Location Korean Peninsula | ||
Similar First Manchu invasion, Second Manchu invasion, Goryeo–Khitan War | ||
The Korean-Jurchen conflicts were a series conflicts from the 10th century to the 17th century between the Korean states of Goryeo and Joseon and the Jurchen people. The ancestors of the Jurchen were the Mohe and their descendants were the Manchu people.
Contents
Background
After the fall of Balhae, parts of the northern Korean peninsula fell into the hands of the Tungusic Mohe people and their descendants the Jurchen people. During the Liao dynasty, Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and Yuan dynasty the area was under the control of Jurchen chieftains.
The Korean Kingdoms of Goryeo and its successor Joseon fought their way up the Korean peninsula and annexed land from the Jurchen, culminating in Joseon taking total control of the Korean peninsula after seizing control of Hamgyong (鹹鏡道/함경도) from the Jurchens.
According to the Goryeosa, in 918, the ancient capital of Pyongyang had been in ruins for a long time and foreign barbarians were using the surrounding lands as hunting grounds and occasionally raiding the borders of Goryeo; therefore, Wang Geon ordered his subjects to repopulate the ancient capital, and soon thereafter sent his cousin Wang Sik-ryeom to defend it.
In 993, the land between the border of Liao and Goryeo was occupied by troublesome Jurchen tribes, but the Goryeo diplomat Seo Hui was able to negotiate with Liao and obtain that land up to the Yalu River, citing that in the past it belonged to Goguryeo, the predecessor to Goryeo.
Both Bohai and miscellaneous tribals like Jurchens lived in the area between the Yalu and Taedong which was targeted for annexation by Guryeo.
Under Goryeo period
The Jurchens in the Yalu River region were tributaries of Goryeo since the reign of Wang Geon, who called upon them during the wars of the Later Three Kingdoms period, but the Jurchens switched allegiance between Liao and Goryeo multiple times, taking advantage of the tension between the two nations; posing a potential threat to Goryeo's border security, the Jurchens offered tribute to the Goryeo court, expecting lavish gifts in return.
In 1107 Goryeo dispatched five large armies led by Yoon Gwan to Helandian. They destroyed a hundred Jurchen villages and built nine fortresses there. After a one-year battle, the Wanyan army won two fortresses and eliminated Goryeo reinforcements. Goryeo and the Jurchen achieved settlement and, as a result, Goryeo withdrew from the occupied areas.
During the reign of Jurchen leader Wuyashu in 1103-1113, the border between the two nations was stabilized and Korean forces withdrew from Jurchen territories, acknowledging Jurchen dominance over the contested region.
Under Joseon period
There were two kind of Jurchens: the Enemy/Treacherous Jurchens 적호(賊胡) and the defensive/boundary Jurchens 번호(藩胡) considered as Jianzhou Jurchens living in Korean borders.
The modern day northeastern part of the Korean peninsula in Hamgyong used to belong to the Jurchens and was inhabited by Jurchen tribes, during the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, it was put under Jurchen tribal jurisdiction.
After the collapse of Yuan dynasty power Goryeo and then Joseon made the Jurchens in the area around Hamhung on the northern Korean peninsula submit as vassals However the Ming dynasty sought to take control of the Jurchen tribes and claimed all of the land which belonged to the Jin and Liao dynaties "north of Xianzhou", but the Koreans utilized mistakes in the texts of the Jinshi and Liaoshi in their Dilizhi chapters to say that the area belonged to Korea, and the Ming conceded the area since there was no proof available to the Ming for Jin and Liao control of those places, even though in reality the land were indeed under Jin rule as evidenced by epigraphs carved in stone by the Jurchen.
The Joseon Koreans tried to deal with the military threat posed by the Jurchen by using both forceful means and incentives, and by launching military attacks while at the same time they tried to appease them with titles and degrees, traded with them, and sought to acculturate them by having Korean women marry Jurchens and integrating them into Korean culture. Despite these measures, fighting continued between the Jurchen and the Koreans. The Ming Yongle Emperor was determined to wrest the Jurchens out of Korean influence and have China dominate them instead. Korea tried to persuade Jurchen leader Mentemu (Möngke Temür) to reject the Ming overtures, but were unsuccessful since Möngke Temür folded and submitted to the Ming.
Joseon under Sejong the Great then engaged in military campaigns against the Jurchen and after defeating the Odoli, Maolian and Udige clans, Joseon managed to take control of Hamgyong.
The modern borders of Korea were finalized when the northeast region was conquered by the Yi (Joseon) and around 1450 several border forts were established in the conquered northeast.
In 1467 Ming China and Joseon defeated the Huligai clan and killed their leader Li Manzhu 李滿住.
Two chieftains, Yul Po-ri and Yi T’ang-ga advanced by separate roads upon Kyongsung with 10,000 mounted followers, but the little garrison of 100 men fought so stubbornly that the siege was raised and the two chieftains marched on to attack Pang-weun. The Joseon troops arrived just in time to drive the invaders back.
Being successful in this he took 2500 men along with the prefects of Hoeryong, Onsong and Puryong, crossed the same river at four different points simultaneously and attacked the Sijun Jurchens (Hangul : 시전번호/반호 Hanja :時錢藩胡/叛胡) tribe by night, burning 200 houses and killing 380 peoples. (제승방략(制勝方略)) on 1588 1m 15d.
Timeline of the Korean-Manchu wars
The Jurchens of the Later Jin, who later became the Manchus, inflicted a crushing defeat upon Joseon Korea in their 1627 invasion.
The Manchus inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Koreans and forced the Korean King to perform a humiliating ritual of submission along with erecting the Samjeondo Monument.