East Asian Regional Order pre-1800 Flashcards
How East Asian relations and diplomacy functioned before the Modern Era
How can East Asian Relations`tions be characterised before 1800
“Harmonious relations”
Long periods of relative peace – Korea and China have relatively few wars
Give an old model of the East Asian regional order
Tributary Model
China at the centre of the world order, with outer tributary states radiating out from the Chinese centre (Korea, Mongolia etc.)
What new research is amending the tributary model
Increasing emphasis on Korea
How did Korea view itself
The second most civilised country, after China.
Korean maps exaggerated their sze and imporotnace to China
When and what was the Yaun dynasty
1279-1368
Established by the Mongols and ruled by Kublai Khan (1260-1279), grandson of Genghis Khan
The Mongols’ reign in China came to an end after a series of famines, plagues, floods and peasant uprisings
When was the Ming dynasty
1368-1644
How long did Choson Korea last
1392-1910
What language was used on the political circles in Korea
Until the 20th C, most Korean elites wrote in Classical Chinese. Used Chinese, as many Europeans used Latin.
Korean language has similarities to japaneese and Mongolian, but linguiostic origins still debated
Give two Korean origin myths
Tan’gun
Kija
What is the Tan’gun myth
Idea that all Koreans originate from Tan’gun, establishing the city of Asadal in 2333BCE (present-day P’yongyang)
What is the Kija myth
Traced Korena civilisation from China.
Kija is a supposed relative of the Shang emperor, fled to the Korean peninsula to establish a new state
Which Korean myth is more prevalent
Kija myth took residences in the chosen dynasty but reverted to Tan’gun after 1910
What was the significance of the Kija myth
Elevation of Kija myth helped secure cultural and diplomatic ties with Ming China and gave Korea a powerful civilisation identity
Argued that Chinese culture does not belong to any particular state, but emerged in the central plains and its values/ideas can be adopted by anyone
Koreans can access stream of Chinese ideas better than anyone else can
How was the filial daughter of Kwaksan exploited by the political elites in Korea and China
Was exploited by male elites in both Korea and China to establish a Confucianism civilisation - even when the story itself isn’t necessarily Confucian
Give two examples that highlight the close reliance Korea had towards China
Yeonsangun was overthrown (1476-1506)
Corruption and lechery led to his removal. His younger brother is pout in power. However, Korea didn’t tell China what had happened. Lied and hid the coup from China in order to maintain good relations
1592-98 Imjin War, Ming Chineese assistance was crucial
How does the relationship between Kore and China change in the late 19th century
Previously relate s were very stable
In the late 19thc however, the rise of modern Japan saw Korea become the centre for imperial powers
The peaceful Chinese order dramatically deteriorates
Russian, Japanese and Chinese armies vied for control of Korea
How did attitudes change in Korea from 1880
Koreans stopped seeing themselves as mere subsets of China but as Koreans first
According to Sin Chaeho (1880-1936) the Kija myth ruined Korea
Chaeho argued that only the full embrace of a blood-based ethnic identity of Koreans (and exclusively for Koreans) could save Korea from its current plight
- New concept of Korea as an ethnic nation, originates in the late 19th C
- Sin sees Tan’gun myth as superior to the kija myth
- Drove a militaristic nationalism and south Korean modernisation
The regional order that’s siatined eace in East Asia for centrueis – was drmticlaly otherthrown
