Korean J Med Hist.
2020 Dec;29(3):959-998. 10.13081/kjmh.2020.29.959.
Processing Method & Distribution of Medicinal Plant Ginseng in Early Modern East Asia -Focusing on Ginseng as a Tribute Item of Joeseon to the Ming Dynasty-
- Affiliations
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- 1Research Institute of Korean Culture, Ewha Womans University
- KMID: 2511381
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.13081/kjmh.2020.29.959
Abstract
- Ginseng started to emerge as an international medicinal material during the Joseon Dynasty. This paper examines ginseng as a tribute presented to the Ming royal family by Joseon Dynasty.
Joseon Dynasty presented peeled and dried ginseng (white ginseng, 白蔘) to the emperor. The Ming Dynasty demanded chosam (natural ginseng, 草蔘) with no peeling in 1602. By the request of Joseon Dynasty during the period of Lord Gwanghae, the presented ginseng was again changed to pasam (boiled and dried ginseng, 把蔘, 煮蔘). Although Nurhachi of the Jurchen (女眞) is known to have invented this method of processing pasam, Joseon was exporting pasam to the Ming Dynasty earlier than that. As such, the Nurhachi theory of the invention of the pasam should be reexamined.
Joseon Dynasty presented ginseng to each emperor and heir to the throne through its envoys. The total amount of ginseng sent to the royal family of the Ming Dynasty during the Joseon Dynasty is estimated to be approximately 664 to 880 geuns (斤) per year in the fifteenth century, 300 to 500 geuns in the sixteenth century, and about 160 to 360 geuns in the 17th century.
When the Japanese Invasion of Korea occurred in 1592, the Joseon government informed the Ming Dynasty of the miserable situation of the Joseon people and chose to reduce the tribute. However, even after the war, the amount of tribute ginseng in Joseon continued to be small. This is because the medical industry in the Ming Dynasty grew significantly, and medical books prescribing Joseon ginseng increased, and the rich people of the Ming Dynasty loved ginseng so much that they imported Joseon ginseng at high prices. Local residents of Guangdong (廣東), China, a major customer base of Joseon ginseng, also used ginseng as a preventive medicine for JangGi (瘴氣).
From the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, the amount of ginseng that Joseon tributed to the Ming Dynasty continued to decrease, and the ginseng processing method also moved in the direction of reducing the burden of processing. This was caused by changes in the environment surrounding the use of ginseng, including changes in the international situation at the time, growth of the medical industry, increasing interest in ginseng by the people of the Ming, and economic considerations of the Joseon government. The two countries sought changes in the ginseng tribute through an agreement.
