Eastern Barbarian Consciousness in Research on Manchu Origins

Abstract

The notion that the progenitor of the Jurchen Jin dynasty was a Korean and that Korea was the ancestral land of the Manchu was widespread in East Asia in the twelfth century and continued for hundreds of years until the compilation of Research on Manchu Origins in the eighteenth century. Related records can be found in Chinese, Jurchen, and Korean records of the time such as Songmojiwen and Goryeosa. Dongyi (東夷) refers to the Sinocentric world view where the Chinese themselves occupy the center of the universe, while the people on its four fringes were considered barbarians. Dongyi (東夷) here refers to eastern barbarians, which includes Koreans, Japanese, and the Manchu. In this paper, Dongyi consciousness refers to the Qing elite’s view of the ancient Korean kingdoms of Baekje and Silla. It appears that Hambo (函普), a man from Silla, migrated to Jurchen, married a Jurchen woman, and settled there. Starting from the time of his fourth generation descendant Seok Ro, his tribe began to gain power, and his seventh generation descendant Aguda founded the Jin dynasty. A fact that shows the Manchu’s affinity toward Koreans is that kingdoms normally regarded as being Korean such as Buyeo, Baekje, and Silla are included in a book on Manchu origins, Research on Manchu Origins. The compiler’s motive in including Baekje and Silla seems to have been to emphasize the advanced civilizations of Baekje and Silla as their ancestors and thereby placing themselves on an equal footing with the Han.