Mo Taikyu

• Japanese/Chinese: 毛泰久 (Mou Taikyuu / Máo Tàijiǔ)

Mô Taikyû was a Ryukyuan scholar-official who served as envoy to China in 1646 to express formal congratulations (qinghe) to the Longwu Emperor of the Southern Ming.

As the envoys were leaving Fuzhou, however, after having met with the Longwu Emperor, the city was attacked and fell to Qing forces, led by the Manchu Prince Bolo. Mô Taikyû, along with changshi Kin Seishun, Interpreter (totsûji) Tei Shizen, and Military Squad Leader Chin Shogen, turned around, changed their clothes, shaved their heads, and submitted to Prince Bolo.

They were then taken to Beijing to offer their submission to the Shunzhi Emperor himself. The Emperor did not immediately accept their submission, however, insisting that Ryûkyû had to return the royal seal granted the kingdom by the Ming Dynasty, in order to receive one from the Qing. Chin Shogen then returned to the Fujian province port of Langqi, and had the Ryukyuan envoys visit the provincial capital. On their way there, however, they were attacked by pirates and lost both men and cargo, and had to report the incident to the authorities. The following year, Mô traveled with Bolo, Kin Seishun, and Tei Shizen back to Beijing, but as they still had not returned the seal, it was for naught.

References

• Schottenhammer, Angela. “Empire and Periphery? The Qing Empire’s Relations with Japan and the Ryūkyūs (1644–c. 1800), a Comparison.” The Medieval History Journal 16, no. 1 (April 1, 2013): 177.