Papers by Masato Hasegawa
Based on a close analysis of Chinese and Korean primary source materials, this article explores t... more Based on a close analysis of Chinese and Korean primary source materials, this article explores the social ramifications of war mobilization in the Sino-Korean borderland during the late sixteenth-century Japanese invasion of Korea (1592–98). In this transnational war involving Japan, Chosŏn Korea, and Ming China, the cross-border region astride the Yalu River escaped the direct destruction wrought by the Japanese armies. Nevertheless, the deployment of Ming troops and the effects of their mobilization, the transport of provisions in particular, severely disrupted the lives and livelihood of local residents on both sides of the border. While decisions of strategic importance were made by the Wanli emperor (r. 1572–1620) and his officials in Beijing throughout the war, logistical decisions concerning the provisioning of Ming soldiers essentially rested with officials dispatched to the border region, and their choices and concerns closely reflected the region’s terrain, weather, and social conditions. This case study of Ming military logistics in the middle of the Wanli reign demonstrates the capacity of the Ming state in a region away from the central court in Beijing. It also underscores the importance of a cross-border perspective in examining the Ming war in Korea at the end of the sixteenth century.
Conference Presentations by Masato Hasegawa
For over two millennia of Chinese imperial history, geography played an integral role not only in... more For over two millennia of Chinese imperial history, geography played an integral role not only in local and state administration, but also in literary and visual representations. As officials and literati collected and organized geographical data and knowledge, such efforts at local levels demonstrated both proximity to and distance from the centers of imperial authority. Why and how did officials and literati represent localities? How did they structure spatial information? Where do we find the "imperial" in the "local" and the "local" in the "imperial"? This workshop proposes a diachronic and place--based approach to examining the processes of producing and organizing geographical knowledge in imperial China. Our aim is to bring to light the structural and epistemological tensions between the standardization and localization of geographical knowledge beyond the temporal bounds of each dynasty and expand the view to the wide array of source materials that describe "things" according to their spatial configurations, such as local gazetteers, poetry, empire--wide geographical compilations, geographical treatises from standard histories, and any form of visual representations. These sources draw the boundaries of localities in divergent ways, and this workshop will probe the manner in which the boundaries were drawn, negotiated, and redefined in geographical representations. We invite contributions that question the organizational principles of local representations of place and address the ways in which social, political, and material factors shaped and were influenced by the production of geographical knowledge. We also welcome contributions examining different periods of imperial China to assess continuity and change in such structures of geographical knowledge. Topics to be discussed include:
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Papers by Masato Hasegawa
Conference Presentations by Masato Hasegawa