Liuqiu Country, located on an island to the east of Jian'an County, takes five days by boat to reach. The area is dotted with caves. The king is surnamed Huansi and named Kela Dou. It's unclear how many generations have ruled in their country. The locals call the king Old Goat Kela and the queen Duobatu. They reside in a place known as Bolotan Cave, surrounded by flowing water and three moats with fences. The king's residence is quite large, featuring sixteen rooms, carved with birds and beasts.
There is a tree resembling an orange tree, but the leaves are very dense, and the branches hang down like fine hair. The country has four or five generals, each in charge of various caves, with each cave ruled by a minor king. Each cave also has a village, and each village has a bird chief, all chosen for their martial prowess and responsible for managing the affairs of their village. Both men and women wrap their hair with white linen cord, winding it from the back of their heads to their foreheads. Men don hats crafted from bird feathers, adorned with beads, shells, and red feathers, each showcasing a unique style. Women wear square white cloth hats. Their clothing consists of bark, multicolored linen, and animal fur, with a variety of styles. The garments feature hanging feathers and shells in various colors, and small shells that jingle like jade, adorned with earrings, bracelets, and beaded necklaces. They craft hats from rattan, also embellished with feathers. They possess weapons such as knives, spears, bows, arrows, swords, and axes. Iron is rare in the area, and the blades are slender and diminutive, primarily reinforced with bone and horn. They craft armor from linen, some also utilizing bear and leopard hides. The king rides in a wooden cart shaped like a beast, carried by attendants on either side, with only a few dozen followers. The minor king rides in a cart intricately carved to resemble a beast.
The people of the Liúqiú Kingdom like to attack each other; they are all strong, agile, and hard to kill, with a high tolerance for pain. Each cave fights its own battles, without offering help to one another. When the two armies face off, brave soldiers charge to the front, shouting, jumping, and hurling insults at one another, and then they start shooting arrows at each other. If they lose the battle, the entire army retreats, sends a messenger to apologize, and then reconciles. They gather the bodies of their fallen comrades and consume them together, and then present their skulls to the king. The king rewards them with hats, promoting them to captains. They have no taxes, and when necessary, they distribute the responsibilities equally. Their punishments lack fixed standards and are decided on the spot. Crimes are judged by the bird chief; if someone disagrees with the ruling, it is reported to the king, who consults with his ministers to make a decision. Prisons lack shackles, using only ropes for restraint. The death penalty is executed with an iron spike, about the thickness of a chopstick and over a foot long, which is driven through the top of the head. Minor offenses are dealt with by caning. Lacking a writing system, they track the phases of the moon to mark the seasons and observe the growth and decay of plants to count the years.
It is said that the people in this place have sunken eyes, high noses, and resemble the Hu people somewhat, but they are quite clever. They do not recognize a hierarchy between rulers and subjects, nor do they observe bowing and worship rituals. Fathers and sons even share a bed. Men shave their beards and eyebrows completely, and shave off all body hair. Women tattoo their hands with dark blue and black designs, often depicting insects or snakes. When getting married, the dowry includes some food, drink, beads, and shells, or if a man and woman take a liking to each other, they pair up. When women give birth, they must consume the child's placenta, then roast themselves with fire to sweat out the impurities, and they can return to normal in five days. They use wooden troughs to evaporate seawater for salt, tree sap to make vinegar, and rice and wheat to brew alcohol, though it's fairly mild. They eat with their hands, and if they find something good, they offer it to their elders first. During banquets, one must call out the other person's name before they can drink, even when toasting the king. The drinking atmosphere is reminiscent of the Turks, singing and dancing, with one person singing and everyone joining in, producing a rather mournful tune. When dancing, men hold women's arms and dance together. When someone dies, as their last breath fades, the body is taken to the yard, where family and friends gather to weep and mourn. The body is then washed, wrapped in cloth and then in reeds, and buried directly in the ground without a burial mound. Sons observe mourning for their fathers by not eating meat for several months. In the south, the customs are somewhat different - when someone dies, the whole village shares the deceased's body.
There are bears, jackals, wolves, pigs, and chickens in this place, but no cows, sheep, donkeys, or horses. The land is fertile, and before cultivation, they burn it with fire and then irrigate it. They use a long wooden stick as a farming tool, with a stone blade that is about a foot long and a few inches wide attached to it for cultivation. The land here is suitable for planting rice, sorghum, millet, foxtail millet, hemp, and various types of beans, including adzuki beans, kidney beans, and black beans. There are also maple trees, pagoda trees, camphor trees, pine trees, catalpa trees, nanmu trees, cedar trees, tung trees, bamboo, vines, fruit trees, and medicinal herbs, similar to the region south of the Yangtze River, with a climate akin to that of Lingnan.
The people here are deeply reverent of mountain gods and sea gods, offering wine and food when worshiping. After battle, the slain are also offered to the spirits. Some people build small structures beneath dense trees, while others hang the skulls of the dead from branches and shoot arrows at them, and some pile up stones, hang flags, and worship them as idols. The place where the king lives is filled with skulls along the walls, as they believe it brings good fortune. Every household will install skulls and horns of animals on their doors.
In the first year of Daye, the first year of Emperor Yang of Sui's reign, the naval commander He Man and his men would look eastward during the clear and calm seasons of spring and autumn, seeming to see something like smoke in the distance, but not knowing how far it was.
Three years later, Emperor Yang of Sui sent Captain of the Feathered Cavalry Zhu Kuan to sail out to find countries with different customs. When He Man heard about this, he joined Zhu Kuan on the expedition, and they arrived at the country of Liuqiu. Due to the language barrier, they captured a local and brought him back with them.
In the second year, Emperor Yang of Sui sent Zhu Kuan to negotiate with them again. As Liuqiu refused, Zhu Kuan took some of their fabric armor and returned. At that time, an envoy from Japan came to visit Emperor Yang of Sui and saw the fabric armor, saying, "This is what the people of Liuqiu use." Emperor Yang of Sui then sent Wuben Lang, Chen Leng, and Zhang Zhenzhou to lead troops from Yian and set sail to attack Liuqiu. When they arrived at Gaohuayu, they traveled east for two days to Xibiyu, and then one more day to Liuqiu. At first, Chen Leng led soldiers from various southern kingdoms to march together, among them were people from Kunlun who understood the language of Liuqiu. They were sent to persuade them, but Liuqiu did not agree and resisted the soldiers. Chen Leng defeated them, stormed their capital, won many battles, burned their palaces, and took thousands of men, women, and children as prisoners, along with the spoils of war. Since then, Liuqiu broke off contact with the Sui Dynasty. Japan lies to the southeast of Baekje and Silla, approximately three thousand miles by sea. They inhabit mountainous islands in the vast sea. During the Wei Dynasty, Japan and China were already able to communicate with each other. Japan is made up of over thirty kingdoms, each of which claims to be a king. The people of Japan are unaware of exact distances, measuring only in days. Their country takes five months to journey from east to west, and three months north to south until reaching the seaside. The terrain is elevated in the east and descends in the west. Their capital is at Ximi Dui, known as Xiematai in the "Records of Wei." Ancient texts mention that Japan lies twelve thousand miles from Lelang and Daifang Commanderies, to the east of Kuaiji, and is almost as far as Dan'er.
During the reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, envoys from the Wa State came to pay tribute, referring to themselves as nobles. During the reign of Emperor An of the Han Dynasty, envoys from the Wa State came again to offer tribute; at that time, they were referred to as the Wa Kingdom. During the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Wa State was engulfed in turmoil, with various tribes attacking each other, and there was no king for many years. Later, a woman named Himiko emerged, who could use witchcraft to captivate everyone, so the people of the country all supported her as queen. She had a brother who helped her manage the country. The queen had more than a thousand attendants; very few people had seen her face, and only two men were tasked with delivering food and messages to her. The queen's palace, pavilions, city walls, and enclosures were all guarded by soldiers, and the laws were very strict. From the Wei Dynasty to the Qi Dynasty and the Liang Dynasty, the Wa State maintained contact with China.
In the twentieth year of the Kaihuang era, which is 590 AD, the king of the Wa State, with the surname Amo, whose courtesy name was Doli Sibei, and with the title Abeijimi, sent envoys to the emperor. The emperor instructed the relevant departments to investigate the customs of the Wa State.
The envoys reported that the Wa king viewed the sky as his elder brother and the sun as his younger brother. He started handling state affairs before dawn, sitting cross-legged to work, and stopped working once the sun rose, saying, "I'll leave the state affairs to my younger brother (the sun)." When the Emperor heard this, he said, "That's absurd!" and ordered the Wa king to change this custom. The Wa king's wife was named Jimi, and there were six to seven hundred women in his harem. The crown prince of the Wa State was named Lige Midofuli. They did not have city walls or fortifications.
The court officials of the Wa State were divided into twelve ranks: Great Virtue, Small Virtue, Great Benevolence, Small Benevolence, Great Righteousness, Small Righteousness, Great Propriety, Small Propriety, Great Wisdom, Small Wisdom, Great Trust, Small Trust, with no fixed number of people in each rank. They had one hundred and twenty military nuns, comparable to county magistrates or village heads in China. Eighty households were managed by one Ini Wing, akin to a village head today. Ten Ini Wings fell under the authority of one military nun.
The people of Wa wear skirts, tops, and short jackets, both men and women alike. The sleeves are narrow, and the shoes are similar to straw sandals, with a lacquered surface and tied to the feet. Most common folk go barefoot. They cannot use gold and silver for decoration. Back then, their clothes were made of a single piece of fabric, joined front to back without any seams. They typically don’t wear hats, and their hair hangs loose around their ears. During the Sui Dynasty, their kings began to wear hats made of brocade, decorated with gold and silver engravings. Women tie their hair behind their heads, also wearing skirts, tops, and short jackets, with pleated skirts. They use bamboo combs, straw mats, coats made from assorted leathers, and patterned leather edges. They possess bows, arrows, knives, spears, crossbows, and axes, with leather armor coated in lacquer and bone arrowheads. Although they have an army, they rarely go to war. When the Wa hold a court meeting, they always have a ceremonial guard and perform their traditional music. The population of the Wa people is roughly one hundred thousand households.
Speaking of the customs in this place, if one commits murder, robbery, or other crimes, the consequences are severe! Thieves must compensate for the value of the stolen goods, and if they cannot afford it, they will become enslaved. Other crimes are punished by exile or flogging. During trials, if someone does not confess, they will be made to kneel on wooden boards or have their necks tightened with bowstrings. There are even more cruel methods, such as throwing small stones into boiling water and forcing the accused to retrieve them - the one who gets burned is deemed guilty; or placing a snake in a jar and making the accused catch it - whoever gets bitten is guilty. Therefore, the people in that place are quite honest, rarely go to court, and there are few thieves. They enjoy playing musical instruments like the five-stringed qin and flute. Both men and women like to tattoo their arms and faces, and go fishing in the water. They have no writing system, so they carve wooden sticks and tie knots to keep records. Later, they adopted Buddhism and obtained Buddhist scriptures from Baekje, which is how they acquired a writing system. They practice divination and believe in shamans. On the first day of the lunar new year, everyone shoots arrows, drinks, and celebrates, with other customs similar to those in China. They also enjoy playing chess and various board games. The climate in that place is warm, with evergreen vegetation, fertile land, and abundant water. They use small rings to tie around the necks of cormorants, allowing them to catch over a hundred fish a day. They eat without plates or utensils, but with leaves and their hands. The people there are straightforward and elegant. There are more women than men, and marriage between people of the same surname is prohibited - as long as a man and woman are compatible, they can marry. When a woman marries, she must step over a dog before meeting her husband. The women there are neither promiscuous nor jealous. When someone dies, they are buried in a coffin, and friends and family sing and dance around the body, while the wife, children, and siblings wear white mourning attire. Officials must keep the body for three years, while commoners choose an auspicious day for burial. During the burial, the body is placed on a boat and pulled ashore, or carried on a small sedan chair.
There is a mountain called Mount Asu in the region, where rocks ignite spontaneously and burn up into the sky. The locals find it very miraculous, so they often go there to pray and make offerings. There is also a kind of wish-granting pearl, blue in color, about the size of an egg, which glows at night. It is said to be the essence of fish eyes. Both Silla and Baekje viewed Japan as a powerful nation, believing that Japan possessed many treasures, and they admired Japan, frequently sending envoys back and forth.
In the year 607 AD, the king of Goguryeo sent envoys to the Sui Dynasty to pay tribute. The envoys said, "We heard that the Emperor of the Western Sea, known as Bodhisattva (Emperor Yang of Sui), vigorously promotes Buddhism, so we came specially to pay respects, and also brought dozens of monks to learn Buddhism." The Goguryeo official documents were inscribed with phrases like "From the land of the rising sun to the land of the setting sun, may the Emperor be in good health." Emperor Yang of Sui was very displeased after reading them and told the Minister of Rites, "There are impolite parts in the letters from the barbarians; don't show me such letters again in the future."
The following year, Emperor Yang of Sui sent the Palace Gentleman, Pei Qing, as an envoy to Japan. Pei Qing first passed through Baekje, arrived at Bamboo Island, where he could glimpse Dangrao to the south, and then passed through the country of Dusama, all situated in the sea. Continuing eastward, he arrived at the country of Yiqi, then to the Kingdom of Chuzhi, and further east to the Kingdom of Qin. The people there were similar to those in the Central Plains, and it was regarded as a barbarian land, though this was uncertain. Pei Qing passed through more than ten countries before reaching Japan's coastline. From the Kingdom of Chuzhi eastward, these countries were all vassals of Japan. The Japanese king sent Xiao Deabi Tai to lead several hundred people in a grand procession to greet Pei Qing. Ten days later, the Japanese king sent Da Li Gedupi to lead more than two hundred cavalry to the outskirts to welcome him.
After arriving at the capital of Japan, the Japanese king was very pleased to meet Pei Qing. The king said, "I have heard that the great Sui Dynasty in the west is a land of propriety, so I sent people to pay tribute. We, the people of the east, live in remote coastal areas and do not understand etiquette, so we allowed the envoy to remain in our territory without an immediate audience. Now I have tidied up my residence and adorned the guest quarters to welcome the ambassador, hoping to learn from the advanced culture of the Sui Dynasty." Pei Qing replied, "The emperor's benevolence reaches across the heavens and the earth, and blessings spread to all directions. Because the Japanese king admires the culture of the Sui Dynasty, he sent me to promote education." Later, the Japanese king arranged for Pei Qing to stay in the hall. Subsequently, Pei Qing sent someone to inform the Japanese king, "The imperial order has been delivered; please depart for your country as soon as possible." So the Japanese king hosted a banquet for Pei Qing and sent envoys to accompany him to pay tribute with some items. From that point forward, the exchanges between Japan and the Sui Dynasty ceased. Historical records indicate that the diverse geographical environments of valleys and rivers give rise to varying customs and habits among the local populations, different preferences and desires, and even different languages. The sages teach according to the actual situation, allowing them to achieve their wishes and make their customs and habits common. The regions inhabited by the nine tribes are located far from the Central Plains, but they are gentle and obedient by nature, without a rough and brutal atmosphere. Although separated by distant mountains and seas, it is easy to govern them with education. During the Xia and Yin Dynasties, they sometimes came to pay respects to the emperor. It was not until Ji Zi escaped to Korea that the "Eight Prohibitions" were implemented, which were simple and easy to carry out for a long time. The impact of education has endured for over a thousand years and continues to this day.
Now in various countries in Liaodong, some are dressed similarly to the Central Plains region, and some have adopted Central Plains customs regarding their diet and daily life. They enjoy studying the classics, historical texts, and literature, often coming to the capital to study, with constant travel back and forth, some even dying on the journey without returning. If not for the positive traditions established by ancient sages, how could they have achieved this level? Therefore, Confucius said: "Speak honestly and keep your word; act with sincerity and respect, and you can thrive even in barbaric lands." This statement is indeed correct! The customs of various countries in Liaodong are worth learning from, far more than merely offering crude arrows as tribute.
From the unification of the remaining areas of the Zhou Dynasty by Emperor Gaozu of Han, which benefited the Central Plains, to the end of the Kaihuang period, the Sui Dynasty repeatedly launched campaigns in Liaodong, but due to unfavorable circumstances, the army returned empty-handed. The two generations of emperors of the Sui Dynasty later aimed to rule the world, launching numerous military expeditions to the Korean Peninsula, using a large number of troops and weapons. The small nations, fearing annihilation, fought back fiercely like cornered animals, with continuous wars leading to chaos in the world, ultimately leading to their collapse and demise. Military books say: "Countries dedicated to developing good governance will prosper, while those focused on expanding territory will perish." However, the Liaodong region has long been outside the control of local governments. Those countries paid tribute on time without fail, but the two generations of emperors of the Sui Dynasty became arrogant and complacent as a result, believing that no one in the world was more powerful than themselves, failing to educate them through culture and instead resorting to force too readily. Relying on strong power domestically, while seeking to expand territory externally, arousing resentment through arrogance and provoking war through anger. No nation has ever survived under such conditions, as history shows. Therefore, we should deeply learn from the lessons of the barbarians!
