I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 319



Only Noblemtl

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (319)

[The Qing Dynasty is clearly a descendant of the Jurchen, who are separate from the Mongols.

However, the ethnic classification of Jurchen, Khitan, and Mongol resulted in a complete separation of the mutual succession of history and traditions they had shared.

This is a highly unusual case in that although the various dynasties in China were founded by different groups, they recognized each other’s succession because of their commonality in ruling the Central Plains.

This is Mongolia,

A rather sensitive topic has emerged in academia.

Some countries treat the northern nomadic peoples as divided into the Huns, Xianbei, Mongols, Jurchen, and Khitans, so how did the nomadic peoples understand their own history?

First, Genghis Khan made it clear that the Mongols were descendants of the Huns, and the Qing Dynasty, which occupied the Central Plains, also called itself the Khan of the Mongols.

So was all this just for political reasons?

If this is something to be criticized for, just look at Korean history as an example.

[The founding power of Goguryeo was the Buyeo bloodline that arose in Manchuria. If we do not connect them with the people living on the Korean Peninsula today and understand them as the Goguryeo people who disappeared into history, the link between Goguryeo and Korea will be severed.]

Goguryeo was clearly a country of Buyeo origin that arose in Manchuria.

However, both Goguryeo and Buyeo people do not exist in the present era.

But don’t you think that Korea has the right to inherit that history based on the history of the Goguryeo-Balhae people partially moving into the Korean Peninsula?

If we look at it that way, there is no need to divide the history of nomadic peoples into sections as if cutting them with a knife.

Because they were ethnically and culturally intertwined,

Nomadic peoples have long occupied the grassland routes connecting the East and the West, and in the process, various ethnic groups have flowed into the grassland, repeatedly fighting and uniting with each other.

Buddhism played a big role in this process.

Historically, nomadic peoples were tied to the cultural sphere of Buddhism.

The Northern Wei and other Xianbei dynasties, the Uyghur, Liao, Jin, Western Xia, and Yuan dynasties, especially the Yuan dynasty, took advantage of the decline of Indian Buddhism to recognize Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion and pursued policies that favored Buddhism.

The reason why this is important is because Tibetan Buddhism later influenced the legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty, which dominated the Central Plains.

The Yuan Dynasty recognized Tibetan Buddhism and created a vast cultural sphere encompassing the Central Plains and the grasslands, while the Qing Dynasty attempted to inherit the Mongolian style of governance.

The problem was that Tibetan Buddhism did not readily recognize the Qing Dynasty.

Even after being forced back to the grasslands by the Ming Dynasty, Mongolia maintained contact with Tibetan Buddhism and built ties with it, and in fact, Tibet also built temples in Mongolia to show off its ties.

Would Tibetan Buddhism have abandoned Mongolia overnight and recognized the Qing Dynasty as the master of the continent?

You might think that ignoring such a small religious group would be enough, but that would be the same as admitting that the Qing dynasty was not qualified to succeed the Great Khan of Mongolia.

Nomadic people who fought each other without a focal point,

The culture that unites them is ‘Buddhism’, but you want to erase the Buddhist community and become a representative of a nomadic people?

This is precisely why the Qing Dynasty persistently invited the Dalai Lama.

Before the Qing Dynasty became the ruler of the continent, it wanted to be a group representing the nomadic peoples of the grasslands.

The effort paid off in 1639.

A monk who was engaged in religious activities in Mongolia went to Manchuria at the invitation of the Qing Taizu, and from then on, it became an annual event for Tibetan monks to go to Manchuria.

This was a shocking development from the Mongolian perspective, as it meant that the Mongolian influence that had dominated the Buddhist world had shifted to the Qing Dynasty.

Note here, does this mean that Mongolia and the Jurchen have no relation?

If that were true, Emperor Taizong of the Qing would not have been pleased with the visit of that monk, and the Qing would not have declared itself Khan of the Mongols.

Mongolia and Jurchen were clearly tied together within the cultural sphere called ‘Buddhism’, and this can be historically verified.

If so, there is no need to divide the history of nomads like cutting with a knife.

In particular, Mongolian scholars rebelled against the ‘Central Plains’-centered history.

“You interpret history based on the Central Plains, but don’t force that logic on us!!”

“We have our own standards too!!”

The Chinese interpreted all history based on the Central Plains.

Even if foreigners occupied China, if they lived in the Central Plains, it would only be Chinese history. In this way, China evaluated history in a thoroughly self-centered way.

The Goguryeo people who lived in Manchuria were also a part of China, which is why Chiang Kai-shek viewed Korea, a branch of the Goguryeo people, as a part of China.

If you set foot in China for a short time, it is all Chinese history. Where is this far-fetched interpretation?

In that respect, the Mongolian scholars’ argument makes sense.

It is true that nomadic peoples have been in conflict with each other for a long time, but they were bound within the cultural sphere of Buddhism, and this became concrete during the Mongol-Qing period.

There is no need to discuss this issue further since the Qing emperor declared himself Khan of the Mongols. Based on this evidence, Mongolia is showing moves to incorporate the history of the Jurchen people into its own history.

So what are the views of Chinese and Korean scholars?

First of all, there is no major reaction from Korea.

Is the history of the Huns – Xianbei – Khitan – Jurchen Korean history?

There is no such awareness, and Koreans also think that the history of the grasslands has nothing to do with us.

The problem is that Chinese scholars, Chinese scholars raised objections to the Korean government.

“The history of nomads is also the history of the continent!!”

“If we deny this, Korea will have no justification to occupy the Central Plains!!”

Chinese scholars hold the position that Korea should inherit the history of the Central Plains.

Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty also compiled the history of the continent into the Four Treasuries and solidified the legitimacy of ruling the continent.

Then what about Korea?

Are we going to treat the history of the steppes separately, the history of the Central Plains separately, and the history of the Korean Peninsula separately? If we allow that, the 400 million Chinese people will have their own identity.

The same goes for Mongolia. In the end, if Korea is to become the true ruler of the continent, it needs to melt these diverse races into one place.

America is in social chaos because that didn’t work out.

The white people who arrived in America were driven out of Britain, but because they had established a country with their own hands, they were able to unite around the country called America.

But can black Africans do that?

They lived in Africa and were sold to America as slaves, so naturally, there was no country that could be their center.

Was the United States founded by black people?

Because that doesn’t work, black people can’t have an attachment to America, and that’s the fundamental reason why black people come together and fight for their national identity.

Malcolm X is a representative black nationalist. According to their logic, all black people are our friends and all white people are our enemies.

So, can’t this be applied to the East?

There are people who have actually tried this.

An Jung-geun argued that solidarity between Qing, Korea, and Japan should be used to counter the invasion of Western powers, and Japan also argued for ‘Greater East Asia’, arguing that Japan, as the leader of East Asia, would block the invasion of Western powers.

The problem is that their claims are not feasible.

Black people can unite based on skin color because they don’t have a country, but isn’t that not the case for Asian countries?

Each has their own country, and China, although subordinate to Korea, has an independent organization called ‘Lianxiang’.

In short, the East Asian Federation is nothing more than a federation of Korea, Mongolia, Lianxiang, and Japan, and it is safe to say that there is no possibility that they share the same ethnicity.

Still, it is necessary to remain friendly to each country for their mutual understanding.

But Mongolia’s surge of nationalism has tarnished the relationship.

Can Korea really be linked with Japan?

It has been only about 40 years since Japan was liberated from colonial rule, and there are those who have inherited that resentment, and there are those within Japan who are dissatisfied with the ties with Korea.

Same goes for China. Do the Chinese people really want to become part of Korea?

Just by looking at their claim that Korea should inherit the history of the Central Plains, we can see that they were unable to abandon Sinocentrism.

The Chinese only want Korea to become the successor to China, and Mongolia has no intention of abandoning the spirit of the Yuan Dynasty that ruled the grasslands.

How will this fierce battle of pride be resolved? And this is also the reason why the Korean leader hesitates to establish a world government.

If you can’t even handle internal chaos, how can you establish a world government? Shouldn’t you first take care of your own household?

It brought up a historical issue that had been forgotten for a while.

***

“Your Majesty, the guests have arrived.”

“Tell them to come in.”

This is Geumneung,

I called scholars from each country to my office.

We invite scholars from Korea, China, Japan, and Mongolia, as well as American and British scholars who can objectively look at Asian history.

How should we view Asian history?

Since Korea has become a leading player in East Asia, can we interpret history in that way?

History is like religion,

Just as Buddhism became the focal point for numerous nomadic peoples and achieved the unification of the Mongols and the Jurchens, Korea was able to shake off 36 years of Japanese colonial rule and become independent because it maintained its historical identity as a Korean.

And thanks to that history, North Korea was overthrown and the Korean Peninsula was unified. If there had been no recognition that the South and the North were originally one, there would have been no reason to pursue a war of unification.

The same goes for China and Mongolia. How could Mongolia maintain its independence between the two great powers, the Soviet Union and China?

The history that we are descendants of Genghis Khan, who once ruled the continent, remains in their hearts.

China has long held the hegemony of East Asia, but will that pride disappear overnight?

So I treated historians from each country as if they were religious scholars.

“Let me just say this clearly. History is the center of a nation and the foundation of its governance. People’s thoughts change depending on how they interpret history. In that sense, you are no different from religious leaders. You must keep in mind that what you say can influence the public’s thoughts and even expand into social issues.”

The scholars looked at each other.

You are all smart people, so you probably understand what the situation is right now.

As the Emperor of East Asia, I have now summoned representatives of each religion.

As the emperor, I am in a position to promote solidarity and integration among the countries. But if scholars act this way, shouldn’t we suppress religion?

So I pieced together the history of Asia.

“Korea was an empire in the past, and an empire inevitably has to embrace various ethnicities and ideologies. It cannot take sides, but it cannot ignore the conflict either.

As you all know, isn’t Asia’s history a bit unusual? Asia has long paid tribute to the hegemonic power of China and maintained peace in that way. But when that was broken by the invasion of the West, problems arose.

Let me be clear: I am not denying that past.

Because Asian history has been maintained by a tributary system between the hegemonic power called China and the countries that recognized it.

“For the sake of peace in East Asia, I think that some country should now play the role of China. I think Korea should play that role. What do you think?”

Scholars took notice.

The answer has already been decided, so what can I say?

Everyone brags about how great their country’s history is, but wasn’t East Asian history maintained by a tributary system between the empires and their surrounding countries?

In fact, Mongolia and the Qing Dynasty did not deny it, and American and British scholars also acknowledged it.

Although a global organization called AOPR was born, each country in the world has its own history and focal point.

Before creating a world organization, it was also necessary to recognize each country’s system and independence. Korea claimed to be the Middle Kingdom of Asia, but did not deny the history and identity of other countries.

That’s the East Asian way of maintaining peace for over a thousand years.

This issue has been settled for now.