The Geography of Manchuria by ROBERT BURNETT HALL University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Geography of Manchuria by ROBERT BURNETT HALL University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan The Geography of Manchuria By ROBERT BURNETT HALL University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan term &dquo;Manchuria&dquo; is applied of middle latitude grassland still un- THEin a more or less vague way to the developed. Its soils are of great fertil- northeasternmost territories of China, ity and the long, dry, severe winters and embraces all lands lying east of and hot, rainy summers are admirably Mongolia and northeast of the Great suited to spring-sown cereals and Wall. Manchuria, as here used, ap- legumes. plies to the Eastern Three Provinces (Tungsanshin) of Heilungkiang (Amur), THE CLIMATE OF MANCHURIA Kirin (Chilin) and Fengtien (Mukden The climate of Manchuria has often or Liaoning), and the Japanese leased been described as continental in its sea- territory of Kwantung and the special sonal fluctuations of temperature, and Barga (Hulunpeierh) District on the monsoonal in its r6gime of rainfall. northwest frontier. It forms a roughly According to the Kbppen system,2 triangular area of about 380,000 square three types of climate may be rec- miles.’ ognized, i.e., Dwa, Dwb and BSkw. The border lands of Manchuria, ex- The first occupies approximately the cept where the broad valley of the Liao southern two-thirds of Manchuria, and River reaches the sea and in the north- is a cold, dry, winter type, with the west, where the extensive steppe lands summer hot and sufficiently rainy to of the Great Khingan piedmont make permit forest growth. The mean tem- up the Barga District, are composed of perature of the coldest month is below broad mountain masses. These are for 3° C., and of the warmest month, over the most part densely clad in virgin 22° C. The Dwb varies from the forest and contain the bulk of all Chi- preceding only in that the warmest nese timber reserves. Here are found month is below 82° C. It occurs in minerals of several kinds and the Heilungkiang and eastern Kirin. These broader valleys offer excellent agricul- Dw types are found in no other part of tural and grazing lands. Enclosed by the world. The southern part of the these mountain barriers is the great Barga District has the BSkw, or cold Manchurian Plain, originally a grass- steppe-dry winter climate. Here pre- land, where agricultural production cipitation is very low, and the mean and potentialities, coupled with a annual temperature is below 18° C., sparse population, have earned for the but the warmest month is over 18° C. area the titles of the &dquo; Grain basket of Winter is the dry period.3 Asia&dquo; and the &dquo;Land of the Bean.&dquo; In fact, the Manchurian Plain consti- 2 Köppen, W., Die Klimate der Erde, 1923. Part 2, Das geographische System der Klimate. tutes the extensive area practically only 3 de Martonne, Emm., Traité de Géographie 1 The exact area of Manchuria is not known. Physique, 4 ed., pp. 229-261, 1925, recognizes a Between the maximum and minimum estimates Manchurian type (D6) which has a mean annual there is a difference of 119,833 square miles. temperature under 10° C. with the rainy season Chu Hsiao, in Manchuria, pp. 2-4, 1929, makes a during summer. comprehensive consideration and the figure of Sion, Jules, Asie des Moussons, Tome 9, 380,000 square miles is accepted as approxi- Géographie Universelle, Chap. 1, 1928, also rec- mately correct. ognizes a Manchurian type for all of Manchuria 278 279 Manchuria lies between the great ceives in excess of 600 mm. and is continental interior, with its extremes forest clad.6 of pressure, and the sea. In summer, In winter, pressure and wind direc- there is a well-developed low pressure tion are reversed, and exceedingly dry, area over inner Asia, and moisture- cold winds sweep over Manchuria from laden winds flow inland. These are the north and northwest. Precipita- best developed in July and August, and tion is in the form of snow, but the bring precipitation in the form of rain. amount is small. In south Manchuria, all stations indi- The temperature r6gime is typically cate an annual average precipitation of continental, as is to be expected from over 600 mm.,4 with over fifty per the location on the east coast of a cent occurring in July and August, and continent in the northern hemisphere. at least seventy per cent falling during The mean annual temperature does not the growing season. Much the same exceed 10° C. except at the extreme condition is indicated in central Man- southern tip of the Liaotung Peninsula. churia.’ In general, precipitation de- A relatively steady decrease takes place creases northward. The northern edge northward until, for a small section of the plain receives less than 600 mm. bordering the Amur, it is 2° C. High The eastern slopes of the Changpai elevations in the mountain country Range, near Korea, receive over 800 may well show a smaller figure. mm. The steppe land of Barga, due to The coldest month everywhere in its lying in the rain shadow of the Great Manchuria is January. At Dairen, Khingan, and the eastern slopes of the the warmest station recorded, the southern Great Khingan, due to the January mean is -5.1° C. This drops barrier presented by the hill land of steadily to - £7° C. near the middle Jehol, receive under 400 mm. The Amur. In the middle section of the remaining mountain country all re- plain, Changchun shows -17.3° C. and Mukden, -18° C. The warmest month is At Dairen 23’ C. is recorded, east of the Great Khingans. This he describes July. and the middle 20° C. as very cold winter (Jan. mean temp. at Mukden along Amur, -13° C.) but quite warm in summer (July mean In the Barga District, July means are at Mukden—24° .2 C.) with precipitation suf- between 17° and 18° C. ficient to grow wheat. Chu Coching, Climatic The temperature gradient is from Provinces of China, Memoir 1, p. 10, Inst. of south to north at all seasons, but is Meteorology, Nanking, 1929, similarly rec- ognizes a Manchurian type. In this he includes steeper and more regular in winter all of Manchuria except the extreme western than in summer. part. The criteria are as follows: At least five months with a mean temperature below 0° C., SEASONS and mean annual below 10° C. The growing sea- son is limited to five or six months; winter is ex- All of Manchuria has at least five tremely cold. Annual precipitation varies from months with a mean temperature be- 40 to 60 cm. Half of it falls in July and Au- low 0° C.7 In November, frost settles gust. The 40 cm isohyetal marks the western boundary of this region. 6 Generalized data on rainfall conditions may 4 Climatic Tables of the Japanese Empire, be secured from N. Murakoshi’s "Rainfall Map Tokyo: Central Meteorological Station, 1924. of Manchuria and Mongolia," in Chu Coching, Records for 18 years or more, for Dairen, Ryojun, op. cit. Similar data on annual mean averages Yingkow, Mukden, and Changchun. and means of maximum and minimum monthly 5 Statistical Yearbook, Harbin: Chinese Eastern temperatures may be had in Gauthier, H., La Railway, 1929, Appendix. Records for Man- Température en Chine, 3 vols., 1918. chouli, Buhedu, Anta, Harbin, Jaomen, Imienpo, 7 Hann, J., Handbuch der Klimatologie, Vol. 3, Taipingling, and Sansing. pp. 303-313. Contains an excellent description 280 in the ground and remains until March. 20th and the 30the; and millet about the The Liao River in the south is frozen 15th. over for four months, the Sungari in October is a month of nearly perfect the central plain is frozen for five weather-warm, dry, and sunny. To- months, and the Amur in the far north ward the end of the month the winds is ice-bound for at least six months. have completely shifted, and by No- During this winter period, cold, dry vember the first frosts tell the coming of winds blow strongly from the north- another winter. west. The skies are extremely clear. Vigorous radiation takes place at night SURFACE DIVISIONS and strong insolation by day. What Morphologically, Manchuria may be precipitation occurs falls as snow, and divided into: (1) the mountainous an accumulation of as much as one foot lands of ancient rocks that surround the is exceedingly rare. The country plain; (2) the plain lands of alluvial, roads are frozen hard and favor traffic. low-lying flats and higher gravelly The severe, snow-free winter prohibits terraces which are drained by the fall-sown crops, but limits rodent and Sungari and Liao rivers and their insect pests. tributary streams; and (3) the con- In March the cold northwesters tinuation of the high Mongolian pla- cease and warm, humid winds from the teau which makes up the Barga Dis- southwest set in. Wheat is planted in trict in the northwest. early April, although the subsoil is still EASTERN MOUNTAIN LAND OF frozen. Later in the same month, In- CHANGPAI dian corn and tobacco are planted. April is the only spring month, for in Stretching from the northeastern May summer begins. Beans, kaoliang corner of Manchuria, where the River and millet are planted the last days of Ussuri joins with the Amur, southeast- April or in early May-the exact date ward to the tip of the Liaotung Penin- varying from south to north. Until sula is a continuous mountain land the end of June, only occasional light known as the Changpai Range.
Recommended publications
  • Fresh- and Brackish-Water Cold-Tolerant Species of Southern Europe: Migrants from the Paratethys That Colonized the Arctic
    water Review Fresh- and Brackish-Water Cold-Tolerant Species of Southern Europe: Migrants from the Paratethys That Colonized the Arctic Valentina S. Artamonova 1, Ivan N. Bolotov 2,3,4, Maxim V. Vinarski 4 and Alexander A. Makhrov 1,4,* 1 A. N. Severtzov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071 Moscow, Russia; [email protected] 2 Laboratory of Molecular Ecology and Phylogenetics, Northern Arctic Federal University, 163002 Arkhangelsk, Russia; [email protected] 3 Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, 163000 Arkhangelsk, Russia 4 Laboratory of Macroecology & Biogeography of Invertebrates, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Analysis of zoogeographic, paleogeographic, and molecular data has shown that the ancestors of many fresh- and brackish-water cold-tolerant hydrobionts of the Mediterranean region and the Danube River basin likely originated in East Asia or Central Asia. The fish genera Gasterosteus, Hucho, Oxynoemacheilus, Salmo, and Schizothorax are examples of these groups among vertebrates, and the genera Magnibursatus (Trematoda), Margaritifera, Potomida, Microcondylaea, Leguminaia, Unio (Mollusca), and Phagocata (Planaria), among invertebrates. There is reason to believe that their ancestors spread to Europe through the Paratethys (or the proto-Paratethys basin that preceded it), where intense speciation took place and new genera of aquatic organisms arose. Some of the forms that originated in the Paratethys colonized the Mediterranean, and overwhelming data indicate that Citation: Artamonova, V.S.; Bolotov, representatives of the genera Salmo, Caspiomyzon, and Ecrobia migrated during the Miocene from I.N.; Vinarski, M.V.; Makhrov, A.A.
    [Show full text]
  • French Journal of Japanese Studies, 4 | 2015, « Japan and Colonization » [En Ligne], Mis En Ligne Le 01 Janvier 2015, Consulté Le 08 Juillet 2021
    Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies English Selection 4 | 2015 Japan and Colonization Édition électronique URL : https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/949 DOI : 10.4000/cjs.949 ISSN : 2268-1744 Éditeur INALCO Référence électronique Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies, 4 | 2015, « Japan and Colonization » [En ligne], mis en ligne le 01 janvier 2015, consulté le 08 juillet 2021. URL : https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/949 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/cjs.949 Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 8 juillet 2021. Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 1 SOMMAIRE Introduction Arnaud Nanta and Laurent Nespoulous Manchuria and the “Far Eastern Question”, 1880‑1910 Michel Vié The Beginnings of Japan’s Economic Hold over Colonial Korea, 1900-1919 Alexandre Roy Criticising Colonialism in pre‑1945 Japan Pierre‑François Souyri The History Textbook Controversy in Japan and South Korea Samuel Guex Imperialist vs Rogue. Japan, North Korea and the Colonial Issue since 1945 Adrien Carbonnet Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies, 4 | 2015 2 Introduction Arnaud Nanta and Laurent Nespoulous 1 Over one hundred years have now passed since the Kingdom of Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910. It was inevitable, then, that 2010 would be an important year for scholarship on the Japanese colonisation of Korea. In response to this momentous anniversary, Cipango – Cahiers d’études japonaises launched a call for papers on the subject of Japan’s colonial past in the spring of 2009. 2 Why colonisation in general and not specifically relating to Korea? Because it seemed logical to the journal’s editors that Korea would be the focus of increased attention from specialists of East Asia, at the risk of potentially forgetting the longer—and more obscure—timeline of the colonisation process.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Situation in China – Crisis Or Business As Usual?
    Water Situation In China – Crisis Or Business As Usual? Elaine Leong Master Thesis LIU-IEI-TEK-A--13/01600—SE Department of Management and Engineering Sub-department 1 Water Situation In China – Crisis Or Business As Usual? Elaine Leong Supervisor at LiU: Niclas Svensson Examiner at LiU: Niclas Svensson Supervisor at Shell Global Solutions: Gert-Jan Kramer Master Thesis LIU-IEI-TEK-A--13/01600—SE Department of Management and Engineering Sub-department 2 This page is left blank with purpose 3 Summary Several studies indicates China is experiencing a water crisis, were several regions are suffering of severe water scarcity and rivers are heavily polluted. On the other hand, water is used inefficiently and wastefully: water use efficiency in the agriculture sector is only 40% and within industry, only 40% of the industrial wastewater is recycled. However, based on statistical data, China’s total water resources is ranked sixth in the world, based on its water resources and yet, Yellow River and Hai River dries up in its estuary every year. In some regions, the water situation is exacerbated by the fact that rivers’ water is heavily polluted with a large amount of untreated wastewater, discharged into the rivers and deteriorating the water quality. Several regions’ groundwater is overexploited due to human activities demand, which is not met by local. Some provinces have over withdrawn groundwater, which has caused ground subsidence and increased soil salinity. So what is the situation in China? Is there a water crisis, and if so, what are the causes? This report is a review of several global water scarcity assessment methods and summarizes the findings of the results of China’s water resources to get a better understanding about the water situation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mongolian Local Knowledge on Plants Recorded in Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto and Its ScientiC Value
    The Mongolian Local Knowledge on Plants Recorded in Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto and Its Scientic Value Guixi Liu ( [email protected] ) IMNU: Inner Mongolia Normal University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3354-2714 Wurheng Wurheng IMNU: Inner Mongolia Normal University Khasbagan Khasbagan IMNU: Inner Mongolia Normal University Yanying Zhang IMNU: Inner Mongolia Normal University Shirong Guo IMNU: Inner Mongolia Normal University Research Keywords: P. K. Kozlov, Expedition Record, Local Knowledge on plants, Mongolian Folk, Ethnobotany, Botanical History Posted Date: December 28th, 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-133605/v1 License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License The Mongolian local knowledge on plants recorded in Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto and its scientific value Guixi Liu1*, Wurheng2, Khasbagan1,2,3*, Yanying Zhang1 and Shirong Guo1 1 Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, 010022, China. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2 College of Life Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, 010022, China. 3 Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use of Colleges and Universities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. * the corresponding author 1 Abstract Background: There is a plentiful amount of local knowledge on plants hidden in the literature of foreign exploration to China in modern history. Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara- Khoto (MAKK) is an expedition record on the sixth scientific expedition to northwestern China (1907-1909) initiated by P.
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamic of Dalinor Lakes in the Inner Mongolian Plateau and Its Driving Factors During 1976–2015
    water Article Dynamic of Dalinor Lakes in the Inner Mongolian Plateau and Its Driving Factors during 1976–2015 Haidong Li 1 ID , Yuanyun Gao 1,*, Yingkui Li 2 ID , Shouguang Yan 1 and Yuyue Xu 3 1 Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China; [email protected] (H.L.); [email protected] (S.Y.) 2 Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; [email protected] 3 Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, China; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-25-8528-7645 Received: 15 August 2017; Accepted: 27 September 2017; Published: 30 September 2017 Abstract: Climate change and increasing human activities have induced lake expansion or shrinkage, posing a serious threat to the ecological security on the Inner Mongolian Plateau, China. However, the pattern of lake changes and how it responds to climate change and revegetation have rarely been reported. We investigated the pattern of lake-area changes in the Dalinor National Nature Reserve (DNR) using Landsat imagery during 1976–2015, and examined its relationship with changes in climate and vegetation factors. The total lake-area in the DNR has decreased by 11.6% from 1976 to 2015 with a rate of −0.55 km2 year−1. The largest Dalinor Lake reduced the most (by 32.7 km2) with a rate of −0.79 km2 year−1. The air temperature has increased significantly since 1976, with a rate of 0.03 ◦C year−1 (p < 0.05), while the precipitation slightly decreased during 1976–2015, with a rate of −0.86 mm year−1.
    [Show full text]
  • The South Manchuria Railway Company As an Intelligence Organization
    a report of the csis japan chair The South Manchuria Railway Company as an Intelligence Organization 1800 K Street, NW | Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 887-0200 | Fax: (202) 775-3199 Author E-mail: [email protected] | Web: www.csis.org Akihiko Maruya February 2012 CHARTING our future Blank a report of the csis japan chair The South Manchuria Railway Company as an Intelligence Organization Author Akihiko Maruya February 2012 CHARTING our future About CSIS—50th Anniversary Year For 50 years, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has developed practical solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. As we celebrate this milestone, CSIS scholars continue to provide strategic insights and bipartisan policy solutions to help decisionmakers chart a course toward a better world. CSIS is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center’s 220 full-time staff and large network of affiliated scholars conduct research and analysis and de- velop policy initiatives that look into the future and anticipate change. Since 1962, CSIS has been dedicated to finding ways to sustain American prominence and prosperity as a force for good in the world. After 50 years, CSIS has become one of the world’s pre- eminent international policy institutions focused on defense and security; regional stability; and transnational challenges ranging from energy and climate to global development and economic integration. Former U.S. senator Sam Nunn has chaired the CSIS Board of Trustees since 1999. John J. Hamre became the Center’s president and chief executive officer in 2000. CSIS was founded by David M.
    [Show full text]
  • Manchuria Documents to Examine
    Source 1 Source Information: The Legacy of the Soviet Union Offensives of August 1945 https://amti.csis.org/the-legacy-of-the-soviet-offensives-of-august-1945/ ____________________________________________________________________________ THE LEGACY OF THE SOVIET OFFENSIVES OF AUGUST 1945 BY JEFF MANKOFF | AUGUST 13, 2015 JAPAN, RUSSIA, UNITED STATES The Second World War was an unparalleled calamity for the Soviet Union. As many as 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians died as a result of the conflict that started with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ended with the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Consumed by this existential struggle along its western border, the Soviet Union was a comparatively minor factor in the Pacific War until the very end. Yet Moscow’s timely intervention in the war against Japan allowed it to expand its influence along the Pacific Rim. With the breakdown of Allied unity soon heralding the onset of the Cold War, Soviet gains in Asia also left a legacy of division and confrontation, some of which endure into the present. By the 1930s, Stalin’s Soviet Union and Imperial Japan both viewed themselves as rising powers with ambitions to extend their territorial holdings. In addition to a strategic rivalry dating back to the 19th century, they now nursed an ideological enmity born of the Bolshevik Revolution and the ultraconservative military’s growing hold on Japanese politics. In 1935, Japan signed the AntiComintern Pact with Hitler’s Germany, laying the foundation for the creation of the Axis (Fascist Italy would join the following year). The two militaries engaged in a series of skirmishes along the frontier between Soviet Siberia and Japanese-occupied Manchuria (Manchukuo) during the late 1930s.
    [Show full text]
  • A Garrison in Time Saves Nine
    1 A Garrison in Time Saves Nine: Frontier Administration and ‘Drawing In’ the Yafahan Orochen in Late Qing Heilongjiang Loretta E. Kim The University of Hong Kong [email protected] Abstract In 1882 the Qing dynasty government established the Xing’an garrison in Heilongjiang to counteract the impact of Russian exploration and territorial expansion into the region. The Xing’an garrison was only operative for twelve years before closing down. What may seem to be an unmitigated failure of military and civil administrative planning was in fact a decisive attempt to contend with the challenges of governing borderland people rather than merely shoring up physical territorial limits. The Xing’an garrison arose out of the need to “draw in” the Yafahan Orochen population, one that had developed close relations with Russians through trade and social interaction. This article demonstrates that while building a garrison did not achieve the intended goal of strengthening control over the Yafahan Orochen, it was one of several measures the Qing employed to shape the human frontier in this critical borderland. Keywords 1 2 Butha, Eight Banners, frontier administration, Heilongjiang, Orochen Introduction In 1882, the Heilongjiang general’s yamen began setting up a new garrison. This milestone was distinctive because 150 years had passed since the last two were established, which had brought the actual total of garrisons within Heilongjiang to six.. The new Xing’an garrison (Xing’an cheng 興安城) would not be the last one built before the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) but it was notably short-lived, in operation for only twelve years before being dismantled.
    [Show full text]
  • Botanical Problems in Boreal America. I Author(S): Hugh M
    Botanical Problems in Boreal America. I Author(s): Hugh M. Raup Source: Botanical Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, Botanical Problems in Boreal America. I (Mar., 1941), pp. 147-208 Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4353246 Accessed: 15-12-2017 21:12 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Springer, New York Botanical Garden Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Botanical Review This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Fri, 15 Dec 2017 21:12:58 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE BOTANICAL REVIEW VOL. VII MARCH, 1941 No. 3 BOTANICAL PROBLEMS IN BOREAL AMERICA. I HUGH M. RAUP Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ................ ........................... 148 Acknowledgments . ........................................... 150 Exploration .............. ............................. 151 Physiographic History ........................................... 161 Climate ........................................................... 169 Origin and Distribution of the Flora Speciation and Endemism .173 The Theory of Persistence The Darwin-Hooker Concept ............................... 178 The Nunatak Hypothesis .......... .......... 181 Conservatism vs. Aggressiveness ............................. 184 Wynne-Edwards' Criticism of the Nunatak Hypothesis . 186 Discussion of Wynne-Edwards' Criticism .188 Hulten's Studies of Arctic and Boreal Biota Statement of the Problem .198 Plastic vs.
    [Show full text]
  • In Koguryo Dynasty the State-Formation History Starts from B
    International Journal of Korean History(Vol.6, Dec.2004) 1 History of Koguryŏ and China’s Northeast Asian Project 1Park Kyeong-chul * Introduction The Koguryŏ Dynasty, established during the 3rd century B.C. around the Maek tribe is believed to have begun its function as a centralized entity in the Northeast Asia region. During the period between 1st century B.C. and 1st century A.D. aggressive regional expansion policy from the Koguryŏ made it possible to overcome its territorial limitations and weak economic basis. By the end of the 4th century A.D., Koguryŏ emerged as an empire that had acquired its own independent lebensraum in Northeast Asia. This research paper will delve into identifying actual founders of the Koguryŏ Dynasty and shed light on their lives prior to the actual establishment of the Dynasty. Then on, I will analyze the establishment process of Koguryŏ Dynasty. Thereafter, I will analyze the history of Koguryŏ Dynasty at three different stages: the despotic military state period, the period in which Koguryŏ emerged as an independent empire in Northeast Asia, and the era of war against the Sui and Tang dynasty. Upon completion of the above task, I will illustrate the importance of Koguryŏ history for Koreans. Finally, I attempt to unearth the real objectives why the Chinese academics are actively promoting the Northeast Asian Project. * Professor, Dept. of Liberal Arts, Kangnam University 2 History of Koguryŏ and China’s Northeast Asian Project The Yemaek tribe and their culture1 The main centers of East Asian culture in approximately 2000 B.C. were China - by this point it had already become an agrarian society - and the Mongol-Siberian region where nomadic cultures reign.
    [Show full text]
  • Revolution, War and Imperial Conflict in Blagoveshchensk-Heihe Yuexin Rachel Lin
    “We Are on the Brink of Disaster”: Revolution, War and Imperial Conflict in Blagoveshchensk-Heihe Yuexin Rachel Lin When Russian imperial power extended to the Amur in the mid-19th Century, Blagoveshchensk- Heihe became one of the foremost sites of imperial competition. The proximity of the Chinese and Russian cities, within sight of each other across the Amur River, engendered both connection and conflict, while the strategic waterway attracted Japanese trade. Some of the starkest manifesta- tions of Sino-Russian conflict had erupted there, including the 1858 Treaty of Aigun and the 1900 massacre of Chinese during the Boxer Rebellion. Control over Chinese migration became a peren- nial problem - which led to the deeply-resented river-crossing permit regime - and Japanese inter- est in commerce and shipping challenged both Russian and Chinese interests. Historical memories of such conflict persisted even as the Qing and tsarist regimes collapsed. They were brought to the fore by the arrival of the 1917 Russian Revolution, when the collapse of Russian state power offered the opportunity to recover past losses. This paper examines the vio- lence of the revolutionary and Civil War period in Blagoveshchensk-Heihe from the perspective of the Chinese community in both cities. It focuses on key economic and political actors — diaspora leaders and border officials — who formed self-defence organisations, appealed for greater military and diplomatic presence in Russian territory, and warned of Japanese opportunism on the Amur. In so doing, they appealed to emotive “moments” in Sino-Russian historical memory, particularly the Aigun Treaty and the Blagoveshchensk massacre. Therefore, this paper argues that the revolu- tionary upheavals in Russia fed into long-term discourses of Sino-Russian conflict, and that shared historical memories enabled disparate groups to take part in revisionist activism.
    [Show full text]
  • How the Chinese See Russia
    How the Chinese See Russia Bobo Lo December 2010 Russia/NIS Center Ifri is a research center and a forum for debate on major international political and economic issues. Headed by Thierry de Montbrial since its founding in 1979, Ifri is a non-governmental and a non-profit organization. As an independent think tank, Ifri sets its own research agenda, publishing its findings regularly for a global audience. With offices in Paris and Brussels, Ifri stands out as one of the rare French think tanks to have positioned itself at the very heart of European debate. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Ifri brings together political and economic decision-makers, researchers and internationally renowned experts to animate its debates and research activities. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors’ alone and do not reflect the official views of their institutions. Russia/NIS Center © All rights reserved – Ifri – Paris, 2010 ISBN: 978-2-86592-809-5 IFRI IFRI-Bruxelles 27 RUE DE LA PROCESSION RUE MARIE-THERESE, 21 75740 PARIS CEDEX 15 – FRANCE 1000 BRUXELLES TEL. : 33 (0)1 40 61 60 00 TEL. : 32(2) 238 51 10 FAX : 33 (0)1 40 61 60 60 FAX : 32 (2) 238 51 15 E-MAIL : [email protected] E-MAIL : [email protected] WEBSITE : www.ifri.org B. Lo / Chinese Perceptions of Russia Executive Summary China is in the midst of one of the most remarkable transformations in history. In its search for economic development and industrial modernization, Chinese policy-makers look to the West for their points of reference. Russia, which once offered an alternative model, now stands as an object lesson in what not to do.
    [Show full text]