가마를 탈 것인가 말을 탈 것인가? 조서와 칙서를 함께 맞이할 것인가 별도로 맞이할 것인가?

Abstract

On March 13, 1488, the king of Joseon received a Joseo(詔書) and Chikseo(勅書) at Gyeongbok Palace. Unlike the previous events, Joseon and Ming envoys were at odds over the procedures of welcoming Joseo and Chikseo, specifically two issues. Joseon and Ming envoys were at odds over what means of transportation the king should travel from Mohwaquan(慕華館) to the royal palace to receive Joseo, claiming palanquin or horse, respectively. With a method to greet Joseo and Chikseo that came together, Joseon urged collective greeting, while Ming envoys suggested separate greeting. The conflict over these issues was unusual. In the meantime, the king traveled to the palace on a palanquin when he greeted Joseo. Also the king greeted Joseo and Chikseo, that came together, at once. Joseo and Chikseo were moved to the palace together, and the king received Joseo and Chikseo in turn at the palace. Until the Ming Dynasty envoys took issue with it in 1488, no matter whether it was the envoys of the Ming Dynasty or the Joseon Dynasty, no one had ever questioned the king’s palanquin riding and collective greeting of Joseo and Chikseo. The 1488 conflict between Joseon and Ming envoys over the process of welcoming Joseo and Chikseo began when Ming envoys to Joseon took issue unusually. The Joseon Dynasty did not accept the opinions of the envoys and the envoys did not budge from their views, therefore conflicts arose. The dispute continued because the two sides failed to narrow their differences, and the dispute ended by reaching a dead end and making one-sided concessions without compromise. In the former, Joseon’s view was accepted and the king rode a palanquin in greeting Joseo as is customary. In the latter, in accepting the views of Ming convoys, the king of the Joseon Dynasty went to Mohwaquan to greet Joseo, to the Gyeongbok Palace by palanquin, to receive Joseo. After that, the king greeted Chikseo again from Mohwaquan, to take the horse, to the Gyeongbok Palace, and to receive Chikseo. The article aims to break away from the conventional view of the conflict over diplomatic ritual between Joseon and Ming(envoys) as a power game. The conflict came amid a consensus between the two sides to realize the ‘right’ ritual in terms of the implementation of civilization Chunghwa(中華). The conflict was caused by the fact that their respective practices were in line with right manners on some ceremonial procedures where the ‘right’ practice does not exist clearly.