This paper aims at understanding the realities of Qing imperial envoys' visits to Korea during the first half of the 19th century by analysing travel diaries written by two Qing envoys, or Baijun柏葰 and Huashana花沙納. Baijun visited Korea in 1844 ...

This paper aims at understanding the realities of Qing imperial envoys' visits to Korea during the first half of the 19th century by analysing travel diaries written by two Qing envoys, or Baijun柏葰 and Huashana花沙納. Baijun visited Korea in 1844 with a mission to convey Daoguang道光 Emperor's funeral odes for the Queen Hyohyeon孝顯王后, and Huashana came to Korea in the next year with the imperial patent for the new royal consort of the King Heonjong憲宗.
The records of these two imperial envoys reveal that the total membership of a Qing embassy, which had been more than twenty four for a long time, reduced to less than twenty, which must have decreased economic burden for the Chosun court. Baijun's and Huashana's journals also show the concrete itineraries of the embassies. It took 14 days for Baijun to reach Seoul after crossing the Yalu River, and 16 days for Huashana, while 11 days were needed for their returning trip. The trip to Seoul took longer because the ceremonies for their reception were concentrated on their way to Seoul. Besides the various official activities, Baijun and Huashana had the chances of cultural exchange with some Korean people, among which the most conspicuous was that they were extremely busy with meeting Korean demands of their calligraphic works. And it should not be overlooked that the people they could contact in Korea were limited to the government officials who were involved with their reception.
With respect to the Korean receptions of Qing imperial envoys, while it is true that the receptions were still very generous, but it seems that the receptions in the 19th century were a lot more simplified than those of early 18th century, which are depicted in Tongmunguanji通文館志. The case of Baijun, however, who reported to the throne that he had been offered as much as 5,000 taels of silver as extra-gift, provides a clue to grasp the 19th-century realities, in which the Chosun court continued to give extra-gifts to the envoys, regardless of the fact that the Qing emperors, ever since Qinglong乾隆, repeatedly issued the edicts to forbid the envoys to be given any extra-gift other than the regular gift.