Chosŏn interpreters as cultural brokers: The example of Kim Kyŏng-mun and the 1722 mission to Beijing

The yŏnhaengnok (records of missions to Beijing) are a literary genre that allows the exploration of the entanglement of Chinese and Korean history between the 15th and 19th centuries. As the studies of various records of the yŏnhaengnok have shown, the authors of this genre considered interpreters to be their intermediaries for collecting information or communicating with the Chinese during missions to Beijing. Interpreters were essential to the missions’ operations, facilitating cultural interaction, but they also shaped Chosŏn’s perceptions of Qing China. This article traces the emergence of Chosŏn official interpreters in the Qing era to examine how interpreters’ cultural and diplomatic practices became significant in the making of Qing-Chosŏn relations. In particular, this article explores the role Chosŏn interpreter Kim Kyŏng-mun (1673–1737) played as a cultural broker on the 1722 yŏnhaengsa mission, taking him as an example of how interpreters mediated the knowledge that Chosŏn intellectuals received about China during the yŏnhaengsa missions and how this shaped their discourse about China. Furthermore, this article contributes to the reevaluation of the Chosŏn interpreters, conceding them a dominant role instead of afford-ing them only a marginal position, and it serves to deepen the understanding of Chosŏn’s perception of Qing China during the 18th century. Copyright © 2021 Otto Harrassowitz GmbH. Co.KG. All rights reserved.