{"id":475,"date":"2025-04-01T11:10:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T18:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/?p=475"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:35:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T18:35:58","slug":"the-kings-conveyance-the-ritual-dispute-of-1488-and-the-unwritten-constitution-of-early-modern-korean-chinese-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/the-kings-conveyance-the-ritual-dispute-of-1488-and-the-unwritten-constitution-of-early-modern-korean-chinese-diplomacy\/","title":{"rendered":"The King\u2019s Conveyance: The Ritual Dispute of 1488 and the Unwritten Constitution of Early Modern Korean-Chinese Diplomacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2025<\/strong> \u201cThe King\u2019s Conveyance: The Ritual Dispute of 1488 and the Unwritten Constitution of Early Modern Korean-Chinese Diplomacy.\u201d <strong>Journal of Early Modern History<\/strong>. March 1, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1163\/15700658-bja10102\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1163\/15700658-bja10102<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abstract<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1488, the Korean kingdom of Chos\u014fn received emissaries from China announcing the accession of a new Ming emperor. The two sides engaged in a protracted dispute over what appears to be a trivial detail in an accessory ritual: whether the king would welcome the emissaries while borne on a palanquin or riding a horse. The dispute\u2019s resolution was even more curious: rather than conceding, the two sides conducted the reception ritual twice. This article examines the process of this dispute and argues that the dispute warrants rethinking what has traditionally been understood as an uneven, bilateral diplomatic relationship in terms of an early modern Sino-Korean constitutional order. The casuistic mechanisms used by both sides to argue their points drew upon divergent interpretations of a shared, but multivalent repertoire of authority: a common imperial and classical past rooted in the sense of a Chinese&nbsp;<em>translatio imperii<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Acknowledgements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am grateful to Carina Johnson, Macabe Keliher, and Kaya \u015eahin for the invitation to contribute to this issue and Johannes Paulmann for the invitation to spend the summer of 2022 at the Leibniz Institute of European History in Mainz, Germany. Rapha\u00eblle Burns, Devin Fitzgerald, Maura Dykstra, Luca Scholz, Joshua Fogel, and Saeyoung Park provided comments and insights that helped shape this project. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the \u201cState Ritual in Early Modern Empires\u201d panel sponsored by the World History Association at the 134th American Historical Association meeting (2020), the&nbsp;<em>Vietnam and Korea as \u201cLongue Dur\u00e9e Subjects\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;conference at the National Vietnam University in Hanoi (2017), and the International Studies Association (ISA) convention in Baltimore (2017).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2025 \u201cThe King\u2019s Conveyance: The Ritual Dispute of 1488 and the Unwritten Constitution of Early Modern Korean-Chinese Diplomacy.\u201d Journal of&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/the-kings-conveyance-the-ritual-dispute-of-1488-and-the-unwritten-constitution-of-early-modern-korean-chinese-diplomacy\/\">Read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The King\u2019s Conveyance: The Ritual Dispute of 1488 and the Unwritten Constitution of Early Modern Korean-Chinese Diplomacy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-publications"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/JEMH.png?fit=524%2C401&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Nhqs-7F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":290,"url":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/boundless-winds-of-empire-rhetoric-and-ritual-in-early-choson-diplomacy-with-ming-china\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":0},"title":"Boundless Winds of Empire: Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Chos\u014fn Diplomacy with Ming China","author":"Sixiang Wang","date":"November 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"2023. Boundless Winds of Empire: Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Chos\u014fn Diplomacy with Ming China. New York: Columbia University Press. For more than two hundred years after its establishment in 1392, the Chos\u014fn dynasty of Korea enjoyed generally peaceful and stable relations with neighboring Ming China, which dwarfed it in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Monographs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Monographs","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/category\/publications\/monographs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Book Cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Boundless-Winds-Cover.png?fit=441%2C662&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":457,"url":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/new-books-network-boundless-winds-of-empire-hosted-by-sarah-bramao-ramos-january-9-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":1},"title":"[New Books Network] Boundless Winds of Empire, hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos (January 9, 2025)","author":"Sixiang Wang","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/newbooksnetwork.com\/boundless-winds-of-empire Summary The Chos\u014fn dynasty of Korea enjoyed generally peaceful and stable relations with Ming China, a relationship that was carefully cultivated and achieved only through the strategic deployment of cultural practices, values, and narratives by\u00a0Chos\u014fn political actors.\u00a0Boundless Winds of Empire: Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Chos\u014fn Diplomacy with Ming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lectures, Talks, and Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lectures, Talks, and Interviews","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/category\/public-lectures\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":438,"url":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/columbia-university-weatherhead-east-asian-institute-boundless-winds-of-empire-rhetoric-and-ritual-in-early-choson-diplomacy-with-ming-china-may-24-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":2},"title":"[Columbia University, Weatherhead East Asian Institute] Boundless Winds of Empire Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Chos\u014fn Diplomacy with Ming China (May 24, 2025)","author":"Sixiang Wang","date":"March 24, 2025","format":"video","excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2SyTP0YhXa4","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lectures, Talks, and Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lectures, Talks, and Interviews","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/category\/public-lectures\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2SyTP0YhXa4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":225,"url":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/chosons-office-of-interpreters-the-apt-response-and-the-epistemic-culture-of-diplomacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":3},"title":"Chos\u014fn\u2019s Office of Interpreters: The Apt Response and the Knowledge Culture of Diplomacy","author":"Sixiang Wang","date":"August 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"2020 \"Chos\u014fn\u2019s Office of Interpreters: The Apt Response and the Knowledge Culture of Diplomacy.\" The Journal for the History of Knowledge. https:\/\/journalhistoryknowledge.org\/article\/view\/11164 Abstract: From 1392 until its dissolution in 1894, Chos\u014fn Korea\u2019s Office of Interpreters managed diplomatic relations with its vastly more powerful Ming and Qing neighbors. The Office was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/category\/publications\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/JHOK-Office.png?fit=1200%2C528&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/JHOK-Office.png?fit=1200%2C528&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/JHOK-Office.png?fit=1200%2C528&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/JHOK-Office.png?fit=1200%2C528&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/JHOK-Office.png?fit=1200%2C528&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":155,"url":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/korean-eunuchs-as-imperial-envoys-relations-with-choson-through-the-zhengde-reign\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":4},"title":"Korean Eunuchs as Imperial Envoys:  Relations with Chos\u014fn through the Zhengde Reign","author":"Sixiang Wang","date":"December 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"2019 \"Korean Eunuchs as Imperial Envoys: Relations with Chos\u014fn through the Zhengde Reign.\" Chapter 23 in The Ming World, edited by Kenneth Swope Introduction excerpt: The usual way to describe Ming relations with Korea is through the notion of the \u201ctributary system.\u201d The Ming emperor, with the moral and cultural\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Chapters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Chapters","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/category\/publications\/book-chapters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88,"url":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/the-sounds-of-our-country-interpreters-linguistic-knowledge-and-the-politics-of-language-in-early-choson-korea-1392-1592\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":5},"title":"The Sounds of Our Country: Interpreters, Linguistic Knowledge and the Politics of Language in Early Chos\u014fn Korea (1392\u20131592)","author":"Sixiang Wang","date":"August 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"2014 \u201cThe Sounds of Our Country: Interpreters, Linguistic Knowledge and the Politics of Language in Early Chos\u014fn Korea (1392\u20131592).\u201d In Rethinking East Asian Languages, Vernaculars, and Literacies, 1000\u20131919. Leiden: Brill. In the frequent envoy exchange between Chos\u014fn Korea (1392-1910) and Ming China (1368-1644), Korean court interpreters who mastered spoken Chinese\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Chapters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Chapters","link":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/category\/publications\/book-chapters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":501,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions\/501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chosonhistory.org\/SixWang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}