전근대 동아시아의 무역과 화폐 : 12~13세기의 사례를 중심으로

Abstract

Studies of pre-modern societies should focus on the differences in the values and structure of the workings of said societies in comparison to the present, instead of whether they contributed to shaping today’s society. This is because doing so may provide useful implications for humanity to explore new social systems. Naturally, this is not to advocate a return to any pre-modern social system. In order to flexibly adapt to ever-changing circumstances, it is helpful to understand that, in the past, there existed operational mechanisms that are entirely different from today’s mechanisms, and that they were rooted in their own rationality.<BR> In this respect, this paper analyzes the nature of trade and currency in pre-modern East Asia, more specifically during the 12th and 13th centuries. Trade in the pre-modern era was not conducted for the purpose of gaining revenues, but rather viewed as a means to obtain necessary goods from other countries while exporting surplus goods. This resulted in the adoption of imposing customs duties on imports only. In addition, importing and consuming goods was not regarded as a serious problem in pre-modern times, in cases where certain goods could only be acquired from another country. This paper identifies cases where foreign currencies were imported and used as local currency. A comparative analysis of cases from Goryeo and Japan is conducted while taking into account the fact that imported currencies served different functions depending on the political and economic characteristics of the importing country.