作為明永樂朝的宦官，海壽之名見於《太宗實錄》一共五則，分別記載他扈從成祖出征東蒙古阿魯臺及出使朝鮮，並在成祖末次親征蒙古於榆木川病卒時奉遺命馳訃報皇太子。 明朝史乘記其行事止於此。 實則，海壽並非漢人，原籍朝鮮，為洪武年間（一三六八-九八）李朝始祖太祖李成桂（一三三五-一四０八）， 歷次遣送入明朝皇帝內廷服務之一員閹人，朝鮮稱為「入朝」、「還鄉」火者或宦者。根據李朝《太宗實錄》及《世宗實錄》，海壽曾七次被遣返回本國為使者，或為當朝顯赫之漢籍宦官黃儼之隨員，或為專使，為成祖向朝鮮國王索取馬匹、火者、處女、各色珍貴物料及土產。二人以天朝使者口宣希旨，藉著權勢求索財物作為貿易私貨，貪婪無厭，橫曝肆虐，朝鮮朝野慎怨無已，但不敢開罪明朝皇帝，惟有忍辱負重，供應無闕，影響明鮮關係至鉅。此類史實中土失載，惟見李朝《太宗》及《世宗實錄》，本文鉤稽有關記載為海壽補傳，並為永樂朝朝鮮籍宦官奉使回本國的活動，及其所反映的明鮮宗藩關係作一個案研究。

　　　　　This is a biographical study of Hai Shou, a eunuch of Korean origin in the reign of Emperor Ch'eng-tsu of the Ming dynasty (r. 1403-24). Hai Shou appears five times in the Ming T'ai-tsu shih-lu. He was an attendant of Ch'eng-tsu in two campaigns against the Eastern Mongols of Arughtai, was an imperial envoy to the court of King Taejo (r. 1401-18) and King Sejong (r.1419-50) of Chosen, and was the special messenger delivering the death notice to the heirapparent of the emperor, who suddenly passed away in the last Mongolian campaign of August 1424. There are no other records about him in Ming sources. Hai Shou was, in fact, one of scores of Korean eunuchs sent by the Chosen king to the Chinese court at its request in the later years of the reign of Ming T'ai-tsu, the dynastic founder (r. 1368-98). As they groomed and earned Ch'eng-tsu's trust, they were dispatched back to their native state as special envoys to oversee the requisition of tribute, such as horses, prospective young eunuchs, maidens, and precious commodities and native produce. Hai Shou, who accompanied the notorious Han Chinese chief eunuch Huang Yen on several such missions, and headed two missions of his own, was one such returning Chosen eunuch. These eunuchs, however, were despised by the Chosen court. Like Huang Yen, Hai Shou was heavily criticized for his greedy demands for lucrative presents and rude behavior towards his hosts and fellow countrymen, using his mission as a cover for lucrative private trade. The Chosen kings were deeply distressed and humiliated, but had to accede to their requests, else they risked the wrath of the Ming emperor with dire political consequences. A careful investigation into the Chosen sillok ("Veritable Records"; Yijo sillok), therefore, would shed light not only on Hai Shou's career, but also on the vicissitudes of Sino-Korean relations during the early fifteenth century.