Korean Studies, 27. 1
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Kory 335 as an independent realm
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236729173 Koryo as an Independent Realm: The Emperor's Clothes? Article in Korean Studies · January 2003 DOI: 10.1353/ks.2005.0001 CITATIONS 6 READS 107 1 author: Remco Breuker Leiden University 17 PUBLICATIONS 144 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Remco Breuker on 01 February 2021. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Kory0 as an Independent Realm: The Emperor’s Clothes? Remco E. Breuker This article examines the status of the mid-Kory0 polity as an independent realm. Often ideological extremes are contrasted with one another, and one or the other is seen as representing Kory0’s defining quality, but this article argues the necessity of examin- ing Kory0 from a pluralist point of view. Kory0’s pluralist ideology is reflected in the way it looked at itself and its neighbors and in its policies. In order to clarify middle Kory0’s status as an independent realm, issues closely connected to Kory0 identity, such as the clothes of the ruler, state rituals, foreign policies, and ruling ideologies, are scrutinized. Introduction The rulers of Kory0 have been recorded for posterity as kings and the land they ruled as a kingdom. It is customary to speak of the kings of Kory0 and to position Kory0 at the periphery of the Sinitic world. It is claimed that Kory0 was a willing participant in the traditional East-Asian world order, subservient toward Chinese dynasties, noticeably reluctant towards non-Chinese empires. Recent re- search has modified this picture to some extent, but the fundamental premises of this position remain intact. 1 Kory0 was a kingdom that, as a principle, acknowl- edged the ontological—if not always the actual—superiority of its suzerain Chi- nese dynasty. Nonetheless, there are various indications that the ruling elite of Kory0 considered Kory0 as a realm and as such as a possible center of the world. First, strong ambiguity between an imperial and a royal system is prominently present during long periods. Second, the designation realm (ch’0nha) can be found in the Kory0sa, explicitly referring to Kory0. Concurrent with this, the role of the Kory0 ruler in the perceived world order at some times resembles that of the Chinese Son of Heaven to the extent that the Korean monarch mediated between Korean Studies, Volume 27. © 2004 by University of Hawai‘i Press. All rights reserved. Korean Studies, 27.1 11/15/04 1:36 PM Page 48 heaven and earth in person. Third, tributary relations with the Song, Jin, and Liao dynasties were not as straightforwardly top-down as is often assumed. Fourth, Kory0 put much effort into the creation and maintenance of a tributary system of its own by sustaining ties with neighboring states and tribes and fitting them within an adapted, but still very formal, framework. Finally, the dominant ideological orientation of early and mid-Kory0 literati allowed for a non-monist perception of the universe. The dominant Kory0 worldview accepted the exis- tence of different realms. These realms co-existed, maybe not necessarily peace- fully, but ontologically on an equal footing. 2 These indications all point at the need to reconsider the status of the Kory0 ruler and of Kory0 itself. The issue of the proper designation of the Kory0 ruler is not just a ques- tion of antiquarian interest. It brings with it much larger issues that are closely connected to the core of Kory0 identity. As king, the Kory0 ruler acknowledged the ontologically superior status of the Son of Heaven; as Son of Heaven, he at most acknowledged the equal status of another Son of Heaven. If the Kory0 ruler was considered to be a Son of Heaven, Kory0 was a realm (ch’0nha) and realms, by definition, cannot be subordinated to other realms, not even to that of the Chinese Son of Heaven. 3 If the Kory0 ruler can no longer be designated as king, inferences about, for instance, the international status of Kory0 lose their dogmatic inevitability. Moreover, the fundamental question of Kory0’s self- perception would need to be reconsidered drastically. Reviewing the evidence, the notion of a mainstream pluralist ideology in early and mid-Kory0 should be seriously considered. In this article I propose to examine the status of the mid-Kory0 polity (un- til the reign of Injong) as an independent realm. The concept of ch’0nha in Kory0 was by no means constant but, on the contrary, went through many changes. Extreme changes occurred both during Kwangjong’s imperial movement and during Kim Pusik’s (1075–1151) repression of the revolt of Myoch’0ng (?– 1135). These extremes are often contrasted with one another and one or the other seen as representing the defining quality of Kory0. 4 The long periods between these reigns and the scholar-officials who did not wholeheartedly belong to ei- ther extreme position are often neglected. I intend to argue that it is to these long periods of seeming ideological moderation or pragmatism and to these scholar-officials without ideological axes to grind that we must look if we are to understand the pluralist mainstream of Kory0 ideology. Kory0’s pluralist ide- ology is reflected in the way it looked at itself and its neighbors and in its poli- cies. Consequently, by analyzing the use of imperial titles and by examining the issues closely connected to it, I intend to look into early and middle Kory0’s status as an independent realm. I shall try to investigate the question what kind of clothes the Kory0 ruler wore (imperial yellow or regal purple) and why and with what effect he wore them in order to arrive at an analysis of Kory0’s Weltan- schauung and its place in the world order. Did the Kory0 ruler wear the prover- r e m c o e . b r e u k e r : Kory0 as an Independent Realm 49 Korean Studies, 27.1 11/15/04 1:36 PM Page 49 bial emperor’s clothes, visible only to one who has an exaggerated idea of one’s own importance? Or were his clothes equally visible to people outside of the borders of Kory0? Download 347.48 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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