Museum exhibits imperial edict, showing Ryukyu as Chinese vassal state

The "Ming Dynasty edict to the King of Ryukyu" was recently re-exhibited at the Lushun Museum in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. The edict proves that Ryukyu was once a vassal state of China. It also provides important evidence for the study of Ryukyu's history and Japan's history of aggression against it.

The edict on display this time is a replica, with the original preserved in the archives of the Dalian Lushun Museum. The edict dates to the second year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty (1629). It formally confirms Shang Feng's succession to the Ryukyu throne following the death of King Shang Ning, authorizes Ming envoys to confer his investiture and bestows ceremonial gifts.

It praises the late king's loyalty and service, urges the new ruler to govern with caution, uphold royal statutes, safeguard the realm and maintain Ryukyu's duties as a vassal state. The document concludes with a detailed list of imperial gifts.

Han Xingfang, former deputy director of the museum and a longtime researcher on the subject, wrote in an article that the phrase "suffered harassment from a neighboring state" in the edict refers to the 1612 incident in which Japan dispatched 3,000 troops to invade Ryukyu and captured King Shang Ning.

This event is also recorded in the History of the Ming: Ryukyu had long resisted pressure from powerful neighbors while faithfully maintaining its tributary missions. Yet, in the 40th year of Emperor Wanli's reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Japan sent 3,000 soldiers to seize the kingdom, abduct its king, plunder its ancestral treasures, and then withdraw.

The chronicle also records that the king was later released and that Ryukyu resumed its tribute missions. It further records that in the 44th year of Wanli, when Japan was considering seizing Jilong Mountain – an area known as Taiwan, close to Fujian – King Shang Ning dispatched envoys to inform the Ming court, prompting the imperial order to strengthen coastal defenses.

Han said that these records show that King Shang Ning served the Ming court with loyalty, diligence and prudence, which is why the edict praises his conduct, summarized in the phrase "your father upheld the royal mandate, defended the maritime realm, and fulfilled his duties with unwavering loyalty."

According to Han's research, the Ming Dynasty conducted a total of 15 investiture missions to Ryukyu, with the one issued during Emperor Chongzhen's reign being the last. In the first year of Emperor Shunzhi's reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), King Shang Zhi of Ryukyu dispatched envoys to Beijing to return "two old imperial edicts, one imperial decree, and a gilded silver seal," and requested new investiture documents and seals.

Through this process, the Chongzhen-era edict eventually made its way back to China. Thereafter, the Qing Dynasty largely followed the Ming system and continued the investiture of Ryukyu's rulers.