CHAPTER ONE

The Jehol Diary and the Character of Cfring Rule

The Manchus, calling themselves the Latter Chin, invaded Korea be-
tween 1629 and 1636. In 1637, T'ai-tsung (Abahai) sent Ingguldai to
Korea to open normal diplomatic relations, and Korean missions,
called the "dispatch of envoys of submission" (shih-ta shih-hsing), were
sent to China under various names every year. 1 These missions not
only created a diplomatic exchange between the two countries but
opened an officially recognized pathway for contact with Chinese
culture. Although Koreans despised the Manchus as a barbarian tribe,
they now had to treat the Ch'ing dynasty (at least superficially) with
the deference due from "a smaller country serving a large one" (shih-ta
chih-li), just as they had done with the Ming dynasty. The Yonhaeng-
nok (Records of visits to Yen [Peking]), covering these missions from
their beginnings, have been collected and studied. 2 This chapter is
Z THE ]EHOL DIARY ON CH'ING RULE

concerned with one of these records, the Yolha ilgi Qehol diary), an
account of travels in southern Manchuria, Peking, and Jehol written
by a Korean of the Yongjo reign (mid-eighteenth century), Pak Chi-
won. Pak's visit to Peking occurred in 1780, the 45th year of the
Ch'ien-lung Emperor's reign.
The Records of Visits to Yen have several characteristics in common.
First, they are all critical of the Ch'ing dynasty, although there are
qualitative differences and differences of degree among the individual
diaries. The Korean attitude toward the Ch'ing dynasty differed from
their attitude toward the Ming. The records of the missions to the
Ming dynasty had been called Choch'on-nok (Records of tributary
visits to the imperial capital). The Koreans were grateful to the Ming
dynasty because the Ming had defended Korea against the invasion of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi and had restored the Choson (Yi) dynasty in
Korea (chaejo chiun). When the Manchus, whom the Koreans had for
a long time despised as a "barbarian tribe" (hojok), destroyed the Ming
dynasty, Koreans were humiliated at being forced to submit to them.
In using the ancient term Yen (Yon in Korean) for the Peking area,
instead of the customary "heavenly capital," in the overall title of the
Yonhaeng-nok, the Koreans showed that they did not recognize the
Ch'ing as a true Chinese dynasty. Although they submitted formally
to the dynasty, they were contemptuous of it.
Second, in addition to their critical tone, these records contain a
wide range of experience and observation. China was the only foreign
country that Koreans of the time were familiar with. Although they
had reservations about the Ch'ing dynasty, they were intensely curi-
ous about Chinese culture, and even the landscape. The instant Pak
Chi-won crossed the Yalu River and set foot on Chinese territory he
told his servant, "From now on, as soon as you see anything, even if
I am sleeping, wake me up and tell me about it."3
Third, the Yonhaeng-nok form an annual record of observations of
China during the Ch'ing. Each year, three seasonal tributary missions
visited Peking. Various temporary missions were also sent, passing
through southern Manchuria to Peking. Over a long period of time,
into the later years of the Ch'ing, not one year was missed. It would
be difficult to find anywhere a similar continuous record of contem-
porary observations.
Fourth, the Yonhaeng-nok contain uninhibited descriptions of the
society and policies of the Ch'ing dynasty. Because the Manchus were