창작과 비평

 

In Relation to the Tradition of East Asia and the Modern World

Lim Hyoung-taek
Professor of Korean Chinese Classics, sungkyunkwan University

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3. Moving into the Modern World

 

The conditions of the "modern world," in which the capitalist civilization of the West prevail, still continue to dominated today. The rising tide of the West's imperialist conquest of the East spread throughout the world, overrunning, deconstructing, and integrating the previous mode of microcosmic and traditional social culture established by non-Western regions; at length, the trend is now at the point of completing a "unification" of the whole earth.
It would be wrong to say that the East Asian world remained callous or showed no effort to keep up with the march toward the "modern world." The 14th-century transition from Yuan to Ming on the continent and the shift from Goryeo to Joseon on the Korean peninsula are can be seen to have been in line with the historical trend of the time. Also, the fact that the fleet led by Zhenhe鄭和 of the Ming dynasty crossed the Indian Ocean and advanced all the way to the Middle East in the 16th century enables us to suggest that there were indeed signs of the East advancing into the West. This activity, however, failed to continue untill the coming of the modern age, ultimately leaving the East cornered by the expanding imperialism of the West. Yet while the West's presence came to be known and its science and technology were introduced after the 17th century, the East was not without its own academic and ideological resources. Silhak of Joseon, for example, can be regarded as one example. I once opined, "Silhak, a search for means of reformation and openness, may historically be viewed as a subjective countermove against the tide of Western imperialism." [6] However, Silhak proved to be nothing but a "lone cry of the enlightened man," failing to take root in the real world.
As is generally known, Joseon was thrust into the "modern world" with the opening of its seaport in 1876. Though unprepared in every way, it had no choice but to open its doors, consequently exposing itself to a modern world where the imperialist powers were locked in fierce competition. Since then and up to the present age, only two years shy of the 21st century, unprecedented major transformations and changes have taken place. Our rough sailing through times marked by tremendous chaos, hardships, and national crises still remains vivid in memory. It was a time of clash between civilizations, as well as a period of opportunity to create from the conflicts and clashes of the East and West, the old and new.

 

Since the beginning of this dynasty [Joseon], there were opportunities for the
civilization to progress once more. However, we failed to seize the opprotunity and
instead began to deteriorate rapidly. Civilization gradually entered the dark ages
after the mid-Joseon era and ultimately fell into the present state of misery and
despair. Yet, a new civilization is blooming once again, its energy like that of a
spouting fountain. Indeed, if we learn the essence of the old civilization and display
the beaming light of the new, the glorious age of civilization will not be far off.
Damcheong談叢 ("A Collection of Essays"), Taehan Maeil Sinbo (Korea Daily News)
8 Jan. 1910.

 

The author of Damcheong uses the pen name of Geomsin劍神 ("blade spirit"), and it is assumed to be Sin Chaeho. The writer, ardently desiring for civilization to progress, notes that the rise of civilization was widely anticipated in accordance with the opening of Joseon, but civilization, in actuality, declined and "fell into the present state of misery and despair." The passage above portrays the situation of the country upon entering the modern world as severely pessimistic. Yet in early 1910, the writer takes on a different approach, asserting that the bud of new civilization is sprouting up with vigor. What traces of the new civilization gave forth such optimism?
Here I briefly note the reaction shown by traditional East Asian civilization when it clashed with the West, and how it soon made its path toward the "new civilization." But there is one point to discuss before proceeding: the fate of Chinese civilization during this stage of history.
After the Opium War and for a century, Chinese territory had become a scene of pillage and partition by powerful imperialist nations. The situation was similar to that of Joseon. What we should notice here is that during this process, China faced a crisis of civilization for the first time. Though China had experienced the fall of its state system at the hands of foreign forces many times before, it had been able to keep its huaxia wenming more or less intact by sustaining ancient tradition, even diversifying its culture through exchange.
Now things were different. For a suzerain state which as the world's "master" maintained a tributary system, even signing treaties with Western nations as "equals" was a disgrace. To make matters worse, China was mired in a deplorable situation where it was difficult simply to maintain an equal relationship under the international order of the modern world. In those days, public law conferences played a significant role in settling all international relations. Japan was the only participant from the Asian region in these conference, and China, the long-standing suzerain state, was left out.
China's international status as a civilized nation was trampled on; a country which boasted of five thousand years of cultural tradition was loosing status, and treated as a barbarian state. How could this have happened?
According to European historians, it was in the 18th century that Europe overtook China in terms of technology. [7] That is, huaxia civilization was surpassed by the technological civilization that made possible a successful industrialization of the advanced European countries, the creators of the modern world, in the 19th century. Japan, caught in a similar situation with China, could not break free from its weak position when it first opened its doors to the outside world. Not long after, however, Japan was able to join the ranks of Western nations. China, on the other hand, failed to get back on track after loosing out in the competition, bringing about the collapse of a 5000 year-old civilization. With the aim to right an unfavorable trade balance, Great Britain forced the sale of opium on China, thereby triggering the Opium War. This indicates that, even as early as the first half of the 19th century, China had not lost its competitiveness in comparison to the West. How are we to interpret this historical fact? A Korean intellectual of the modern enlightenment age argues the problematic issue:

 

China, with its "unified civilization" empty for several decades, went on bragging
without realizing that a whole new situation was unfolding before its eyes.
Consequently, China fell into a state of complacency, and employed unjust stopgap
measures by spending all its efforts on oppressing the people and trampling on the
seeds of resistance. As for the people, who had been tyrannized for such a long
time, they lost the spirit of indignation and defiance, independence and freedom. It is
they that have given rise to this world of indifference. Such is the dark shadow
drawn by two thousand years of unification. (Yi Jongtae李鍾泰 ed., Jinmyeong
Hwiron進明彙論 ("Collected Essays on Advanced Civilization"))

 

This passage diagnoses the reason for the downfall of China's unified civilization. We can also find similar critical logic in the work of Lu Xun, a pioneer of modern Chinese literature, who depicts a typical character by the name of Ah-Q to censure and criticize the chronic social ill, thereby spurring self-reflection and self-disillusion of the Chinese people. The first and foremost error lay in the way an old and colossal China that sank to self-conceit, heedless of world affairs while maintaining the status quo by reinforcing the monarchy and oppressing the people. No less problematic was the people's loss of an independent and free spirit, as well as the capacity to be enraged by injustice, tamed by the oppression of the state. Thus is the opinion displayed in the citation above, which can also be applied to the circumstances of Joseon.
The presence of China and the traditional civilization of East Asia functioned as an obstacle in the course of Joseon's entrance into the modern world. There were both actual and conceptual aspects to the problem, and both aspects, though originating from different roots, bear close relation to each other.
The actual problem arose through Joseon's relationship with Qing. According to Article One of the Treaty of Ganghwa, the first international treaty Joseon entered into when opening its gates, Joseon is an independent state and is on equal terms with Japan. Although treaty contained provisions unfavorable and unjust to Joseon, the fact that its first treaty with a foreign country acknowledged its autonomy has great significance. In 1887, however, when Joseon dispatched a minister plenipotentiary to the U.S., Qing embarked on obstructing Joseon's autonomous diplomatic activities by asserting that Joseon was a subject state. There was even a humiliating incident in which the king of Joseon was compelled to summon the minister back home. By now Qing saw the tributary system as that of imperialistic dominance. In order to rise as an independent state, Joseon first had to make sure of its independence from Qing. Joseon's separation from Qing was eagerly supported by Japan, for this was vital to Japan's annexation of Joseon. [8] It was said that the ulterior motive for Japan's instigation of Joseon's autonomy was the same as that for Japan's strategem during Imjin Waeran (the Japanese Invasion of Joseon in 1592) when they requested Joseon "lend them passage to the continent for the conquest of Ming" (Yi Namgyu, Cheongjeol Waeso請絶倭疎 ("A Request to Break Off Relations with Japan")). At any event, the real hinderance to Joseon's independence was automatically removed when the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 ended in Japan's victory.
The conceptual problem was largely due to the collision between the civilizations of East and West. When heterogeneous civilizations meet, there is bound to be conflict arising from difference of morals and lifestyles. For instance, the conflict between the Islamic culture and the Christian culture has continually caused fierce battles, which persist even today. Of course, the Korean peninsula has never witnessed a religious battle due to a clash with a completely unfamiliar culture; Korea has been fortunate enough to enter into the modern world of Western culture relatively without complications. However, this does not mean that the modernization of Korea has been achieved without pain along the way; mere obliteration of the "real hindrance" could not bring a solution to the "conceptual problem." This "conceptual problem" was no little matter, for it was closely connected to the direction our nation had to take on the road to the modern world.

 

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[6] See LimHyong-taek, Silhakja-deul-ui Ilbon'gwan-gwa Silhak (Silhak Scholars' Views on Japan, and Silhak)" A Collection of Essays in Commemoration of Professor Yi Jihyeong's Retirement, Taehaksa, 1996.
[7] Delouche, Frederic ed., Sae Yureop-ui Yeoksa새 유럽의 역사 (Illustrated History of Europe), Kkachi, 1995, p. 329.
[8] "Article One of the treaty with Joseon, concluded in 1875, states, 'Japan sanctions the autonomy of Joseon and its equal relationship with the autonomous Japan.' ... Japan consistently employed cunning schemes to annex Joseon, and the initiative step necessary for the purpose was to sever Joseon's relations with Qing. In order to bring about the break, it was inevitable for Japan to approve of Joseon's autonomy: hence the Treaty of 1875 (more commonly known as Byeongja Joyak (Treaty of 1976), which was concluded at the very end of the previous year)" (Maecheon Yarok (Unofficial documents of Maecheon) (Apricot Fountain, Hwang-Hyun's nickname)), Han'guk Saryo Chongseo("Korean Historical Document Series"), vol. 1, p. 136). A Joseon language conversation book published around that time includes the following sentence example, which in itself is thought-provoking: "Joseon had been in a dubious situation, labelled both as a subordinate nation of Qing and an independent state. Now that we have become an independent state with the help of Japan, we are grateful for the support. What we need now is the power to sustain our autonomy" (Il-Han Tonghwa (Japanese-Korean Conversation Book), Tokyo, 1893).