화이(華夷)와 무위(武威) - ‘평화’ 지속의 어려움에 대하여 -

Abstract

Between the 17th century and the mid-19th century, trade between Joseon and Japan flourished, and the King of Joseon dispatched envoys (通 信使) to the Japanese shoguns (將軍) on several occasions. These large groups of delegates from Joseon were hosted respectfully and courteously in Japan, and the character of these relations was often described with words such as 善隣(good neighborly friendship) and 友好(amity). Such diplomacy was also said to embody 誠信(good faith), and these terms were taken from common usage in both nations. These amicable relations between Joseon and Japan suffered a marked downturn after the Meiji Restoration in Japan, however, and in trying to understand why this happened it is significant that both nations had lost interest in communicating by means of envoys (通信使) long before this time. The dispatch and accommodation of envoys is often misunderstood as the Confucian observance of 禮(proprieties), but Mencius’ doctrine of 交隣 (goodwill toward neighbors) did not apply 禮(proprieties) to relations between nations on an equal footing. Instead, the envoys between Joseon and Japan are best interpreted as a manifestation of the compromises necessary to power politics. At the same time, in order to maintain peaceful relations and smooth trade, both nations had to subscribe to the most basic rule of international law, pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept), which principle they called 誠信(good faith). In fact, even though Joseon’s goodwill missions claimed to represent 誠 信(good faith), in practice they looked down on the Japanese, labeling them as 夷狄(barbarians). This inclination to denigrate Japanese culture and power persisted even after the Joseon delegates gained direct experience of Japanese life: indeed, it grew even stronger. The Japanese were also well aware of how they were perceived by Joseon, which caused considerable resentment to build up, since although they were ready to acknowledge that Japan had fallen behind Joseon in its observance of Confucian principles, they held Japan to be superior to Joseon in all other respects. This pronounced mismatch in the two nations’ perceptions of each other prompted a loss of interest in the established process of dispatching and accommodating envoys. Following the Meiji Restoration in Japan, together with the growing movement of ‘revering the Emperor’ and the indignation about ‘hereditary’ rule, relations with Joseon were ruptured entirely. Ironically, however, the earlier envoys had already noticed these two trends, and had predicted possible impending changes.