Reconstructing Ancient Korean History : The Formation of Korean-ness in the Shadow of History

This book examines the contested re-readings of "Korea" in early Chinese historical records and their influence on the formation of Korean-ness in later periods. The earliest written records on "Koreans" are found in Chinese documents produced during the Han dynasty, from the third century BCE to the third century CE. Since then, these early Chinese records have been used as primary sources for writing early Korean history in Korea, China, and Japan. This study analyzes the various reinterpretations and utilizations of these early records that became more diverse by the late nineteenth century, when the reconstruction of ancient history became a crucial part of the formation of Korean national consciousness. Korea's modern historiography was complicated by a thirty-five year colonial experience (1910-1945) under Japan. During this period, Japanese colonial scholars attempted to depict Korean history as stagnant, heteronymous, and replete with factional strife, while Korean nationalist historians strove to construct an indigenous Korean nation in order to mobilize Koreans' national consciousness and recover political sovereignty. While focused on Korea and Northeast Asia, the links between historiography and political ideology investigated in this study are pertinent to historians in general.--Sem Vermeersch, Seoul National University This Book Examines The Historiography Of Ancient Korea And Its Relationship To The Construction Of Korean National Identity Through A Critical And Comparative Analysis Of Chinese And Korean Primary Sources. It Also Analyzes The Ways In Which Korean Politics And Culture Have Shaped And Been Affected By Historical Narratives--provided By Publisher. From Others To Barbarians : The Conceptualization And Evolution Of Yi -- Negotiating The Past, Reinterpreting Ancient History : Legitimacy In The Lineage Of Ancient Korean History -- Ancient History Reinvented : Another Battleground For National Prestige And Political Legitimacy -- From A Marxist Universal History To An Ultra-nationalist Approach : Studies On Ancient History In North Korea -- In The Name Of History : Laying Claim To The Historical Sovereignty Of Manchuria (northeast China) -- Conclusion: Living With The Legacy Of The Past. Stella Xu. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Table of Contents 9 Acknowledgments 11 Notes on Romanization 13 Maps 15 Introduction 17 ONE. From Others to Barbarians: The Conceptualization and Evolution of Yi 夷 31 TWO. Negotiating the Past, Reinterpreting Ancient History: Legitimacy in the Lineage of Ancient Korean History 61 THREE. Ancient History Reinvented: Another Battleground for National Prestige and Political Legitimacy 105 FOUR. From a Marxist Universal History to an Ultranationalist Approach: Studies on Ancient History in North Korea 153 FIVE. In the Name of History: Laying Claim to the Historical Sovereignty of Manchuria (Northeast China) 181 Conclusion: Living with the Legacy of the Past 211 References 225 Index 237 About the Author 249