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Chûzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled [[Okinawa]] in the 14th century. Based at [[Urasoe]], between [[Hokuzan]] to the north and [[Nanzan]] to the south, it was the wealthiest and most powerful of the three kingdoms on the island. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after [[1314]]; the [[Sanzan period]] thus began, and would end roughly one hundred years later, when Chûzan's King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]]<ref>Technically, Hashi's father [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shishô]] was king of Chûzan in 1419, and neither was called "Shô" until that name was granted them by the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming court]] in 1421.</ref> conquered Hokuzan in [[1419]] and Nanzan in [[1429]].

Chûzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled [[Okinawa]] in the 14th century. Based at [[Urasoe]], between [[Hokuzan]] to the north and [[Nanzan]] to the south, it was the wealthiest and most powerful of the three kingdoms on the island. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after [[1314]]; the [[Sanzan period]] thus began, and would end roughly one hundred years later, when Chûzan's King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]]<ref>Technically, Hashi's father [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shishô]] was king of Chûzan in 1419, and neither was called "Shô" until that name was granted them by the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming court]] in 1421.</ref> conquered Hokuzan in [[1419]] and Nanzan in [[1429]].

The united Okinawan state was called the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], but would continue to be referred to as "Chûzan" in various official documents of the Ryukyuan royal government, and those of many other states in the region, until the kingdom was formally dissolved in [[1879]] and annexed to Japan as Okinawa Prefecture.

 

Chûzan under Shô Hashi was, thus, most likely primarily not a territorial state but rather a trading entity, becoming a territorial state only about a century later, under King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]]. Though today typically referred to as the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], the kingdom would actually continue to be referred to as "Chûzan" in various official documents of the Ryukyuan royal government, and those of many other states in the region, well into the early modern period, until the kingdom was formally dissolved in [[1879]] and annexed to Japan as Okinawa Prefecture.<ref>The phrase ''Ryûkyû koku Chûzan ô'' 琉球国中山王, which might be roughly translated as "the king of Chûzan in the land of Ryûkyû," is particularly common.</ref>

==History==

==History==

Seii was overthrown by the lord of Urasoe around 1349-55; the reign of the new king, [[Satto]], marked the emergence of Chûzan as a small but not insignificant player in regional trade and politics. A number of domestic policies and foreign relations begun at this time would continue until the end of the kingdom five hundred years later. Satto established diplomatic and trade relations with a number of states in the region, including the Siamese kingdom of [[Ayutthaya]] and [[Joseon Dynasty]] [[Korea]], and saw the beginnings of Ryûkyû's role in a flourishing system of regional trade. Rice would remain Ryûkyû's chief import from Ayutthaya well into the period of the united Kingdom,<ref>Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 33n85. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.</ref> and Okinawan ''[[awamori]]'', the Okinawan distilled rice liquor, remains today distinctive from its Japanese and Korean cousins (''[[shochu|shôchû]]'' and ''soju'') in its use of Thai rather than East Asian rice.

Seii was overthrown by the lord of Urasoe around 1349-55; the reign of the new king, [[Satto]], marked the emergence of Chûzan as a small but not insignificant player in regional trade and politics. A number of domestic policies and foreign relations begun at this time would continue until the end of the kingdom five hundred years later. Satto established diplomatic and trade relations with a number of states in the region, including the Siamese kingdom of [[Ayutthaya]] and [[Joseon Dynasty]] [[Korea]], and saw the beginnings of Ryûkyû's role in a flourishing system of regional trade. Rice would remain Ryûkyû's chief import from Ayutthaya well into the period of the united Kingdom,<ref>Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 33n85. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.</ref> and Okinawan ''[[awamori]]'', the Okinawan distilled rice liquor, remains today distinctive from its Japanese and Korean cousins (''[[shochu|shôchû]]'' and ''soju'') in its use of Thai rather than East Asian rice.

The first [[Ming Dynasty]] envoys arrived in Okinawa in 1372, marking the beginning of [[tribute|tributary relations]] with China.<ref>Prior to unification, this was accomplished through the [[Osofu|Ôsôfu]], a quasi-independent office located in Chûzan and run by people from China. See: Smits, Gregory. "[http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409 Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism]." ''The Asia-Pacific Journal'' 37-3-10 (September 13, 2010).</ref> From then on, Chûzan (and unified Ryûkyû later) would send frequent tribute missions, and would rely upon the Chinese court to officially recognize each successive Ryukyuan king with a formal statement of investiture. China would have an incredibly strong influence on Ryûkyû for the next five hundred years, politically, economically, and culturally, as it did with its numerous other tributary states. The earliest records of Chûzan's tributary status appear in either the [[Ming shi|Official History of Ming]], or the Korean [[Goryeosa|Official History of Goryeo]], completed in [[1451]].<ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 1.</ref> Initially, amidst a severe [[wako|pirate]] problem, the Ming placed no restrictions on the number of ships the three Ryukyuan kingdoms could send, nor on the size of the ships, and further provided ships to the Ryukyuan kingdoms, designating them official "carriers of [Ming] goods," a series of privileges extended to no other polity. This lasted only briefly, however.<ref>Akamine Mamoru, Lina Terrell (trans.), Robert Huey (ed.), ''The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia'', University of Hawaii Press (2017), 6.</ref> Chûzan also entered into direct relations with the Korean kingdom of Goryeo, albeit in [[1389]], only a few years before the fall of that dynasty, when Chûzan repatriated a number of Korean subjects who had been captives of ''wakô'' pirates, sending them back to Korea along with gifts of pepper and [[sappanwood]]. Ryûkyû's relations with Korea continued into the Joseon Dynasty, albeit largely aboard chartered Japanese ships (and not Ryukyuan ones), but declined by [[1480]] after a significant number of Japanese traders began masquerading as official representatives of Ryûkyû, damaging the relationship.<ref>Mark McNally, "A King's Legitimacy and a Kingdom's Exceptionality: Ryûkyû's Bankoku Shinryô no Kane of 1458," ''International Journal of Okinawan Studies'' 6 (2015), 91-92.</ref>

The first [[Ming Dynasty]] envoys arrived in Okinawa in 1372, marking the beginning of [[tribute|tributary relations]] with China.<ref>Prior to unification, this was accomplished through the [[Osofu|Ôsôfu]], a quasi-independent office located in Chûzan and run by people from China. See: Smits, Gregory. "[http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409 Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism]." ''The Asia-Pacific Journal'' 37-3-10 (September 13, 2010).</ref> From then on, Chûzan (and unified Ryûkyû later) would send frequent tribute missions, and would rely upon the Chinese court to officially recognize each successive Ryukyuan king with a formal statement of [[investiture]]. China would have an incredibly strong influence on Ryûkyû for the next five hundred years, politically, economically, and culturally, as it did with its numerous other tributary states. The earliest records of Chûzan's tributary status appear in either the [[Ming shi|Official History of Ming]], or the Korean [[Goryeosa|Official History of Goryeo]], completed in [[1451]].<ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 1.</ref> Initially, amidst a severe [[wako|pirate]] problem, the Ming placed no restrictions on the number of ships the three Ryukyuan kingdoms could send, nor on the size of the ships, and further provided ships to the Ryukyuan kingdoms, designating them official "carriers of [Ming] goods," a series of privileges extended to no other polity. This lasted only briefly, however.<ref>Akamine Mamoru, Lina Terrell (trans.), Robert Huey (ed.), ''The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia'', University of Hawaii Press (2017), 6.</ref> Chûzan also entered into direct relations with the Korean kingdom of Goryeo, albeit in [[1389]], only a few years before the fall of that dynasty, when Chûzan repatriated a number of Korean subjects who had been captives of ''wakô'' pirates, sending them back to Korea along with gifts of pepper and [[sappanwood]]. Ryûkyû's relations with Korea continued into the Joseon Dynasty, albeit largely aboard chartered Japanese ships (and not Ryukyuan ones), but declined by [[1480]] after a significant number of Japanese traders began masquerading as official representatives of Ryûkyû, damaging the relationship.<ref>Mark McNally, "A King's Legitimacy and a Kingdom's Exceptionality: Ryûkyû's Bankoku Shinryô no Kane of 1458," ''International Journal of Okinawan Studies'' 6 (2015), 91-92.</ref>

This period also saw the beginnings of a bureaucracy in the royal government which would later grow to rule in the king's place and in his name, replacing direct monarchical rule. [[Kumemura]], a community for Chinese immigrants was established; the Chinese living here, and their Ryukyuan descendants, would serve Chûzan (and later the unified kingdom) as diplomats, interpreters, and government officials. Kumemura quickly grew into Ryûkyû's cultural capital, something of a complement to the political capital at [[Shuri]] and the commercial center at the port of [[Naha]]. A community for Ryukyuan envoys and scholars was similarly established in [[Fujian province]] in China, and the first Ryukyuans to study in China's capital did so at this time as well, again establishing precedents for developments which would continue for centuries.

This period also saw the beginnings of a bureaucracy in the royal government which would later grow to rule in the king's place and in his name, replacing direct monarchical rule. [[Kumemura]], a community for Chinese immigrants was established; the Chinese living here, and their Ryukyuan descendants, would serve Chûzan (and later the unified kingdom) as diplomats, interpreters, and government officials. Kumemura quickly grew into Ryûkyû's cultural capital, something of a complement to the political capital at [[Shuri]] and the commercial center at the port of [[Naha]]. A community for Ryukyuan envoys and scholars was similarly established in [[Fujian province]] in China, and the first Ryukyuans to study in China's capital did so at this time as well, again establishing precedents for developments which would continue for centuries.