Li Sicong’s Mission to Myanmar: Historical Research and In-Depth Analysis

Abstract

Li Sicong’s mission to Myanmar and Bai Yi is an important historical event in the early Ming Dynasty. In the past, due to the shortage of data, its research and interpretation were very limited. The study reports a field investigation with the new evidence from poems by Li. Furthermore, it deeply analyzes this historical event, on the basis of the literature of “Ming history”, “Ming shi-lu”, and the new progress of the research on the biography of Bai Yi Zhuan . In short, Li Sicong’s mission to Myanmar lasted for about one year, traveling about 8000 kilometers back and forth, from Nanjing, through Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, into Baiyi and then to Myanmar. He was accompanied by his colleague Qian Guxun. Li advised the king of Myanmar and the leaders of Bai Yi to stop fighting and repair their troops, and has achieved the diplomatic mission. The book Bai Yi Zhuan written by Li can correct the mistakes and omissions in Qian Guxun’s Bai Yi Zhuan and Zhang Hong’s Nan Yi Shu . It is of not only high historical value and ethnological value, but literary value as well. The further analysis of this historical event shows that the three characteristics of Tusi system ( i.e. strong military force, complete administrative system, and cultural defects) can be responsible for the civil strife and foreign war of the minority Tusi regime. These findings will help us understand the current political situation in Myanmar and predict the trend of Myanmar’s political situation and Sino Myanmar relations.