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Empire and righteous nation : 600 years of China-Korea relations / Odd Arne Westad.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2021Description: 205 pages : maps ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780674238213
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 303.48/2510519 23
LOC classification:
  • DS740.5.K6 W46 2021
Contents:
Introduction: A history of crucial importance -- China and the Chosŏn State: the making of Sino-Korean relations, 1392-1866 -- The internationalization of East Asia: China, Korea, and the world, 1866-1992 -- China and Korea today: the US-China relationship and the fate of the two Koreas -- Conclusion: What can we learn from history about China-Korea relations?
Summary: "In a concise, trenchant overview, Odd Arne Westad explores the cultural and political relationship between China and the Koreas over the past 600 years. Koreans long saw China as a mentor. The first form of written Korean employed Chinese characters and remained in administrative use until the twentieth century. Confucianism, especially Neo-Confucian reasoning about the state and its role in promoting a virtuous society, was central to the construction of the Korean government in the fourteenth century. These shared Confucian principles were expressed in fraternal terms, with China the older brother and Korea the younger. During the Ming Dynasty, mentor became protector, as Korea declared itself a vassal of China in hopes of escaping ruin at the hands of the Mongols. But the friendship eventually frayed with the encroachment of Western powers in the nineteenth century. Koreans began to reassess their position, especially as Qing China seemed no longer willing or able to stand up for Korea against either the Western powers or the rising military threat from Meiji Japan. The Sino-Korean relationship underwent further change over the next century as imperialism, nationalism, revolution, and war refashioned states and peoples throughout Asia. Westad describes the disastrous impact of the Korean War on international relations in the region and considers Sino-Korean interactions today, especially the thorny question of the reunification of the Korean peninsula. Illuminating both the ties and the tensions that have characterized the China-Korea relationship, Empire and Righteous Nation provides a valuable foundation for understanding a critical geopolitical dynamic"-- Provided by publisher.
List(s) this item appears in: New arrivals 2023
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Notes Date due Barcode
single unit book single unit book HAC Library - Holdings of the American Academy in Berlin HAC – 1st floor – Library Room – Open Stacks F (Affiliated) F:DS740.5.K6 W46 2021 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available Hardcover 2023-7347

"Edwin O. Reischauer lectures"--Series title page.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: A history of crucial importance -- China and the Chosŏn State: the making of Sino-Korean relations, 1392-1866 -- The internationalization of East Asia: China, Korea, and the world, 1866-1992 -- China and Korea today: the US-China relationship and the fate of the two Koreas -- Conclusion: What can we learn from history about China-Korea relations?

"In a concise, trenchant overview, Odd Arne Westad explores the cultural and political relationship between China and the Koreas over the past 600 years. Koreans long saw China as a mentor. The first form of written Korean employed Chinese characters and remained in administrative use until the twentieth century. Confucianism, especially Neo-Confucian reasoning about the state and its role in promoting a virtuous society, was central to the construction of the Korean government in the fourteenth century. These shared Confucian principles were expressed in fraternal terms, with China the older brother and Korea the younger. During the Ming Dynasty, mentor became protector, as Korea declared itself a vassal of China in hopes of escaping ruin at the hands of the Mongols. But the friendship eventually frayed with the encroachment of Western powers in the nineteenth century. Koreans began to reassess their position, especially as Qing China seemed no longer willing or able to stand up for Korea against either the Western powers or the rising military threat from Meiji Japan. The Sino-Korean relationship underwent further change over the next century as imperialism, nationalism, revolution, and war refashioned states and peoples throughout Asia. Westad describes the disastrous impact of the Korean War on international relations in the region and considers Sino-Korean interactions today, especially the thorny question of the reunification of the Korean peninsula. Illuminating both the ties and the tensions that have characterized the China-Korea relationship, Empire and Righteous Nation provides a valuable foundation for understanding a critical geopolitical dynamic"-- Provided by publisher.

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