Joseon was included in the Tribute-Investiture System(朝貢冊封) led by the Qing Dynasty. In such a relationship, two countries would exchange only official envoys. By analyzing the Qing envoys dispatched to Joseon would help us understand the basic structure of the Josoen-Qing relationship, as well as the changes it went through. Examined in this article are envoys who brought Imperial Ordinances. Imperial Ordinance(詔書) contained the emperor"s own words and became the most authoritative document in the Qing Dynasty. The object of the proclamation was the world, and through them we can see Qing"s view of the world, and its stance toward Joseon.
‘Josa(詔使)’ was dispatched to deliver the Imperial Ordinance, and such envoys occupied roughly 50% of the entire parties dispatched to Joseon until the 19th century. But Imperial Ordinances gradually began to be delivered to the Joseon envoys who came to Beijing(北京), in the 19th century. In the late 19th century, all of Imperial Ordinance except for Emperor"s accedence[登極] and last will [遺書] were sent in the form of Soonbu(順付). On the other hand, most of Imperial Ordinance spreaded by Qing was delivered to Joseon. In the Shunzhi(順治)∼Kangxi(康熙) era, about 80% of the whole Imperial Ordinances, except for Imperial Ordinances related to the Emperor"s incorrect politics, were dispatched by envoys. After the Qianlong(乾隆) era, most of the Imperial Ordinances, through envoys and soonbu, were delivered to Joseon. The phenomenon disproves that Qing located Joseon deeply in their concept of the world.
The cases of Liuqiu(琉球) and Annan(安南), other tributary states of Qing, should be examined as well. Those two states had long relationships with Qing just like Joseon, but envoys to spread Imperial Ordinances were not dispatched to them at all. Qing only dispatched envoys for installation to these states. Then again, Qing Dynasty started to send some Imperial Ordinances to these two states in the form of soonbu, in the late 18th century. After the 19th century, Imperial Ordinances were delivered by regional ministers. When Imperial Ordinances delivered to Joseon came to be delivered in the form of soonbu, Imperial Ordinances were delivered to these two states as well.
In the sector of the world where Qing Imperial Ordinances were spreaded, Joseon deeply embraced that status. In the Qing Dynasty period, Imperial Ordinance-spreading envoys were dispatched only to Joseon among other tributary states. It means that Joseon was a tributary state with a unique status, which enjoyed a double status. Joseon was a different case compared to other tributary states.