During the Unified Silla period, Silla residents in T'ang China had played most wide and clear role in history of Korean emigration, in pre-modern age.
Their activities have been studied continuously by scholars researching the foreign relation and...
During the Unified Silla period, Silla residents in T'ang China had played most wide and clear role in history of Korean emigration, in pre-modern age.
Their activities have been studied continuously by scholars researching the foreign relation and trade in Unified Silla period. But there is constant controversy concerning the activity of Silla resident in Tang China, and tendency to analyze their activity from subjective nationalistic angle.
In this paper, historic cause, to constitute the communities of Silla residents in T'ang China, can be found in the people who had moved to China from Silla as a group, not in the communities consisted of migrants from Paekje or Koguryeo.
People in Silla, suffered from the natural disaster and famine, had gone to the other countries to search for a new life. Emigrant had occurred as a group, not individually. As a result, the community of Silla residents was built up in many places of China.
The communities of Silla residents was governed by T'ang dynasty, and partially self controlled. The class had been divided, like governor, merchant, citizen, and monk. Especially the growing of merchant class had produced leaders in the communities of Silla residents and the monk had given the comfort to the Silla residents in T'ang China. These facts made the communities of Silla residents to be sustained stably for a long time.
Chang Pogo is very important in relation to the existence of the communities of Silla residents in T'ang China. He tried to keep close relation to Silla residents in Tang China, centering around Cheonghae Garrison.
The network between the two, played the important role in the process of construction of Cheonghae Garrison, and development of maritime trade.