‘강력한’ 고구려 기억의 명과 암 - 명 태조 주원장의 고려 역사 인식 -

Abstract

This article examines what Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang knew about the history of Goryeo, what books he read, and how he incorporated his knowledge and prejudice into his new empire's foreign policy toward Goryeo. Zhu Yuanzhang believed that his diplomatic partner Goryeo was the same country as Goguryeo, which had coexisted with China from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. The Goguryeo he knew was one that sometimes submitted to the Chinese dynasty and then betrayed it just as easily. His knowledge of Goguryeo was largely filled by studying the Goguryeo section of the Wénxiàn Tōngkǎo(文獻通考), one of the most renowned encyclopedic texts of the time. The book covers roughly 1400 years of history, in chronological order and centered on “noteworthy” events, which are usually characterized by a particular phase transition: submission and betrayal, conflict and war, surrender and breakaway, and so on. While reading the book, Zhu Yuanzhang got the impression that Goguryeo was a hypocritical and easily betrayed country. He believed that the current behavior of Goryeo is no different from their ancestors. Throughout his 30-year reign, Zhu Yuanzhang was always suspicious and wary of Goryeo. He had studied history and knew the conflicts between Chinese dynasties and Goguryeo in great detail. The records he consulted all portrayed Goguryeo as a military power and an unreliable entity. The threatening image-building of Goguryeo held by the Chinese and the negative views of the ancestors of the Chinese people also played a role in his dislike of Goryeo. As a result, Goryeo actively denied its succession to Goguryeo. Instead, Goryeo claimed that they were the descendants of “Gaja Joseon.” Goryeo tried to erase the memory of Goguryeo through images of deep-rooted closeness to Chinese civilization and old-fashioned docility. This eventually led to a change in the country's name. Since the 20th century, the average modern Korean remembers Goguryeo as a proud history. But more than 600 years ago, the Goryeo people felt quite the opposite. It is fascinating that the same historical entity had diametrically opposite images in different periods and phases. The perception of reality was projected onto the interpretation of history. Conversely, the image of the historical entity influenced the way we viewed the existence of reality. The perception of history was projected onto the interpretation of reality.