The Mohe are located to the north of Goryeo, with each village tribe having its own leader and no unified ruler. There are a total of seven tribes: the first is called Sumo, adjacent to Goryeo, with several thousand elite warriors who are brave and skilled in battle, often raiding Goryeo for goods. The second is called Bopuo, to the north of Sumo, with seven thousand elite soldiers. The third is called Anchegu, to the northeast of Bopuo. The fourth is called Fune, to the east of Bopuo. The fifth is called Haoshi, to the east of Fune. The sixth is called Heishui, to the northwest of Anchegu. The seventh is called Baishan, to the southeast of Sumo. The total military strength of these tribes does not exceed thirty thousand, but the Heishui tribe is particularly formidable. As you go east from the Fune tribe, they use stone arrowheads like the ancient Sushen tribe. They mostly live near mountains and water, and their leader is called Damofuman Duo, regarded as a strong power among the Eastern tribes.
They have a place called Tutai Mountain, which the locals greatly respect. Although there are bears, tigers, leopards, and wolves on the mountain, they do not harm people, and the locals dare not harm them. The terrain there is low-lying and damp, so they build mounds of earth similar to dikes, dig holes in the ground to live in, with the entrances facing upwards, allowing them to use ladders for access. They cultivate together, growing a lot of millet, wheat, and common millet in the land. The water there is salty, and salt can form on the bark of trees. They mainly raise pigs as livestock. They chew rice to make wine, which can make them drunk. Women wear cloth clothes, while men wear pigskin and dogskin clothes. They wash their hands and faces with urine, seen as the least hygienic of all the tribes.
Their customs are notoriously promiscuous and envious. If a woman's extramarital affair is revealed to her husband by someone else, the husband will kill his wife, feel remorse afterward, and then take revenge on the informer, so this infidelity will remain hidden. They all make a living from hunting, using horn bows that are three feet long and arrows measuring one foot two inches. They usually make poison in July and August, coat the arrowheads with it to hunt birds and beasts, and animals hit by poisoned arrows will die immediately.
During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, people from those areas sent envoys to pay tribute. When Emperor Wen met the envoys, he said, "I heard that the people in your area are all very brave, and now that you have come, it is truly my wish! I consider you my own children, and you should honor me as you would your father." The envoys replied, "We live in remote areas, the journey is long, and we are honored by your kindness, having heard of your wise rule in the Central Plains, so we came to pay our respects. Now that we are honored by your grace and can see the emperor with our own eyes, we are extremely happy and willing to be your subjects forever." Their country borders the Khitan to the northwest, and they frequently raid one another. Later, because of the envoys coming to pay tribute, Emperor Wen cautioned them, saying, "I pity the Khitan and think that they are no different from you. You should each guard your own territory, so that you can all live and work in peace. Why do you always attack each other? This is contrary to my wishes!" The envoys quickly apologized. Emperor Wen then rewarded them generously and allowed them to hold a banquet in the palace. The envoys and their followers danced, with many dances portraying battle scenes. Emperor Wen looked up at his ministers and said, "There are indeed such things in this world, always preoccupied with fighting; it’s quite remarkable!" However, their territory is quite distant from the Sui Dynasty, with only Sumo and Baishan being somewhat nearby.
Emperor Yang of Sui initially fought against Goguryeo, facing repeated defeats. Goguryeo commander Du Deji led his troops to surrender to the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Yang appointed him as the Right Guanglu Daifu, permitting him to live in Liucheng and engage with the local populace. Du Deji was very fond of Chinese customs and requested to wear Han clothing. Emperor Yang was pleased and bestowed upon him numerous brocades and silks, treating him very well. During the Liaodong campaign, Du Deji once again led his troops to follow Emperor Yang on expeditions, earning military accolades each time. Emperor Yang rewarded him generously. After thirteen years on the throne, Emperor Yang took a trip to Jiangdu for leisure and later sent Du Deji back to Liucheng. On his way back to Liucheng, he encountered Li Mi's rebel army, fighting over ten battles before narrowly escaping. He was soon captured by Wang Xuba in Gaoyang shortly after. Not long after, he escaped to Luo Yi's place.
The kingdom of Liuqiu is situated on an island, to the east of Jian'an Commandery, reachable by boat in five days. The area is full of caves. Their king is surnamed Huansi, named Kela Dou, and the exact number of generations their kingdom has existed remains unclear. The locals refer to the king as Kelao Yang and the queen as Duobatu. They reside in a place called Bolotan Cave, encircled by three moats and fences, with flowing water outside and walls constructed from branches and thorns. The king's residence boasts as many as sixteen spacious rooms, with carvings of birds and beasts on top.
There is a type of tree that looks like an orange tree, but the leaves are very dense, and the branches are as thin as hair hanging down. There are four or five great chiefs in the country, each in charge of various caves, and each cave is ruled by a little king. In each cave, there are villages, and each village has a leader, selected for their fighting skills, elected to oversee village matters. Men, women, young and old all wrap their hair with white ramie rope, from the back of the head to the forehead. Men wear feathered hats, inlaid with beads and shells, adorned with red plumes, each with a different style. Women wear hats made of white patterned cloth, square in shape.
They wear clothing made from tree bark, linen in various colors, and mixed fibers, with a variety of styles. The clothing is adorned with wool and shell decorations, in various colors, with small shells hanging down, jingling like charms, and they also wear earrings, bracelets, and necklaces with beads. They craft hats from rattan, decorated with feathers. They have weapons such as knives, spears, bows, arrows, swords, and hatchets. There is little iron there; the blades are narrow and short, primarily reinforced with bone and horn. They craft armor from linen, some also using bear and leopard skins. The king rides in a wooden cart shaped like an animal, carried by attendants on either side, followed by just a few dozen followers. The little kings travel in intricately carved animal-shaped carts.
The people there enjoy brawling with one another. They are all strong, tough to kill, and have great resilience in battle. Each group in the caves fights their own battles and doesn't help one another. When the two armies face off, brave soldiers dash to the front, hopping around, hurling insults at each other, before starting to shoot arrows. If they lose, the whole army will retreat, send envoys to apologize, and then reconcile. They gather the dead from the battlefield and share a meal, and their skulls are sent to the king. The king gives them hats as rewards and appoints them as captains. They don't pay taxes and share responsibilities equally. Punishments aren't set in stone; they're decided on the fly. Crimes are judged by the bird chief; if they refuse to accept the ruling, it is reported to the king, who calls the ministers together to discuss and decide. In prison, there are no chains—just ropes. The death penalty is carried out with an iron awl, about the thickness of chopsticks and over a foot long, which they stab through the head to kill. Lesser offenses get a caning. They don't have writing and rely on watching the moon's phases to track the seasons, and watching plants grow and wither to keep track of the years.
Speaking of the people in this place, their eyes are deep-set, their noses are high and straight, and they somewhat resemble the Hu people, but they are also quite clever. There's not much distinction between rulers and subjects, nor do they adhere to elaborate bowing rituals. Fathers and sons even sleep in the same bed. The men keep their beards and eyebrows completely shaved, and shave off all body hair. The women tattoo their hands with designs often depicting insects and snakes. For marriage, they use wine, food, pearls, and shells as betrothal gifts. If the couple gets along well, they can get married right away. Women must eat the placenta after giving birth, and after childbirth, they must heat themselves with fire, sweat it out for a while, and recover in five days. They use wooden troughs to evaporate seawater for salt production, use tree sap to make vinegar, and use rice and wheat to make wine, which has a rather mild flavor. They eat with their hands, and if there's something tasty, they offer it to their elders first. At banquets, the person making the toast has to call out the other person's name before pouring the wine; even when toasting the king, they still have to call out his name. Everyone drinks together, just like the Turks, singing and dancing while clapping and stomping, with a rather mournful tune. When dancing, men support women's shoulders and dance together. When someone is dying, they are carried to the courtyard, where family and friends mourn openly. The body is then washed, wrapped in cloth and then in reeds, and buried directly in the ground without a tombstone. Sons honor their fathers by not eating meat for several months. In the southern regions, customs are a bit different—when someone dies, the whole village shares in eating the deceased's flesh.
In this place, there are many bears, jackals, wolves, pigs, and chickens in the mountains, but no cows, sheep, donkeys, or horses. The land is very fertile, so they burn the land first and then irrigate it with water. They use a long wooden pole to plow the land, with one end of the pole sharpened to a blade using a stone, about a foot long and a few inches wide. The land here is suitable for growing rice, millet, foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, hemp, beans, red beans, black beans, and so on. As for trees, there are maple trees, pagoda trees, camphor trees, pine trees, Chinese nutmeg trees, nanmu trees, fir trees, catalpa trees, bamboo, climbing plants, fruit trees, and medicinal herbs, similar to the area south of the Yangtze River, with a climate akin to Lingnan.
The locals worship mountain gods and sea gods, offering wine and food during sacrifices. If there is a war and people are killed, the deceased are also sacrificed to the spirits. Some of them build small sheds under dense trees for sacrifices, some hang skulls on trees and shoot arrows at them, and some pile up stones with flags inserted as idols. The place where the king lives is filled with skulls at the base of the walls, which they consider auspicious. Every household must have skulls and horns of animals on their doors.
In the first year of Daye (605 AD), when Emperor Yang of Sui was in power, the local chieftain He Man and his people, in the spring and autumn seasons every year when the weather was clear and the sea calm, would gaze eastward, thinking they see mist on the horizon, not knowing how far it was.
Three years later, Emperor Yang of Sui sent the imperial cavalry officer Zhu Kuan to sail out to find out about these unusual customs. He Man informed Emperor Yang of this situation, so they went together and arrived at the country of Liuqiu. Because they couldn't communicate, they captured a local and brought him back.
In the second year of his reign, Emperor Yang of Sui sent Zhu Kuan to pacify them once more, but the Luqiu people ignored his attempts, so Zhu Kuan forcibly took some of their armor. At that time, an envoy from the country of Wo came to see Emperor Yang, who, upon seeing the armor, remarked, "This is something used by the people of Luqiu." Thus, Emperor Yang sent General Chen Leng and the court official Zhang Zhenzhou to lead the army from Yian, embark on boats to launch an attack on Luqiu. They arrived at Gaohuayu, then sailed east for two days until they reached Xibiyu, and another day to Luqiu. Initially, Chen Leng led soldiers from various southern states into battle, including Kunlun people who understood the Luqiu language, so they were sent to persuade them. However, the Luqiu people refused to heed their words and resisted the troops. Chen Leng defeated them and advanced to the capital of Luqiu, achieving numerous victories, burning their palace, and capturing thousands of men, women, and children, and returned with their spoils. From that point on, Luqiu lost all contact with the Sui Dynasty.
The Wa Kingdom, located over three thousand li away by sea to the southeast of Baekje and Silla, is situated in the vast sea, nestled among mountains and islands. During the Wei Dynasty, the Wa Kingdom and China were already able to communicate with each other. The Wa Kingdom comprises over thirty states, each of which claims to be a king. The Wa people are not very precise about distances, calculating them only in terms of days. It takes five months to traverse their territory from east to west, and three months from north to south, all the way to the coast. The terrain slopes from high in the east to low in the west. Their capital is in Yamadu, also referred to as Xiematai in the "Records of Wei." Ancient texts state that the Wa Kingdom is twelve thousand li from Lelang Commandery and Daifang Commandery, to the east of Kuaiji, and closer to Dan'er. During the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, the Wa Kingdom sent envoys to offer tribute, referring to themselves as dafu. During the reign of Emperor An of Han, the Wa Kingdom again sent envoys to offer tribute, at that time referring to themselves as the Wa slave kingdom. During the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling of Han, the Wa Kingdom was in turmoil, with various tribes warring against one another, and there was no king for many years. Later, a woman named Himiko appeared, who practiced sorcery to captivate everyone, so the entire nation rallied behind her as queen. She had a brother who assisted her in governing the country. The queen had over a thousand handmaidens, few had ever seen her face, with only two men responsible for delivering her food and messages. The queen's palace, towers, and city walls were heavily guarded by soldiers, and the laws were exceptionally harsh. From the Wei Dynasty to the Qi Dynasty and the Liang Dynasty, the Wa Kingdom maintained contact with China.
In the twentieth year of the Kaihuang era, a king named Ami ruled in Japan, with the style name Tali Sibeiguo and the title A Beiji Mi, who sent envoys to the court to pay tribute. The emperor directed relevant officials to learn about their customs and practices.
The messenger returned to report that the king of Japan considers the sky his elder brother and the sun his younger brother. He starts working before dawn, sitting cross-legged while handling government affairs. When the sun rises, he stops and says, "I’ll leave it to my younger brother, the sun." Upon hearing this, Emperor Gaozu said, "This is completely unreasonable!" and ordered them to change this belief. His wife, named Jīmí, and he has six or seven hundred women in his harem. Their crown prince is named Ligemiduofuli. They have no city walls or fortifications. Their palace officials are divided into twelve ranks: "Great Virtue," "Lesser Virtue," "Great Benevolence," "Lesser Benevolence," "Great Righteousness," "Lesser Righteousness," "Great Propriety," "Lesser Propriety," "Great Wisdom," "Lesser Wisdom," "Great Trust," and "Lesser Trust," with an unspecified number of officials in each rank. They also have one hundred and twenty military officers, equivalent to township officials in China. Eighty households are supervised by an Iniyi, similar to a village head. Ten Iniyi are under the command of a military officer. Their clothing consists of a robe with narrow sleeves and a lower garment, and shoes similar to straw sandals with lacquered uppers tied around the feet. Most commoners, meanwhile, go barefoot. They are not allowed to use gold or silver for decoration. Their clothing was made from a single piece of fabric without seams, with no hats worn and hair left loose on either side of their ears. It was during the Sui Dynasty that their kings began to wear hats made of brocade, adorned with gold and silver engravings. Women wore their hair in a bun at the back of their heads and wore a similar style of clothing with pleated skirts. They used bamboo combs, grass mats, and various types of leather for outerwear, with beautiful leather used for edging. They had weapons such as bows, arrows, knives, spears, crossbows, and axes, with lacquered leather armor and bone arrowheads. Even with their weapons, they did not engage in warfare. During court meetings, they always had a ceremonial procession and played their national music. Their population was approximately one hundred thousand households.
Speaking of the customs of this place, if someone commits murder, robbery, or adultery, it's a death sentence! Thieves must compensate for the value of what they stole, and if they can't afford it, they end up as slaves. Other offenses result in light banishment or harsh beatings. During trials, if someone refuses to testify, they use wooden planks to crush the knees or bowstrings to strangle the neck. There are even more cruel punishments, such as throwing small stones into boiling water for the accused to pick out, saying that whoever is guilty will end up with rotting hands; or putting snakes in a jar for the accused to catch, claiming that whoever is guilty will be bitten by the snake.
Therefore, everyone is very honest; lawsuits are rare, and so is theft. They enjoy the music of the five-string lute and flute. Both men and women like to have tattoos on their arms and faces, and they enjoy fishing. They have no written language, so they carve wooden sticks and tie knots for record-keeping. Later, they adopted Buddhism and obtained Buddhist scriptures from Baekje, which led to the development of their written language. They practice divination and have a strong belief in shamans. Every New Year's Day, they shoot arrows, drink, and celebrate, with other holidays resembling ours. They also enjoy playing various board games like Weiqi and Chupu.
The climate in that place is warm, the vegetation remains green all year round, the land is fertile, and there is plenty of water. They train cormorants to fish by putting small rings around their necks and letting them dive to catch fish, catching more than a hundred fish in a single day! They eat off leaves and use their hands. The people there are open and dignified. There are more women than men, and people with the same surname can’t marry, but as long as both parties are on board, they can get married. When a bride enters her husband's family, she has to step over a dog before meeting her husband. The women there are not promiscuous and do not get jealous.
When a person dies, the deceased are placed in a coffin for burial. Relatives and friends will sing and dance by the body, while the wife, children, and brothers wear white mourning garments. Officials and nobles will keep the body on display for three years, while commoners will select a burial date. During the burial, the body is placed on a boat, dragged along the ground, or transported by a small cart.
There is a mountain called Mount Asu, where stones inexplicably catch fire, with flames shooting up to the sky. The locals find it miraculous and often go there to pray and offer sacrifices. There is also a kind of wish-fulfilling gem, blue in color and about the size of an egg, which glows at night and is said to be the essence of fish eyes. Silla and Baekje both consider Japan a powerful country with many treasures, greatly admiring it and sending envoys back and forth.
In the year 607 AD, the King of Goguryeo sent envoys to the Sui Dynasty. The envoys said, "We have heard that the Emperor of the Western Sea (referring to Emperor Yang of Sui) vigorously promotes Buddhism, so we have come to pay our respects and brought dozens of monks to learn Buddhism." The official letter they presented stated: "The Emperor of the East sends a letter to the Emperor of the West, wishing you well," and so on. Emperor Yang of Sui was displeased upon reading it and told the Minister of Rites, "How impolite are these barbarians' letters! Don't show me such letters in the future!"
The following year, Emperor Yang of Sui sent the Imperial Librarian, Pei Qing, as an envoy to Japan. Passing through Baekje and reaching Bamboo Island, he saw the country of Daro to the south, and then passed through the country of Dusima, all located in the sea. Continuing eastward, he arrived at a country, then at the Kingdom of Zhusi, and further east to the Kingdom of Qin, whose people resembled those from the Central Plains. The locals considered it a foreign land, but Pei Qing found this claim uncertain. He passed through more than ten countries before finally reaching the coast of Japan. From the Kingdom of Zhusi eastward, all these countries were vassals of Japan. The Japanese King sent Xio Deabei Tai to lead hundreds of people, with a lavish procession, to welcome Pei Qing. Ten days later, the King of Japan sent Da Li Gedopi to lead over two hundred cavalry to greet him on the outskirts.
After arriving in the capital of Japan, the King of Japan was very pleased to meet Pei Qing. The King said, "I have heard that there is a powerful Sui Dynasty in the West Sea, known for its etiquette, so I sent envoys to pay tribute. We, the so-called barbarians, live in remote coastal areas and do not understand etiquette, so we delayed our meeting with the envoys. Now I have deliberately cleared the road and decorated the accommodations to welcome the ambassador, hoping to learn the advanced culture of a great country." Pei Qing replied, "The emperor's grace extends throughout the world, and blessings flow to the four seas. Because the King of Japan admires the culture of the great Sui, the emperor sent me here to convey the emperor's message." Later, the King of Japan arranged for Pei Qing to stay in the accommodations. Subsequently, Pei Qing sent someone to tell the King of Japan, "The imperial decree has been delivered; please depart for your country as soon as possible." So the King of Japan hosted a banquet for Pei Qing and sent envoys to follow Pei Qing to pay tribute with local specialties. From then on, the diplomatic relations between Japan and the Sui Dynasty came to an end.
Historians say: different geographical environments lead to diverse customs, preferences, desires, and languages. The sage formulates appropriate teachings based on different times and places in order to achieve their wishes and make their customs and habits common.
The territories of the nine tribes are far from the Central Plains, but they are inherently kind and gentle, without a culture of brutality. Despite being separated by vast mountains, rivers, and seas, they can easily be guided through teachings. During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the nine tribes would occasionally come to pay their respects to the emperor. It was not until Jizi escaped to Korea that the "Eight Prohibitions" were introduced; these prohibitions were clear, concise, and easy to enforce over time. The impact of this education has endured for thousands of years and continues to this day.
In the various countries in Liaodong today, some imitate the Central Plains by wearing ceremonial garments and using ceremonial vessels in their daily lives. They enjoy studying classics, historical books, and literature, and there is a steady stream of people traveling to the capital to study. Even if someone dies along the way or gets lost, they do not turn back. If it weren't for the noble traditions established by ancient sages, how could they reach this level? Therefore, Confucius said: "Speaking honestly and keeping promises, acting respectfully and cautiously, can be respected even in foreign lands." This is truly a profound saying! The customs of the various countries in Liaodong are worth learning from, not merely for presenting crude arrows as tribute.
Since Emperor Gaozu of Han unified the remaining land of the Zhou Dynasty and bestowed grace upon the Central Plains, the Sui Dynasty only began to conquer Liaodong during the Kaihuang era, but due to unfavorable conditions, the army achieved no success. After the two Sui emperors ascended to the throne, they harbored grand ambitions of world conquest, launching multiple attacks on the Korean Peninsula and repeatedly firing powerful crossbow arrows. The small states feared annihilation, fought back like cornered animals, and the wars continued endlessly, resulting in chaos across the land, ultimately leading to the collapse of these small states and the ruin of their households. Military books say: "Nations focused on cultivating virtue and good governance can thrive, while those dedicated to expanding territory will eventually perish." However, the Liaodong region remained outside the jurisdiction of counties for an extended period.
These countries paid tribute punctually each year without fail, and the two Sui emperors became proud and complacent as a result, believing that no one in the world was more powerful than themselves. They did not succeed in winning them over with benevolence and righteousness, instead easily resorting to the use of force. Relying on internal strength and aiming to expand territory externally, they attracted resentment with pride and waged wars out of anger. There has never been a country that survived like this. Thus, we should take these lessons from these uncivilized nations to heart!
