Koreans’ Perception of the Liaodong Region During the Chosŏn Dynasty
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2016, Vol 21, Issue 1
Abstract
Liaodong refers to the southeastern part of Liaoning Province today. During the Three Kingdoms Era, this area was part of Koguryŏ territory, and after the collapse of Koguryŏ, it belonged to Parhae. However, when Parhae fell at the hands of the Jurchens, the Koryŏ dynasty was unable to secure Liaodong. Afterwards, with the rise of the Chinese Yuan dynasty, King Ch’ungsŏn of Koryŏ was appointed by the Yuan emperor as the King of Shenyang, and the movement to reclaim Liaodong began to gain momentum in Korea. Succeeding Koryŏ, the Chosŏn dynasty claimed to support Ming China under the principle of sadae, but this did not mean that relations between Chosŏn and Ming were stabilized. As a result, Chosŏn could not but worry about the fact that if the Ming were to suppress the Jurchens, Chosŏn would be Ming’s next target. To prevent a Ming invasion of Korea, Chosŏn had to make an ally of the Jurchens and launch a preemptive attack to annex Liaodong. With this in mind, Chŏng Tojŏn joined hands with T’aejo Yi Sŏnggye and planned to conquer Liaodong but failed due to Yi Pangwŏn’s coup. During the reign of T’aejong, Ming established Jianzhou Guard in Liaodong to control the Jurchens. While the Jurchens were embroiled in a dispute, King Sejong also established four districts and six garrisons and, he changed the geographical records from the previous dynasties and kingdoms to appear as if they had existed in the land south of the Amnok River in an attempt to protect the regions south of Amnok from the Ming invasion. This was recorded in Sejong sillok chiriji, Tongguk yŏji sŭngnam, and Koryŏsa.
Authors and Affiliations
Jungshin Lee
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP26427
- DOI https://doi.org/10.22372/ijkh.2016.21.1.47
- Views 286
- Downloads 10
Doubts about the Edition of the 〈Samguk yusa〉
The <Samguk yusa (Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea)> compiled by the Koryŏ era Buddhist monk Ilyŏn (1206- 1289) is widely regarded as a classic in which the history and culture of ancient Kor...
Numerical Perception and Statistical Desire of Postwar Japan towards Resources in Korea
After defeat in the Second World War, Japan was faced with the issue of how to reconstruct its economic relationships with the regions of the East Asian regional economy of the Japanese Empire, i.e. relationships with Ja...
Ukanju and the Changing Political Order of Northeastern Asia in the 17th Century
For decades, historians defined the ukanju, also known as taoren (逃人) in the Chinese-language archives of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911A.C.), as the Manchu’s ethnic Han-Chinese slaves or escapees. However, this definitio...
The Korean through a Prism of the Soviet-Japanese Relations(1920-1930)
After clearing of the Far East interventionist in 1922-1923 the main task of the young Soviet state was the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Tokyo. Representatives of the USSR and Japan had been s...
Low-class Commoners during the Koryŏ Dynasty
The Chosŏn society was one in which the yangban (aristocracy) wielded tremendous power. The role of women in this society was influenced greatly by the yangban class’ attempts to establish a patriarchal family order a...