NISHIZATO Kikō (University of the Ryukyus)
The Problem of Royal Investiture During the Ming-Qing Transition Period
The main arguments are as follows.
①The problem of the investiture of SHŌKEN（尚賢） was closely related to the problem of raw silk trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and both China and Japan.
②The Ryukyu Kingdom chose the direction which strengthened the relationship between itself and the NANMIN（南明）administration, at the expense of its relationship with the Qing dynasty（清朝）. One reason was longstanding between Ryukyu and the Ming dynasty（明朝）over the course of 250years. Another more important reason was that the NANMIN administration accepted Ryukyu’s request to restart raw silk trade. During the Ming-Qing Transition Period, the Ryukyu Kingdom favored economic pragmatism.
③Xie Bizhen（謝必振）fulfilled the most important role in the process whereby delegations from the Ryukyu kingdom came to follow the Qing dynasty. Xie Bizhen（謝必振）, accompanied by the Ryukyuan delegations, went to and from Beijing（北京） and Fuzhou（福州）,and then Fuzhou and Ryukyu three times. He endeavored over the course of 20 years to maintain the friendly relations between the Qing dynasty and Ryukyu Kingdom. He repeatedly recommended that the Ryukyu Kingdom should break off the relationship between the NANMIN administration and should establish a relationship with the Qing dynasty.
④After SHOKEN died, SHOSITSU（尚質）inherited the throne, and took an unclear attitude despite Xie Bizhen’s attempts at persuasion. Xie Bizhen visited Ryukyu again, and stimulated SHOSITSU to change to a policy of loyalty to the Qing dynasty. Following the advice of Xie Bizhen, SHOSITSU dispatched BA SŌKI（馬宗毅）and SAI SORYU（蔡祚隆）to Beijing（北京）as envoys leading a delegation to celebrate of the enthronement of the Shunzhi（順治） emperor. The king relinquished his signature stamp and the Imperial rescript of the Ming dynasty and, simultaneously, requested a signature stamp and Imperial rescript from the Qing dynasty. Moreover, he requested that the Ryukyu delegation bring back the signature stamp and Imperial rescript of the Qing dynasty. These actions do not mean that he requested investiture by the Qing emperor. The king hoped that a Qing embassy would not visit Ryukyu.
⑤The Qing emperor disregarded the request of SHOSITSUand declared that an embassy would be dispatcted to Ryukyu to clarify the authority of the Qing dynasty. Zhang Xueli（張学礼）and Wang Gai（王垓）were elected as the Qing envoys. They started from Beijing accompanied by Xie Bizhen and BASOHKI and SAISORYU, and reached Fuzhou in 1654. But they stayed at Fuzhou for a long time and could not prepare the voyage ship to Ryukyu. The reason was that Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功）of the NANMIN administration controlled the seas. They asked to return to Beijing and give up the idea of a voyage to Ryukyu.
⑥The Board of Rites (Libu礼部) of the Qing dynasty agreed to the request of Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai. At length, the Shunzhi emperor abandoned the policy of dispatching the Qing embassy to Ryukyu. Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai canceled the mission of voyaging to Ryukyu. They took office in a new post. Delegations from the Ryukyu kingdom were detained for the long term in Fuzhou. BASŌKI died of illness in Fuzhou on June 22nd,1659.
⑦ The Kangxi（康煕）emperor reconverted the policy of Shunzhi emperor, positively promoted the policy of investiture of SHOSITSU, and ordered Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai to voyage to Ryukyu. Simultaneously the Kangxi emperor sent the Imperial rescript to SHOSITSU, and indicated that owing to the neglect of duty by Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai, the investiture of SHOSITSU was delayed. Furthermore, Kanxi indicated that the crime of neglect of duty by Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai was punished, and that they were ordered to sail to Ryukyu to invest SHOSITSU.
⑧Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai reached NAHA Harbor（那覇港）with Xie Bizhen and SAISORYU in the June,1663. Their sudden arrival caused the Ryukyu authorities to be embarrassed. There were three reasons why the Ryukyu authorities were embarrassed. The main reason was that the Ryukyuan authorities had not requested their king’s investiture. The second reason was that nobody told the Ryukyu authorities beforehand about the visit of Zhang Xueli and Wang Gai. The third reason was that the royal castle had burnt down in a fire three years earlier. The Ryukyu authorities had trouble with the reception of the Qing embassy. It was possible that the ceremony of investiture succeeded because the Ryukyu authorities got to the appropriate advice from Xie Bizhen. As the result, relations between Ryukyu and the Qing dynasty continued for the time being.
