ABSTRACT
The surest way to test our received hypotheses about various things “national” – identities, economy, society, and polities – is to examine local documents and write histories that pursue the extent of local integration with larger regions, even with other countries.1 In doing this, we must be open to the idea that localities and regions of the Chosnn period may not be bound in ways familiar to us. For example, trade structures can deeply involve a region of one country with a region of another country.2 In such a situation, what is the meaning of “the economy of Chosnn”? Or, the natural diversity of agricultural production can produce regional economies with various social structures.3 In that case, what is meant by “the society of Chosnn”? Or, the presence of foreign nationals can have a long-term profound impact on local, even regional politics.4 How, then, are we to understand “the politics of Chosnn”?
