Post by ajk on Oct 28, 2008 15:58:07 GMT -5
Okay, I'm starting with a completely empty head on this, but I tried to dig up and piece together what was behind all of the historical references in Ep68 to the demarcation marker. Here's the best I can do in my ignorance:
Yun Gwan was a famous general from the early 12th century, during the Goryeo years. In 1107 he led a punitive military expedition against the Jurchens. It used to be that the Jurchens would pay tribute to the kings of Goryeo, but in the years prior to 1107 the Jurchen tribes allied and grew stronger, eventually violating the Goryeo border and even invading and defeating a weak Goryeo army led by Yun. (They later pulled back out of Goryeo territory, apparently persuaded by Yun to do so.) Yun strengthened the army and built up strong cavalry units, and in 1107 struck back and ultimately defeated the Jurchens, destroying a hundred Jurchen villages in the process. Following the victory Yun ordered construction of nine new fortresses north of the Goryeo/Jurchen border. Gonghumjin was the farthest forward of the nine fortresses. Years later, though, the land was given back to the Jurchens and Goryeo retreated back to the previous border.
Now here's the part that I could only infer in bits and pieces from what little the episode told us. At some point, Goryeo requested and received a promise from the Ming emperor that Ming would acknowledge the once-conquered land as Goryeo territory--if, that is, the boundary of the land could be determined for certain, by locating the original boundary marker. There was a quick mention of emperor Zhu's name; he ruled from 1368 to 1398 and established the Ming Dynasty. If he was the one who made that promise, then it most likely would have been requested by king Gongmin, who ruled between 1351 and 1374. But I don't know for sure.
In any event, the key here is that Ming made the promise a long time ago and that by finding the boundary marker, Joseon is finally taking them up on that promise and assuming that they'll still honor it. As far as the accuracy of what I've slapped together here, anybody who can correct mistakes or improve on what I've done is more than welcome to make an idiot out of me and do so.
P.S. Here are some photos of Yun Gwan's tomb taken by travelers:
www.dollsbymaria.com/paju.html
And here's quite an article about a 300-year-old feud over the tomb site, a feud recognized as the longest-running family feud in the world:
www.tomcoyner.com/quest_for_perfect_grave_keeps_korean_feud.htm
Yun Gwan was a famous general from the early 12th century, during the Goryeo years. In 1107 he led a punitive military expedition against the Jurchens. It used to be that the Jurchens would pay tribute to the kings of Goryeo, but in the years prior to 1107 the Jurchen tribes allied and grew stronger, eventually violating the Goryeo border and even invading and defeating a weak Goryeo army led by Yun. (They later pulled back out of Goryeo territory, apparently persuaded by Yun to do so.) Yun strengthened the army and built up strong cavalry units, and in 1107 struck back and ultimately defeated the Jurchens, destroying a hundred Jurchen villages in the process. Following the victory Yun ordered construction of nine new fortresses north of the Goryeo/Jurchen border. Gonghumjin was the farthest forward of the nine fortresses. Years later, though, the land was given back to the Jurchens and Goryeo retreated back to the previous border.
Now here's the part that I could only infer in bits and pieces from what little the episode told us. At some point, Goryeo requested and received a promise from the Ming emperor that Ming would acknowledge the once-conquered land as Goryeo territory--if, that is, the boundary of the land could be determined for certain, by locating the original boundary marker. There was a quick mention of emperor Zhu's name; he ruled from 1368 to 1398 and established the Ming Dynasty. If he was the one who made that promise, then it most likely would have been requested by king Gongmin, who ruled between 1351 and 1374. But I don't know for sure.
In any event, the key here is that Ming made the promise a long time ago and that by finding the boundary marker, Joseon is finally taking them up on that promise and assuming that they'll still honor it. As far as the accuracy of what I've slapped together here, anybody who can correct mistakes or improve on what I've done is more than welcome to make an idiot out of me and do so.
P.S. Here are some photos of Yun Gwan's tomb taken by travelers:
www.dollsbymaria.com/paju.html
And here's quite an article about a 300-year-old feud over the tomb site, a feud recognized as the longest-running family feud in the world:
www.tomcoyner.com/quest_for_perfect_grave_keeps_korean_feud.htm