The "Banner" of the Great Ming and Little China Consciousness

This monograph examines Chosŏn Dynasty's Zun Zhou Si Ming (Revering the Zhou and Longing for the Ming) during the period of 1637-1800, after Chosŏn entered tributary relations with the Qing. It shows how the royal family, Confucian scholars, and Ming-loyalist descendants continued to affirm Ming legitimacy through practices such as ritual commemoration of Ming emperors, covert use of Ming reign-titles, and the compilation of Ming-centered historical writings, alongside related material and institutional expressions. Framing these phenomena within Chosŏn "Little China" self-positioning, the study integrates concepts of Chosŏn mainstream cultural mentalities such as the concept of orthodoxy, Sinophilia, Sadae (serving the great), and the Hua-Yi distinction. It offers a reinterpretation of Qing- Chosŏn relations during the Qing Dynasty. Sun Weiguo currently serves as a Professor at the Faculty of History, Nankai University. His research primarily focuses on the pre-modern history of East Asia, the history of Sino-Korean cultural exchangs, and the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties--with a particular emphasis on the interplay between regional historical dynamics and cross-cultural interactions in East Asia.