History of Sino-Korean relations
[1] Although controversial, a legend tells that in around 1100 BC a Chinese sage named Jizi (Gija) and his intellectuals fled from the Shang dynasty to avoid political turmoil and sought asylum in Gojoseon, and active cultural trades ensued after.
The "Monograph on Geography" (Dili zhi 地理志) of the Book of Han (1st century AD) claims that Jizi had taught the people of Joseon agriculture, sericulture, and weaving, as well as proper ceremony.
During the first campaign, Chinese General Guanqiu Jian led 10,000 infantry and cavalry into Goguryeo and was met by King Doncheon's army of 20,000 at the Battle of Liangkou.
Goguryeo fared little better during the second campaign, which was largely marked by King Dongcheon desperately fleeing deeper into the Korean peninsula to evade Cao Wei forces.
The expedition, unprecedented in scale in those regions, brought first-hand knowledge about the topography, climate, population, language, manners, and customs of these areas to Chinese cognizance, and was duly recorded into the Weilüe by the contemporary historian Yu Huan.
[20] Though the original Weilüe is now lost, its contents were preserved in the Records of Three Kingdoms, where the reports from the Goguryeo expedition are included in the "Chapter on Eastern Barbarians" (東夷傳, Dongyi Zhuan) — considered the most important single source of information for the culture and society of early states and peoples on the Korean Peninsula.
He proceeded to enthrone Yeongnyu's nephew, Go Jang, as King Bojang while wielding de facto control of Goguryeo himself as the generalissimo (Korean: 대막리지; Hanja: 大莫離支).
[28] Since the early 7th century, Silla had been forced on the defensive by both Baekje and Goguryeo, which had not yet formally allied but had both desired to erode Sillan power in the Han Valley.
[30] Ansi City (in modern Haicheng, Liaoning), which was the last fortress that would clear the Liaodong Peninsula of significant defensive works and was promptly put under siege.
[30] However, the capable defense put up by Ansi's commanding general (whose name is controversial but traditionally is believed to be Yang Manchun) stymied Tang forces and, in late fall, with winter fast approaching and his supplies running low, Tang forces under the command Prince Li Daozong attempted to build a rampart to seize the city in a last ditch effort, but was foiled when Goguryeo troops managed to seize control of it.
[45] In the summer of 666, Yeon Gaesomun died of a natural cause and Goguryeo was thrown into chaos and weakened by a succession struggle among his sons and younger brother.
The violent dissension resulting from Yeon Gaesomun's death proved to be the primary reason for the Tang–Silla triumph, thanks to the division, defections, and widespread demoralization it caused.
Led by prominent generals such as Yun Kwan and Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng, the well-trained Byeolmuban (別武班; "Special Warfare Army") of approximately 250,000[82][83] men initially succeeded in ravaging Jurchen territories and building the strategic "Nine Fortresses" (동북 9성; 東北九城) of which exact locations are still topics of debate.
Goryeo endured six devastating invasions at tremendous cost to civilian lives throughout the Korean Peninsula, and numerous cultural artifacts such as the Tripitaka Koreana and the Hwangnyongsa.
[92] After the death of Wonjong in 1274, his successor Chungnyeol of Goryeo received Kublai's daughter Qutlugh-Kelmish as a wife, and his reign began a wholesale Mongolization of the Korean court that continued until the middle of the 14th century.
The act caused an uproar among the Goryeo court, and General Ch'oe Yŏng seized the chance to argue for an invasion of the Ming-controlled Liaodong Peninsula.
General Yi Sŏng-gye was chosen to lead the attack; he revolted, swept back to the capital Gaegyeong (present-day Kaesong) and initiated a coup d'état, overthrowing King U in favor of his son, Chang of Goryeo (1388).
In 1392, Yi eliminated Chŏng Mong-ju, highly respected leader of a group loyal to Goryeo dynasty, and dethroned King Gongyang, exiling him to Wonju, and he ascended the throne himself.
After numerous threats of mutiny from the drastically weakened but still influential Gwonmun nobles, who continued to swear allegiance to the remnants of the Goryeo and to the now-demoted Wang clan, the consensus in the reformed court was that a new dynastic title was needed to signify the change.
After much internal deliberation, as well as endorsement by the neighboring Ming dynasty's emperor, Taejo declared the name of the kingdom to be Joseon, a tribute to the ancient Korean state of Gojoseon.
[109] According to Youngmin Kim, " it held that the Joseon embodied Chineseness authentically while other neighboring countries failed to do so in the face of the barbarian domination of the center of the civilized world.
[109] Injo's successor, Hyojong of Joseon, after rising to the throne, began to reform and expand the military of Korea to avenge the fallen Ming dynasty; first he removed Kim Ja-jeom, who had corrupted politics and had greater power than the king himself.
150 Joseon musketeers, along with 3,000 Manchus, met the Russian army at the Battle of Hutong (호통Hanja : 好通), present-day Yilan, which was won by the Qing–Joseon allied forces.
As part of the terms in the post-war Treaty of Shimonoseki, China recognized the independence of Korea and ceased its tributary relations as well as Japan annexing the island of Taiwan.
The Provisional Government received significant recognition and support by both the founder of the ROC, Sun Yat-sen and his successor, Chiang Kai-shek, both of whom led Kuomintang regime in China.
[119] Chiang wrote in his diary that the Japanese invaders should "reflect [on their actions] and awaken themselves", and praised Yun's patriotic martyrdom as a great contribution to Korean independence.
One of the main purposes of the Cairo Declaration was to create an independent Korea, free from Japanese Colonial Rule and restoration of Formosa (Taiwan) and Manchuria to China.
Its argument was that the Korean people "were emasculated politically" after decades of Japanese rule, and showed too much disunity, preferring a condominium solution for Korea that involved the Soviets.
After Soviet-American relations deteriorated, on August 10, 1945, the United States Department of War agreed that China should land troops in Pusan, Korea from which to prevent a Soviet takeover.
Examples included civil service examinations, known as gwageo, and educational institutions (Gukjagam and Sungkyunkwan), promoting the studies of Chinese classical texts.
