Validity of Claims On Ancient History
Nationalistic scholars in China and Korea analyze empirical evidence through the lens of nationalism and ethnocentrism. Yonson Ahn and Lim Jie-Hyun believe that projecting modern concepts of national territory and identity onto ancient nation states is self-serving.
Chinese claims on Goguryeo history tend to be centered on territory: because Goguryeo and Parhae shared territories with modern day China, it is therefore Chinese. Korean arguments tend to stem from ancestry, a common bloodline. Both philosophies contradict the exclusivity claim that many scholars try to make for either Korea or China because Goguryeo possessed territories that now are within the borders of North Korea as well as China, and descendents of Goguryeo people live in both Korea and China.
According to Korea scholar Andrei Lankov:
There is no doubt that the present-day dispute represents a case of retro-projection of modern identities. The real-life Koguryoans would have been surprised or even offended to learn that, in the future, they would be perceived by Koreans as members of the same community as their bitter enemies from Silla. Describing Koguryo as Chinese or Korean is as misleading as, say, describing medieval Brittany as French or English or Irish.
Controversy over Goguryeo history illustrates the rigidity of national history in East Asia. The strong distinction between "self" and "other" drives many scholars to accept only exclusive possession of history and its artifacts. Disputes over such claims are often ladened with terms like "stealing." Many scholars focus on pure Chineseness or Koreaness, a persepctive that ignores the permeability of ancient borders and the abundant cultural exchange that occurred.
Read more about this topic: Goguryeo Controversies
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