Tei Taiso

• Japanese/Chinese: 程 泰祚 (Tei Taiso / Chéng Tàizuò)

Tei Taiso, or Chéng Tàizuò, was a Ryukyuan scholar-aristocrat who traveled to China at least twice as a member of official embassies. He is perhaps best known as the father of reformer Tei Junsoku.

Tei Teiso traveled to China in 1663 as a member of a group escorting the first Qing Dynasty investiture mission home to China. He then stayed there for two years.

Teiso returned to China in the early 1670s as a member of a regular tribute mission, but died in Suzhou in 1675.

References

• Barry D. Steben, “The Transmission of Neo-Confucianism to the Ryukyu (Liuqiu) Islands and its Historical Significance,” Sino-Japanese Studies, 11:1 (1998), 50.