Recent Trends in Ming-Qing History : Strong Traditions of Socio-economic Research and New Interest in Inner Asian world

Abstract

Korean scholarship in Ming-Qing history over the past two years has witnessed a range of issues and topics discussed, including various dimensions of local societies in China proper growth in commercial economy throughout the empire, cultural and material exchanges between Beijing and Seoul, etc. Most notably, several publications of monographs on the topics of social structure, economic development, and environmental changes in the Ming-Qing periods are a major achievement in this field which demonstrates the high status of Korean scholarship in Ming-Qing studies. In addition to this rich and long tradition on socio-economic approaches, the past two years of Ming-Qing studies observed a steady increase in research on topics relevant to Manchu distinctiveness and the Inner Asian tradition, one of the many subjects that differentiated the rule of the Ming from that of the Qing. It is important to note here that this recent trend in Manchu distinctiveness and the Qing Empire would not have emerged without the rich tradition of pursuing socio-economic approaches in Korean academia of Ming-Qing history. Understanding of the significant roles of non-Han people in Qing history cannot be reached unless the economic and cultural aspects of Han Chinese society are fully assessed and explained. Therefore, a variety of research on China Proper and frontier regions, Han Chinese society and the world of non-Han people, Chinese materials and Manchu documents, are all equally necessary and important for our balanced understanding of Ming-Qing history.