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Xú Bǎoguāng was originally from Changzhou in [[Jiangsu province]]. His ''[[Chinese names|zi]]'' (J: ''[[Japanese names|azana]]'') was Liàng zhí. He was ''tanhua'' (third-highest scoring) among the candidates who took the capital-level [[Chinese imperial examinations]] in [[1712]];<ref name=chen>Ch'en, Ta-Tuan. "Investiture of Liu-Ch'iu Kings in the Ch'ing Period." in Fairbank, John King (ed.) ''The Chinese World Order''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968. pp135-164.</ref> Xu then became a member of the [[Hanlin Academy]].

Xú Bǎoguāng was originally from Changzhou in [[Jiangsu province]]. His ''[[Chinese names|zi]]'' (J: ''[[Japanese names|azana]]'') was Liàng zhí. He was ''tanhua'' (third-highest scoring) among the candidates who took the capital-level [[Chinese imperial examinations]] in [[1712]];<ref name=chen>Ch'en, Ta-Tuan. "Investiture of Liu-Ch'iu Kings in the Ch'ing Period." in Fairbank, John King (ed.) ''The Chinese World Order''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968. pp135-164.</ref> Xu then became a member of the [[Hanlin Academy]].

Seven years later, in 1719, he served as deputy envoy on a mission to the Ryûkyû Kingdom to perform the official investiture of King [[Sho Kei|Shô Kei]]. The lead envoy was a Manchu official named [[Hai Bao]]. The envoys stayed in Ryûkyû for eight months (from 1719/6 to [[1720]]/2),<ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 226.</ref> the longest any Chinese mission ever remained in the islands.<ref name=hendrick>Katrien Hendrick, ''The Origins of Banana-Fibre Cloth in the Ryukyus, Japan'', Leuven University Press (2007), 54.</ref> This mission saw the first ever performances of ''[[kumi odori]]''. In addition, a dispute broke out between the Chinese party and Ryukyuan officials, led by [[Sai On]] and [[Tei Junsoku]]. The kingdom had gathered only 500 ''[[currency|kan]]'' of silver to purchase goods brought from China for trade, but the mission unexpectedly brought 2,000 ''kan'' worth of goods, including jades, spices, porcelains, clocks, antiques, and scrolls of calligraphy and painting by famous artists of the [[Song Dynasty|Song]], [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]], and [[Qing Dynasty|Qing dynasties]]. In the end, Sai On negotiated a settlement, paying 600 ''kan'' for all of the goods.<ref name=chen/> The 1719 mission also included 600 additional people, including cartographers who set out to map the archipelago.<ref>Schottenhammer, Angela. "The East Asian maritime world, 1400-1800: Its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges - China and her neighbors." in Schottenhammer (ed.) ''The East Asian maritime world, 1400-1800: Its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges''. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007. p46.</ref>

Seven years later, in 1719, he served as deputy envoy on a mission to the Ryûkyû Kingdom to perform the official [[investiture]] of King [[Sho Kei|Shô Kei]]. The lead envoy was a Manchu official named [[Hai Bao]]. The envoys stayed in Ryûkyû for eight months (from 1719/6 to [[1720]]/2),<ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 226.</ref> the longest any Chinese mission ever remained in the islands.<ref name=hendrick>Katrien Hendrick, ''The Origins of Banana-Fibre Cloth in the Ryukyus, Japan'', Leuven University Press (2007), 54.</ref> This mission saw the first ever performances of ''[[kumi odori]]''. In addition, a dispute broke out between the Chinese party and Ryukyuan officials, led by [[Sai On]] and [[Tei Junsoku]]. The kingdom had gathered only 500 ''[[currency|kan]]'' of silver to purchase goods brought from China for trade, but the mission unexpectedly brought 2,000 ''kan'' worth of goods, including jades, spices, porcelains, clocks, antiques, and scrolls of calligraphy and painting by famous artists of the [[Song Dynasty|Song]], [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]], and [[Qing Dynasty|Qing dynasties]]. In the end, Sai On negotiated a settlement, paying 600 ''kan'' for all of the goods.<ref name=chen/> The 1719 mission also included 600 additional people, including cartographers who set out to map the archipelago.<ref>Schottenhammer, Angela. "The East Asian maritime world, 1400-1800: Its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges - China and her neighbors." in Schottenhammer (ed.) ''The East Asian maritime world, 1400-1800: Its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges''. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007. p46.</ref>

Despite these disputes, Xu is known to have maintained a lifelong friendship with Tei Junsoku after this mission, and to have donated some amount of funds to the King of Ryûkyû to help improve [[Shiseibyo|the Confucian temple]] in [[Shuri]].<ref name=chen/>

Despite these disputes, Xu is known to have maintained a lifelong friendship with Tei Junsoku after this mission, and to have donated some amount of funds to the King of Ryûkyû to help improve [[Shiseibyo|the Confucian temple]] in [[Shuri]].<ref name=chen/>