A Study Of People And Local Mores Of Fujian Province As Mentioned In "Gumge Diary"

"Gumge Diary"(??????)is a document written in Chinese by Ro In(??),a Korean scholar who was kidnapped by the Japanese army during Japan's first invasion of Korea.It has a unique complementing function of History for two main reasons.First,it was expressed from the perspective of a non-Chinese person(i.e.Joseon dynasty).Second,although the diary described diverse aspects of life during late Ming dynasty,it hasn't reached a wide intellectual audience in China even though it was written in Chinese.This paper is considering Gumge Diary as a basis for unveiling the social context predominant in East Asia during the late 16th century.This research discusses two points:the first part is about Ro In's social encounters during his travel around China which explores Ro In's social circle from three standpoints:social background,relationship progress and the kind of help received from these people that enabled Ro In to go back to his hometown.After background exploration,we can say that Ro In's network of encountered people shared specific personal interests and skills.They all achieved a high level of literacy,taste for poems and Confucian predicates.However,initial inferiority felt by old Korea towards Ming dynasty,how can a person coming from such context(Joseon dynasty)succeed in integrating the circle of distinguished scholars from Fujian province?The answer is Ro In's talent for poetry and belonging to the same philosophical school(Cheng-Zhu)made him integrate both intellectually eclectic and mass social circles of Fujian.The second part analyses and interprets the local mores of Fujian Province people through six dimensions:Fushuan's architectural styles,public celebration of Dragon Boat Festival,behavior towards religious figures,death and marriage ceremonies,philosophical currents and education,government's recruitment policy.Gumge Diary brought new historical facts enriching Chinese history.This function can be expressed in the following discoveries that the research has led to new information for reconsideration for the Korean-Chinese conflict around Duanwu Festival by unveiling differences in Festival's origins,customs and celebration timing;unleashing subtle differences in the way Ming and Joseon societies towards monks;local government efforts for its own empowerment and the beginning of scholars' integration in decision-making by the central one.Ro In came back to Korea from an initially foreign society to him but with which he identified,shared and at the end been a part of.Thanks to the common characteristics shared by Joseon and Ming dynasties,Ro In overcame cultural misunderstanding to transition from a complete foreigner in pain to a reputable guest.Gumge diary is the proof that Chinese society is capable of building bonds with different cultures around the world and that can only be possible if China makes the effort to find common grounds with them and actually share with them intellectually before building physical roads to meet them.