清朝入關以前滿洲、朝鮮與日本間的資訊流通

Information Circulation between Manchuria, Korea, and Japan before the Qing Conquest of China

自十六世紀後期建州女真興起，至1616年努爾哈齊建立金國政權，當時業已對日本有所認識。1592年壬辰倭亂前後，女真人曾根據自朝鮮、明朝方面探得有關日本之資訊，從事相應之對外活動，尤其關注當時日本自歐洲習得改良之火砲技術。1619年薩爾滸之役後，金國更是從朝鮮降人處獲知大坂之役後德川氏消滅豐臣氏之政治變化，並留意到日本武力隔海介入朝鮮半島之潛在可能。皇太極主政之天聰年間，由於滿洲、朝鮮、明朝等多方角力所導致東北亞複雜之地緣政治，女真／滿洲人更是積極通過情報搜集偵探朝鮮「請兵於倭」相關資訊，進而得知德川幕府與明朝勢力往來之動態，並將「倭子」與「倭子海」等日本相關地理資訊以滿文標注在地圖中。至崇德年間清朝正式龍興關外，對於日本資訊的探求更是日趨頻繁。1637年丁丑約條簽訂，朝鮮成為清朝藩屬後，皇太極在明朝對滿洲實施經濟制裁的背景下，屢屢派員要求朝鮮引導對馬藩使者從釜山前往盛京，以期通過與日本建立通商關係獲得倭劍與東南亞香料。朝鮮最初對於清朝提出通信日本的要求，抱持消極態度；然1638年日本與朝鮮關係的惡化，促成朝鮮主動向清廷寄送倭情咨文。在此歷史脈絡下，有關日本的資訊曾被轉譯為滿文，並經由身處瀋館的朝鮮昭顯世子加以解說，清朝因此得以在十七世紀前期接收關於島原之亂、柳川一件等江戶日本重大事件之情報，並對日本政治、社會、經濟、文化各層面進行廣泛求索，尤其關注天皇及幕府將軍等政治制度，乃至明朝與日本經由長崎貿易進行交通。這些多元的資訊來源，形成入關以前滿洲人對日本的認識基礎，與清朝在東北亞的疆域擴張息息相關，亦為其入關後的海洋認識奠定基礎。

From the rise of the Jianzhou Jurchens (later known as the Manchus) in the late sixteenth century to the establishment of Aisin Gurun (Later Jin dynasty) by Nurgaci (1559–1626) in 1616, the authorities of Manchuria had already gained some knowledge of Japan. Around the time of the Imjin War in 1592, the Jurchens had obtained information from Choson Korea and Ming China, and engaged in corresponding foreign activities, particularly focusing on the gunpowder technology that Japan had acquired from Europe. Aisin Gurun, after winning the Battle of Sarhu in 1619, obtained further knowledge from the surrenders of Korean parties of the political changes in Japan following the Siege of Osaka and became aware of the potential for Japanese military intervention in the Korean Peninsula. During the Tiancong era (1627–1636) of the reign of Hong Taiji (1592–1643), because of the complex geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia involving Manchuria, Korea, and Ming China, the Manchus actively collected intelligence on a potential military alliance between Korea and Japan, as well as the interactions between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Ming dynasty, thereby labeling Japanese-related geographic information in Manchu script on maps. As the Qing dynasty officially established its regime outside of the Great Wall during the Chongde era (1636–1643), the pursuit of information on Japan grew increasingly frequent. After Korea became a vassal state of the Qing following the Treaty of 1637, Hong Taiji repeatedly sent envoys to order Korea to guide Japanese envoys from Tsushima Island to Mukden through Busan in hopes of establishing trade relations with Japan to obtain Japanese swords and Southeast Asian spices, breaking the economic sanctions imposed by the Ming dynasty on Manchuria. Korea was initially passive towards the Qing’s request to communicate with Japan; however, the deterioration of relations between Korea and Japan in 1638 prompted the former to actively comply with the Qing court. Under this historical context, the information on Japan was translated into Manchu and interpreted by Crown Prince Sohyeon of Korea, who remained in Mukden as a hostage. The Qing was accordingly able to procure intelligence on significant events in Edo Japan, including the Shimabara Rebellion and the Yanagawa Incident, in the early seventeenth century. More broadly, the Qing dynasty extensively gathered information on various aspects of Japanese politics, society, economics, and culture, particularly focusing on political institutions such as the emperor and the shogunate, as well as trade between the Ming and Japan through Nagasaki. These diverse sources of information had formed the basis of the Manchus’understanding of Japan before they entered China proper, one which was closely linked to the Qing expansion in Northeast Asia and laid the foundation for the empire’s later maritime awareness.