Abstract

The records related to disasters in the traditional societies of East Asia (Korea and China) differed according to regions and times. In other words, not only quantitative differences, but also clear differences in perception and expression can be found. In this respect, limitations in the compatibility of data may be revealed or unreasonable interpretation may be caused. However, it is inevitably more important than anything else to compare contemporary data in the only way to overcome the quantitative limitations of data. Therefore, in this article, I am going to examine the trends of the disasters in Goryeo society in the 12th century, focusing on 『Goryeosa』, and compares them with the cases of 『Songsa』, 『Yosa』 and 『Geumsa』, which are materials from neighboring countries. In the climatic environment of East Asia around the 12th century, the rate of disaster occurrence was higher than in other periods. Although it is necessary to compare and analyze the global or regional phenomena of these disasters, it should not be overlooked that the political and social situation in the 12th century of East Asia experienced a similar process. In this article, I examined whether the major category of disasters into 10 medium categories and 27 small categories is necessary for future research. To confirm this, the characteristic elements of disaster search terms appearing in Sega(世家) and Ohaengji(五行志) of 『Goryeosa』, Bongi(本紀) and Ohaengji of 『Songsa』, Bongi of 『Yosa』, and Bongi and Ohaengji of 『Geumsa』 were compared with each dynasty. As a result, ‘01Sujae(水災), 02Hanjae(旱災), 04Hwajae(火災), 05Jijae(地災), 09Jilbyong(疾病), 10Hungnyeon(凶年)’ in 『Goryeosa』, ‘01Sujae(水災), 02Hanjae(旱災), 10Hungnyeon(凶年)’ in 『Songsa』, ‘01Sujae(水災), 10 Hungnyeon(凶年)’ in 『Yosa』, ‘01Sujae(水災), 02Hanjae(旱災), 06Pungjae(風災), 07Chungjae(蟲災), 10Hungnyeon(凶年)’ in 『Geumsa』 were confirmed to be prominent. And what effect the climate environment had on actual society was examined along with the elements of social change in the 12th century. Whether it is appropriate to supplement the data limitations of 『Goryeosa』 through literature data from neighboring countries, which differs in geography or climate from the Korean Peninsula, is a matter to be considered continuously. However, we must not forget that comparing disasters that occurred at a time when contemporary social problems were shared can be another foundation for understanding contemporary society.

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