DATING THE MAP OF RUSSIA AND RECORDS OF THE LANDS LOCATED ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE RIVER

Abstract

Two rare sources, the Map of Russia (《俄國輿地圖》) and the Records of the Lands Located on the Left Bank of the River (《江左輿地記》), are of considerable interest to those who study the 19th century history of border interactions between Russia, Korea, and China, or the history of the Korean community in the Primorskiy region of Russia. These rare documents assumed to be one of the first attempts to represent 19th century Russia by Koreans. It appeared at a time when the Korean royal court, trying to get rid of China’ centuries-old trusteeship, to limit Japan’s colonial aspirations, and to find an alternative for the encroachments from Western countries, began to strengthen its relations with Russia. The author discusses the manuscripts authorship, the probable time of its writing, while using newly found materials from archives of Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Academia Sinica (Taiwan), and evaluates the significance of the said documents.