1
《王制》云：“東方曰夷。 ”夷者，柢也，言仁而好生，萬物柢地而出。 故天性柔順，易以道御，至有君子、不死之國焉。 夷有九種，曰畎夷、於夷、方夷、黄夷、白夷、赤夷、玄夷、風夷、陽夷。 故孔子欲居九夷也。
The "Royal Regulations" records: "To the east they are called the Yi." The gloss reads "Yi" as "root": they are humane and cherish life, and all living things sprout from the soil as from a rootstock. Their temperament is therefore mild and tractable, readily guided by moral rule—so much so that tradition speaks of a "land of gentlemen" and even an "undying" realm. The Yi are reckoned in nine branches: the Quan, Yu, Fang, Yellow, White, Red, Black, Wind, and Yang Yi. That is why Confucius said he would gladly go and live among the nine Yi.
2
昔堯命羲仲宅嵎夷，曰旸谷，蓋日之所出也。 夏后氏太康失德，夷人始畔。 自少康已後，世服王化，遂賓於王門，獻其樂舞。 桀為暴虐，諸夷内侵，殷湯革命，伐而定之。 至於仲丁，蓝夷作寇。 自是或服或畔，三百餘年。 武乙衰敝，東夷浸盛，遂分遷淮、岱，漸居中土。
Long ago Yao posted Xi Zhong to Wuyi at Yang Valley, the place where legend places the sunrise. When Taikang of the Xia forfeited moral authority, the Yi were the first to break away. After Shaokang restored the line, they accepted royal civilization for generations, attended court as vassals, and offered their songs and dances. Under the tyrant Jie the eastern peoples pressed inward; Tang of Shang "renewed the Mandate" and campaigned until he brought them to heel. Under King Zhongding of Shang the Lan Yi turned to open raiding. For the next three centuries they alternated between submission and revolt. As King Wuyi lost vigor, the eastern Yi swelled in power, drifted into the Huai and Tai regions, and little by little pressed into the heartland.
3
及武王滅紂，肅慎來獻石砮、楛矢。 管、蔡畔周，乃招誘夷狄，周公征之，遂定東夷。 康王之時，肅慎復至。 後徐夷僭號，乃率九夷以伐宗周，西至河上。 穆王畏其方熾，乃分東方諸侯，命徐偃王主之。 偃王處潢池東，地方五百里，行仁義，陆地而朝者三十有六國。 穆王後得骥騄之乘，乃使造父御以告楚，令伐徐，一日而至。 於是楚文王大舉兵而滅之。 偃王仁而無权，不忍斗其人，故致於敗。 乃北走彭城武原縣東山下，百姓隨之者以萬數，因名其山為徐山。 厲王無道，淮夷入寇，王命虢仲征之，不克，宣王復命召分伐而平之。 及幽王淫亂，四夷交侵，至齊桓修霸，攘而卻焉。 及楚靈會申，亦來豫盟。 後越遷琅邪，與共征戰，遂陵暴諸夏，侵滅小邦。
After King Wu overthrew the last Shang king, envoys from Sushen brought gifts of stone arrowheads and hornwood shafts. When Guan and Cai rose against the Zhou court and drew the barbarians into their plot, the Duke of Zhou marched east and brought the eastern Yi to order. Under King Kang the Sushen once more sent tribute. Later the rulers of Xu arrogated royal titles and marched the nine Yi against royal Zhou, driving as far west as the Yellow River. Alarmed at their strength, King Mu parceled authority among the eastern states and put Yan of Xu at their head. Yan ruled east of Huangchi over five hundred square li, cultivated benevolent rule, and drew thirty-six kingdoms to his court by land. Once King Mu had fine steppe horses, he sent Zaofu at the reins to alert Chu and ordered a strike on Xu—the ride took a single day. King Wen of Chu then mobilized in force and wiped Xu out. Yan was humane but soft—unwilling to press his people into battle—and so he lost. He fled north to the eastern slopes below Wuyuan in Pengcheng, followed by tens of thousands of commoners; the hill thereafter became known as Mount Xu. Under the wicked King Li the Huai Yi raided inland; Guo Zhong's expedition failed, but King Xuan sent the Elder of Shao on a second campaign that restored order. King You's excesses let the border peoples press in from every side; only when Duke Huan of Qi built hegemonic power were they pushed back. When King Ling of Chu convened the allies at Shen, the eastern peoples came to take part in the league. After Yue relocated to Langye, they joined in the wars, bullied the central states, and swallowed lesser realms.
4
秦并六國，其淮、泗夷皆散為民户。 陳涉起兵，天下崩潰，燕人衛滿避地朝鮮，因王其國。 百有餘歲，武帝滅之，於是東夷始通上京。 王莽篡位，貊人寇邊。 建武之初，復來朝貢。 時遼東太守祭肜威讋北方，声行海表，於是濊、貊、倭、韓，萬里朝獻，故章、和已後，使聘流通。 逮永初多難，始入寇鈔； 桓、靈失政，漸滋曼焉。
Qin's unification broke up the Huai and Si valley Yi; they were absorbed into ordinary registered households. When Chen She's rebellion shattered the empire, Wei Man of Yan took refuge in Korea and founded a kingdom there. A century later Emperor Wu extinguished Wei Man's state, and only then did the eastern peoples open formal ties with the imperial court. Wang Mang's usurpation brought Mo tribes down on the border. Early in Emperor Guangwu's Jianwu reign they resumed tribute missions. Ji Rong of Liaodong cowed the northern tribes until his name carried across the sea; Hui, Mo, Wa, and Korea all sent envoys from immense distances, and from the Zhanghe and Yonghe eras onward diplomatic traffic never stopped. The troubles of the Yongchu years opened a season of border raids; under the feckless Emperors Huan and Ling the problem festered and spread.
5
自中兴之後，四夷來賓，雖時有乖畔，而使驛不絕，故國俗風土，可得略记。 東夷率皆土著，憙飲酒歌舞，或寇弁衣錦，器用俎豆。 所謂中國失礼，求之四夷者也。 几蠻、夷、戎、狄总名四夷者，猶公、侯、伯、子、男皆號諸侯云。
After the Han restoration the outer peoples again presented themselves at court; though they occasionally broke faith, envoys still shuttled back and forth, which allows a sketch of their lands and ways. The eastern peoples are mostly sedentary: they love wine, song, and dance; some affect caps and brocade like Chinese gentlemen and use sacrificial stands and dishes in their rites. Hence the old saying: when the Middle Kingdom loses its ritual forms, you may still find them preserved among the border peoples. The umbrella term "four barbarians" for Man, Yi, Rong, and Di works the same way as calling every noble rank from duke to baron simply "feudal lords."
6
2高句麗
Section 2: Koguryŏ
7
夫餘國
Puyŏ
8
夫餘國，在玄菟北千里。 南與高句驪，東與挹婁，西與鮮卑接，北有弱水。 地方二千里，本濊地也。
Puyŏ sits about a thousand li north of Xuantu commandery. It borders Koguryŏ on the south, Yilou on the east, and Xianbei on the west; the Weak Water lies to the north. The realm covers two thousand square li on ground that was once Hui country.
9
初，北夷索離國王出行，其待兒於後妊身，王還，欲殺之。 侍兒曰：“前見天上有氣，大如雞子，來降我，因以有身。 ”王囚之，後遂生男。 王令置於豕牢，豕以口氣嘘之，不死。 復徙於馬兰，馬亦如之。 王以為神，乃听母收養，名曰東明。 東明長而善射，王忌其猛，復欲殺之。 東明奔走，南至掩淲水，以弓擊水，魚鳖皆聚浮水上，東明乘之得度，因至夫餘而王之焉。 於東夷之域，最為平敞，土宜五穀。 出名馬、赤玉、貂豽，大珠如酸枣。 以员栅為城，有宫室、仓库、牢獄。 其人粗大强勇而謹厚，不為寇鈔。 以弓矢刀矛為兵。 以六畜名官，有馬加、牛加、狗加，其邑落皆主屬諸加，食飲用俎豆，會同拜爵洗爵，揖讓升降。 以腊月祭天，大會連日，飲食歌舞，名曰“迎鼓”。 是時断刑獄，解囚徒。 有军事亦祭天，殺牛，以蹄占其吉凶。 行人無昼夜，好歌吟，音声不絕。 其俗用刑严急，被誅者皆没其家人為奴婢。 盗一責十二。 男女淫，皆殺之，尤治恶妒婦，既殺，復尸於山上。 兄死妻嫂。 死則有椁無棺。 殺人殉葬，多者以百數。 其王葬用玉匣，漢朝常豫以玉匣付玄菟郡，王死則迎取以葬焉。
Long ago the king of northern Suoli went on tour while a maidservant who followed behind conceived; when he came home he meant to put her to death. She protested: "A globe of qi as big as an egg drifted down from the sky and entered me—that is how I became pregnant." The king jailed her; she bore a son all the same. The king had the infant thrown into a pig pen; the sows breathed warmth on him and he survived. They moved him to a horse corral; the mares nuzzled him the same way and still he lived. The king took him for a portent and let the mother rear him; they named the child Dongming. Dongming grew into a fine archer; fearing his prowess, the king tried again to kill him. Dongming fled south to the Yanhuai River, smacked the surface with his bow until fish and turtles bridged the stream, rode across, and founded his kingship in Puyŏ. Of all the eastern realms it has the widest, flattest terrain—ideal for the staple crops. It exports celebrated horses, carnelian, sable and lynx fur, and pearls as large as jujubes. Round wooden palisades serve as city walls; they maintain halls, granaries, and jails. The people are strapping, hardy, and forthright, and they normally refrain from banditry. Their arms are bows, arrows, knives, and spears. Offices are titled after livestock—horse chief, ox chief, dog chief—with settlements grouped under these leaders; feasts use ritual vessels and observe Chinese-style precedence in toasting and yielding place. They worship Heaven in the final lunar month with days-long revels of food, wine, song, and dance called "Welcoming the Drum." Courts adjourn then and prisoners are freed. Before campaigning they sacrifice cattle to Heaven and read omens in the hooves. Wayfarers sing at all hours; music fills the road. Justice is severe: execute a man and his whole household is enslaved. Theft is punished twelvefold. Adultery means death for both parties; jealous wives face especially harsh ends, their bodies left exposed on the heights. A man inherits his elder brother's widow. Burials use an outer shell only—no inner coffin. Human sacrifice attends great funerals—sometimes a hundred victims or more. Royal tombs receive the Han-issue jade burial gear kept on deposit at Xuantu until a monarch passes.
10
建武中，東夷諸國皆來獻見。 二十五年，夫餘王遣使奉貢，光武厚答报之，於是使命歲通。 至安帝永初五年，夫餘王始將步騎七八千人寇抄樂浪，殺傷吏民，後復归附。 永宁元年，乃遣嗣子尉仇台詣阙貢獻，天子賜尉仇台印綬金彩。 順帝永和元年，其王來朝京师，帝作黄門鼓吹、角抵戏以遣之。 桓帝延熹四年，遣使朝賀貢獻。 永康元年，王夫台將二萬餘人寇玄菟，玄菟太守公孫域擊破之，斬首千餘級。 至靈帝熹平三年，復奉章貢獻。 夫餘本屬玄菟，獻帝時，其王求屬遼東云。
Under Emperor Guangwu's Jianwu reign every eastern kingdom sent envoys with tribute. In Jianwu 25 the Puyŏ king sent tribute; Emperor Guangwu replied with lavish gifts, after which embassies traveled every year. In Yongchu 5 (C.E. 111) the Puyŏ king struck Lelang with seven or eight thousand troops, killing Han subjects until he later renewed submission. Yongning 1 (120) brought the heir Wei Qiutai to court with gifts; the emperor presented him with official regalia and brocade. In Yonghe 1 (136) the Puyŏ ruler visited Luoyang; the court entertained him with palace bands and grappling pageants. Yanxi 4 (161) saw another Puyŏ mission to offer New Year felicitations. In Yongkang 1 (167) King Futai invaded Xuantu with twenty thousand warriors until Governor Gongsun Yu routed the army and took more than a thousand heads. They returned with sealed memorials and tribute in Xiping 3 (174). Puyŏ had long answered to Xuantu, but under Emperor Xian its ruler petitioned to transfer his allegiance to Liaodong.
11
挹婁，古肅慎之國也。 在夫餘東北千餘里，東濱大海，南與北沃沮接，不知其北所極。 土地多山险。 人形似夫餘，而言語各異。 有五谷、麻布，出赤玉、好貂。 無君長，其邑落各有大人。 處於山林之間，土氣極寒，常為穴居，以深為貴，大家至接九梯。 好養豕，食其肉，衣其皮。 冬以豕膏涂身，厚數分，以御風寒。 夏則裸袒，以尺布蔽其前後。 其人臭秽不洁，作廁於中，圜之而居。 自漢兴以後，臣屬夫餘。 種眾雖少，而多勇力，處山险，又善射，发能入人目。 弓長四尺，力如弩。 矢用枯，長一尺八寸，青石為鏃，鏃皆施毒，中人即死。 便乘船，好寇盗，邻國畏患，而卒不能服。 東夷夫餘飲食类皆用俎豆，唯挹婁独無，法俗最無纲纪者也。
Yilou is the old country of the Sushen. It lies over a thousand li northeast of Puyŏ, fronts the sea on the east, touches northern Okje on the south, and stretches northward without recorded limit. The terrain is rugged and steep. They look like the Puyŏ but speak a different tongue. They grow the staple grains and weave hemp; exports include carnelian and prime sable pelts. There is no single ruler—each village follows its own headman. They burrow into the cold northern woods; deeper pits mean higher status—great families sink shafts nine ladders deep. They raise pigs for meat and leather. Winter drives them to coat their skin with lard a few fen thick against the chill. Summer dress is a strip of cloth fore and aft—otherwise bare. They reek of filth and live in a ring around a central latrine pit. Since the Han founding they have acknowledged Puyŏ's overlordship. They are few but fierce, masters of broken terrain and archery accurate enough to pierce an eye. Their four-chi bows pull like crossbows. They shoot poisoned stone points an eighth of a yard long from ku-wood shafts—any scratch is fatal. Boat-borne raiders harry the coasts; neighbors dread them but cannot bring them to heel. Other eastern peoples, Puyŏ included, observe ritual vessels at meals; Yilou alone does without—their customs are the loosest of all.
12
高句麗
Koguryŏ
13
高句驪，在遼東之東千里，南與朝鮮、濊貊，東與沃沮，北與夫餘接。 地方二千里，多大山深谷，人隨而為居。 少田业，力作不足以自资，故其俗節於飲食，而好修宫室。 東夷相傳以為夫餘别種，故言語法則多同，而跪拜曳一脚，行步皆走。 凡有五族，有消奴部、絕奴部、順奴部、灌奴部、桂婁部。 本消奴部為王，稍微弱，後桂婁部代之。 其置官，有相加、对卢、沛者、古邹大加、主簿、优台、使者、帛衣先人。 武帝滅朝鮮，以高句驪為縣，使屬玄菟，賜鼓吹伎人。 其俗淫，皆洁净自熹，暮夜輒男女群聚為倡樂。 好祠鬼神、社稷、零星，以十月祭天大會，名曰“東盟”。 其國東有大穴，號禭神，亦以十月迎而祭之。 其公會衣服皆錦绣，金银以自飾。 大加、主簿皆著帻，如冠帻而無後； 其小加著折風，形如弁。 無牢獄，有罪，諸加評议便殺之，没入妻子為奴婢。 其昏姻皆就婦家，生子長大，然後將還，便稍营送终之具。 金银財币尽於厚葬，积石為封，亦種松柏。 其人性凶急，有氣力，习戰斗，好寇鈔，沃沮、東濊皆屬焉。
Koguryŏ lies a thousand li east of Liaodong, touching Korean and Huimo lands on the south, Okje on the east, and Puyŏ on the north. Two thousand square li of lofty ridges and narrow valleys dictate where villages cling. Farming is scant and labor cannot feed everyone, so meals stay spare while elites lavish effort on palatial halls. Tradition makes them a Puyŏ offshoot, sharing language and usage yet dragging one foot in obeisance and hurrying in every step. The realm splits into five tribal divisions: Xiaonu, Juenu, Shunnu, Guannu, and Guilou. The throne began with the Xiaonu tribe until it declined; the Guilou faction then took power. Their bureaucracy includes high ministers—the chief minister (xiangjia), duilu, peizhe, the elder guzou dajia, clerks (zhubu), envoys (youtai and shizhe), and white-robed priests. After Emperor Wu annexed Old Korea he organized Koguryŏ as a county under Xuantu and awarded an imperial band. Sexual mores are loose, yet people bathe constantly for purity; after dark men and women flock together for revelry. They sacrifice to spirits, land gods, and stellar deities; the tenth-month heaven worship, called the "Eastern League," is their grand national festival. A vast cave to the east houses a god they call the Oracle Spirit; each tenth month they escort offerings there. Official gatherings show off figured silks and jeweled gold. Senior chiefs and clerks wear stiff headbands like Chinese ze caps but without the tail piece; junior chiefs don winged "wind" hats shaped like Chinese scholar caps. They keep no jails: chiefs hear a case and execute on the spot, enslaving the culprit's family. Grooms move in with the bride's family; only after a child matures do they return home, when they begin saving for funeral goods. Wealth goes into tombs: stone cairns and groves of pine and cypress mark the dead. They are a hard, truculent people, trained for war and raiding; Okje and eastern Hui fall under their sway.
14
句驪一名貊，有别種，依小水為居，因名曰小水貊。 出好弓，所謂“貊弓”是也。
Koguryŏ is also called Mo; a related band lives along the minor streams and is known as the Lesser Water Mo. They make the celebrated "Mo bow."
15
王莽初，发句驪兵以伐匈奴，其人不欲行，强迫遣之，皆亡出塞為寇盗。 遼西大尹田谭追擊，戰死。 莽令其將严尤擊之，誘句驪侯驺入塞，斬之，傳首長安。 莽大說，更名高句驪王為下句驪侯，於是貊人寇邊愈甚。 建武八年，高句驪遣使朝貢，光武復其王號。 二十三年冬，句驪蠶支落大加戴升等萬餘口詣樂浪内屬。 二十五年春，句驪寇右北平、渔陽、上谷、太原，而遼東太守祭肜以恩信招之，皆復款塞。
Wang Mang drafted Koguryŏ troops against the Xiongnu; when forced to march they deserted beyond the frontier and turned bandit. Tian Tan, governor of Liaoxi, gave chase and fell in the fighting. Wang Mang sent Yan You to lure the Koguryŏ lord Zou inside the border, execute him, and ship the head to Chang'an. Delighted, Wang Mang degraded the Koguryŏ king to "Marquis of Inferior Gouli"—after which Mo raids along the frontier intensified. Jianwu 32 brought tribute envoys; Emperor Guangwu restored the Koguryŏ king's rank. That winter more than ten thousand people led by the chief Dai Sheng of the Can branch tribe surrendered to Han authorities at Lelang. In spring of Jianwu 49 they struck four commanderies until Ji Rong of Liaodong coaxed them back to allegiance at the frontier.
16
是歲宫死，子遂成立。 姚光上言欲因其丧发兵擊之，议者皆以為可許。 尚书陳忠曰：“宫前桀黠，光不能討，死而擊之，非義也。 宜遣吊问，因責讓前罪，赦不加誅，取其後善。 ”安帝从之。 明年，遂成還漢生口，詣玄菟降。 詔曰：“遂成等桀逆無状，当斬断[D173]醢，以示百姓，幸會赦令，乞罪請降。 鮮卑、濊貊連年寇鈔，驅略小民，動以千數，而裁送數十百人，非向化之心也。 自今已後，不與縣官戰斗而自以亲附送生口者，皆與贖直，缣人四十匹，小口半之。”
When Gong died that year, the throne passed to his son Suicheng. Yao Guang urged a punitive expedition while the court mourned Gong; most advisers agreed. Minister Chen Zhong objected: "Gong was treacherous in life and Yao Guang never subdued him; attacking him in death would be unjust." Send condolences, enumerate past offenses, grant amnesty without execution, and encourage future good conduct. Emperor An accepted the advice. The following year Suicheng released Han prisoners and submitted at Xuantu. The rescript read: "Suicheng and his confederates deserve public execution and dismemberment, but the general amnesty allows them to beg mercy and offer submission." Xianbei and Huimo have swept off thousands of Han subjects yet you return only dozens—a poor sign of good faith. Henceforth anyone who voluntarily returns captives without fighting Han troops may collect ransom credit—forty bolts of silk for each adult, half that for a child.
17
遂成死，子伯固立。 其後濊貊率服，東垂少事。 順帝陽嘉元年，置玄菟郡屯田六部。 質、桓之間，復犯遼東西安平，殺帶方令，掠得樂浪太守妻子。 建宁二年，玄菟太守耿臨討之，斬首數百級，伯固降服，乞屬玄菟云。
Suicheng died and was succeeded by his son Bogu. The Huimo tribes then submitted and the eastern marches stayed quiet. Yangjia 1 under Emperor Shun founded six garrison-farms in Xuantu. Between Emperors Zhi and Huan they struck Xi'anping in Liaodong, murdered the Daifang prefect, and carried off the Lelang governor's family. In Jianning 2 Geng Lin of Xuantu attacked, took several hundred heads, and Bogu capitulated, asking to be administered from Xuantu.
18
東沃沮
Eastern Okje
19
東沃沮在高句驪蓋馬大山之東，東濱大海，北與挹婁、夫餘，南與濊貊接。 其地東西夹，南北長，可折方千里。 土肥美，背山向海，宜五谷，善田種，有邑落長帥。 人性質直强勇，便持矛步戰。 言語、食飲、居處，衣服，有似句驪。 其葬，作大木椁，長十餘丈，开一頭為户，新死者先假埋之，令皮肉尽，乃取骨置椁中。 家人皆共一椁，刻木如生，隨死者為數焉。
It lies east of Koguryŏ's Gaema range, fronts the sea, touches Yilou and Puyŏ on the north and Huimo on the south. The territory is a narrow north–south strip roughly a thousand square li. Rich soil slopes from the hills to the sea; the five grains thrive under village headmen. The people are blunt, hardy fighters who prefer spear combat on foot. Their speech, diet, housing, and dress resemble Koguryŏ. Funerals use immense timber shells over thirty meters long with a door at one end; corpses lie in temporary graves until the flesh rots away, then the bones go into the shared sarcophagus. Whole clans share one outer shell; wooden effigies carved in lifelike guise equal the number of dead.
20
武帝滅朝鮮，以沃沮地為玄菟郡。 後為夷貊所侵，徙郡於高句驪西北，更以沃沮為縣，屬樂浪東部都尉。 至光武罢都尉官，後皆以封其渠帥，為沃沮侯。 其土迫小，介於大國之間，遂臣屬句驪。 句驪復置其中大人為使者，以相监領，責其租税，貂、布、魚、鹽、海中食物，发美女為婢妾焉。
Emperor Wu's conquest of Korea made Okje into Xuantu commandery. Barbarian pressure forced the seat northwest toward Koguryŏ while Okje became a county under Lelang's eastern military overseer. Emperor Guangwu eliminated the post; local chiefs were enfeoffed as Marquises of Okje. Caught between stronger neighbors, they fell under Koguryŏ's thumb. Koguryŏ appointed overseers to collect tribute in pelts, cloth, fish, salt, and seafood—and drafted girls as concubines.
21
又有北沃沮，一名置沟婁，去南沃沮八百餘里。 其俗皆與南同。 界南接挹婁。 挹婁人喜乘船寇抄，北沃沮畏之，每夏輒臧於岩穴，至冬船道不通，乃下居邑落。 其耆者言，嘗於海中得一布衣，其形如中人衣，而两袖長三丈。 又於岸際見一人乘破船，頂中復有面，與語不通，不食而死。 又說海中有女國，無男人。 或傳其國有神井，窺之輒生子云。
Northern Okje—also called Zhigoulou—lies over eight hundred li from its southern namesake. Their ways match those of southern Okje. The southern frontier meets Yilou. Yilou pirates sail summer raids that drive northern Okje into caves; when ice closes the waterways in winter they return to their villages. Elders tell of fishing from the sea a robe shaped like Chinese dress but with sleeves thirty feet long. Another tale tells of a castaway in a wrecked craft with a second face atop his head; no one could understand him, and he starved. Legends add a sea realm of women without men. Some say a magic well there grants conception to any woman who gazes into it.
22
無大君長，其官有侯、邑君、三老。 耆舊自謂與句驪同種，言語法俗大抵相类。 其人性愚悫，少嗜欲，不請丐。 男女皆衣曲領。 其俗重山川，山川各有部界，不得妄相干涉。 同姓不昏。 多所忌諱，疾病死亡，輒捐棄舊宅，更造新居。 知種麻，養蠶，作綿布。 晓候星宿，豫知年歲丰約。 常用十月祭天，昼夜飲酒歌舞，名之為“舞天”。 又祠虎以為神。 邑落有相侵犯者，輒相罰，責生口牛馬，名之為“責祸”。 殺人者偿死。 少寇盗。 能步戰，作矛長三丈，或數人共持之。 樂浪檀弓出其地。 又多文豹，有果下馬，海出班魚，使來皆獻之。
They have no paramount ruler—only local titles such as marquis, village head, and elder. The aged claim kinship with Koguryŏ; their language and customs are closely parallel. They are simple folk with few wants who never go begging. Both sexes dress in turned-down collars like Han gown style. They revere every hill and stream as a separate estate and forbid trespass between them. Marriage within the clan is forbidden. Illness or death voids a dwelling—they walk away from the old compound and rebuild elsewhere. They grow hemp, tend silkworms, and weave cloth. They read the stars to guess whether the harvest will be rich or lean. Their tenth-month heaven festival runs day and night with wine, song, and dance—the "Heaven Dance." They worship tigers as gods. Inter-village disputes bring fines paid in people and livestock—called "calamity dues." Murder is punished with life for life. Banditry is rare. Infantry wield joint spears thirty feet long requiring several men apiece. The famed "tan bows" of Lelang come from this region. Spotted leopards, pony-sized horses, and sea-run trout figure among tribute whenever missions arrive.
23
韓有三種：一曰馬韓、二曰辰韓、三曰弁辰。 馬韓在西，有五十四國，其北與樂浪，南與倭接，辰韓在東，十有二國，其北與濊貊接。 弁辰在辰韓之南，亦十有二國，其南亦與倭接。 凡七十八國，伯济是其一國焉。 大者萬餘户，小者數千家，各在山海間，地合方四千餘里，東西以海為限，皆古之辰國也。 馬韓最大，共立其種為辰王，都目支國，尽王三韓之地。 其諸國王先皆是馬韓種人焉。
The Han peoples fall into three branches: Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonjin. West lies Mahan—fifty-four polities touching Lelang and Wa; east lies Jinhan—twelve states bordering Huimo. Byeonjin lies south of Jinhan with another dozen states fronting Japan. Seventy-eight realms are counted, among them Baekje. The largest hold ten thousand households, the smallest a few thousand, scattered between hill and coast over four thousand square li bounded by the sea on both flanks—this was old Zhen-han. Mahan dominates, elevating a king of Zhen from their own people at Mueji to rule all three Han. Every local king hails from Mahan stock.
24
馬韓人知田蠶，作綿布。 出大栗如梨。 有長尾雞，尾長五尺。 邑落雜居，亦無城郭。 作土室，形如冢，开户在上。 不知跪拜。 無長幼男女之别。 不貴金寶錦罽，不知騎乘牛馬，唯重璎珠，以缀衣為飾，及縣頸垂耳。 大率皆魁頭露紒，布袍草履。 其人壮勇，少年有筑室作力者，輒以绳贯脊皮，缒以大木，欢呼為健。 常以五月田竟祭鬼神，昼夜酒會，群聚歌舞，舞輒數十人相隨，蹋地為節。 十月农功毕，亦復如之。 諸國邑各以一人主祭天神，號為“天君”。 又立苏涂，建大木以縣铃鼓，事鬼神。 其南界近倭，亦有文身者。
The Mahan farm and rear silkworms to weave cloth. Chestnuts grow to the size of pears. They keep chickens whose tail feathers measure five feet. Villages intermingle without walled towns. Pit-houses look like burial mounds with roof entries. They do not practice kneeling obeisance. Age and sex bring little difference in deportment. Gold, silk, and livestock matter little; prized beads sewn on robes or hung at throat and ear serve as wealth. Most go bareheaded with topknots, wrapped in cloth and straw sandals. Strapping youths prove themselves by passing ropes through slits in their back muscles to haul timbers while onlookers cheer their toughness. After the May harvest they feast day and night to the gods—dozens stamping in line dance rhythm. They repeat the revelry when the October harvest ends. Every district appoints a "Heaven Lord" to lead sky worship. They raise sacred groves with drums and bells hung from tall poles for spirit rites. Near Japan to the south some practice tattooing.
25
辰韓，耆老自言秦之亡人，避苦役，适韓國，馬韓割東界地與之。 其名國為邦，弓為弧，賊為寇，行酒為行觞，相呼為徒，有似秦語，故或名之為秦韓。 有城栅屋室。 諸小别邑，各有渠帥，大者名臣智，次有儉側，次有樊秖，次有殺奚，次有邑借。 土地肥美，宜五谷。 知蠶桑，作缣布。 乘驾牛馬。 嫁娶以礼。 行者讓路。 國出鐵，濊、倭、馬韓并从市之。 凡諸貿易，皆以鐵為貨。 俗喜歌舞、飲酒、鼓瑟。 兒生欲令其頭扁，皆押之以石。
Jinhan elders claim descent from Qin refugees who fled labor gangs; Mahan gave them its eastern march. Their words for realm, bow, robber, toast, and companion echo Qin usage—hence the nickname "Qin Han." They live behind palisades in timber houses. Minor settlements answer to headmen titled chenzhi at the top, then jiance, fanzhi, shaxi, and yijie in descending rank. The soil is rich and bears all staple grains. They tend silkworms and weave fine silk. They ride oxen and horses. Marriages follow ritual propriety. Pedestrians step aside for one another. The country exports iron that Huimo, Wa, and Mahan all purchase. Iron serves as currency in every exchange. They delight in song, dance, wine, and se music. Newborns' skulls are flattened with stones to elongate the profile.
26
弁辰與辰韓雜居，城郭衣服皆同，語言風俗有異。 其人形皆長大，美发，衣服洁清。 而刑法严峻。 其國近倭，故颇有文身者。
Byeonjin intermingles with Jinhan—walls and dress match, yet dialects and customs diverge. They are tall, with fine hair and immaculate dress. But their legal code is harsh. Proximity to Japan means many practice tattooing.
27
初，朝鮮王准為衛滿所破，乃將其餘眾數千人走入海，攻馬韓，破之，自立為韓王。 准後滅絕，馬韓人復自立為辰王。 建武二十年，韓人廉斯人苏馬諟等，詣樂浪貢獻。 光武封苏馬諟為漢廉斯邑君，使屬樂浪郡，四時朝謁。 靈帝末，韓、濊并盛，郡縣不能制，百姓苦亂，多流亡入韓者。
When Wei Man overthrew King Jun of Old Korea, Jun fled seaward with thousands, conquered Mahan, and styled himself king of Han. Jun's line died out and the Mahan restored their own Zhen ruler. Jianwu 44 brought envoys such as Su Ma-di of the Liansi Han to Lelang with gifts. Emperor Guangwu named Su Ma-di chief of Han-Liansi under Lelang with seasonal audiences. Late in Emperor Ling's reign Han and Huimo grew too strong for frontier officials; refugees streamed into the peninsula.
28
馬韓之西，海島上有州胡國。 其人短小，髡頭，衣韦衣，有上無下。 好養牛豕。 乘船往來，貨市韓中。
Off Mahan's west coast lies the isle kingdom of Zhouhu. They are short, tonsured, and wear leather capes with no lower garment. They raise cattle and hogs. They sail to barter with the Korean kingdoms.
29
倭在韓東南大海中，依山島為居，凡百餘國。 自武帝滅朝鮮，使驛通於漢者三十許國，國皆稱王，世世傳統。 其大倭王居邪馬台國。 樂浪郡徼，去其國萬二千里，去其西北界拘邪韓國七千餘里。 其地大較在會稽東冶之東，與硃崖、儋耳相近，故其法俗多同。 土宜禾稻、麻紵、蠶桑，知織绩為缣布。 出白珠、青玉。 其山有丹土。 氣温暖，冬夏生菜茹。 無牛、馬、虎、豹、羊、鵲。 其兵有矛、楯、木弓、竹矢，或以骨為鏃。 男子皆黥面文身，以其文左右大小别尊卑之差。 其男衣皆横幅，结束相連。 女人被发屈紒，衣如单被，贯頭而着之； 并以丹硃坌身，如中國之用粉也。 有城栅屋室。 父母兄弟異處，唯會同男女無别。 飲食以手，而用籩豆。 俗皆徒跣，以蹲踞為恭敬。 人性嗜酒。 多壽考，至百餘歲者甚眾。 國多女子，大人皆有四五妻，其餘或两或三。 女人不淫不妒。 又俗不盗窃，少爭訟。 犯法者没其妻子，重者滅其門族。 其死停丧十餘日，家人哭泣，不進酒食，而等类就歌舞為樂。 灼骨以卜，用决吉凶。 行來度海，令一人不栉沐，不食肉，不近婦人，名曰“持衰”。 若在涂吉利，則雇以財物； 如病疾遭害，以為持衰不謹，便共殺之。
Wa lies southeast of Korea in an archipelago of more than a hundred insular kingdoms. Since Wu's conquest of Korea some thirty Wa realms have exchanged envoys with Han; each calls its ruler king in hereditary lines. The paramount Wa sovereign reigns from Yamatai. From Lelang's frontier to Wa is twelve thousand li; Kuyegan on Wa's northwest lies seven thousand li beyond. The islands lie east of Kuaiji's coast near Hainan, so customs resemble those southern shores. The land grows rice, hemp, and mulberry; they spin silk and hemp cloth. Exports include white pearls and green jade. The hills yield cinnabar earth. The climate is mild enough for greens year-round. Cattle, horses, big cats, sheep, and magpies are unknown there. Arms include spears, shields, wooden bows, bamboo shafts, and bone arrowheads. Men tattoo face and limbs; pattern and placement mark rank. Men wrap in linked waistcloths. Women let hair fall or knot it up and wear a poncho slipped over the head; they dust limbs with cinnabar as Chinese ladies use face powder. They live in palisaded settlements. Families keep separate quarters except at festivals, when men and women mingle freely. They eat with the fingers from ritual stands and bowls. Bare feet are universal; squatting passes for polite posture. They are fond of drink. Long life is common—many pass a century. Women outnumber men; chiefs keep four or five wives, others two or three. Women are neither promiscuous nor jealous. Theft is rare and litigation uncommon. Crime costs one's family to slavery; grave offenses wipe out the whole clan. Bodies lie in state ten days while kin fast and wail; friends meanwhile dance and sing. They crack bones for omens. Sea travel requires a scapegoat who forgoes bathing, meat, and women—the "bearer of pollution." A safe crossing earns the proxy rich payment; sickness or mishap blames the proxy, and the company kills him.
30
建武中元二年，倭奴國奉貢朝賀，使人自稱大夫，倭國之極南界也。 光武賜以印綬。 安帝永初元年，倭國王帥升等獻生口百六十人，願請見。
In C.E. 57 Wa-nu offered tribute; its envoy styled himself grandee—Wa's southern march. Emperor Guangwu granted an official seal. Yongchu 1 under Emperor An brought 160 captives and a request for audience from the Wa king Shuai Sheng.
31
桓、靈間，倭國大亂，更相攻伐，历年無主。 有一女子各曰卑弥呼，年長不嫁，事鬼神道，能以妖惑眾，於是共立為王。 侍婢千人，少有見者，唯有男子一人給飲食，傳辞語。 居處宫室、楼观城栅，皆持兵守衛。 法俗严峻。
Under Emperors Huan and Ling Japan fell into war without a king for years. A shaman-queen named Himiko, unmarried in age, bewitched the people into making her ruler. A thousand maids served unseen; only one man fed her and carried messages. Her palace and towers bristled with armed guards. Law and manners ran harsh.
32
自女王國東度海千餘里，至拘奴國，雖皆倭種，而不屬女王。 自女王國南四千餘里，至硃儒國，人長三四尺。 自硃儒東南行船一年，至裸國、黑齿國，使驛所傳，極於此矣。
Eastward across a thousand li of sea lies Kunu—Wa folk yet outside the queen's realm. Four thousand li south stands Zhuru, whose people stand three or four feet tall. A year's sail southeast reaches Naked Land and Black-teeth Land—the farthest rumor Han hears.
33
會稽海外有東鳀人，分為二十餘國。 又有夷洲及澶洲。 傳言秦始皇遣方士徐福將童男女數千人入海，求蓬莱神仙不得，徐福畏誅不敢還，遂止此洲，世世相承，有數萬家。 人民時至會稽市。 會稽東治縣人有入海行遭風，流移至澶洲者。 所在絕遠，不可往來。
Off Kuaiji's coast live Eastern islanders in over twenty polities. Tradition also names Yizhou and Danzhou. Legend makes Xu Fu's failed quest for Penglai end on these isles, where his thousands of colonists multiplied into myriads. They still trade at Kuaiji's markets. A Ye County mariner once washed ashore on Danzhou after a storm. The isles are too remote for regular contact.
34
論曰：“昔箕子違衰殷之運，避地朝鮮。 始其國俗未有聞也，及施八条之約，使人知禁，遂乃邑無淫盗，門不夜扃，回頑薄之俗，就宽略之法，行數百千年，故東夷通以柔謹為風，異乎三方者也。 苟政之所暢，則道義存焉。 仲尼懷愤，以為九夷可居。 或疑其陋。 子曰：“君子居之，何陋之有！ ”亦徒有以焉尔。 其後遂通接商賈，漸交上國。 而燕人衛滿扰雜其風，於是从而澆異焉。 《老子》曰：“法令滋章，盗賊多有。 ”若箕子之省簡文条而用信義，其得聖賢作法之原矣！
The essayist begins: "When Jizi abandoned moribund Shang for the Korean frontier—" At first the land was obscure; with his eight simple laws the people learned restraint—no wanton crime, no need to bolt doors at night. A coarse society grew docile and endured for ages, which is why Easterners seem gentler than their neighbors. Good rule lets moral order endure. Confucius in frustration declared the nine Yi fit to inhabit. Critics called them crude. The Master answered: "Where a gentleman dwells, how could it be crude?" —and that remark was not empty. Later trade drew them toward the Chinese court. Yet Wei Man of Yan muddled their ways until custom turned mixed and strange. Laozi warned: "More laws breed more outlaws." That is the essence of how sages frame law—sparse statutes grounded in trust.
35
贊曰：宅是嵎夷，曰乃旸谷。 巢山潜海，厥區九族。 嬴末紛亂，燕人違難。 雜華澆本，遂通有漢。 眇眇偏譯，或从或畔。
Encomium: They settled Wuyi—there lies Yang Valley. Mountain nests and sea hides—the nine Yi branches. Qin's collapse drove Yan men overseas. Chinese admixture touched their roots until Han ties opened. Remote tongues—now tributary, now in revolt.