Abstract
From the rise of the Jianzhou Jurchens (later known as the Manchus) in the late sixteenth century to the establishment of Aisin Gurun (Later Jin dynasty) by Nurgaci (1559–1626) in 1616, the authorities of Manchuria had already gained some knowledge of Japan. Around the time of the Imjin War in 1592, the Jurchens had obtained information from Choson Korea and Ming China, and engaged in corresponding foreign activities, particularly focusing on the gunpowder technology that Japan had acquired from Europe. Aisin Gurun, after winning the Battle of Sarhu in 1619, obtained further knowledge from the surrenders of Korean parties of the political changes in Japan following the Siege of Osaka and became aware of the potential for Japanese military intervention in the Korean Peninsula. During the Tiancong era (1627–1636) of the reign of Hong Taiji (1592–1643), because of the complex geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia involving Manchuria, Korea, and Ming China, the Manchus actively collected intelligence on a potential military alliance between Korea and Japan, as well as the interactions between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Ming dynasty, thereby labeling Japanese-related geographic information in Manchu script on maps. As the Qing dynasty officially established its regime outside of the Great Wall during the Chongde era (1636–1643), the pursuit of information on Japan grew increasingly frequent. After Korea became a vassal state of the Qing following the Treaty of 1637, Hong Taiji repeatedly sent envoys to order Korea to guide Japanese envoys from Tsushima Island to Mukden through Busan in hopes of establishing trade relations with Japan to obtain Japanese swords and Southeast Asian spices, breaking the economic sanctions imposed by the Ming dynasty on Manchuria. Korea was initially passive towards the Qing’s request to communicate with Japan; however, the deterioration of relations between Korea and Japan in 1638 prompted the former to actively comply with the Qing court. Under this historical context, the information on Japan was translated into Manchu and interpreted by Crown Prince Sohyeon of Korea, who remained in Mukden as a hostage. The Qing was accordingly able to procure intelligence on significant events in Edo Japan, including the Shimabara Rebellion and the Yanagawa Incident, in the early seventeenth century. More broadly, the Qing dynasty extensively gathered information on various aspects of Japanese politics, society, economics, and culture, particularly focusing on political institutions such as the emperor and the shogunate, as well as trade between the Ming and Japan through Nagasaki. These diverse sources of information had formed the basis of the Manchus’ understanding of Japan before they entered China proper, one which was closely linked to the Qing expansion in Northeast Asia and laid the foundation for the empire’s later maritime awareness.
Keywords
Manchu-language archives; Ming-Qing China; Edo Japan; Choson Korea; information circulation
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