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Words, Images, and Foreign Policy : the Koryo's Address Terms for the Khitans and the Early Koryo-Khitan Relations in the 10th Century

  • The Review of Korean History
  • 2010, (99), pp.35-69
  • Publisher : The Historical Society Of Korea
  • Research Area : Humanities > History

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1고려대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The address terms which the Koryo used in 918-993 for the Khitans, were reexamined in the paper. The Koryo described the Khitans as "immoral(無道)", "bestial nation(禽獸之國)", "tough and vicious country(强惡之國)", "barbarians(戎狄)". Previous researches have argued that these phrases directly shows how much the Koryo disdained the Khitans. However, the neutral phrases for the Khitans, such as "they(彼)", "that country(彼國)", "the foreign country(外國)", are also used in the same period. Moreover, if we re-read the despising terms in the 'context' including the speaker, the listener(s), and the communication situation, it is not convincing that the Koryo selected those terms only to contemn the Khitans. This paper also focused on the terms used when the Koryo defined their relations with the Khitans. The frequently chosen word was "neighbouring(隣)". Another significant phrase that reveals the Koryo's conception on the relations with the Khitans was "getting along with the neighbours(交隣)". The Koryo differentiated "getting along with the neighbours(交隣)" from "serving the powerful(事大)". Why and how the Koryo separate those two different foreign relations is further argued in the paper.

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