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Abstract

Abstract This is a pioneering work in the study of trade relations between China and Korea during the Ch'ing dynasty, based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including rare handwritten Korean documents, English consular reports and Japanese works, in addition to the more standard sources. The first chapter discusses various kinds of embassies, their frequency, and types and quantities of tributary gifts. Chang shows that the tributary system was not merely ceremonial or symbolic, but was concretely stipulated in diplomatic military, and judicial arrangements. The second chapter examines the evolution of Ch'ing and Korean foreign trade policies, and of Korean trade in Peking and Manchuria. Notable contributions include the author's analyses of both officially designated and private Korean traders in China, of cooperation between Korean private traders and Chinese merchants, and of market fluctuations due to the competition between official and private traders. Chang has also estimated the value of various commodities in the trade, especially the red ginseng imported into China from Korea in the nineteenth century. The third chapter is devoted to a discussion of barter trade at border markets. The author concludes that tributary trade helped Korea considerably in financial, economic, and military affairs, and contributed to the agricultural development of Manchuria, as well as to the maintenance of Sino-Korean political relations.