From Frontier to Borderland
Seonmin Kim
Chapter from the book: Kim, S. 2017. Ginseng and Borderland: Territorial Boundaries and Political Relations between Qing China and Chosŏn Korea, 1636–1912.
Part of
Chapter from the book: Kim, S. 2017. Ginseng and Borderland: Territorial Boundaries and Political Relations between Qing China and Chosŏn Korea, 1636–1912.
This chapter explains that ginseng carried high economic, political, and cultural value during the period of transition from the Aisin Gurun to the Qing Empire. Initially, ginseng was a valuable commodity for the Jurchens to consolidate their power. Later, it became an indicator of the territorial boundaries between the Ming and the Aisin Gurun. Finally, it came to bear a more political significance in foreign relations. This chapter stresses that Hong Taiji attacked Korea in order to achieve two goals—the economic goal of protecting ginseng profits from Korean intruders and the political goal of enhancing the position of the Qing state as a contender for control of Liaodong.
Kim, S. 2017. From Frontier to Borderland. In: Kim, S, Ginseng and Borderland. California: University of California Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.36.b
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Published on Sept. 12, 2017