaw these entertainments; kumi odori, a traditional form of Ryukyuan dance-drama, was first created and performed for entertaining an investiture envoy and his fellows, in 1719.

Timeline of Missions

King Satto became, in 1372, the first Ryukyuan king to submit to Chinese suzerainty. Beginning with the investiture of Satto's successor, Bunei, in 1404, twenty-two such missions traveled to Ryukyu in total, the last in 1866, for the investiture of Shō Tai.
YearEmperor of ChinaChinese envoysRyūkyū kingComments
1373JianwenYang Zai 楊載Sattomission purpose is to bring islands into Sinitic system.
1404YongleShi Zhong 時中Buneiinvestiture mission confirms Bunei as king in Ryukyu.
1415YongleChen Xiuro 陳秀若Shō Shishō
1427XuandeChai Shan 柴山;
Ruan Jian		Shō Hashi
1443ZhengtongYu Bian 余忭;
Liu Xun 劉遜		Shō Chū
1448ZhengtongChen Chuan 陳傳;
Wan Xiang 萬祥		Shō Shitatsu
1452JingtaiQiao Yi 喬毅;
Tong Shouhong 童守宏		Shō Kinpuku
1456JingtaiYan Cheng 嚴誠;
Liu Jian 劉儉		Shō Taikyū
1464ChenghuaPang Rong 潘榮;
Cai Zhe 蔡哲		Shō Toku
1472HongzhiGuang Rong 官榮;
Han Wen 韓文		Shō Eninstallation of the new king.
1479HongzhiDong Min 董旻;
Zhang Xiang 張祥		Shō Shin
1534JaijingChen Kan 陳侃 ;
Gao Cheng 高澄		Shō Seimission encompassed a retinue of over 200 persons travelling in two ships which were specially constructed for this diplomatic purpose. The ambassador recorded details of the voyage and the reception the Chinese encountered in Shuri, the capital of the kingdom. This book, Shi Liu-ch'iu lu, still exists in transcription Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions.
1561JaijingGuo Rulin 郭汝霖;
Li Jichun 李際春		Shō Gen
1576WanliShō EiHseieh Chieh was a member of the 1576 mission to the Ryukyu Islands. He published an account of his experiences.
1579WanliXiao Chongye 蕭崇業;
Hseieh Chieh 謝杰		Shō Ei
1606WanliXia Ziyang 夏子陽;
Wang Shizhen 王士楨		Shō Nei
1633ChongzhenDu Sance 杜三策;
Yang Lun 楊掄		Shō Hōinvestitutre of king
1663KangxiZhang Xueli 張學禮;
Wang Gai 王垓		Shō Shitsuinvestitutre of king
1683KangxiWang Ji 汪楫;
Lin Linchang 林麟焻		Shō Teiinvestitutre of king.
1719KangxiHaibao 海寶;
Xu Baoguang 徐葆光		Shō KeiKumi odori, a new form of dance-drama, created by Tamagusuku Chōkun for the entertainment of the Chinese envoys, is first performed for the envoys for the investiture of King Shō Kei.
1757QianlongQuan Kui 全魁;
Chou Huang 周煌,		Shō BokuChou Huang compiles the Ryūkyū-koku shiryaku, an account of Ryukyuan history and customs based on the records and reports of earlier Chinese envoys, Ryukyuan records, and Chou's own observations
1800JiaqingZhao Wenkai 趙文楷;
Li Dingyuan 李鼎元		Shō Oninvestitutre of king.
1808JiaqingQikun 齊鯤;
Fei Xizhang 費錫章		Shō Kōinvestitutre of king.
1838DaoguangLin Hongnian 林鴻年;
Gao Renjian 高人鑑		Shō Ikuinvestitutre of king.
1866TongzhiZhao Xin 趙新;
Yu Guangjia 于光甲		Shō Taifinal investiture mission confirms Shō Tai as King of Ryukyu.

In the late 19th century, the Sinocentric tributary state system was superseded by the Westphalian multi-state system.