• Title/Summary/Keyword: Steppe Route

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A brief introduction to the research of cultural exchange of Eurasian Continent in Korea (한국에서 유라시아 문명교류사 연구의 성과와 과제)

  • Kwon, Ohyoung
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.48 no.3
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    • pp.166-185
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    • 2015
  • Recently, as an enonomic importance of the Eurasian Continent raises, the necessity of east-west connecting ancient transport roads research is increasing. Although domestic research of eastern-western international exchange in the Eurasia is not yet very active, the studies of history, archaeology, art history, folklore, costume history have been advanced steadily. An attention for the exchange through steppe route originated from the interest in Korean folk and Korean culture and the research range is extending to Xiungnu, Kurgan culture as a direct investigation on the remains of Mongolia and Kazakhstan has been achieved constantly. The art history has been leading the research of exchange which is based on desert and oasis. The field research of Iran, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, etc progressed in various routes, and the research on diverse topics including Silla's golden culture, transmission of glass, and the Buddhism is improving. Research on the maritime silk road is weaker, compared to other parts. Buddhist and Hindu temples of Southeast Asia attracted some interest to people, but the research should focus on the restoration of sea route and consideration of its meaning. Research of this part is expected to be more activative, as domestic researchers investigate Don Son culture and Sa Huynh culture of Vietnam by themselves. From now on, we should focus on topics that are not directly connected to Korean history, and Korean culture. Because it is also our duty to study and conserve the culture of entire human community.

Burqanism from the Origin of the Pastoral Nomadic Koryo Region and the Vision of Korean Livestock Farming (고려의 원시영역 유목초지, 그 부르칸(불함)이즘과 한국축산의 비전)

  • Chu Chae Hyok
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.71-82
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    • 2005
  • Khori(高麗) refers to the Chaabog(reindeer) that live on lichens(蘚) on Mt. Soyon(鮮) in which pastures are the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia. Thus, the origin region of the Khori or Koguryo that are the ancestors of the reindeer-herding pastoral nomads(馴鹿 遊牧民) can be said to be the Steppe-Taiga-Tundra pastoral areas of North Eurasia and North America. When the pastoral nomads moved on to the great mountain(大山) zone of the Jangbaek(長白) to the Baekdu(白頭) Mountains, they could have been in contact with pastoral farmers or agricultural farmers living there and they became the farmers remaining on agricultural farms. They were the Koryo people, the ancestors of Korea. Staying in one place, they gradually forgot the origin of their reindeer-herding pastoral nomadic history in the Northwest area of Mt. Soyon, the small mountain(小山) zone of the Steppe-Taiga-Tundra pastoral areas. In other words, they lost their identity as reindeer-herding pastoral nomads when they entered the agricultural area after leaving the pastoral area. However, since their basic genes had already formed when they lived on the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia, it is possible to study their pastoral nomadic history focusing on 'the minority living in the broad area(廣域少數)', by utilizing highly advanced biotechnological science and focusing on genes and information technology innovation, and removing various past hindrances in research. Therefore, it is not so difficult to restore the reindeerherding pastoral nomadic history of the Koguryo(高句麗) people and secure their pastoral nomadic identity, of which the first steps have already been taken into their historical stages. The Eurasian continent and the Korean peninsula, especially the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia and the Korean peninsula have been closely related to each other ecologically and historically. They can never be a separate space at all. The Eurasian continent lies horizontally east to west and thus, the continent forms an isothermal zone. Also, since the time of producing their own foods, it was relatively easy for people with their technology to move to other places owing to the pastoral nomadic characteristic of mobility. Unlike the Chungyen(中原) region, western Asia and the regions covering the Siberia-Manchu-Korean peninsula where food production revolution was first made were connected to the Mongolian lichens route(蘚苔之路: Ni, ukinii jam) and steppe roads. Although the ecological conditions of nature have changed a bit throughout a long history, it was natural for the many tribes in North Asia living on the largest Steppe-Taiga-Tundra area in the world to have believed 'the legends related to animals in relation to their founders and ancestors(獸祖傳說)'. Assuming that Siberian tigers and the tigers living on Mt. Baekdu were connected ecologically and genetically because of the ecological characteristics of the animals, and their migration from plateau to plateau, we would suspect that the Chosun(朝鮮) tribe living on Mt. Baekdu were ethnically and culturally more closely connected to the farther removed Ural-Altai tribes that lived on the cold and dry plateau region than to the Han(i14;) tribe who lived in Chungyen(中原) that was close to Mt. Baekdu. More evidence is the structure of the Korean language which has the form of 'Subject + Object + Verb', which is assumed to have originated from the speedy lifestyle of the reindeer-herding pastoral nomads. The structure is quite different from that of the Han(漢) language, which is based on agricultural life. Also, it is natural for reindeer riding reindeerherding pastoral nomads or horse-riding sheep-herding pastoral nomads(騎馬, 羊遊牧民) to have held military and political power over the region and eventually to have established an ancient pastoral nomadic empire in the process of their conquest of agricultural regions. The stages for founding global empires in the history of mankind maybe largely divided into two, in terms of ecological conditions and occupations. They are the steppes and the oceans. Of course, the steppe-based empires were established based on the skills to deal with horses and the ability to shoot arrows while riding horses, along with the use of iron ware in the 8th century BC. The steppe-based empires became the foundation for an oceanic empire, which could have been established by the use of warships and warship guns since the 15th Century. Based on those facts, we know that Chosun, Puyo(夫餘), and Koguryo are the products of a developmental process of pastoral nomadic empires on the steppes. Maybe we can easily find the pastoral nomadic identity of the Koguryo more than we expected when we trace the origins and history of the Korean tribe living in the pastures located in the northwest area of Mt. Jangbaek by focusing on pastoral nomadic mobility and organization just as we have investigated the historic origins of Anglo-Saxons in America by focusing on the times before the 15th Century. In the process, we should keep in mind that English culture originated from the Industrial Revolution and was directly delivered to the American continent, although America was far from England and was not an intermediate point on long sojourns either. Further, American culture came back to England in a more advanced form later. The most important thing currently to be resolved is to cause Koreans to look back on their own history in a freer way of thinking and with diverse, profound, and sharp insight, taking away the old and existing conventional recognition that is entangled with complicated interests with Korean people and other countries. The meanings of Chosun, Khori, and Solongos have been interpreted arbitrarily without any historic evidence by the scholars who followed conventional tradition of fixed-minded aristocrats in an agricultural society. If the Siberian cultural properties of the stone age, the earthenware age, the bronze age, and the iron age are analyzed in such a way, archaeological discovery will never be able to contribute to the restoration of the Koguryo's pastoral nomadic identity. One should transcend the errors that tend to interpret the cultural properties discovered in the pastoral nomadic regions as not being differentiated from those of agricultural regions and just interpret them altogether from the agricultural point of view. A more careful intention is required in the interpretation of cultural properties of ancient Korean empires that seem to have been formed due to mutual interactions of pastoral nomadic and agricultural cultures. Also, it is required that the conventional recognition chain of 'reverse-genes' be severed, which has placed more weight on agricultural properties than pastoral nomadic ones, since their settlement on agricultural farms was made after the establishment of their ancient pastoral nomadic empires. There is no reason at all to place priority on stoneware, earthenware, bronze ware, and iron ware than on wooden ware(木器) and other ware which were made of animal skins(皮器), bones and horns(骨角器), in analyzing the history in the regions of reindeer or sheep pastures. Reading ancient Korean history from the perspective of pastoral nomadic history, one feels strongly the instinctive emotions to return to the natural 'mother place'. The reindeer-herding pastoral nomadic identity of the Koguryo people that has been accumulated in volumes in their genes and hidden deep inside and have interacted organically could be reborn with Burqanism(Burqan refers to 不咸 in Chinese), which was their religion by birth and symbolized as the red willow(紅柳=不咸). The mother place of the Koguryo's people is the endless vast green pastures of North Eurasia and North America, where we anticipated the development of Korean livestock farming following the inherent properties in the genes of the reindeer-herding pastoral nomads with Korean ancestors. We anticipate that the place would be the core resource that could contribute to the development of life of living creatures following the inherent properties of their genes and biotechnological factors. In other words, biotechnology used for a search for clues on the well-being of humans could be the fruit brought by Burqanism of the Koguryo people and the fruit of the globalization of Korean livestock farming. It is the Chosun farmer in China come from the vast nomadic reindeer pastures of North Eurasia that resolved the food problem of a billion Chinese people with lowland paddy rice seeds (水稻) by transforming Heilongjiang Province(黑龍江省) into an oceanic lowland paddy rice field(水田). Even Mao Tse-tung(毛擇東) could not resolve the food problem by his revolution campaigns for tens of years. Today is the very time that requires the development of special livestock farming following the inherent properties of the ancient Korean reindeer-herding pastoral nomads that respected the dignity of life on the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia and the America continent. I suggest that research should be started from the pastures of the Dariganga Steppe in East Mongolia that was the homeland of Hanwoo(韓牛) and the central horse-herding steppe place(牧馬場) of Chingis Khan's Mongolia. The Dariganga Steppe is awash with an affluent natural environment for pastoral nomadic living however, the quality of life of the pastoral nomads there is still low. I suggest we Koreans, the descendents of the Koguryo, should take our first steps for our livestock farming business project and develop the Northern nomadic pastures, here at the pastures of the Dariganga Steppe, which is the Mongolian core place of state-of-the-art technology for military weapons.

The Characteristics of South Korea's New Northern Policy and Cooperation with Eurasia Countries' Initiatives Focused on China, Mongolia and Russia (한국 신(新)북방정책과 유라시아 주요 국가와의 협력방안 모색 - 중국, 몽골, 러시아를 중심으로 -)

  • Song, Min-Geun
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.17 no.7
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    • pp.1-13
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    • 2019
  • The purpose of this study is to examine the main features of South Korea's New Northern Policy and to make some suggestions for cooperation with neighboring countries' initiatives. The New Northern Policy encompasses the whole of Eurasia, but the starting development area would be the border region of the Korean Peninsula. In this viewpoint, this study examines the Belt and Road Initiative of China, the New Eastern Policy of Russia and the Steppe Road Initiative of Mongolia, and presents the characteristics, problems and some implementation strategies of the New Northern Policy. Apart from the future possibilities of the regional cooperations that include North Korea, it would be necessary for South Korea to secure and expand the possible opportunities for "Korea-China-Mongolia-Russia" cooperation. In order to create a close cooperative environment with North Korea in the future, it would also be necessary to build a maritime route, with port development around major border regions on the Korean Peninsula, including Russia, and to develop the port-railway intermodal transportation system with neighboring countries. South Korea need to actively cooperate with neighboring countries to develop the new Eurasia logistics routes would be more favorable to the Korean Peninsula in preparation for the time when the North Korean nuclear issue will be resolved.

Thinking in Terms of East-West Contacts through Spreading Process of Sarmathia-Pattened Scabbard on Tillya-Tepe Site in Afghanistan (아프가니스탄 틸랴 테페의 사르마티아(Sarmathia)식 검집 패용 방식의 전개 과정으로 본 동서교섭)

  • Lee, Song Ran
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.45 no.4
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    • pp.54-73
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    • 2012
  • In this article, we examined the patterns of activities of the Sarmathians though in a humble measure, with a focus on the regions where the Sarmathian sheaths spreaded. One of the main weapons the mounted nomads like the Scythias, the Sarmathians, and the Alans used at war was a spear. Though complementary, a sword was the most convenient and appropriate weapon when fighting at a near distance, fallen from the horse to the ground. The Sarmathian swords continued the tradition of the Akinakes which the Scythias or the Persians used, but those of the Sarmathians showed some advances in terms of the easiness with which a sword was drawn out from a sheath, and the way the sheaths were worn to parts of a human body. It turns out that the Sarmathian sheaths, which were designed for the people to draw swords easily, having the sheaths attached to thighs through 4 bumps, spread extensively from Pazyryk, Altai, to South Siberia, Bactria, Parthia and Rome. The most noteworthy out of all the Sarmathian sheaths were the ones that were excavated from the 4th tomb in Tillatepe, Afghanistan which belonged to the region of Bactria. The owner of the fourth tomb of Tilla-tepe whose region was under the control of Kushan Dynasty at that time, was buried wearing Sarmathian swords, and regarded as a big shot in the region of Bactria which was also under the governance of Kushan Dynasty. The fact that the owner of the tomb wore two swords suggests that there had been active exchange between Bactria and Sarmathia. It seemed that the reason why the Sarmathians could play an important role in the exchange between the East and the West might have something to do with their role of supplying Chinese goods to Silk Road. That's why we are interested in how the copper mirrors of Han Dynasty, decoration beads like melon-type beads, crystal beads and goldring articulated beads, and the artifacts of South China which produced silks were excavated in the northern steppe route where the Sarmathians actively worked. Our study have established that the eye beads discovered in Sarmathian tomb estimated to have been built around the 1st century B.C. were reprocessed in China, and then imported to Sarmathia again. We should note the Huns as a medium between the Sarmathians and the South China which were far apart from each other. Thus gold-ring articulated beads which were spread out mainly across the South China has been discovered in the Huns' remains. On the other hand, between 2nd century B.C. and 2nd century A.D. which were main periods of the Sarmathians, it was considered that the traffic route connecting the steppe route and the South China might be West-South silk road which started from Yunnan, passed through Myanmar, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and then went into the east of India. The West-south Silk road is presumed to have been used by nomadic tribes who wanted to get the goods from South China before the Oasis route was activated by the Han Dynasty's policy of managing the countries bordering on Western China.

A study on the origination and Transmission of Yu in Northeast Asia. -from the 4th Century to the 8th Century- (동북(東北)아시아 유의 기원(起源)과 그 교류(交流)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究) -$4{\sim}8$세기(世紀)를 중심(中心)으로-)

  • Cho, Sun-Hee;Park, Kyung-Ja
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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    • v.17
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    • pp.29-43
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    • 1991
  • Yu was a type of dress worn on the upper part of the body which was commonly used in Northeast Asia. It was originally used by the Northern race for the need of courtesy as well as protecting cold. It was believed that Yu in Northeast Asia, which was called Kaftan, was came from Scythai lived in North Eurasian land around the Black sea. Scythians were the first-formed horse-riding race in the world and their civilization influenced those of far Asiatic sector along the steppe route. As their power expanded, their costume culture transmitted to the East(China, Korea, Japan). The upper garment, Yu, was characterized by the left-sided collars, narrow sleeves belted at the waist to the length of the hip line and the tight trouser on the lower part, which we commonly called HoBok(胡服) style. 1. Yu in Northeast Asia was originated from the Eurasians, Scythian Culture. Being exchanged, active style costumes were widely used among Chinese, Koreans and Japanese throughout centuries' including $4{\sim}8$ century. 2. Chinese Yu had a style of wide-sleeves and right-sided collars. The traditional costumes of Han race are consisted of wide-sleeved Yu on the upper and long-skirt on the lower part of the body. Before the adoptation of HoBok during reign of King Jo Mooryung in 307. B.C., HoBok style had already found in the remains since the Sang period. There were various names among Yu during the Han period. Seup, Sean Eui, Kye, Kyu were one of the styles and several names were meant for collar and sleeves. During $4{\sim}8$ centuries, clothes of right-sided collar were found, superior to that of left-sided and narrow sleeves were widely used both the royal and the humble. Various styles of decoration were seen in Yu around neck, back and sleeves comparing other nations. 3. Yu, in Korea, was typical style of Northern-bound HoBok. Both men and women had similarity in Yu style, narrow sleeves, left-sided collar, belted at the waist and to the length of hip line. Influenced by Han race, in the $4th{\sim}8th$ centuries, dual system of collar was found. But we cannot see major change in Yu and finally was connected to the present. 4. The original design of the Japanese costumes was not similar to that of Northern nomadic hunting race, which was suitable for horse-riding activities. Owing to the climates along the island, we could see various conditions ranging from the cold and to the warm. Influenced by the climates, pulling over the neck(Pancho style) were major design in Japan. As Korea was advanced earlier than Japan, Korean landed Japanese territory showing clothes. So primitive costumes had changes in style. During the $4th{\sim}8th$ period. The Korean mode was found in Haniwa (which was built to make sacrifices to the dead King) and costumes in Jeong Chang Won. Among the costumes in Jeong Chang Won, we put 3 or more costumes to the category of Yu characterizing elements of Korea and Tang period. From the $4th{\sim}8th$ century, China, Korea, Japan fell into the same cultural category, Scythai. Styles in Yu among three nations, we saw little differences, basically along times. Originated from the West Asia, Yu was transmitted to the far East changing Chinese costumes, Koreans melted it into the traditional elements and then influenced Japan.

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