竹島問題の歴史

22.2.09

1876 General Gazetteer, UK

This book is "General Gazetteer", a geographical dictionary, by R. Brookes, M.D. published in London, UK in 1876. (William Tegg & Co.)


To follow is from the description about "Corea":





...


COREA, a kingdom of Asia, bounded on the N. by Chinese Tartary, on the E. by the Sea of Japan, on the S. by a narrow sea, which separates it from the Japanese islands, and on the W. by the Yellow Sea, which separates it from China. The W. coast is flanked by innumerable islands. It is a peninsula, being surrounded on every side by the sea, except towards the N. It is governed by a king, tributary to the emperor of China, and is divided into eight provinces, Hien-king, Ping-ngang, Hoang-hai, Kiang-yuen, King-ki, Tehu-sin, King-chan, and Tehuen-so, which contains 33 cities of the first, 53 of the second, and 70 of the third rank. Pop. 8,000,000. The towns are populous, and the inhabitants follow nearly the same customs, and are of the same religion, with the Chinese.

The country abounds in corn and rice, of which last they have two kinds, one of which delights in water, and the other, which is the better sort, is cultivated on dry ground, like corn. There are mines of gold and silver in the mountains, and good pearl fisheries on the coast. The Coreans are well made, ingenious, brave, and tractable. They are fond of dancing and music, and show great aptness for acquiring the sciences, which they apply to with ardour. They are less fastidious and less ceremonious than the Chinese, but equally jealous of admitting strangers into the country. Men of learning are distinguished from other people by two plumes of feathers, which they wear in their caps. Their women are less confined than those in China, and have the liberty of appearing in company with the other sex. In China, parents often marry children without their consent, but in Corea they choose for themselves.
They never bury their dead till three years after their decease, but keep them in coffins for that time. Corea extends from N. to S. from the lat. of 34.30. to 42. 30. N., and from E. to W. from 125. to 129. of E. long. Kiang-ki-tao, nearly in the centre of the kingdom, is the capital.

It apparently excluded the islands in the Sea of Japan from Korean territory.

Even in the late 19th century, western people didn't think that the islands were Korean territory. (Liancourt Rocks is located at about 132 E. long.)
No geographical books from the world, Japan and even from Korea mention that Liancourt Rocks belonged to Korea.
Korea's claim to Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks) only began in the 1950's when Rhee Syngman drew the Rhee Syngman Line - until then, Liancourt Rocks had never ever been owned by Korea.

3 comments:

  1. "They never bury their dead till three years after their decease, but keep them in coffins for that time. Corea extends from N. to S. from the lat. of 34.30. to 42. 30. N., and from E. to W. from 125. to 129. of E. long."

    I wonder if Isabella Bird had one of these books with her. I'm interested in the description of the dead. I read they roll the body in straw mat and hang from the tree in the book written by Japanese businessman around 1880.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kaneganese;
    I read somewhere that Ernest Mason Satow recomended to her to bring Map of Korea made by Japanese.
    (Sorry I dont remember details and forgot which book I read.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. GTOMR,

    Did you? If you remembered, please let me know.

    She worte that Korean eastern limit is 130º 33' E. longitude (東経130度33分), and it doesn't match with any other books. So I was looking for the same description.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.