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::''This article is about King Shô Tei (r. 1670-1709). For other figures by the same name, see [[Shô Tei (disambig)]].''
*''Died: [[1709]]/7/13''
*''Titles'': 中城王子 ''(Nakagusuku ôji; Prince Nakagusuku)'', 琉球国中山王 ''(Ryûkyû koku Chûzan-ô; King of Ryûkyû, [[1670]]-[[1709]])
*''Japanese'': [[尚]] 貞 ''(Shô Tei)''

Shô Tei was king of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] from [[1670]] until [[1709]]. Prior to his reign, as Crown Prince, he made several significant visits to [[Beijing]] and [[Kagoshima]].

In [[1654]], as Crown Prince, Shô Tei traveled to Beijing and exchanged the [[Ryukyuan royal seal|royal seal]] granted the kingdom by the [[Ming Dynasty]] for a new one from the [[Qing Dynasty]], along with official re-affirmation from the Qing of his father, [[Sho Shitsu|Shô Shitsu]], as King of Ryûkyû.

The Crown Prince paid a formal visit to Kagoshima in [[1660]], setting a new precedent in place of the previous system of the Crown Prince residing in Kagoshima as a [[hostage]]; this new system of formal visits from the Crown Prince continued for over a century, until [[1773]].

Following his father's death on [[1668]]/11/17, the prince was formally crowned king on [[1670]]/1/11.<ref>Yokoyama Manabu, ''Ryûkyûkoku shisetsu tôjô gyôretsu emaki wo yomu'', in Kurushima Hiroshi (ed.), ''Egakareta gyôretsu'' (University of Tokyo Press, 2015), 169.</ref> Celebrations of his coronation may have included the first ever performance of Qing music at a formal Ryukyuan court occasion.<ref>Liao Zhenpei 廖真珮, "Ryûkyû kyûtei ni okeru Chûgoku kei ongaku no ensô to denshô" 琉球宮廷における中国系音楽の演奏と伝承, in ''Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete'' 御座楽の復元に向けて, Naha, Okinawa: Uzagaku fukugen ensô kenkyûkai 御座楽復元演奏研究会 (2007), 109-110</ref> Shô Tei received [[Chinese investiture envoys|investiture]] from the [[Qing Dynasty|Qing Court]] thirteen years later, in [[1683]].

Shô Tei oversaw the construction of the [[Shiseibyo|Confucian temple]] in [[Kumemura]] (in [[1671]]), and of [[Uchaya udun]], a "detached palace" for the entertainment of visiting envoys from China and Satsuma (in [[1677]])

His eldest son, [[Sho Jun (1660-1706)|Shô Jun]], died young in [[1706]]. Shô Tei had three other sons: [[Tomigusuku Choryo|Shô Kei]] (Tomigusuku Chôryô), [[Oroku Choki|Shô Mô]] (Oroku Chôki), and [[Sho Ki|Shô Ki]]. After his own death in [[1709]], however, Shô Tei was succeeded by a grandson, who took the throne as King [[Sho Eki|Shô Eki]]. Shô Tei is entombed in [[Tamaudun]] alongside his queen, [[Gesshin]].

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<center>
{| border="3" align="center"
|- align="center"
|width="32%"|Preceded by:<br>'''[[Sho Shitsu|Shô Shitsu]]'''
|width="35%"|'''[[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Reign as King of Ryûkyû]]'''<br> 1670-1709
|width="32%"|Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Sho Eki|Shô Eki]]'''
|}
</center>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Royalty]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]