美知乎讨论：为何在世界历史上，朝鲜半岛长期作为中国各朝代的藩属国存在？

FontaineFollow
Mainly geographical location
Due to its unique geographical location, the Korean Peninsula found itself in an awkward position. It has long bordered the neighboring "monster" (China), but its mountainous terrain and cold climate resulted in a relatively underdeveloped economy and scarce resources and invasion extremely difficult.
Therefore, in many cases, China only needed the Koreans to submit and pay tribute, making the Korean king a vassal of the emperor; in this way, China no longer paid much attention to the region.
In short, invading that place was not easy and the region was relatively poor, so the Chinese did not have a strong desire to conquer.

主要是地理位置
由于独特的地理位置，朝鲜半岛一直处于尴尬的境地。它长期与邻国“巨兽”（中国）接壤，但其多山的地形和寒冷的气候导致经济相对落后，资源匮乏，入侵极为困难。
因此，在许多情况下，中国只要求朝鲜人臣服并进贡，使朝鲜国王成为中国皇帝的藩属；这样一来，中国便不再过多关注该地区。

简而言之，入侵那个地方并不容易，而且该地区相对贫困，因此中国人并没有强烈的征服欲望。

Incidentally list the historical relationship between the Korean Peninsula and various Chinese dynasties. Even excluding the dynasties established by the Mongols and Manchus, Korea was a vassal state of Chinese dynasties for a long period.
Han Dynasty: Four northern prefectures were directly ruled and controlled by China, including the later-rising Goguryeo Kingdom.
jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties: Signs of independence emerged, but Korea remained nominally a tributary state of China, required to pay tribute.
Sui Dynasty: A full-scale war broke out with the Chinese, and Korea repelled a Chinese invasion.

顺便列举一下朝鲜半岛与各中国朝代的历史关系。即使排除蒙古人和满族人建立的朝代，朝鲜在很长一段时间里都是中国王朝的藩属国。
汉朝：四个北方郡县直接由中国统治和控制，包括后来崛起的高句丽王国。
晋朝和南北朝：出现了独立的迹象，但朝鲜在名义上仍然是中国的朝贡国，需要进贡。
隋朝：与中国爆发全面战争，朝鲜击退了中国的入侵。

Tang Dynasty: Goguryeo and Baekje were annexed by the Chinese. Silla was not ultimately destroyed by the Chinese, but remained a vassal state of Tang, paying tribute and even sending its crown prince to the Chinese capital as a hostage.
Yuan Dynasty (Mongol Empire): Initially a vassal state of the Mongols, it was later directly conquered by a stationed army.
Ming Dynasty: A vassal state of China, nearly conquered by Japan in the late 16th century. China, as the suzerain state, aided Korea, ultimately leading to Japan's defeat and withdrawal.

唐朝：高句丽和百济被中国吞并。新罗最终未被中国所灭，但成为唐朝的藩属国，向中国朝贡，甚至派遣太子到中国都城作为人质。
元朝（蒙古帝国）：最初是蒙古的藩属国，后来被驻军直接征服。
明朝：中国的藩属国，16 世纪末几乎被日本征服。中国作为宗主国援助朝鲜，最终导致日本战败撤军。

Qing Dynasty (Manchu Period): A vassal state of the Manchus.
Japanese Colonial Period: The Manchus weakened and directly ceded the Korean Peninsula to Japan.
After World War II, Korea split; although no longer a nominal vassal state, the United States maintains numerous military bases in South Korea.
An interpretation of the relationship between the Chinese dynasties and Korea: Besides paying tribute, the appointment of the Korean king and crown prince required the approval of the Chinese dynasty. Korea possessed autonomy, but its status was lower than that of the Chinese emperor, making it a subordinate state.

清朝（满洲时期）：满洲的藩属国。
日据时期：满清衰弱，直接将朝鲜半岛割让给日本。
二战后朝鲜分裂；虽不再为名义上的藩属国，但美国在韩国仍设有大量军事基地。
对中国王朝与朝鲜关系的解读：除朝贡外，朝鲜国王与世子的册立需经中国王朝批准。朝鲜拥有自治权，但其国王地位低于中国皇帝，属于藩属国。

Except during the Imjin War, the Korean army was obligated to send troops to assist the Ming Dynasty in its regular attacks on the Jurchen tribes in Manchuria.
By medi European standards, one could even argue that Korea was Chinese territory. (Many medi European countries had a lower degree of centralized power than their tributary relationships.)
After the decline of the Manchu Korea was ceded to Japan and became a Japanese colony. Following Japan's defeat in World War II, it was strictly speaking, a long-term US military base. The Korean Peninsula's geopolitical location is awkward, destined to be dominated and controlled by powerful neighboring countries for a long period.

除壬辰倭乱时期外，朝鲜军队有义务派兵协助明朝对满洲女真部落的常规进攻。
按照中世纪欧洲的标准，甚至可以说朝鲜是中国的领土。（许多中世纪欧洲国家的中央集权程度还不如它们的朝贡关系。）
满清衰落后朝鲜被割让给日本，成为日本殖民地。日本在二战战败后，严格来说，朝鲜半岛长期是美国的军事基地。朝鲜半岛的地缘位置尴尬，注定长期被周边强国支配和控制。

公子江· Wed
Yes, even if the entire Korean Peninsula were conquered, the benefits to the Chinese would not be significant, not to mention the immense difficulty of invading from the north due to the mountainous terrain.

是的，即便整个朝鲜半岛被征服，对中国人来说利益并不显著，更不用说从北部入侵因山地地形而异常困难。

JohnJiang · Wed
The Japanese wanted to conquer Korea because they themselves came from a poor island nation, and for the Chinese, Korea was a symbol of poverty.

日本之所以想要征服朝鲜，是因为他们自身来自一个贫瘠的岛国，而对中国人而言，朝鲜则是贫穷的象征。

Marco Pasquali · Thu
Korea is very similar to Italy and had after all the same history after Roman Empire, being a German imperial colony

朝鲜与意大利非常相似，在罗马帝国之后，它们都经历了相同的历史，成为德意志帝国的殖民地。

Emi1 Follow
The history taught at Korean schools are highly Korean-centered. However, regimes in the Korean Peninsula were mostly vassal states of Chinese dynasties, as well as of Manchurian dynasties.
For example, the Kingdom of Goguryeo, which existed roughly 2,000 years ago, was considered to be founded by the Manchu-Mongols, but the Koreans want to believe that the Koreans ruled the greater lands beyond the Peninsula back then.

韩国学校教授的历史具有高度以韩国为中心的倾向。然而，朝鲜半岛上的政权大多是中国王朝的藩属国，同时也是满洲王朝的藩属国。
例如，大约 2000 年前存在的高句丽王国，被认为是由满蒙民族建立的，但韩国人却愿意相信，当时是韩国人在半岛以外的更广阔土地上行使统治。

Goryeo, which may have been descended from Goruryeo, became smaller within the Korean Peninsula (10th-14th centuries). There existed more kingdoms in the Peninsula as well. They often sent tribute women to Chinese dynasties, and it started as early as the 5th century to Northern Wei. In the end of Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian regime in China), even the tribute women from Goryeo ascended to the Empress. In the early Ming Dynasty, Yongle Emperor received many tribute women from Joseon Korea as concubines, but many of those were either executed or were forcibly followed the Emperor in deaths, in relation to a poison-murder of a favorite concubine.

高丽，可能源自高句丽，在朝鲜半岛内领土逐渐缩小（10-14 世纪）。半岛上还存在更多王国。它们经常向中国王朝进贡女性，最早可追溯至 5 世纪对北魏的进贡。元朝（蒙古统治中国时期）末期，甚至有来自高丽的贡女成为皇后。明朝初期，永乐帝从朝鲜接收了许多贡女作为妃嫔，但其中许多人因涉及毒杀一位宠妃的事件而被处决或被迫殉葬。

JohnJiang Follow
Korea is in a very awkward position. While it is neither wealthy nor powerful, invading and conquering it is also difficult due to its geographical location and climate. Furthermore, the benefits of conquering it are not significant (Japan itself is an island nation with scarce resources, which is why it has attempted to conquer Korea more than once). In such situations, the Chinese often only require the Koreans to submit and pay tribute, becoming part of their central imperial system.

朝鲜的处境颇为尴尬。它既不富庶也不强大，但由于其地理位置和气候条件，要入侵并征服它也并非易事。此外，征服它所带来的利益并不显著（日本本身就是一个资源匮乏的岛国，这也是它多次试图征服朝鲜的原因）。在这种情况下，中国往往只要求朝鲜臣服并进贡，使其成为中央帝国朝贡体系的一部分。

Wenhe Lu Follow
The climate of Korea was too cold in the winter for early human to live through. Therefore the human tend to live in the inner China to start with. The residents community of Korea were later developed and naturally became vassal states.

朝鲜半岛冬季气候过于严寒，早期人类难以生存。因此人类最初倾向于居住在中国内陆地区。朝鲜半岛的居民社群是后来逐渐发展形成的，自然成为了附属国。

Alex Harper Follow
North Korea is different to South Korea which is Americanized. The north has the communist dictatorship, like China, so they stick together. China is far better managed under *, and the country is booming unlike NK and Russia. China has Governance unlike NK and Russia, and so has to show actual proof that * is an effective leader. Democracy is not tolerated in any of them.

朝鲜与美式化的韩国不同。北方实行..主义专制，与中国类似，因此两国关系紧密。在现任中国LD人的领导下，中国的治理水平远高于朝鲜和俄罗斯，国家蓬勃发展，与朝鲜和俄罗斯形成鲜明对比。中国拥有朝鲜和俄罗斯所缺乏的治理能力，因此这提供了实际证据证明中国领袖是一位高效的LD人。而在这些国家中，皿煮均不被容忍。

Joshua Wong Follow
Why would anybody be interested in the history of Korea?
Vassal state is not the precise term but there is some truth in it.
In history both the rulers in Korea and Japan needed to seek authorization from and therefore were one level below the Chinese Emperor. That’s pretty much all that matters.

为什么有人会对朝鲜的历史感兴趣？
“附庸国”并非精确的术语，但其中确实包含一定的真实性。
历史上，朝鲜和日本的统治者都需要寻求中国皇帝的授权，因此地位低于中国皇帝一层。这基本上就是全部关键所在。

In 1500s, the “Warring States” period in Japan, warlords found the opportunity to take over the country as the Japanese Emperor lost control. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a villager from low caste was the final winner. (At that time neither Hokkaido nor Okinawa was under Japanese control. Okinawa was caled Ryuku even by the Japanese)

16 世纪，日本处于"战国时代"，由于天皇失去控制权，各地军阀趁机争夺国家统治权。出身低微的农民丰臣秀吉成为最终赢家。（当时北海道和冲绳均不在日本控制之下，连日本人也称冲绳为琉球）

As Japan entered into a period of peace, it was time for Toyotomi Hideyoshi to share the land / profit with the families and persons who helped him gain the actual control over the country. It is clear without saying that some families gained more than what they deserved and some families weren’t satisfied with the profit-sharing arrangements at all. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, originally a low-caste villager, knew about history and politics. To reduce the power of each of the big families, he then sent them to the Korean peninsula for more wars. Whatever the outcome Toyotomi Hideyoshi would be the ultimate beneficiary. If they won he would also gain control over the peninsula. If they lost with some deaths, their power within Japan would be reduced so Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s family would grab control domestically more firmly.

随着日本进入和平时期，丰臣秀吉开始与帮助他实际掌控国家的家族和个人分享土地与利益。不言而喻，有些家族获得了超出应得的份额，而有些家族则对利益分配方案极为不满。出身低微的丰臣秀吉深谙历史与政治之道。为削弱各大名势力，他派遣他们前往朝鲜半岛发动新的战争。无论结果如何，丰臣秀吉都将成为最终受益者——若获胜则可掌控朝鲜半岛；若战败并折损兵力，这些家族在日本的势力将被削弱，丰臣家族便能更牢固地掌控国内政权。

Korea faced with invasion by Japan asked Ming for help. Ming sent troops to Korea and Japan reteated. Then there was a second time a few years later. Those who were sent to the Korean peninsula by Toyotomi Hideyoshi weren’t seriously hurt.
That particular part of history - the first and second Korea-Japanese wars is long enough and I don’t wanna get into the details. But from that time on the relationships between the three countries became different.

朝鲜遭遇日本入侵，向明朝求援。明朝出兵朝鲜，日本退兵。几年后，日本再次入侵。丰臣秀吉派往朝鲜半岛的军队并未遭受重创。
这段历史——第一次和第二次朝鲜战争——篇幅足够长，我不想详述细节。但从那时起，三国之间的关系发生了变化。

If you want it farther back to Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla where Tang-backed Silla unified Korea it’s more complicated. First Koreans didn’t have their own written language or written history in their own language back then so we can only get Chinese records about that part of history. Second the Koreans - the South Koreans have their own interpretation of history. In Chinese history Goguryeo wasn’t even part of Korean history and was more like any other minority regional power in Northeast China. Goguryeo only occupied some land on the Korean peninsula and was culturally closer to other local tribes. They were mixed nomadic and agrarian similar to other tribes in Northeast China like Manchu, not the fishermen on the sea like you see on the peninsula.

若想追溯至高句丽、百济和新罗时期，即唐朝支持的新罗统一朝鲜半岛的阶段，情况则更为复杂。首先，当时朝鲜人尚未拥有自己的文字或使用本族语言记载的历史，因此我们只能依赖中国的史料来了解那段历史。其次，朝鲜人——尤其是韩国人——对这段历史有着自己的解读。在中国历史观中，高句丽甚至不被视为朝鲜历史的一部分，它更像是中国东北地区的一个少数民族地方政权。高句丽仅占据了朝鲜半岛的部分土地，在文化上更接近中国东北的其他部落。他们兼具游牧与农耕的混合特征，类似于满族等中国东北部落，而非半岛上常见的海上渔猎民族。

公子江 Follow
While geographically close to China but the northern part of the Peninsula is mountainous and extremely cold, making an invasion difficult. These geographical and climatic conditions also destined the peninsula to long-term poverty. Therefore, the Chinese were mostly uninterested in conquering it, content with simply making it a vassal state.
Korea itself also greatly admired Chinese culture.

尽管地理上与中国相近，但朝鲜半岛北部多山且气候严寒，使得入侵变得困难。这些地理和气候条件也注定了该半岛长期处于贫困状态。因此，中国人大多对征服它不感兴趣，满足于使其成为藩属国。
韩国本身也非常推崇中华文化。

Blue Sky Follow
This statement is too absolute.
The relationship between the Korean Peninsula and the Central plains dynasties of China can actually be categorized into three types:
1. Hostile forces. The most famous example is the war between Goguryeo and the Sui Dynasty, with both sides deploying over 100,000 troops simultaneously.
2. Descent state. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Korea was a tributary state of China, although China did not interfere excessively, and Korea enjoyed considerable autonomy in its internal affairs and finances.
3. Belonging to the Central plains dynasties. From the Han Dynasty to the jin Dynasty, and for part of the Tang Dynasty, Korea was part of China's territory and subject to direct administration by the Chinese government.

这个说法过于绝对了。朝鲜半岛与中国中原王朝的关系实际上可以分为三种类型：
1.敌对势力。最著名的例子是高句丽与隋朝之间的战争，双方同时部署了超过十万兵力。
2. 藩属国。自唐朝至清朝，朝鲜一直是中国的朝贡国，尽管中国并未过度干涉，朝鲜在内政和财政方面享有相当大的自主权。
3. 属于中原王朝。从汉朝到晋朝，再到唐朝的部分时期，朝鲜半岛曾是中国领土的一部分，并直接受中国政府管辖。

Harry Sihan Follow
The premise of this question relies on historically mismatched paradigms, applying 20th-century concepts of the nation-state to a pre-modern world where they simply do not fit. The modern nation-states of Korea and the various iterations of the Chinese state did not emerge until the 20th century; therefore, describing their predecessors through modern lenses like "vassalage" distorts the actual historical record. Before the 1900s, the region was composed of distinct polities such as Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje, Goryeo, and Joseon. At their height, the "Chinese" dynasties operated primarily through soft power rather than direct political domination. Their authority was rooted in a theological cosmology, defined by the Mandate of Heaven, the Rites, a specific ideology of human relations, and the imperial calendar, which formed the core of Huaxia, or cultural civilization.

这个问题的前提建立在历史范式错配之上，将 20 世纪的民族国家概念套用于前现代世界，而那时这些概念根本不适用。现代民族国家意义上的朝鲜与中国各政权形态直到 20 世纪才出现；因此，用"藩属"这类现代视角描述其前身会扭曲真实的历史记录。在 1900 年代之前，该地区由高句丽、新罗、百济、高丽、朝鲜等不同政权构成。在其鼎盛时期，"中国"王朝主要通过软实力而非直接政治统治来施加影响。其权威根植于神学宇宙观，由天命、礼制、特定的人伦思想以及皇历所定义，这些构成了华夏或文化文明的核心。

Adjacent polities adopted these cultural technologies and this cosmological frxwork to varying degrees, leading to the label of "vassal state." However, contrary to the modern connotation of the term, this did not denote political submission or real-world dominance. Instead, it expressed an acknowledgment of the "Middle Kingdom" as a superior cultural brand. These so-called vassals retained full autonomy, managing their own affairs without receiving orders or directions from the center. The relationship was essentially ritualistic rather than hierarchical in a military or administrative sense, functioning similarly to the modern British Commonwealth, where the monarch holds a ceremonial role devoid of actual governing power. Ultimately, Korea could not have been a "vassal" of a Chinese nation-state because neither entity existed in that form during the classic Sinospheric period. Both modern Koreas are products of the mid-20th century, emerging long after the ancient imperial frxwork had ceased to function.

邻近的政体在不同程度上采纳了这些文化技术和宇宙观框架，从而被贴上了"藩属国"的标签。然而，与现代术语的内涵相反，这并不表示政治上的臣服或现实世界中的统治。相反，它表达了对"中央王国"作为优越文化品牌的认可。这些所谓的藩属国保留了完全的自主权，自行管理事务，无需接受中央的命令或指示。

这种关系本质上是仪式性的，而非军事或行政意义上的等级关系，其运作方式类似于现代的英联邦，君主在其中扮演礼仪性角色，并无实际治理权力。最终，朝鲜半岛不可能成为中华民族国家的"藩属"，因为在经典的中华文化圈时期，两者均未以那种形式存在。现代的两个朝鲜国家都是 20 世纪中叶的产物，是在古代帝国框架早已停止运作很久之后才出现的。

Cam Carmar Follow
Korean kingdoms like Goguryeo, Goryeo, and Joseon Dynasty were politically independent but often participated in China’s tributary system as a pragmatic strategy. This system involved acknowledging the Chinese emperor through ritual tribute, which secured diplomatic recognition, trade privileges, and protection against invasion, but it did not mean China directly controlled Korea’s internal affairs. Korea maintained its own monarchy, laws, military, and culture, sextively adopting Chinese influences like Confucian governance and the writing system. While there were exceptions - such as under the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, when Korea became a semi-subordinate ally - it still retained significant autonomy…so Korea’s “vassal” status was mostly symbolic and strategic, reflecting diplomacy and survival rather than permanent subjugation.

高句丽、高丽和朝鲜王朝等朝鲜政权在政治上保持独立，但作为务实策略，常参与中国的朝贡体系。这一体系通过仪式性的朝贡承认中国皇帝，从而确保外交承认、贸易特权及免受入侵的保护，但这并不意味着中国直接控制韩国内政。朝鲜维持着自身的君主制度、法律、军队和文化，并有选择地吸收中国的影响，如儒家治理和文字体系。尽管存在例外——例如在蒙古主导的元朝或清朝时期，韩国成为半附属的盟友——但它仍保留了相当大的自治权……因此，韩国的“藩属”地位主要是象征性和战略性的，反映了外交与生存的需要，而非永久性的臣服。

CaiLei Follow
Ancient Chinese emperors had the strength to annex the Korean Peninsula, but they had no desire.
The Korean peninsula is extremely poor, mountainous, with little arable land, frequent famines, and scarce resources.

In ancient China, it was listed as "a place where there will be no desire to conquer" (不征之国).

Mongolians have a strong desire for land. Even the Yuan Dynasty, which had the desire to conquer, did not have the desire to possess the Korean peninsula.

古代中国皇帝有实力吞并朝鲜半岛，但他们并无此意。
朝鲜半岛极度贫困，多山，耕地稀少，饥荒频发，资源匮乏。
在中国古代，它被列为“一个不会有人想要征服的地方”（不征之国）。
蒙古人有着强烈的土地欲望。即便是有着征服野心的元朝，也未曾有过占有朝鲜半岛的意愿。


This is not an African country, this is a typical building in rural South Korea in 1961. The child is naked.

这不是一个非洲国家，这是 1961 年韩国农村的典型建筑。孩子是赤裸的。

Lam Luu
Ancient Chinese emperors had the strength to annex the Korean Peninsula, but they had no desire.Hahaha.
Sui emperor: I am son of heaven, will take Korea. Korea gave him middle finger. Sui collapsed.
Tang emperor: me better than the previous guy, will take Korea. Korea, again, gave middle finger. Tang emperor barely got back alive.
Lieu (Khitan): we now strong, been bullying Han Chinese, let's try bullying Koreans. Koreans gave middle fingers. Khitan now back to bullying Han Chinese.
It's not till Qing that a Chinese dynasty could have a clean victory. Even then, they couldn't annex it (like they did to Ming later).
So no, dear China, you ain't capable of taking Korea.

“古代中国皇帝有实力吞并朝鲜半岛，但他们并无此意。哈哈。”
隋帝：朕乃天子，必取高丽。高丽竖中指以对。隋朝遂亡。
唐皇：朕胜前朝，必取高丽。高丽复竖中指。唐皇仅以身免。
辽（契丹）：今我强盛，久欺汉人，且试欺高丽。高丽竖中指以应。契丹复归欺凌汉人。
直到清朝，中国王朝才取得了一场彻底的胜利。即便如此，他们也未能吞并朝鲜（就像后来对明朝所做的那样）。

所以不，亲爱的中国，你并没有能力占领朝鲜。

CaiLei
Goguryeo is not a North Korean regime, but a local warlord regime in China. Goguryeo is not a North Korean regime, but a local warlord regime in China. Goguryeo attacked the border of Sui.

高句丽不是朝鲜政权，而是中国的地方军阀政权。高句丽不是朝鲜政权，而是中国的地方军阀政权。高句丽攻击了隋朝的边境。

Hojujoe
Questions only asked by the Chinese.
P.S. I'm willing to bet that house is far more advanced than a rural property in China 2022.

只有中国人才会问出这种问题。
附注：我敢打赌那栋房子远比 2022 年中国农村的房产先进得多。

Korean Space · Follow
The history of the Korean nation began in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula when people started settling there 700,000 years ago. In 109BC, China invaded and colonised Korea, establishing four commanderies ruled directly by the Chinese. The Han dynasty's control of Korea was tenuous at best and soon the peninsula split into warring local kingdoms.

朝鲜民族的历史始于 70 万年前，当时人们开始在满洲和朝鲜半岛定居。公元前 109 年，中国入Qin并殖民朝鲜，设立了四个由中国人直接统治的郡。汉朝对朝鲜的控制充其量是脆弱的，不久半岛就分裂成相互交战的本地王国。