@article{ART003297779},
author={Wang, Yao},
title={The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong},
journal={The Review of Korean History},
issn={1225-133X},
year={2025},
number={160},
pages={7-50}
TY - JOUR
AU - Wang, Yao
TI - The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong
JO - The Review of Korean History
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 160
PB - The Historical Society Of Korea
SP - 7
EP - 50
SN - 1225-133X
AB - Envoys played a crucial role in maintaining relations between Goryeo and Khitan. Among the regular envoys, the birthday envoys sent to congratulate the birthdays of the Goryeo king and Khitan emperor are the most recorded cases. The use of monarch’s birthday celebrations as a diplomatic instrument began between Khitan and Song after the conclusion of the Treaty of Chanyuan in 1004. As the product of the reciprocal diplomatic relations between Khitan and Song, birthday envoys carried the nature of diplomatic exchanges, differing from New Year envoys, which originated from the tributary system and symbolized hierarchical order.
As a member of the East Asian world, Goryeo joined the newly restructured international order of the time and dispatched a total of 37 birthday envoys to Khitan, showing distinct patterns before and after the reign of King Sukjong. According to records, birthday envoys were not regularly dispatched before King Sukjong’s reign, whereas they were sent almost annually thereafter. Therefore, it is difficult to regard the 1022 regulation as a fixed guideline for Goryeo’s diplomatic missions to Khitan. It is more reasonable to interpret this regulation as an instruction to simplify the dispatch of envoys, which focused on the manner of courtesy envoys and the combination of other diplomatic missions.
Meanwhile, the changes in the dispatch of birthday envoys during King Sukjong’s reign were closely related to his diplomatic policy of bukgyo-namsa(北交南事). This expression can be traced back to Choi Seungro’s assessment of King Taejo’s foreign policy, as well as to the actual diplomatic practices during King Munjong’s reign. During King Sukjong’s time, Goryeo sought to maintain stable relations with Khitan by employing various means of diplomatic exchange, including the dispatch of birthday envoys. Accordingly, Sukjong described Goryeo’s relationship with Khitan as gyo. In contrast, because he had declined Song’s offer of investiture and thus feared provoking its discontent, while desiring to bring in benefits, Sukjong assessed Goryeo’s relationship with Song as sa.
King Sukjong’s foreign policy moved beyond the initial stage of establishing separate diplomatic relations with either Khitan or Song. Instead, it focused on maintaining and consolidating Goryeo’s already established relationships with the two great powers while trying to preserve a balance between them. The regular dispatch of birthday envoys to Khitan after King Sukjong’s reign was a direct outcome of this diplomatic strategy.
KW - Goryeo;Khitan;Song;Birthday Envoys;New Year envoys;King Sukjong;Bukgyo Namsa Policy
DO -
UR -
ER -
Wang, Yao. (2025). The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong. The Review of Korean History, 160, 7-50.
Wang, Yao. 2025, "The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong", The Review of Korean History, no.160, pp.7-50.
Wang, Yao "The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong" The Review of Korean History 160 pp.7-50 (2025) : 7.
Wang, Yao. The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong. 2025; 160 : 7-50.
Wang, Yao. "The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong" The Review of Korean History no.160(2025) : 7-50.
Wang, Yao. The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong. The Review of Korean History, 160, 7-50.
Wang, Yao. The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong. The Review of Korean History. 2025; 160 7-50.
Wang, Yao. The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong. 2025; 160 : 7-50.
Wang, Yao. "The Dispatch of Birthday Envoys to Khitan during the Early Goryeo Period and the Diplomatic Policy in the Reign of King Sukjong" The Review of Korean History no.160(2025) : 7-50.
