The King states that as soon as his envoys have performed the duty of
offering their congratulations, he intends to recall them and leave chargés
d’affaires in their places; that they will be instructed to show the
greatest respect towards the minister of China.
He recites the imperial decree in which it was laid down that the position of
Corea toward China, as well as her international relationship, must be
preserved the etiquette of a dependent country must be observed in
intercourse with the ministers of China by consulting them in all matters
not expressly provided for. He cites the rules laid down by the Viceroy that
the Corean envoy should present himself first at the Chinese legation and
ask an introduction on his arrival; that the Corean minister must take his
place after the Chinese minister on official occasions, and must be guided
in all matters by the Chinese minister. These, he says, are the duties of a
dependent nation towards its suzerain.
He goes on to cite other comments of the Viceroy, all enforcing vassalage of
Corea to China. He assures the Viceroy of his intention to maintain his
position towards China as well as his international relations, and promises
conformity to the views of the Viceroy and renews his admiration, etc.
He has adopted the rules laid down for him and ordered his envoys to be
guided by them.
[Inclosure in No. 551—Letter from King of
Corea to Viceroy Li Hung Chang, published in Shih-pao January 13,
1888.]
The King of Corea makes a communication.
On the 11th of November our foreign secretary, Chao Pingwu, reported to
us the arrival on that day of a dispatch addressed to him by Yuan,
Chinese resident in Corea. It appeared from the dispatch that on the 9th
of November, at 8 p.m., the resident had received a telegram from your
excellency in reply to one sent earlier by himself. Your excellency took
note of the statement made by us, that the appointment of ministers
plenipotentiary to European courts having already been announced to the
representatives of those courts in Corea and reported by them to their
respective Governments, it would be unadvisable to change the title of
our envoys, as such a proceeding would appear strange, but as soon as
our envoys had performed the duty of offering our congratulations, it
was our intention to recall them and leave chargé’s d’affaires in their
places, as being a more economical plan, and we should instruct our
envoys on arriving in any foreign country scrupulously to adhere to the
old etiquette and show the greatest respect towards the minister for
China.
Your excellency was pleased with our compliant tone, and desired to make
a special effort to accommodate our wishes. An imperial decree, however,
had been issued to you in which it was laid down that, when the envoys
were dispatched, both the position of Corea towards China and her
international relationships must alike be preserved; the envoys must
observe the etiquette of a dependent country in all their intercourse
with the ministers for China, consulting them and making reference to
them in all matters not expressly provided for, so that perfect harmony
might be maintained. Your excellency therefore felt bound to lose no
time in framing three rules; first, that a Corean envoy on reaching any
country should present himself at the Chinese legation to announce his
arrival, and request the Chinese minister to introduce him at the
foreign office, but afterwards it would not be necessary to follow this
course; secondly, that at receptions at court, official banquets and
other entertainments, the Corean minister must take his place after the
Chinese minister; and, thirdly, that in international matters of serious
importance the Corean minister must privately consult the Chinese
minister beforehand and be guided by his views.
These, your excellency said, were all matters regarding the relations of
a dependent nation with its suzerain, in which other powers were not
concerned and with which they could not interfere; and they were what
was meant in the decree above quoted when it spoke of matters not
expressly provided for, and of the maintenance of perfect harmony.
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Your excellency added, that the welfare of Corea was inseparable from,
that of China. The Chinese ministers were honorable men in high
position, who would not fail to show complete courtesy to their Corean
colleagues. Your excellency desired the resident here to make this known
to our foreign secretary in order that it might be communicated to us,
and that we might, without fail, issue instructions to our envoys in the
sense desired. On the arrival of our dispatch itself, your excellency
would again send us a reply.
Your excellency’s letter shows that you have followed His Majesty the
Emperor’s kindly policy of protecting the weak, sympathizing as much as
possible with our country in its troubles and graciously assenting to
our request for the retention of the title of the envoys, so that our
faith may be preserved in the eyes of the world and no grounds be given
for suspicion to foreign nations.
Henceforth both our position toward China and our international relations
will be maintained, the gods of our country will enjoy perpetual peace,
and a stop will be put to troublesome remarks.
All this is due to your excellency’s unceasing desire for the complete
protection of our interests, for which we shall ever feel the most
lively gratitude.
At the end of this month we shall give orders for the departure, first of
Pu Ting-Yang, our envoy plenipotentiary to the United States, and then
of Chao Chen-hsi, our envoy plenipotentiary to Great Britain, Germany,
Russia, Italy, and France, in order that they may perform their
appointed duties.
We have carefully studied the three rules drawn up by your excellency in
conformity with the Imperial decree, and we are more than ever filled
with admiration at their adequacy and completeness.
We have directed our foreign secretary to reply to the resident,
informing him of our immediate adoption of the rules, and we have
ordered the two envoys to be guided by them. We at the same time feel
bound to convey our thanks direct to your excellency, and request you to
address His Majesty the Emperor on our behalf, in accordance with the
terms of this letter.
