ABSTRACT
In 1616, the Manchu king proclaimed himself emperor, a direct challenge to the Ming Empire, and thus signalled to the Chinese the beginning of a war the outcome of which could only be total victory for one or the other side. When the struggle with the Ming was enjoined, Korea was drawn into the fight. In 1627, Korea was invaded. King Injo (r. 1623-49) took refuge on Kanghwa Island, but was finally forced to recognize the Manchu state of Later Chin as an elder brother - a Confucian term to indicate the dominant relation of one state towards another. On a subsequent invasion in 1632, King Injo formally surrendered to the Manchus and was forced to abandon his vassal relation with Ming in favour of a similar relationship with Later Chin. This was especially hard for Korean intellectuals to accept, as the Manchus were viewed as being barbarians (see Fig. 13).
