Chûzan seifu is an official history of Okinawa. There are two versions, one by Sai On and one by Sai Taku, though most often it is the former that is being referred to. Sai On's version was formally completed in 1701, though he continued to add additional sections until 1712.
The text consists of five volumes of the official history, with a particular focus on Ryûkyû-China relations, plus an additional volume focusing on relations between the Ryûkyû Kingdom and Satsuma han. It suppresses discussion of the kingdom's military, or military activities, and presents the history of the kingdom in a mode resembling that of the Chinese dynastic histories - a moral drama, emphasizing the virtue of individual rulers or entire dynasties.[1]
Gregory Smits has suggested that Chûzan seifu was not a text compiled separately, but was rather a modified version of the 1650 history Chûzan seikan, altered to present a more pro-China version of events. Such altered versions of Ryukyuan histories were commonly given as gifts to the Chinese Court by Ryukyuan students in China.[1]
References
- "Chûzan seifu," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gregory Smits, presentation at "Interpreting Parades and Processions of Edo Japan" symposium, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 11 Feb 2013.