朝鮮初期 野人과 對馬島에 대한 藩籬 · 藩屛 認識의 형성과 敬差官의 파견

Abstract

The Conventional understanding of Kyŏngchagwan(敬差官) in early Chosŏn was that it was one of king's envoys sent to local provinces to deal with specific state's affairs. It has been understood as Chosŏn Kings domestic envoy. However, many historical records show Kyŏngchagwan envoys were not only sent to domestic regions, but also dispatched to foreign regions such as Tsushima and Jurchens. Then, why were those Kyŏngchagwan envoys dispatched to those foreign regions? What were the roles of Kyŏngchagwan in these regions? What meaning does it bear for Chosŏn's foreign policy? My problematization of existing researches came from those simple questions. Trying to rebut the conventional understanding that Kyŏngchagwan is Chosŏn king’s domestic envoys, I have looked at the various aspects of Kyŏngchagwan dispatch including its practices and its ideological basis. It turned out that Chosŏn’s Kyŏngchagwan dispatch was a diplomatic practice which symbolized Chosŏn’s own idea of having vassals such as Jurchens and Tsushima in Northeastern interstate relationship. First of all, Kyŏngchagwan also was the envoy who delivered Chosŏn king’s order to foreign regions such as Jurchen and Tsushima, as well as the Chosŏn king’s domestic envoy. Its fundamental character is borne in the rhetoric of the term itself which means an official who carried out the Chosŏn King’s order respectfully to Jurchen and Tsushima regions which are regarded as inferior. This character culminated in the ceremonial rituals of receiving Kyŏngchagwan which symbolized Chosŏn’s superiority. Then, historical origin of this hierarchy where Chosŏn was able to force this practice on Jurchens and Tsushima, was Koryŏ and Chosŏn’s military subjugation of them and Chosŏn’s founder Yi Sŏng’gye’s contribution to it. According to the changes of East Asian interstate frame, the ruling elites of early Chosŏn used it as useful historical sources for legitimizing their superiority over those two foreign forces in writing its own history. Through this, the ideological basis of Chosŏn’s having its own vassals such as Jurchen and Tsushima was created. Now, Chosŏn became a suzerain of those two vassals which used to be the barbarians. On the basis of this idea, Chosŏn’s ruling elites try to perpetuate their suzerainty over them. The dispatch of Kyŏngchagwan was one of the typical diplomatic practices to symbolize this relation. Institutional origin of Kyŏngchagwan shed light on this symbolic meaning of Chosŏn’s Kyŏngchagwan more clearly. Ming sent its low level envoys called Qinchaiguan(欽差官) to its vassals such as Chosŏn. Following Chinese imperial model foreign policy, Chosŏn began to send Kyŏngchagwan(敬差官). However, this doesn’t mean that Chosŏn denied Sino-centric East Asian order. Rather, modifying its original model in Chosŏn’s own position under Ming, Chosŏn could still signify its suzerainty over Jurchen and Tsushima Wako, accepting Ming suzerainty at the same time.