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Baekdu, Changbai and Amnok in Historical Records

  • International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL)
  • Abbr : IGLL
  • 2024, (17), pp.57~73
  • DOI : 10.23073/riks.2024..17.005
  • Publisher : Glocal Institute of Language and Literary Studies(GILLS)
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : September 20, 2024
  • Accepted : October 15, 2024
  • Published : October 31, 2024

Nam, Eui-Hyeon 1

1강원대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

After examining historical records on Changbaishan (長白山), it has been determined that during the Jin dynasty, the Jurchen people worshipped and conducted rituals at a mountain referred to as Changbaishan, which was located in Huining, Heilongjiang Province. Huining was one of the five capitals of the Jin dynasty and corresponds to present-day Acheng, near Harbin. The Jin dynasty revered the Changbaishan in Huining, conferring upon it the title of “Xingguolingyingwang (興國靈應王)” and constructing a temple in its honor. Further examination of records from the Yuan and Ming dynasties reveals that there was another Changbaishan in the Hadaling region of present-day Jilin. Ming records indicate that Changbaishan was located to the northeast of Saanwanwei, from which the Hunting River (Songhua River) and the Amnok (Yalu) River were said to originate. Saanwanwei corresponds to present-day Kaiyuan, Liaoning Province. The mountain range extending about 1,000 li northeast from Kaiyuan is the Hadaling area in Jilin, and it was said that the Amnok River originates from this Changbaishan. However, the Amnok River originating from Hadaling is not the same as the modern Yalu River. Since Hadaling is the source of the Dongliao River, the “Amnok” from Hadaling refers to the Liao River. An examination of works from the Qing dynasty, such as the “Manzhouyuanliukao (Manchu Origins),” shows that the Chang bai shan that Emperor Kangxi sought to confirm in the mid-17th century through Jiaoluowumune refers to the Hadaling region in Jilin. Hadaling was an important area where the Jurchen people lived during the Ming dynasty. In the mid-17th century, to reach Changbaishan, one had to travel by boat along the Songhua River and pass through the Huifa River. The Huifa River originates in Hadaling and flows toward the Songhua River. During the Qianlong era, the Qing dynasty began to refer to what is now Mount Baekdu as Changbaishan. However, maps from that period still distinguish between Baekdu and the Changbaishan in the Jilin or Huining regions. Records from the reign of Emperor Qianlong even show that the source of the Taishan mountain range in Shandong was identified as the present-day Baekdu, which was then recorded as Changbaishan. By the late Qing dynasty, Baekdu had become firmly established as the Changbaishan of the Qing Empire. These findings suggest that the core argument of China’s Changbaishan cultural theory—that Mount Baekdu has been Changbaishan since ancient times—lacks substantial historical evidence. Due to its vast range, the name “Changbai” appears in various places in Chinese records. Further research and historical analysis are needed to pinpoint the exact location of the Changbaishan where rituals were historically conducted.

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