Across the different nations of East Asia, systems of writing evolved and changed throughout history. Korea as a nation began to develop its own system of writing in 1443, with political opposition. An official under King Sejong the leader of Korea at this time expressed great fear of this development. The official Ch’oe Malli believed that the creation of their own writing system would divide the country, cause social disorder and equate them to the same level as other nations known as barbarians. His argument lied in that barbarians could only be transformed by adopting Chinese ways and the possibility did not exist for Chinese ways to be influenced by the barbarians. This essay will exhibit the flawed logic within this statement and demonstrate that Chinese culture has remained fluid through history and has been greatly influenced by barbarians contrary to what Malli stated. To contradict his statement this paper will properly illustrate the logic that Ch’oe Malli’s had at time and demonstrate how barbarians have significantly transformed the region of East Asia.
To properly evaluate Ch’oe Malli’s position, Korea’s …show more content…
His fear that Korea would devolve to barbarian status is nonsensical in that a few centuries before, China itself has been ruled by barbarians and clearly culturally transformed by their rule. Had China remained its own state and continued to conquer surrounding nations as it did during the Han dynasty then his argument may have some validity. There is no definite way to know Ch’oe Malli’s knowledge on the extensive history of China as the stretch of the Chinese empire grew and shrank from the Shang Dynasty to Malli’s time. His ignorance of the issue could be a factor in his opinion but based on the available information today China had clearly had their ways of living changed by the
To properly evaluate Ch’oe Malli’s position, Korea’s …show more content…
His fear that Korea would devolve to barbarian status is nonsensical in that a few centuries before, China itself has been ruled by barbarians and clearly culturally transformed by their rule. Had China remained its own state and continued to conquer surrounding nations as it did during the Han dynasty then his argument may have some validity. There is no definite way to know Ch’oe Malli’s knowledge on the extensive history of China as the stretch of the Chinese empire grew and shrank from the Shang Dynasty to Malli’s time. His ignorance of the issue could be a factor in his opinion but based on the available information today China had clearly had their ways of living changed by the