1. Jurchen hairstyles: Many domestic TV dramas of the Qing Dynasty, whether it is about the early Qing Dynasty or the later period, are basically yin and yang heads. But in fact, even in the Qianlong period, the hairstyle of Manchus was the typical golden mouse braid, that is, all the sides of the head were shaved, and only a small amount of hair the size of a copper coin was left in the middle. Also fine. The mother-in-law and Jurchen in the movie have this kind of money mouse braid. In contrast, the men of the Hu tribe did not have such small braids. The possible explanation is that the tribe changed its previous hair accessories because of its close contacts with North Korea and a high degree of Sinicization.
2. The Imjin Japanese Rebellion broke the balance of power in Northeast Asia: In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the Koryo Kingdom on the Korean Peninsula once competed with the Ming Empire for control of Northeast Asia, until the Korean military commander Li Chenggui launched a mutiny and established Li Only after the Joseon Dynasty completely surrendered to the Ming Empire. Compared with the scattered Jurchen tribes at that time, the Ming Empire and Li's Korea had advanced social systems, rich products, and had a strong radiation force to the surrounding areas, including the Jurchen tribes. The Ming Empire adopted a strategy of disintegrating and disintegrating the Jurchen tribes, provoking infighting among the various tribes, and at the same time winning over the powerful Jurchen upper classes and giving them official positions in the Ming Empire. For example, Nurhaci has been rewarded and awarded official positions by the Ming Empire many times, and he has also paid tribute to the capital of the Ming Empire more than once. It was with the support of the Ming Empire that he was able to gain political advantage in the war against other tribes. In the movie, the heroine's father (the leader of the Fanhu Department) promised to serve the Joseon Kingdom, and also hoped to have the opportunity to obtain an official position, obtain official recognition and protection.
Within the East Asian tribute system dominated by the Ming Empire at that time, the Ming Empire was at the top of the food chain, followed by the more sinicized foreign vassal of Korea, and the uncivilized savage tribe of the Jurchen tribe at the bottom. The Jurchen tribes are also divided into two categories: those who have been canonized by the Ming Dynasty and those who have not. The former has a higher status in the tributary system, while the latter is not even recognized by the tributary system. Therefore, for a long time after the establishment of the Ming Empire, the power rankings in Northeast Asia were Ming Empire > Korea > Jurchen tribes. During this period, the Chenghua Plough Court jointly implemented by the Ming Empire and North Korea caused the Jurchen clan to suffer greatly, and they were trembling in the following decades.
However, during the Wanli period, the Jurchen tribe gradually recovered, and Nurhaci began to implement the great cause of the unification of the Jurchen tribe. With the rise of Jurchen, the military strength of North Korea and the Ming Empire declined sharply. Before the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, the three forces could still maintain a delicate balance in the region, which means that the army still has an absolute advantage, especially the North Korean army can serve as support. However, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, he invaded Korea on a large scale. Although the Ming Empire sent troops to fight against the Japanese twice, but after the end of the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, the Korean border was reduced to ruins, the people were displaced, and the population dropped sharply. The Ming Empire entered the dynasty twice, coupled with the Battle of Ningxia, the Battle of Bozhou, and the Change of Jizhou that occurred almost at the same time in China, the elite troops were greatly attenuated. This indirectly led to the uncontrolled growth of the Jurchen tribe under the leadership of Nurhaci, and finally defeated the combined forces of the Ming Empire and Korea in the Battle of Sarhu.
3. Ethnic oppression and anti-oppression: The history among the various ethnic groups in Northeast Asia is like an inextricable cycle, always going back and forth between oppression and oppression. In the Ming Dynasty, Chenghua Liting massacred the Jurchens. Later, Fengshui took turns. After the rise of Nurhaci, he abused the Han people wildly in the territory; after the Manchus entered the customs, they even massacred. In the early days of the Joseon Kingdom, the Jurchen tribe was also oppressed and massacred, which is very obvious in this film. Later, the Jurchen rose to compete with the Ming Empire for suzerainty over the Joseon Kingdom. In order to teach the two-faced Joseon Kingdom a lesson, the Jurchen once sent troops to drive directly into the hinterland of the Joseon Kingdom to force the King of Korea to kneel as a minister, known in history as the Battle of Bingzi. The Korean movie "Namhan Mountain Fortress" is about this history.
Under the tribute system, the relationship between countries, or between nations is not equal, and the concept of defense against barbarians is particularly important, which has led to endless vendettas of "not our race, whose hearts must be different". It was not until the West colonized the world that this political tribute system gradually disintegrated, and was replaced by a political and economic relationship between colonizing and being colonized. The collapse of the colonial system dominated by Western powers will have to wait until after World War II. Since then, ethnic equality has gradually become the mainstream consciousness of the international community.
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