| Huaiji came to Ryûkyû from [[Fujian]] during the reign of King [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shishô]] ([[1406]]-[[1421]]). He served under four kings: [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]], [[Sho Chu|Shô Chû]], [[Sho Shitatsu|Shô Shitatsu]], and [[Sho Kinpuku|Shô Kinpuku]]. | | Huaiji came to Ryûkyû from [[Fujian]] during the reign of King [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shishô]] ([[1406]]-[[1421]]). He served under four kings: [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]], [[Sho Chu|Shô Chû]], [[Sho Shitatsu|Shô Shitatsu]], and [[Sho Kinpuku|Shô Kinpuku]]. |
− | Along with figures such as [[Lin You]]<!--林佑--> and [[Wang Mao]]<!--王茂-->, he was one of a number of Chinese-born officials in Ryûkyû who received formal court robes from the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] Court, honorarily recognizing him as a member of the ranks of the Ming bureaucracy.<ref>Tomiyama Kazuyuki, ''Ryûkyû ôkoku no gaikô to ôken'', Yoshikawa Kôbunkan (2004), 44.</ref> He was also appointed by the [[Chuzan|Chûzan]]/Ryûkyû government to the Chinese-style posts of ''changshi'' (長史) and "prime minister'' (国相).<ref>Tomiyama, 48.</ref> | + | Along with figures such as [[Lin You]]<!--林佑--> and [[Wang Mao]]<!--王茂-->, he was one of a number of Chinese-born officials in Ryûkyû who received formal court robes from the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] Court, honorarily recognizing him as a member of the ranks of the Ming bureaucracy.<ref>Tomiyama Kazuyuki, ''Ryûkyû ôkoku no gaikô to ôken'', Yoshikawa Kôbunkan (2004), 44.</ref> He was also appointed by the [[Chuzan|Chûzan]]/Ryûkyû government to the Chinese-style posts of ''changshi'' (長史) and "prime minister'' (国相).<ref>Tomiyama, 48.</ref> Though figures like Kaiki ostensibly served under the king, [[Gregory Smits]] suggests that Kaiki in fact had considerable power, coordinating Ryukyuan trade and relations otherwise with both the [[Ming dynasty]] and various Southeast Asian polities, and exercising authority or prominence in a way that transcended the supposed divisions between the [[Sanzan period|three ostensibly separate kingdoms]] on the island.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii (2019), 112.</ref> |