칙찬한시집에 보이는 발해사절시

The Balhae Delegates’ Poems in the Imperial Collections of Chinese Poems

The imperial collections of Chinese poems such as Ryouunshu(814), Bunka Shuureishuu(818), and Keikokushuu(827) include poems created by the Balhae delegates who visited the Heian court as well as their related poems. Ryouunshu includes the ceremonial poems which welcomed the 17th delegates. Bunka Shuureishuu contains 13 poems related to the 17th Balhae delegates, which describe Chinese-poem-mediated exchanges between the delegates and the cultural persons in Japan. Keikokushuu maintains seven poems. In particular, two poems created by Tesa Yang, the vice ambassador of the fourth delegates show that the Balhae poems of the time were of high quality. Furthermore, the collection also includes the poems created by Jeongso, a member of the 22nd delegates, which shows Buddhism-mediated exchanges. Another poem which merits mention is the one which describes the imperial game called Dakyuu in which the 20th delegates participated. In this way, the imperial collections include various forms of poems created by the Balhae delegates and related poems, and this seems to indicate that the Saga court, where the imperial members had recourse to Chinese poems to govern the country, highly valued cultural aspects of Balhae.