[KS] On Japanese bloodlines marrying into Korean and Chinese families from the Tang era.

[Javier Cha]

This is one of my favorite research topics.  It is very sensitive and
tricky, indeed, but potentially provides invaluable clues to migration
patterns and marriage alliances in the early and medieval eras of
northeast Asia.

Unfortunately for Lawrence, I am familiar mostly with such
interactions between China proper and the Korean peninsula.  Prof. Yao
Ping at Cal State (http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/pyao/pyao.htm)
works on marriages between Tang and Koguryo/Paekche nobles
(post-conquest) using epitaphs.  Maybe she encountered some Japanese
nobles in her research.

Javier


On Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 10:52 PM, Hyoungbae Lee <hyoungl at princeton.edu> wrote:
> Dear Korean Studies Discussion List members,
>
> I received a research query from Mr. Lawrence David Moon, a novelist who is currently investigating East Asian bloodlines.
> (Mr. Moon's full query email is attached below, and he is cc'ed on this message)
>
> He is looking for scholars "conducting research on the possibility of any documentation existing [in Japan, Korea, or China] for any women or any woman of any Japanese Noble Family from approximately the beginning of the Tang era marrying into any Noble Families of Korea and/or China."
>
> Please help if you know related research or resources.
> Thank you very much for your help in advance.
>
> Best regards,
> Hyoungbae Lee
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Hyoungbae Lee
> Korean Studies Librarian
> East Asian Library and the Gest Collection
> 33 Frist Campus Center Rm 307A
> Princeton University
> Princeton, NJ 08544
> Telephone: (609) 258-0417
> Fax: (609) 258-4573
> E-mail: HYOUNGL at PRINCETON.EDU
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lawrence David Moon [mailto:lawrencedavidmoon at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:00 PM
> To: Hyoungbae Lee
> Subject: Research Query via "Ask A Korean Studies Librarian"
>
> Dear Hyoungbae Lee:
>
> I am a Published Novelist, Published Non-Fiction Author, Book Editor, and Opera Composer, currently researching/writing a book already over 500 pages long that investigates East Asian bloodlines. Via my mother I am a descendant of Tang Dynasty's First Emperor, and numerous other Chinese noble families (listed below). This past Monday I was at UCLA's Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library, meeting with Hong Cheng, Chinese Studies Librarian, and Yun-Hee Lee, Korean Studies Specialist, both most kind and helpful. The latter suggested I contact the Korean Studies Libarian Group, for my question, which is:
>
> Is there any current or 20th-century scholar in Japan, Korea, or China conducting research on the possibility of any documentation existing [in Japan, Korea, or China] for any women or any woman of any Japanese Noble Family from approximately the beginning of the Tang era [of China; id est, about 600 A.D.] marrying into any Noble Families of Korea and/or China?
>
> I realise that this is a touchy/diplomatic question, given that each of these 3 countries (Japan/Korea/China) is particularly proud of their own ancestral bloodlines, but that does not preclude the need for scholars to ask if any scholarship on this subject is or has been conducted or may have shed light on the possibility of Japanese Noble blood being in the veins of any households of Korea and China (from 600 A.D. and earlier).
>
> I ask this, because, it is quite well known that Chinese and Korean (in particular, Korean) Noble Blood did come from the Korean Peninsula to Japan prior to the Tang Era. Numerous Korean immigrants/settlers also came from Korea to Japan during the Nara and Heian Eras of the former Japanese capitals (prior to year 1000 A.D.). This is known from the "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki", among other early Japanese books. They did settle in, and contributed to the culture of, Nara and Kyoto, considerably.
>
> From my studies, I believe that there was not just one-way traffic of brides/grooms coming from the Asian Mainland to Japan, but that there certainly must have been reciprocal traffic of brides/grooms going from Japan to the Asian mainland. This is specifically what I am attempting to pin down, whether any such extant documentation thereon (of Japanese brides/grooms marrying into Asian Mainland families) does exist.
>
> The Chinese and/or ethnic families that I am concerned about finding if any Japanese or also Korean blood came into their households by marriage are the following:
>
> SURNAME            DYNASTY
> A-Shi-Na (Ashina) [Eastern Turks]
> Mu-Rong (Murong) [Former Yan]
> Tuo-Ba (Tuoba) [Northern/Bei-Wei]
> Yuan [formerly Tuo-Ba/Tuoba: Western/Xi-Wei]
> Yu-Wen (Yuwen) [Northern/Bei-Zhou]
> Yu-Jiu-Lu [Rou-Ran/Rouran]
> Yang [Sui]
> Li [Tang]
> Liu [Xiong-Nu/Xiongnu]
>
> SURNAME ONLY
> Chi-Nu (Chinu)
> Du-Gu (Dugu)
> Du-Gu-Hun (Duguhun)
> He-Lai (Helai)
> He-Lan (Helan)
> Lu
> Wang
> Wu
> Yao
> Yin
>
> If you know any scholars who are cognisant of Tang era and earlier Chinese dynastic history, and who may have investigated the possibility of any Japanese or Korean ancestry being in the veins of these Chinese clans, please forward this e-mail to whomever is capable of providing any relevant answers.
>
> I am most grateful for your concern and help in this research query.
>
> Best regards,
> Lawrence David Moon
> Hollywood
>
>
>
>



-- 
Javier Cha
PhD candidate in Korean history
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Harvard University
http://about.me/javiercha