Abstract
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This article is about the trade activities on the northeastern Asia, including China, the Korean peninsula, and the Japanese archipelago from the time of establishment of the Chinese commanderies in the Korean peninsula (108 B.C.) to the 4th century A.D.. The study focuses on their trade systems, routes, and the items of trade. Until the third century A.D., the trade between China, Samhan (The Three Han) and Wa has been established by a tribute system. In this tributary trade, the ruling classes of Wa and Samhan were able to obtain imperial gifts such as clothes, bronze mirrors, iron swords, official seals. etc. On the other hand, merchants engaged in sea trades through important sea routes and ports such as Gimhae in Gyeongsangnam-do. Gimhae was a stimulating place for the merchants from Lelang, Daifang, Wa as well as various polities of the Korean peninsula because of its iron which was an important material at the time. The hundred or so years following the end of the third century saw great turmoil and frequent wars in the area around the Korean peninsula. During this period, the small states of this region achieved a high level of unity and increased scope and volume of trade. The Samham area was reorganized into the kingdoms of Baekje, Silla, and Imna-Gara, and new trade routes and system also emerged. One of them was a land route that linked the Early Qin of China, Goguryeo, Silla, Imna-Gara, and Wa; and the other important trading route was the sea route connecting Dongjin of China, Baekje, Imna-Gara and Wa. Also, in this period, the system of foreign trade became largely subordinated to the power of the state.
Through its involvement in the growth of polities, the ancient East Asian trade superceded its role as a mere channel for distribution of goods and technology. It became to function as an important agent of historical change.
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| Keywords:
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trade system, trade route, Samhan, Wa, Baekje, Silla, Goguryeo, Imna-Gara, iron trade, tributary trade, Dongjin dynasty, Early Qin dynasty, Lelang, Daifang
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| About the author(s)
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Yi Hyun-hae (Yi, Hyeon-hye) is Professor of Korean History at Hallym University. She
received her Ph.D. from Ewha Womans University in 1984. She has written many books and
articles including Samhan sahoe-ui hyeongseong gwajeong yeon-gu (The Formation of the
Three Han Society) (1984) and Hanguk godae-ui saengsan-gwa gyoyeok (Production and
Trade in Ancient Korea) (1998). (E-mail: helee33@hotmail.com.)
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