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Cheng-hua: Year 12, Month 7, Day 22

11 Aug 1476

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Shang Lu, the Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Minister of Personnel and concurrently Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Profundity, and others, memorialized: "...In recent years Guang-dong, Yun-nan and other places have offered in tribute wonderful and rare plants, exotic birds and strange animals, pearls, precious stones and utensils of gold and silver. These goods do not come from the persons who offer them, but are invariably taken from the people. If they cannot be taken from the people, they are obtained from native offices and the yi people. To offer one item in tribute involves trouble ten times its value. In the process, lives are subject to violence and brutality and this induces troubles on the borders. There is nothing more serious than this. Now, Annam is engaging in opposition and there is a danger of attacks on the inner territory. All this has resulted from the submission of such tribute. It is requested that an Imperial proclamation be issued noting that apart from regular tribute submission, neither inner nor outer officials are to send playthings to the Court. Thereby, above and below will be at peace and the distant people will submit to the regulations...Guang-dong/Guang-xi, Si-chuan, Gui-zhou and Yun-nan are all distant border areas. However, Yun-nan is particularly close to Annam and the man and the yi native-official offices are very prone to troubles and rebellion. We should order the Ministry of Personnel to select a principled and energetic senior official as grand coordinator of the region, so that the area can be at peace." The Emperor said: "...The remaining proposals are all approved."

Xian-zong: juan 155.7b-9b

Zhong-yang Yan-jiu yuan Ming Shi-lu, volume 46, page 2830/34

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Preferred form of citation for this entry:

Geoff Wade, translator, Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: an open access resource, Singapore: Asia Research Institute and the Singapore E-Press, National University of Singapore, http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/reign/cheng-hua/year-12-month-7-day-22, accessed January 22, 2019