Entry

The minister A-lie Yi-lie-shi, who had been sent by Ba-da-na Ba-na-wu, the king of the country of Java, presented a gold-leaf memorial and offered tribute. The envoy was detained for a month-plus and then sent home. Thereupon, an Imperial proclamation of instruction was sent to the king of the country, noting: "The rule of the Sage, throughout all under Heaven and within and outside the four seas, is intended for the benefit of the people. Thus, in his heart, the Sage looks on all equally. I rule the Chinese and the yi, and in governing them I make no distinction between the near and the far. Your land is secluded on an island in the ocean. Recently, you sent an envoy to China and, although he said he was offering tribute, he was actually seeking profit. I treated him with propriety in order to promote loyalty. Previously, the envoy sent by the king of the country of San-fo-qi sent an envoy to present a memorial and request a seal of office. I was pleased with his desire for righteousness and sent an envoy to confer this on him. This was intended to show kindness to the distant peoples. Why did you make an evil plan, lure the envoy away and kill him? How can you, relying on your location in an isolated distant place, dare to insult and act outrageously like this? When your envoy arrived, I originally wished to detain him. However, the love of fathers, mothers, wives and children is the same among yi as among the Chinese, and with this thought in mind, I especially ordered that he be returned home. You two kings should pay attention to self-cultivation and act loyally and respectfully. Do not act wrongly like you did in the past, or anger or offend China. Only thus will your prosperity be guaranteed. If you act against this instruction, you will bring upon yourself calamity and misfortune and repentance will be of no avail."