Liaodong Society In Ming Dynasty Recorded In Yanxing Literature

Liaodong,located at the junction of Northeast China and North China,is the core area of northeast China in Ming Dynasty.At the same time,it shoulders the important tasks of guarding the left arm of Ming court,inviting frontier tribes and dealing with relations with North Korea.However,because Liaodong is located on the border,its economic and cultural development is relatively backward,and its preservation is unfavorable,the relevant historical materials of Liaodong society in Ming Dynasty are not rich.Yan literature is the general name of all kinds of travel rules written by Korean envoys during their tribute to China,covering Yuan,Ming and Qing dynasties in time.In addition to all kinds of official documents,a large number of them recorded the experiences of envoys in China,which are valuable historical materials for studying the social development of China during this period.After the establishment of the suzerainvassal relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the DPRK,North Korean envoys paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty regularly,and Liaodong became an important way for envoys.The content of Liaodong society is also very considerable in the literature of Yanxing.This paper,based on the Yanxing literature written in the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years and still existing today,sorts out and studies the Liaodong society in the Ming Dynasty written by Korean envoys.Yanxing literature provides a new perspective for social research in Liaodong,and a large number of published Yanxing literature in recent years provide more abundant historical materials for this perspective.On the basis of sorting out the literature of Yan Xing,the author examines the Liaodong society in the eyes of envoys,trying to enrich the historical facts,and at the same time,analyze the authenticity of the narrative content of envoys and analyze the reasons behind it from the perspective of Zongfan.The main part of this paper is divided into six chapters.The first chapter is the overall background of this paper,explaining the specific situation of Liaodong and Yanxing literature.Chapter two to chapter five respectively study the agriculture,trade,towns and customs of Liaodong recorded in Yanxing literature.The sixth chapter also analyzes the "impression" of North Korean envoys in Liaodong and the deep-seated reasons for their "impression" by relying on Yan Hang literature.North Korea’s envoys had to travel more than 1,000 miles through Liaodong,and the natural features,cultural buildings,production and life,and social customs they saw along the way were all included in Yanxing literature.The content of Yan literature is complex,including the specific narrative content of essays and diaries,as well as the subjective lyrical part of poems and songs.The former is mostly the envoy’s concrete account of what he has seen and heard,while the latter is mostly the borrowing of things to chant feelings.On the basis of official historical data as mutual evidence,it can be confirmed that some envoys’ accounts of Liaodong society are true records,which directly enriches the historical data base of Liaodong society.However,some accounts obviously deviate from the real situation in Liaodong.Some envoys,because of their lack of knowledge and experience,made mistakes in describing the social content and characteristics of Liaodong and didn’t know it.Some envoys forcibly misinterpreted the real situation of Liaodong society due to subjective factors such as political purpose,thinking consciousness and personal feelings.These phenomena are also common in Yanxing literature,and we can find clues by comparing the historical data of China and North Korea.To sum up,Yanxing literature runs through the Ming Dynasty.Although there are many contents,it can’t be guaranteed to be all true because of the influence of the narrator.In addition,it needs to be carefully screened when it is used due to the limitations of the remains and arrangement.It’s necessary for us to distinguish its historical value and analyze the reasons for the distortion of Yanxing literature,which is another significance of Yanxing literature to Liaodong society in Ming Dynasty.