From two aspects, during the period of filial piety in North Korea, the idea of "respecting China and promoting the country" had a profound impact on North Korea at that time. During this period, relations between Korea and the Qing Dynasty fell to a freezing point and were full of contradictions. However, it was the rise of the trend of thought that allowed the whole of Korea to achieve unprecedented reunification, which laid the foundation for the later "Yingzheng era". What impact has the "respect for China" brought to North Korea? Let's find out.
The Qing Dynasty's severe repression of Korea
In the 11th year of King Sujong of Joseon (1685), the Korean border people clashed with the Qing army while collecting ginseng in the Yalu River, and killed a Qing officer. This incident aroused the wrath of the Qing Dynasty, and the Kangxi Emperor was furious and ordered the Joseon to arrest the murderer and severely punish him, and severely scolded the Joseon king.
In the face of the unreasonable and ruthless authority of the Qing Dynasty, the king of Joseon, Sujong, was in pain, saying that "his criticism is absolutely perverse, and the humiliation that has never been seen in the future of Shi Bingzi." The North Korean government was terrified, and hurriedly ordered the arrest of more than a dozen border residents who had committed crimes, and examined officials who had derelict their duties in Hamgyong Province and Pyongan Province, and gave explanations to the Qing Dynasty.
But the Qing Dynasty did not let North Korea go. In order to completely deter Korea, the Qing Dynasty fined 20,000 taels of silver as a punishment. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to North Korea at that time. At that time, the Korean economy was not rich, and 20,000 taels of silver was a huge amount of money for it, equivalent to the entire family property of a wealthy family at that time. In the face of such a heavy punishment, Sujong had no choice but to make a painful decision to strictly prohibit Koreans from crossing the border to collect ginseng, so as not to cause further conflicts in the future.
The ripple effects of this incident did not stop there. Three years later, in the 14th year of Sujong (1688), when the Joseon envoy was sent to the Qing Dynasty, things went wrong again. The Qing Dynasty stipulated that Korean envoys to Beijing must abide by strict diplomatic etiquette, and the name of the crown prince was avoided without writing. However, the Korean envoy failed to abide by the rules, resulting in the leakage of his reputation, which attracted another severe punishment from the Qing Dynasty.
This time, the Qing Dynasty detained the Korean envoys for several months and punished them severely. It was not until the 17th year of Sujong (1691) that the Qing Dynasty released the detained Korean envoys. At the same time, the Qing Dynasty once again issued an edict to severely punish Suzong, and reprimanded Joseon for blasphemy against the crown prince's name, and fined him 3,000 taels of silver.
It can be seen that in the face of North Korea's move of "respecting China and destroying China", the Qing Dynasty did not show any mercy, and repeatedly severely punished North Korea and warned it not to transgress its rules. Having been hit so hard, the DPRK has learned from the pain, and the party dispute has subsided for a time. All of a sudden, the whole of Korea was in awe of the Qing Dynasty.
In addition to the border affairs and diplomatic etiquette issues, the Qing Dynasty's suppression of Korea was also reflected in the handling of the "Rebellion of the Three Feudatories". In the early years of Suzong, the Qing Dynasty broke out in the "Rebellion of the Three Feudatories" launched by the Han Wu Sangui and other vassal kings, which not only shocked the Qing Dynasty, but also once again aroused the fighting spirit of the Northern Expedition within Korea.
At that time, many North Korean ministers wrote to say: "Take this opportunity to refine the army and fight food, you can take revenge and hatred, and you can protect the country and the people." At one time, King Sujong of Joseon also had the intention of participating. However, when it was learned that the Qing Dynasty would send envoys to check the situation, the whole Korean government woke up from a dream and realized the seriousness of the problem.
Since then, the Qing Dynasty has sent envoys to Korea for 12 consecutive inspections. Su Zong, who heard the news, was shocked and had to send Chen Wei envoys to Beijing to show his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. At this point, Korea's desire for the Northern Expedition was completely shattered, and any vain attempt to confront the Qing Dynasty was self-defeating.
The DPRK used "respecting China" to alleviate domestic contradictions
In the face of the severe suppression of the Qing Dynasty, the North Korean government skillfully used the idea of "respecting China and promoting the country" in order to resolve the contradictions at home and abroad. On the one hand, they shifted the attention of the people to the struggle against the Qing Dynasty, thus alleviating the discontent of the people; On the other hand, they have used this to unite the forces within the ruling class and minimize the internal friction caused by partisan struggles.
At that time, the situation in North Korea could be described as chaotic. Soon after Xiaozong ascended the throne, the country suffered a serious natural disaster, and the wounds caused by the war in the previous DPRK had not yet fully healed, and the people were struggling to survive. However, the low-level officials in charge of disaster relief used their power to enrich themselves and ignore the suffering of the people, which seriously threatened the foundation of the dynasty's rule.
In the face of such a crisis, the chief secretary of the highest authority in North Korea, Hong Myeong-ha, intervened in time to exhort Hyojong to prevent the slightest slight, and to introduce policies with a long-term view to unite the people in order to consolidate his rule.
After discussions by the government and the opposition, the idea of "respecting China and promoting the country" was finally put forward and soon became a common practice throughout the country. This move had an immediate effect, quickly shifting popular discontent with those in power to the struggle against foreign Qing dynasties. For a time, the cry for peace was raised, and the people reunited around the dynasty.
In addition to alleviating the contradictions among the people, more importantly, the idea of "respecting China and promoting the country" has also united and condensed the forces within the ruling class of the DPRK to a certain extent. After the conquest of Korea by the Qing Dynasty, the pro-Qing faction had the upper hand in the court for a long time. By the time of Hyojong, the upper echelons of Korea were divided into two factions, one advocating the Northern Expedition to retaliate against the Qing Dynasty, and the other advocating compromise with the Qing Dynasty. There are many contradictions between the two factions, and they do not hesitate to crack down on dissidents for the sake of their parties' selfish interests, which poses a great threat to the stability of the country.
The prevalence of the ideological trend of "respecting China and promoting the Qing Dynasty" made the Qing faction who advocated the Northern Expedition reused, and the pro-Qing faction was marginalized for a time. A unified anti-Qing attitude was established within the ruling circles, which temporarily curbed the long-standing internal friction of party disputes. With the gradual rise of the status of the Qing faction in the court, groups of patriots also came into being.
Among them, the most well-known is Han Hyun-bae, a physicist who is known as the "Three Bachelors of Korea" along with Kim Jung-ho and Kim Shou-chang, and is a representative figure who stands out during this period. Han Hyun-pei made a profound analysis of the shortcomings of North Korean society at that time and put forward a series of reform proposals, including criticizing party strife and opposing broad-mindedness.
In general, although the idea of "respecting China and worshipping China" later proved to be biased, it did play a positive role at the time. To a certain extent, it alleviated the resentment of the people, united the forces within the ruling class, and cleared the way for the later "Yingzheng era". Of course, this role is also limited, and in the end, it will not be able to completely resolve the contradictions rooted in the internal problems.
The DPRK uses the principle of "respecting China and promoting the country" to revitalize its national strength
Driven by the idea of "respecting China and promoting China," the DPRK government has not only made a difference in alleviating domestic contradictions, but more importantly, it has taken this opportunity to vigorously revitalize its national strength.
At that time, North Korea was in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. Years of war and natural disasters have plunged the economy of this once important country in the East into the abyss. The people are struggling to make a living, the national strength is declining day by day, and the determination to launch a counterattack against the outside world is also weakening day by day. It is precisely the rise of the trend of thought of "respecting China and promoting the country" that has rekindled cultural self-confidence and patriotic enthusiasm in the DPRK, thus vigorously revitalizing its national strength.
The first is the revival of cultural self-confidence. Under the repressive rule of the Qing Dynasty, North Korea once abandoned its insistence on its own independent culture, and its cultural inferiority complex became increasingly serious. The proposal of "respecting China and promoting China" made the Koreans finally realize the limitations of Chinese culture and began to re-examine the value of their own traditional culture.
Driven by this trend of thought, North Korea has set off a wave of learning about its native culture. Many scholars began to look through ancient books to study the ideological heritage of the Korean ancestors, and created many new academic theories and literary works on this basis. Among them, the most famous are the two major categories of "real studies" and "real novels".
"Practical Studies" was a new style of study that emerged in North Korea at that time to study practical techniques and practical problems, and advocated promoting national rejuvenation in the spirit of "applying it to the world." Representative figures include Ding Ruohao, Li Di and so on. The "Practical Novel" is a literary genre that reflects social reality and contains patriotic colors, and famous writers include Park Toe-won and Lee Min-yu. The rise of these two categories is a sign that North Korea is regaining its cultural self-confidence.
Secondly, in order to counter the Qing Dynasty, North Korea also vigorously developed its scientific and technological strength. After the Qing Dynasty came to Korea, it imposed strict control on the scientific and technological progress of North Korea in an attempt to suppress North Korea's power forever. However, the North Koreans did not give up, on the contrary, they paid more attention to the development of science and technology, inspired by the idea of "respecting China and promoting China."
With the strong support of the imperial court, a group of outstanding scientific and technological talents were born at that time, such as Lu Xiangji, Park Zhouhan, etc. They not only learned from China's advanced scientific and technological achievements at that time, but also innovated on this basis, enabling the DPRK to make great progress in agriculture, medicine, astronomy, and other fields.
The last aspect is the strengthening of military strength. Faced with increasing pressure from the Qing Dynasty, North Korea realized that if it did not have sufficient military strength to back it up, it would be a waste of time to confront a strong enemy. Therefore, under the impetus of the ideological trend of "respecting China and promoting the country," the DPRK has intensified the training of its armed forces, overhauled its arsenals, and improved its weapons and equipment.
The famous general Li Bingchang was an outstanding figure who stood out during this period. He not only specialized in the art of war and compiled many military theoretical works, but also personally practiced and reorganized the Korean army from a scattered piece of sand into a tight-knit and orderly army. At the same time, North Korea also purchased a large number of advanced Chinese firearms at the time, hoping to gain an advantage against the Qing Dynasty in the future.
It can be said that "respecting China and promoting the country" has brought about an increase in national self-confidence for the DPRK, thus helping to revitalize the country's strength in all aspects. Although the Northern Expedition ultimately failed to retaliate against the Qing Dynasty, the achievements of Korea during this period laid an important foundation for subsequent development.
The Qing Dynasty once again suppressed North Korea with high pressure
Although North Korea made every effort to revitalize its national strength under the guidance of the idea of "respecting China and destroying China", it could not escape the surveillance and suppression of the powerful Qing Dynasty. As Korea's power continued to recover, the Qing Dynasty became increasingly wary of it. Soon, the contradictions between the two sides erupted again in some specific incidents.
One of the most incriminating was the famous "grave destruction incident". This incident not only intensified the contradictions between the DPRK and the Qing Dynasty again, but also made the Qing Dynasty painfully determined to completely eradicate the dangerous ideological trend of "respecting China and destroying China" in Korea.
The cause of the incident was that on the eve of the Lantern Festival in 1702, the ancestral tomb of Jang Mong-ge, an envoy of the Qing Dynasty in Seoul, North Korea, was destroyed by unknown people. For a time, the North Korean government was panicked, for fear of angering the Qing envoys and causing diplomatic disputes. After an urgent investigation, a group of thinkers who "respected China and conquered China" were finally identified as the main culprits of this disaster.
For a time, the Joseon king tried to calm things down and try to take care of the overall situation, but he soon angered the Qing envoy Zhang Mengge. Chang not only rebuked the DPRK for its ineffective handling, but also directly pointed the finger at some supporters of the idea of "respecting China and promoting the country" in the ruling clique of the DPRK, and demanded that the DPRK side severely punish them.
Faced with tough Qing pressure, the North Korean government was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, not punishing the henchmen who "respect China and promote the country" will cause further dissatisfaction in the Qing Dynasty; On the other hand, if you severely punish your own people, you may arouse the anger of the domestic people. In the end, the king of North Korea, Youngjo, had no choice but to admit his relenting and promised to thoroughly investigate the truth of the incident and severely punish those involved.
Soon, groups of North Korean officials and civilians were implicated. Among them were the poet Jin Guiquan, the scholar Li Dingyu and other well-known figures, some of whom were dismissed from their posts and investigated, and some were tortured by capital punishment. At the same time, in order to curry favor with the Qing Dynasty, the North Korean government also ordered that all infiltration of the idea of "respecting China and destroying China" should be strangled in the cradle throughout the country.
In addition to the "grave destruction incident", the Qing Dynasty's repression of North Korea was also reflected in its harsh accusations of conniving at the "respect for China" henchmen. At that time, Kim Sang-je, a leading figure in the Korean party, not only advocated the exclusion of foreigners, but also called for the overthrow of the existing dynasty and the establishment of a new policy. At one point, the North Korean government turned a blind eye to these extremists, thus angering the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty not only denounced the weakness and incompetence of the North Korean side, but also directly accused Kim Sang-ji and others of being "anti-party slanderers" and demanded that the North Korean government severely punish them. Seeing that the Qing Dynasty was facing a great enemy, Yingjo had to pay heavy punishments to the henchmen of the "Zunhua and Yiyi" in North Korea, and threw the radicals into prison.
Under the double pressure of such internal and external troubles, the DPRK government finally decided to re-establish its "positive heart" and abandon the dangerous idea of "respecting China and promoting its own country." They changed their course and vigorously propagated the idea of "the integration of China and Yi" throughout the country in an attempt to ideologically resolve the contradictions between the DPRK and the Qing Dynasty.
In short, after the impact of the above-mentioned series of events, the original trend of "respecting China and promoting the Chinese" that had originally arisen in North Korea finally had to bow its head and admit its cowardice under the high pressure of the Qing Dynasty and return to the old road of pro-Qing Dynasty. During this period, the Qing Dynasty's repression of Korea reached its peak, and it can be described as a combination of violence and culture.
The advent of the "Yingzheng era" in North Korea
After a period of turmoil, North Korea finally ushered in a relatively stable "Yingzheng Era" in the latter part of Yingjo's rule. This period was an important stage in the modernization of the DPRK, and it also laid the foundation for the later opening up to the outside world.
The arrival of the "Yingzheng Era" was largely due to a series of enlightened policies adopted by Yingjo in the later years of his reign. After abandoning the adventurous path of "honoring China", Youngjo began to focus on domestic construction and strive to solve the social contradictions that North Korea had faced for a long time.
One of the most well-known is that on the basis of inheriting the "welfare system" of the previous dynasty, Yingjo further improved and implemented the large-scale relief policy known as "Guangjidu" by later generations. The aim of this policy is to alleviate the long-standing problem of poverty in North Korean society by increasing fiscal spending and significantly increasing the government's assistance to the victims of the disaster.
In order to implement this policy, Yingzu first ordered the repair of warehouses, bazaars and roads across the country to enhance the ability to dispatch materials in the disaster area. At the same time, he also conducted a comprehensive review of the existing relief system and revised relevant laws and regulations to make the distribution of relief funds more equitable and reasonable.
Driven by these foundational works, Yingzu then implemented the "Guangji Blasphemy" on a large scale across the country. The DPRK government has provided a large amount of money to help many hungry people and mobilized non-governmental forces to participate in the relief work, forming a strong joint force for disaster relief. Yingjo himself took the lead by donating almost all of the royal treasures and farm properties.
Youngjo's efforts are obvious to all. According to statistics, in 1776 alone, the Korean government assisted more than 300,000 families and saved countless lives. Due to the remarkable results of this policy and the persistence of Yingzu in the later period, the social contradiction between the rich and the poor has been greatly alleviated.
One of Yingjo's most important achievements in the field of culture was his enlightened approach to culture. Prior to this, North Korea had been at a low point in its cultural development due to the long-term war and the conservative ideology of the ruling class. But in Yingjo's later years, the situation changed dramatically.
Yingjo not only personally organized the compilation and revision of the general history of Joseon, the Annals of the Dynasties, and other great works, but also vigorously promoted a group of literati and scholars, creating a good environment for them to display their talents. In this wave of cultural revival, many writers and physicists who later became leading figures in the Korean literary scene were able to emerge, such as Ding Ruoho, Hong Yanghao, and Park Toe-won.
In addition, Youngjo encouraged the development of science and technology and practical learning, laying the foundation for the modernization process of North Korea. He not only supported the development of traditional disciplines such as astronomy, calendar, and geography, but also advocated the promotion and dissemination of practical technologies such as agriculture and medicine. With his support, North Korean science and technology made great progress, such as the agricultural scientist Ding Ruoho, who proposed improving agricultural tools during this period.
Overall, the Anglo-Jeong era was a critical stage in Korea's transition from a war-torn period to modernization. Although Youngjo made some compromises on some issues in the latter part of his reign, his enlightened and pragmatic policies had a profound impact on the later development of Joseon. It was the fundamental reforms of this period that paved the way for North Korea's future opening up and industrialization.