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A Brief History of the Sino-Korean Border from the 18Th to the 20Th Century

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A Brief History of the Sino-Korean Border from the 18Th to the 20Th Century A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SINO-KOREAN BORDER FROM THE 18TH TO THE 20TH CENTURY Larisa Zabrovskaya ABSTRACT This article studies the long history of formation of the Sino-Korean border. The Amnok and Tuman rivers were considered the frontier between Qing China and Korea. The establishment of a neutral zone at the beginning of the 18th century further strengthened the border. Disagreements between Qing China and Korea arose from the 1870s when the Qing authorities became aware of Korean settlements on the left side of the Tuman river. Russian in- terest in the region sharpened Chinese anxiety. Two treaties signed in the early 20th century, between China and Korea and China and Japan, recog- nised these settlements, known as Jiandao (Kor.: Kando), as a part of Qing Chinese territory. After 1949 the exact demarcation of the frontier became an issue of dispute between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Dem- ocratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), in which the North Korean view appears to have prevailed. Freedom of passage across the border itself since the 1950s has reflected the varying political and economic conditions within both states. The frontier dispute between the PRC and the DPRK seems to have been settled, but issues arising from this dispute, such as the Korean population residing in the Chinese northeast, that have led to tensions in the past, have not yet been solved. 1 THE EARLY FRONTIER In the 17th century, before the Manzhou conquest of China, the fron- tier between Korea and Manchuria marked on Chinese maps followed a line along the Changbaishan ridge to the northeast of the peninsula, embracing Mt Paektu (Ch.: Baitoushan) to the north, and at its west- erly end following the line of fortification known as the Willow Pali- sade, which was somewhat to the north of the eastern end of the Great Wall of China. 284 LARISA ZABROVSKAYA After the establishment of the Manzhou Qing dynasty in 1644, the area of Mt Paektu was declared a restricted zone both for it residents and for those making a temporary stay, because it was considered to be an abode of the spirits of the Manzhou ancestors (Pozdneev 1897: 68). In practice, the restriction was not observed, first of all by Korean peasants, who crossed the Tuman river (Ch.: Tumenjiang) in search of new virgin lands and settled to the north of the river in territory con- sidered to belong to the Manzhou. In the opinion of modern Korean historians (Hanguksa 1968, vol. 4: 117), the murder of five Qing sub- jects who were searching for ginseng near Mt Paektu in 1710 served as grounds for the Sino-Korean frontier control expedition of 1712. The Qing Office of Ceremonies (Libu) informed the Korean govern- ment about the joint border inspection beforehand. In order to elucidate the causes of the various territorial claims in this region, it is necessary to trace the evolution of Sino-Korean bor- der relations during the several past centuries. A Chinese review of relations between China and Korea, published in 1951, wrote that, since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), for ‘over 400-500 years there were no frontier misunderstandings with Korea; it was only in 1712 that the Sino-Korean border near Mt Paektu was given consideration’ (5000 nian lai-de Zhong-Chao youhao guanxi 1951: 109). The expedition sent to Manchuria in 1712 by the Qing government to inspect Mt Paektu was headed by Mukedeng, chief commander of Ula (now Harbin city). Accompanied by Manzhou and Korean offi- cials, Mukedeng examined the area around the mountain and the lake at its summit, and drew a map of the Sino-Korean border near Mt Paektu. The expedition started their ascent from the frontier town of Musan (Ch.: Maoshan) situated on the right bank of the middle reaches of the Tuman river. The Korean senior officials were unable to ascend to the top of the mountain peak because of their age and ac- cordingly had to limit themselves to sending their map of Mt Paektu and its vicinity to the Qing delegation (Hanguksa 1968, vol. 4: 117; James 1888: 452-4). However, the Qing officials accompanied by guides and several Korean officials of lower rank reached the summit of Mt Paektu. In the saddle of the two rivers, the Amnok (Ch.: Yalujiang) and the Tuman, more than ten li (five km) to the southwest of the top of the mountain, there was installed a stone bearing an inscription. Not far from the stone, an abatis (a type of fence made from felled trees) was .
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