[KS] Chinese Soldiers in Late Sixteenth-Century Korea during the Japanese Invasion of Korea, 1592-1598

[Frank Joseph Shulman]

This posting on H-Japan might be of interest to members of the Korean Studies listserve.

November 3, 2011

Frank Joseph Shulman
Bibliographer, Editor and Consultant for Reference Publications in Asian Studies
9225 Limestone Place
College Park, Maryland 20740-3943 (U.S.A.)
E-mail: fshulman at umd.edu
________________________________________

                                   H-JAPAN (E)
                                 November 2, 2011


From: Hillary Pedersen <hillyped at yahoo.com>
Dear colleagues,

The speaker for the November meeting of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group is
Masato Hasegawa, who will present "Searching for a Semblance of Ordinary
Life off the Battlefield: Chinese Soldiers in Late Sixteenth-Century Korea
during the Japanese Invasion of Korea, 1592-1598" (see abstract below).


The lecture will be held on Monday, November 14th from 6:30-8:30 in Room
213 of the Fusokan on the Doshisha University Campus (see link below for
access information).

Abstract

"Searching for a Semblance of Ordinary Life off the Battlefield: Chinese
Soldiers in Late Sixteenth-Century Korea during the Japanese Invasion of
Korea, 1592-1598"

In the frigid winter of 1592, over 38,000 Chinese soldiers crossed the
Yalu River and arrived on the Korean peninsula. Their mission was to
provide much-awaited military support for Korea's Choson government and
drive back the invading Japanese armies. For the Choson government, the
arrival of the Chinese expeditionary forces was welcoming news. At the
same time, both Chinese and Korean officials were keenly aware that the
logistical needs of such a large number of Chinese troops would place an
additional burden on Korea's already battered economy. This paper
investigates the little-studied state of wartime society in the
Chinese-Korean borderland from the viewpoint of Chinese soldiers. Paying
special attention to Chinese soldiers' experiences off the battlefield, it
examines the ways in which their long-term presence affected the region's
economy and society. Chinese and Korean documents show that local
residents in Korea often found themselves at the receiving end of violence
and destruction at the hands of Chinese soldiers. Sources also indicate
that Chinese soldiers suffered from extremely harsh living conditions off
the battlefield. The war left a profound impact on the lives of Korean
local residents and Chinese soldiers. This paper's analysis illuminates
the manner in which they experienced the cross-border war in the closing
years of the sixteenth century.

Masato Hasegawa is currently a PhD Candidate in the History Department at
Yale University and a research student at Kyoto University.

Sponsored by the Kyoto Consortium for
Japanese Studies. For access information see:
http://www.doshisha.ac.jp/english/access/ima_campus.html


Contact: Hillary Pedersen, hillyped at yahoo.com