BOOKS.

COREA.*

TIBET and Corea have long been admitted to be the two least-known countries in the world. They have been styled " the forbidden lands." Several interesting works have been

-written upon the former, but until the publication of these two books the other day, it might be said that we knew nothing about Corea, beyond the meagre information to be found in Captain Basil Hall's volume of sixty years ago. Mr. Ross's History contains a vast mass of valuable information, derived from Chinese documents, but, unfortunately, put together in a crude and uninteresting manner. Most of the volume consists of what appears to be a bald translation from the Chinese, and besides several egregious blunders in grammar and spelling, the English is among the most extraordinary it ever fell to our lot to peruse. Apart, however, from its literary shortcomings, Mr. Ross's History contains much matter for which he can claim the grati- tude of the student of Chinese history. Mr. Oppert's volume is the more interesting of the two, and contains an admirable summary of the history of Corea, which Mr. Ross gives in great detail up to the establishment of the Manchu dynasty at Pekin.

Of the events since that epoch Mr. Oppert is, somewhat strange to say, better informed and writes with ampler knowledge than the missionary, who resided seven years in Manchuria. By the aid of these two writers, to whom, we repeat, our gratitude is due, we propose to place before our readers a brief sketch of the interesting peninsula of Corea.

The peninsula of Corea lies to the east of the Yellow Sea, and extends from the frontiers of the Chinese province of Leaoutung and of the Russian Empire to the straits which separate the mainland from the islands of Japan. On the north it is defended by the formidable mountain range called Tchan-pe-chang, or Pe-theu- sham (meaning" White-h eaded moun- taias "), and on all other sides by the sea. Much of the coast is of a difficult character, and in the imperfect state of our know- ledge of the shores, it would be difficult for men-of-war to

operate with advantage, except at one or two ,'points. The country is naturally very fertile and rich in minerals. It is fairly populated, and Mr. Oppert speaks in terms of enthusiasm about its future, after it has been opened up to the outer world. Of the climate that gentleman says:— "On the whole, the climate may be compared more to that of southern Europe than to that of Asia. An oppressive heat, as felt in India, China, and Japan even, takes place only exceptionally ; the Han is not nearly so piercing, and foreigners who would meet in summer-time with a sure and sudden death by exposing themselves to the effects of the sun in those countries, do not incur the same risk in Corea. Cholera and dysentery, it is true, often prevail during the hot season, but they originate more through the im- providence and carelessness of the natives than by fault of the climate. The fertile soil of the large plains raises produce of the most varied description, alone sufficient to become a permanent source of prosperity to the country, in case of commercial intercourse

with other nations Great as is this abundance of useful and rich produce of all kinds, which alone ought to suffice to render any country opulent, it is nothing as compared to the enormous treasures bidden and uselessly buried in the bowels of the earth and of the mountains."

Such are the natural capabilities of Corea, according to Mr. Oppert, who gives it as his "decided conviction" that "no other country on the whole Asiatic continent approaches Corea in mineral wealth."

In the earliest ages, Corea was a kind of dependency upon the Chinese Empire, but although the chronicles claim to

narrate its history at such a remote period as 2,400 B.C., it is not until the earlier centuries of our era that we find any sub- stantial commencement for our retrospect of Corean affairs. At that epoch the modern Corea was split up into several indepen-

dent kingdoms, which strove amongst themselves to bring the whole of the country into a common subjection. This they did with varying fortune, until at last, in 904 A.D., the Gaoli rose and established their sway over the whole peninsula. Among the Gaoli at this crisis in their fate arose a great General called by one writer Wang Jien, and by the other Vang- kien, who consolidated, the movement in favour of the Gaoli

• A Fortidden Land; Voyages to the Corea. By Ernest Oppert. With Marta and Illastratione. London : Sampson Low and Co. 1880.

Iltitory of Corea. By Rev. John Roes. Paisley : J. and R. Farlane. by his exceptional talents, and by his not less remark- able moderation. Under him, as the native chronicle puts it, "the people had rest." This chieftain established his capital at the city which was afterwards known as Sunto, while with a prudence to which, we think, too little attention is called,, he acknowledged the nominal claims which the Emperor of China advanced over Corea. Wang Jien, successful as he had been, found nothing lowering to his dignity in admitting the supremacy of the Emperor Taitsou ; and he was right, for Corea is intended by nature and association to be to China. what Brittany was and is to France. We think both Mr. Oppert and Mr. Ross are arguing round the point, when they endeav- our to show the slenderness of the tie which connects Corea- with Pekin. The descendants of Jien ruled over Gaoli for foun hundred years. In the earlier years of the thirteenth century they came in contact with Genghis Khan, to whom they paid. a nominal submission. The son of that conqueror, Octai Khan,. resolved to acquire a firmer hold upon the country, and at first his efforts were crowned with success. Mongol governors were appointed in the cities, and the native king, with a small band of faithful followers, fled to. the mountains. The main force of Octal Khan was with- drawn, and then the people rose up, and the king came down_ from his retreat in the hills. The Mongols were murdered to a man, and the Corean:administration restored. In this sweeping change Octai was compelled to acquiesce, and an alliance was struck up between the late foes, which endured as long as the Mongol or Yuen dynasty remained at Pekin. In the reign of' Kublai Khan, this good understanding found more distinct expression in the conclusion of an alliance between China and Corea for the invasion of Japan. In fact, it appears that there were two expeditions fitted out against Japan about this time, to the larger of which the Corean king contributed as hia share five hundred vessels. The joint expedition ended in complete failure. The greater portion of the flotilla was destroyed in a hurricane off the island of lki, and the few troops which succeeded in reaching Japan were overcome by superior num- bers and annihilated. Although the campaign had closed disastrously, Kublai did not repudiate the debt of gratitude which he owed the king of the 1,,Coreans, who had suffered' more in the war than the Mongols themselves. When the Yuens were driven out by the Mings, the king of Corea, Wang Jwan, sent an embassy to Nankin to congratulate the conqueror, who, on his part, formally acknowledged hint as King of Corea. Shortly after this the dynasty of Wang Jien was ousted from power by a minister named Li Chung- Hang, who was the founder of a dynasty that remained im power until 1864, when it became extinct. He was acknow- ledged by the Mings, removed his capital to the present site, Hanchung Seool, on the Han River, and gave the name Chaosien, by which it is still known, to the whole penin- sula. With the accession of Li to power, in 1397, the modern history of Corea may be said to commence.

During two centuries after the reign of Li, the history of the country contains the record of no notable event. It was only. when the Mings were beginning to quake upon the Imperial throne that Corea, close to the troubled lands of Manchuria and Leaoutung, experienced some of the effects of the com- motion in northern Asia, which in the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries gave rise to great wars, and brought a new dynasty and another race of conquerors to the " black-haired " people of Cathay ; and even then the first note of alarm came to Seool not from the west, but the. east. The Coreans had not to defend their independence and their towns against the Mongol banners, or the chivalry of the Manchus, but against the aggressiveness of the ruler and people of Japan. The Tycoon of that day was a man of great ambi- tion and mental vigour. He had raised himself from peasant rank to be the ruler of a powerful nation by his own ability,, and he will be best remembered by the title, given him in Japanese history, of Fashiba. Ta him, as to some both of his. predecessors and successors, the limits of the archipelago in which he was supreme appeared too confined. The rich pro- vinces and great cities on the main land at a short distance from his shores were a constant temptation to him, and Fashiba recognised that could he but secure a hold upon Corea, it would give him a commanding position with regard to China, whenever the civil strife, which was seen to be imminent should break out. Having proposed an alliance to the Coreann. King for the joint invasion of China,— a proposition which

was treated with scorn by the faithful ally of the Ming, —Fashiba landed in 1592 on the Corean coast with an army computed at 150,000 men. In an incredibly short space of time Corea, attacked from the sea, was overrun by the Japanese to as far north as the Tumen and Yalon rivers. The Chinese Government then sent a large force against the in- vaders, but after advancing to the city of Pingyang, it was defeated with heavy loss in front of that place. Fresh Chinese troops were despatched to the scene of war, with that determi- nation and persistency not less remarkable under the Mings than it was under the Tangs, or than it is now under the Man- chus ; and fighting continued between the Chinese and Japanese during several years. The death of Fashiba terminated the struggle in favour of the former, and, according to Corean accounts, a large number of his soldiers settled down in the country under the native Corean rule, which was restored. But the Japanese did not lose all vestige of the triumphs of this war. To this day, Mr. Oppert tells us, they retain possession of the island of Tsusima, and the harbour of Chosian, the best in the country, is garrisoned by a force of three hundred men. The Manchus on two occasions endeavoured to bring Corea into subjection to them, but their invasions met with only par- tial success. They were fain to be content with the nominal tie which connected Corea with the Mings, and they have not, so far as events lead us to judge, succeeded in securing the affection of the people and their ruler in the same manner that their predecessors the Mings did. Of the more recent history of Corea, of which Mr. Oppert tells us a great deal that is novel and instructive, it is unnecessary here to say much. The murder of the French missionaries in 1865, and the subsequent expeditions of French and American men- of-war to the Han river, are some of the most noteworthy. The signature of a Treaty of Commerce with Japan, in February, 1876, and of a supplement to it in October of the same year, may be fraught with great consequences. The action of Corea in the matter has been of such a kind as to suggest doubts of her heartiness in the arrangements thereby sanctioned; but it is too soon as yet to say whether this instrument is practi- cally inoperative. But, at the least, it shows Japan active and vigilant in this quarter, and making the most of the claims of its vassal the Prince of Tsusima ; while, on the other hand, we have no information of any corresponding move on the part of the Pekin authorities. It by no means follows, however, that because less energetic, the latter are at a disadvantage in their rivalry with the Japanese in Corea.

On the future of Corea, it would, perhaps, be idle to speculate, yet, in conclusion, a few words may with advantage be said. The importance of Corea consists entirely in its advantageous position, commanding the whole of the Japanese waters. Placed also on the flank of the Yellow Sea, and barring the way to the Gulf of Pe-chi-li, it is for China a province of the very first importance. Its difficult coast-line preserves it, to a great extent, from external aggression, at the same time that its splendid harbours—few though they be in num. ber—place at its disposal all the advantages of trade. On the land side it possesses in the Tchan-pe-chang an admirable frontier towards China, and in this circumstance an alien Power would find an excellent reason for believing that it could hold Corea in defiance of the Pekin Government. It is quite clear that Japan has not forgotten her old dreams of ambition in Corea, and that the present Tycoon has very distinct intentions with regard to that country. Whether he possesses the power to work his will, is another thing. Fashiba, with means comparatively as great as his, failed in a similar design. But in this matter, Tokio is not likely to have it all its own way. The Rus- sians have always aspired to create a great trade in Japanese waters from their positions south of the Amour, and the transfer of their chief naval station from Vladi- vostock to a more advantageous one in St. Olga's Bay may be expected to give an impetus to Russian commerce in this quarter. Russia is also divided from Corea only by a small river, and the writers we have quoted seem to think that the task of conquering the country would be an easy one. That is not the view of the present writer, for he believes that the " natural " alliance between Corea and China would draw them into a league of self-defence against attack, and that in face of it, the utmost power of Japan and the available strength of Russia would be able to accomplish nothing. The signs of the times are that in a few years there will be stirring events in

this direction, and we venture to say that then Corea will be found to be the tool of neither Japan nor Russia, but the ally of China.