<용비어천가>에 나타난 여말선초의 영토전쟁과 변경

Abstract

Yongbieocheonga(龍飛御天歌) is a eulogy for kings who founded Joseon. It is composed of 125 cantos and its title means the Songs of Flying Dragons(the Songs). This paper intends to analyze several wars expressed in the Songs and to know one of the reasons why King Sejong made and published it based on my analyses. The wars in the Songs show not only a story about a process of the rise of a family to become the founder of a country, but also a struggle to protect the northern border and territory of Koryo and Joseon by fighting against other countries. So analyzing fulfillment of heroes in the Songs, I take more interested in the fate of the community rather than in one's personal success, and focused on the military activities rather than on the virtuous deeds. For this task, I refer to A Commentary on the Songs(龍飛御天歌 註解). It is because these cantos are so compressive that we can't fully recognize the concrete details of those wars. In the Songs, there are several wars which Yiseonggye(李成桂)'s family had participated in; 1)the restoration of Ssangseong(雙城), 2)the repulse of an attack of Nagachu(納哈出) and the conquest of Tongnyeongbu(東寧府), 3)The fight against Ming's garrisons in Cheolryeong(鐵嶺衛). I make some researches on how he had played his role as a general with his military genius and therefore what happened to territory of Koryo owing to his activities. I try to reveal that those authors of the Songs made a considerable point of the issue of the northern borders, northern territory of Joseon and the subjugation of the Northern. I can see they intended to emphasize the fact that Yi's family had been rooted in Northeast Koryo. Also, they wished that the fact would be a recognized source of Yiseonggye's ability of governing most of tribes living near the northern border of Koryo, North Manchuria. In 1392, Yiseonggye's troop withdrawal from Wihwa Island(1388) finally resulted in the foundation of Joseon. He responded to a call to bring peace to a foreign-stricken nation in the transition period Yuan and Ming. However, he could not expand territory further because of his return. Ming announced the Aprok River was the border between Ming and Joseon, but Joseon was not satisfied with Ming's permission. Despite his withdrawal, Yiseonggye wouldn't abandon Ruzhen tribes(女眞) beyond the river after founding Joseon. He would act only carefully, because he knew how to use the situation around the late 14th C in the Far East. While Joseon treated the issue of Liadon(遼東) as a matter of territory, Ming intended to apply the rule of the population to the course of taking over Ruzhen tribes. It was because Joseon wanted Manju and Liadong region should be the neutral zone between Ming and Joseon. I agree on the opinion that medieval border was not a line but a land/zone. I assert the boundary and the border should be reviewed with this respective. The more powerful Ming's demands were, the more intensely King Sejong desired to seek the way how to secure territory of Joseon by maintaining a vacant lot between Joseon and Ming. He cherished that his grandfather's power to subdue other countries and his political judgment and affinity with people around the north borderland to control them. While he and his servants studied military operations, they collected historical evidences of his ancestors' campaigns against other countries and made the performances by writing many cantos out of them. Consequently, the Songs is not only a memorial writing of the triumph of history and culture to defend the sovereignty under toadyism but also extensive answers to a huge question, "What is a nation?". Searching for answers, King Sejong dealt with territory as the most important issue to give a lesson to his descendants.