Abstract
This essay examines the process whereby Confucianism gradually became the dominant outlook and ideology of the Ryukyuan royal court and many Ryukyuan elites. This process began in the middle of the seventeenth century and was largely complete by the middle of the eighteenth century. Ryukyu was a small island kingdom that conducted trade and diplomacy with Japan and China. Political and economic circumstances influenced the characteristics of Ryukyuan Confucianism, which was a subset of the broader realm of Chinese studies. Confucian thought was closely connected with poetry, geomancy, calendar making, diplomatic protocol, and other realms of knowledge that facilitated close relations with Ryukyu’s larger neighbors. The most prominent Confucian scholar in the kingdom was Sai On. I argue that Sai On’s interpretation of ming (destiny) was the key intellectual component in a broader agenda of social engineering intended to put Ryukyu on a moral par with China and Japan. In developing this argument, I examine Sai On’s interpretation of ming, his campaign against what he regarded as superstitions, and his ideas on government and the economy.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
For a detailed study of this process, see Smits 2000.
- 3.
In the context of eighteenth century Japan, see Beerens 2006 for an innovative study that casts strong doubt on the relevance of modern categories of intellectual classification for Japanese intellectuals.
- 4.
For details on Ryukyuan military affairs during this time, see Smits 2010.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
For a detailed explanation of Sai On’s theory of the Ryukyuan state and his implementation of the Genbun Survey, see Smits 1999: 80–86, 103–112.
- 8.
For details on early Okinawan relations with the Ming court, see Tomiyama 2004: 23–34.
- 9.
For a comprehensive history of Kumemura and its most prominent residents see Ikemia et al. 1993.
- 10.
For a detailed, comparative discussion of Sai On’s view of destiny, see Smits 1999: 86–99.
- 11.
Sai On’s austere, utilitarian outlook, and the agenda he pursued, generated significant opposition among Ryukyuan elites. For example, he opposed the recreational use (as opposed to the ritual use) of liquor in every essay he wrote, in direct opposition to prevailing aristocratic culture. Whether it be poetry, drunken parties, or sexual dalliance, Sai On looked askance at the pursuit of pleasure. For him, such things diverted energy and resources from the urgent tasks at hand. One manifestation of elite discontent with Sai On was the Heshikia-Tomoyose Incident of 1734. See Smits 1999: 125–132.
- 12.
See also Sakihama 1984: 45–46 for the same explanation in the form of a fictional dialogue.
- 13.
For more details see Smits 1999: 80–86, 103–112.
- 14.
For a thorough discussion see Smits 2006.
- 15.
For the full range of topics see Sakihama 1984: 44–51.
- 16.
See Takara 1990: 250–252 for additional examples.
- 17.
See also Sakihama 1984: 150.
- 18.
For example, Hanlin academician Hui Shiqui 恵士奇 (1671–1741) began his ca. 1738 essay criticizing price ceilings with “Whenever things are plentiful, their value will be low; whenever they are scarce, their value will be high.” He then went on to argue that this basic law cannot be overridden by government fiat. Quoted in Dunstan 2006: 107.
- 19.
For the details of these debates in China, see Dunstan 1996: 203–245.
- 20.
See Sakihama 1984: 82 for Sai On’s opposition to restrictions on the number of pig farmers.
- 21.
The notion that Confucian scholars tended to oppose commerce is often mentioned in writings on China and Japan, but at least during the early-modern period such a view would have been rare among anyone with substantial administrative or policy responsibilities. In discussing the 1728 proposal for infrastructure improvement by Wang Guodong, Helen Dunstan points out that his words “seem imbued with an appreciation for commerce and material prosperity themselves. How far Wang is from the old-fashioned image of the Confucian scholar-official, with his eyes closed to the world of profit!” Dunstan 1996, p. 295. Sai On’s statement that a “flourishing of trades is good, needless to say, and a treasure for society” is of a similar tone, and this pro-commerce tone is easy to find in the writings of Confucians in both China and Japan. Other examples include Dazai Shundai, Nakai Chikuzan and other Kaitokudō scholars, and Kaiho Seiryō, several of whom I mention later in this paper.
- 22.
For a detailed discussion of the yaadui system see Tasato 1980.
- 23.
The yaadui system was a bold measure, but it was not unique. Satsuma was home to rural samurai (gōshi 郷士), and the domain of Yonezawa began encouraging impoverished samurai households to take up cloth weaving starting in the late seventeenth century. Soon after the creation of the Ryukyuan yaadui system the Hirosaki domain in northern Honshu resettled impoverished samurai, putting them to work in agricultural land reclamation. Regarding Yonezawa and Hirosaki, see Ravina 1999, esp. pp. 104–107, 136–141.
- 24.
For a discussion of Sai On’s intellectual environment and influences see Smits 1999: 76, 79–80.
- 25.
For Dazai Shundai’s views see Najita 1972, especially p. 834. A generation later, Kaiho Seiryō 海保青陵 (1755–1817) developed the views of Shundai, arguing that everything in society was a commodity with exchange value. Seiryō’s basic insight, however, was not really new. The Chinese scholar Li Zhi 李贄 (1527–1602) insisted that “all personal relations resembled market relations” and even the relations between Confucius and his students fit this model. “Only Confucius had what the students wanted” argued Li, See Handlin 1983: 129, 131.
- 26.
For example, a 1707 compilation of poetry from China and 14 other countries, the Imperial Qing Poetry Anthology 皇清詩選 included approximately 70 poems by 25 Ryukyuans. See Ikemiya 1993: 194.
- 27.
- 28.
In Japan, the scholars of the Kaitokudō merchant academy constitute another example of such trends. See Najita 1987. My only complaint about this otherwise fine study is that Najita repeatedly claims that “Neo-Confucian thought” assigned merchants a lowly status without providing any evidence.
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Smits, G. (2014). Making Destiny in the Kingdom of Ryukyu. In: Huang, Cc., Tucker, J. (eds) Dao Companion to Japanese Confucian Philosophy. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2921-8_4
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