Korea-China Relations in History and Contemporary Implications

Description

This book examines the complex relations between Joseon Korea (1392–1910) and Ming/Qing China in history, and reveals their contemporary implications for the nature of a China-dominated order in East Asia and the relations between China and the middle powers in the region. Instead of relying on the works that offer over-generalized conclusions based on information drawn from secondary sources, this book provides a much more nuanced account of the Koreans’ experience of managing their relations with the great powers by analyzing the first-hand evidence documented by the Joseon historiographers related to the major events in Joseon–Ming relations, Joseon’s response to power transition from Ming to Qing, and Joseon–Qing relations. In East Asia today where the middle powers are facing the rise of China and a trilateral dilemma as a result of the Sino–US rivalry in the region, what history can tell us is of significant value to scholars, policy advisers, and policymakers. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 1-20 Background, Rationale, and Practice of Sadae (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 21-42 Sadae in the Era of Ming’s Unipolar Order (1392–1608) (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 43-85 Sadae in an Era of Changing Polarity (1608–1800): A Bipolar, an Imaginary Bipolar, and a Unipolar Order (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 87-132 Sadae in the Modern Era (1800–1910): The End of Ideational Sadae and the Continuation of Material Yongdae (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 133-170 ‘Anti-Sadae’ and Yongdae: The Legacies of Sadae in the Contemporary Era (1910–Present) (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 171-196 Conclusion (Robert Kong Chan)....Pages 197-209 Back Matter ....Pages 211-219