Tales of China that dazzled a king

Cultural kinship

The exhibition itself offers bountiful evidence of the cultural kinship between China and Korea in the 15th and 16th centuries, Ni says.

"Confucianism provided the guiding principles of morality for Korean society at the time. The educated, including the king and his court, all wrote in Chinese."

In fact, during Choe's entire stay, one most-often asked question from his Chinese hosts was: "Can you write a poem?" Of course, he did not disappoint them.

Fortunately for Choe and those who were with him, the identity issue was finally solved after they arrived in Hangzhou, a city richly endowed with natural beauty and steeped in China's literary tradition.

From Hangzhou, Choe boarded a ship and for the next 44 days traveled the entire length of the man-made canal connecting Hangzhou with Beijing. The 1,797-kilometer Hangzhou-Capital Grand Canal is today the world's longest of its kind from ancient times. It was built mainly in the late sixth and early seventh century, 900 years before Choe's visit.

Arriving in Beijing by the end of March 1488, Choe was granted an audience with Emperor Yingzong. He stayed in the capital for 25 days before heading home overland. On June 4 of the lunar calendar in 1488 Choe and his entourage crossed the Yalu River that separates the Korean mainland from northeast China. Finally, after 135 days and nights, Choe found himself standing on the doorstep of his homeland.