뉴스레터

East Asia in the 8th century blossomed with a brisk civilization interchange within the network of exchanges formed at the initiative of the Tang Empire. Silla and Japan were in the same position of coping with estranged political and diplomatic relations with Tang until the early 7th century, so they had unprecedentedly active exchanges. However, as the relationship between Silla and Tang recovered and Balhae was founded in the old territory of Goguryeo, the relationship between Silla and Japan could not hold out any longer. On the other hand, Balhae and Japan began to maintain close relations from the mid-8th century. Balhae sent 34 official delegations to Japan, and Japan visited Balhae 13 times. Considering that regular voyages between the countries were never easy, traces of 47 rounds of exchange during Balhae's relatively short history of 229 years show that their binational relationship was very close.

Nonetheless, their relationship was not always amicable. Having been defeated in the Battle of Baekgang after interfering in the unification war of the Three Kingdoms, Japan wanted to realize a legal empire while keeping the continental crisis represented by Silla in check. Regardless of whether this was achieved, Japan also tried to gain pretext by applying cumbersome rites to the kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula. Balhae, which built up its national strength after the late 8th century and became a power in Northeast Asia, demonstrated its external confidence toward Japan by expressing its identity as the son of heaven, and this created a situation in which Balhae would inevitably conflict with Japan in their endeavor to realize the legal empire.

When Ilmanbok was dispatched in 771, Balhae emphasized that it was the son of heaven and experienced a conflict by describing its relationship with Japan as that of uncle and nephew, and there was another conflict over the destination of the Balhae delegation. This was because although Japan had mandated that Balhae enter Dazaifu via the Tsukushi gateway, Balhae continued to use the northern route. There were also conflicts over when envoys would visit; Japan proposed a visit once every 12 years, but there were various areas of friction as Balhae ignored the offer. As demand gradually grew for commodities including fur from Japan's aristocrats brought by Balhae envoys, rules governing purchase procedures and priority appeared consecutively. This prompts the assumption that goods imported from Balhae were emerging as a social problem in Japan. Burdened by the arrival of Balhae envoys, Japan began to raise various demands. In 826 the Minister of the Right (Udaijin) Fujiwara Otsugu released a statement denouncing the Balhae envoys' frequent visits. Their relationship was strained near the point of breaking, like the relationship between Silla and Japan.

However, that the two states did not race toward catastrophe was the result of Balhae's flexible diplomatic tactics, close relations between their personnel, and sincere relationships. There are not many records describing the true picture, but some affectionate stories about touching communions between scholars of the two countries have been passed down. In particular, the tracks of Balhae's monk Jeongso are notable. He took a journey of 24,000 kilometers, traversing land and sea routes. It is difficult to identify his traces in detail because of the limitations of historical data, but one can deduce his tracks to some extent with a glimpse of records left in China and Japan.

Japanese monk Ennin's “The Record of Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law”

Story involving Balhae's monk Jeongso found at Mt. Wutai

One of the records confirming his traces comprehensively is that in “The Record of Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law” authored by Japanese monk Ennin. He arrived in Tang as a member of Japan's mission in 838, but could not gain permission to make a pilgrimage to Mt. Tiantai as he had wished because of his status as a short-term student. For this reason, he had to return immediately to Japan, but ventured to stay in Tang after disembarking from the returning vessel in February of 840 out of his ardent passion for learning. It was the Silla people in Tang including Silla's monks in Chishan Fahuayuan and Jang Bogo who helped his pilgrimage, which could have been deemed illegal. Upon receiving permission to travel, Ennin left Chishan Fahuayuan and reached Mt. Wutai three months later. Mt. Wutai so greatly symbolized China's esoteric Buddhism that monks studying in Tang and seeking the truth would pass through the region without fail. During his pilgrimage to Mt. Wutai, he reached the crumbled Qifujiaojieyuan in the ravine, and there learned about the tablet containing amorous stories, “Japan's poems and writings mourning senior monk Reisen”. The following was inscribed on the tablet.

“It is Yinggong who enlightened me. I followed the teacher to reach Japan and aspired for Buddhism… In the late autumn of 813, I met his teacher, great master Reisen. We were of one mind from our first dialogue, and discussed Buddhist doctrines with our hearts.

…Great master Reisen is the instructor of Yinggong, my teacher. He awakened to the profound and mysterious logic of Buddhism early, and his high mind was the world's best.

...In 825 the Japanese king sent 100 nyang of gold, which reached Changan. I received the gold and the letter, and delivered them to great master Reisen.

...Great master Reisen gave me 10,000 small crystals, two newly translated scriptures, and five envelopes of royal edict, and asked me to travel to Japan and deliver his sense of gratitude; I accepted this. If I could work to collect unceasing ties, I could promise the grandest dreams.

...On my way back, Japan's king gave me 100 nyang of gold.

...[However,] when I arrived at the Lingjing Temple on April 7 in the second year of Taihe (828), it had been a while since great master Reisen had passed away. I shed tears of blood, and felt as if my body would be shattered. It was thanks to my relationship with Yinggong that I could cross the sea full of roaring black waves from all directions and take the five journeys risking death in stride. My belief began from Yinggong, and ended in him.

…I write and offer a poem in the midst of gazing at Changan around the time that the orchids fall in April.”

Ennin, “The Road of Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law” Volume 3

July 3, fifth year of Kaisei

Jeongso, having endured a long journey, risking death

Having entered Tang before 813 at least, Jeongso revered Yinggong as his teacher while performing activities to seek the truth, and their relationship led him to meet Reisen, Yinggong's mentor. Meanwhile, Wang Mun-gu and his company, who visited Japan, were requested by the Japanese king to deliver 100 nyang of gold to Reisen, and returned the following year. It was then delivered to Changan via Balhae's delegation to Tang, and it is presumed that Jeongso, who had been in Changan, visited Reisen in the Jinge Temple in Mt. Wutai in 825 to deliver it. Such contents also remain intact in Japan's “Ruiju Kokushi”.

This time, Reisen delivered 10,000 small crystals, two newly translated scriptures, and five envelopes of royal edict to Jeongso, requesting that they be relayed to the Japanese king. Jeongso embarked on a long journey once again to deliver them. Having arrived in Balhae from Mt. Wutai, he sailed across the sea to Japan with Ko Seung-jo and his company in 826 and delivered them to the king. The Japanese king received Jeongso cordially, and asked him to deliver 100 nyang of gold to Reisen again.

Jeongso then returned home with Balhae's envoys and went over to Mt. Wutai again to meet Reisen. In April 828, he traveled to the Lingjing Temple where Reisen had been rumored to reside. But Reisen had already entered nirvana. The second 100 nyang of gold was not delivered due to Reisen's death, and was lost in the waters of Doripo. The contents related to this can be confirmed through “Shoku Nihon Koki”. (“Shoku Nihon Koki”, Volume 11, March, 9th year of Jowa)

Mourning his death, Jeongso was very woeful and wrote down his feelings, which was the contents of the tablet that Ennin saw.

His 2,500-kilometer itinerary included Changan, Mt. Wutai, and Balhae, Sanggyeong and the East Sea, the voyage to Japan, Heian and the East Sea, and the voyage to Balhae and Mt. Wutai. He must have been a man with superhuman will, given that he embarked on his journey knowing that he would have to cross the East Sea at the risk of death. What motivated Jeongso to travel to Balhae, Japan, and Tang frequently despite this difficult itinerary? It may have been his respect for and trust in his teacher who enlightened him about seeking the truth. Admittedly, that was the powerful driving force that prompted him to head off into the fierce waves and rugged mountain roads.

Mt. Wutai, where monks from Balhae, Japan, Tang, and Silla converged

Many monks still visit constantly. – Courtesy of the writer

Trust and friendship among monks who resolved binational conflict

Their mutual respect and trust transcended the two countries' strained relationship. When Jeongso visited Japan, the relationship between Balhae and Japan was not very close. It may be right to say that the two countries had entered a cooling-off period in comparison to the preceding period when they would come and go without interruption. At the time, the Japanese royal court repeatedly asked Balhae's envoys to limit their visits to every 12 years; their relationship was getting so difficult that envoys were returned home upon arrival unless this condition was met. For example, Go Jeong-tae and his company who visited Japan in 823 had to return after staying in Echizen Province, their site of arrival, without even entering Heian on the grounds that 12 years had not yet passed. But Japan's treatment of Go Seung-jo and his company who arrived with Jeongso in 825 was different. Their visit did not meet the 12-year requirement, but Japan did not take issue with the term and invited them to Heian with warm hospitality.

Japan, which had demanded the observance of the 12-year rule, had to lower its stubborn position when faced with the strong friendship and trust among the monks of the two countries. This was of course affected by Japan's dire need to obtain civilization and information from the continent through support for people studying in Tang; but the passion of a foreign monk who broke through the rough path and arrived, dependent on his respect for his teacher and their academic trust, rendered titular rites and unbalanced judgment on reality pointless. His devotion was enough to bridge the rift between the two countries. To look at it conversely, Balhae located the desperate point of the Japanese court by making the best use of exchange channels between the monks, thereby taking an advantageous position in exchanges. Balhae had also neutralized Japan's ritual demands.

Itinerary of Balhae's monk Jeongso – Courtesy of the writer

Could the Korea-Japan conflict find implications from the Balhae-Japan relationship?

There are many more other affectionate stories between the literary men confirmed in the Balhae-Japan relationship. They include Wang Hyo-ryeom and Kukai, who ended up parting after failing to keep their relationship in Tang, and Bae Jeong/Bae Goo and Sugahara Michizane and Sugahara Atsushige, who maintained father-son relationships for two generations. Through the binational exchange in the 8th to 9th centuries we can confirm once again that person-to-person communion and trust will exceed political and diplomatic judgment and become the stronger driving force in correcting wrong judgment.

The Heian court's view on external relations that tried to embody the Japanese king-centered international order, disregarding the then international order of relations centered on Tang, was a perception that had lost touch with East Asian society at the time. This is similar to Japan's present perception in failing to reflect on the history of its imperial aggression in the 20th century. The 9th century also appears similar to the present in that the intellectuals of the two countries are trying to resolve the conflict caused by such an unrealistic perception through friendship and action in search of peace and coexistence. At this time when efforts are being made to fill the deepening Korea-Japan conflict and rift, it may be possible to look for new orientation if we look back on such important assets as the communion of intellectuals of the two countries and the trust that appeared in exchanges between Balhae and Japan.