286 COREJL the Corean king, who, with his sons and ministers, joined Taid- soong in worshipping Heaven. When this ceremony was over, Taidsoong again sat down ; while the king, at the head of his inferiors, prostrated themselves on the ground, confessed their crime, and were pardoned. The king, with all his sons and ministers, then bowed nine times to the gromid, returning thanks ; after which he was made to sit down at the left hand, facing westj* above all the Manchu wanga After the ceremony of conferring these favours was over, all the ministers and the king's family were permitted to enter the capital In this same month, the separate bands of the army were recalled and ordered westwards; the king, his sons and ministers, accom- panying them ten li, and kneeling when taking leave. Because Corea had suflFered so much recently from his army, Taidsoong remitted the tribute of the next two years, fixing the autumn of the third year for the first payment ; and if, there- after, they should find themselves unable to meet their engage- ments, the king was informed that the abatement or nonpayment could be settled at the time. Just below the altar at Santien doo, the Coreans, ministers and .people, set up a slab, with an inscription in praise of Taidsoong's clemency. Two months after, the king forwarded his two hostage sons to Moukden; and next month Koong Yoodua, and the other deserters, guided the Corean vessels against the island of Pi, took several myriad men on that and the neighbouring islands, and terminated the reign of this Manchu scourge ; for the Chinese made no subsequent attempt to garrison those islands durmg that long-continued war. At the command of the Manchus, the Coreans, in 1638, attacked and took prisoners the people of Koorka, a tribe of Nujun living on their northern border, beyond the Toomun and east of Changbai shan, who had rebelled against Manchu rule, and had fled to Hiwng (Bear) island, north-east of the Corean coast This was their first service imder their new masters ; but they
- The emperor and gods are all represented as facing south ; the post of honour
is on the left hand facing west ; the next on the right hand facing east.
