{{Short description|Korean Confucian concept on relationships}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox Korean name/auto |title=''Sadae'' |hangul=사대 |hanja=事大 }} '''{{Transliteration|ko|rr|Sadae}}''' ({{Korean|hangul=사대|hanja=事大|lit=serving the great}}) is a Korean term which is used in pre-modern contexts.<ref name="armstrong57-58">Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). {{Google books|_mh4Qv4lAkQC|''The Koreas,'' p. 57-58.|page=57}}</ref> {{Transliteration|ko|rr|Sadae}} is a Confucian concept, based on filial piety, that describes a reciprocal hierarchical relationship between a senior and a junior, such as a tributary relationship. The term is used as a descriptive label for bilateral foreign relations between Imperial China and Joseon dynasty Korea. Korea's {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} toward China was first employed by Silla in the 7th century, but it was not fully implemented until the Confucianization of Korea in the early Joseon dynasty.{{sfn|Walker|1971|pp=3–4}} Korea's {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} toward China from the 7th century to the 13th century was only nominal.{{sfn|Walker|1971|p=4}}
{{Transliteration|ko|rr|Sadae}} describes a foreign policy characterized by the various ways a small country acknowledges the strength of a greater power like that of China. {{Transliteration|ko|rr|Sadae}} is made manifest in the actions of the weaker state as it conveys goodwill and respect through its envoys.
The utility of the {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} concept in Korea was recognized from the period of Three Kingdoms of Korea to 1895;<ref name="pratt394"/> and it is demonstrated in the relationship of mid-Joseon Korea towards the Ming Dynasty of China.<ref>구도영 (Koo Do-young). [http://www.dbpia.co.kr/view/ar_view.asp?arid=796342 중종대(中宗代) 사대인식(事大認識)의 변화 - 대례의(大禮議)에 대한 별행(別行) 파견 논의를 중심으로] ("Changes regarding ‘Perception of Sadae’(事大認識) that became apparent during the reign of King Jungjong - Examination of Discussions over the issue of dispatching a special envoy(別行) about the Grand ceremony (大禮議) in Ming (明) dynasty’s court"),] 역사와 현실 제62호, 2006.12 (''History and Reality,'' No. 62, December 2006). pp. 3-405.</ref> The Joseon Dynasty made every effort to maintain a friendly relationship with Beijing for reasons having to do with realpolitik and with an idealized Confucian worldview. {{Transliteration|ko|rr|Sadae}} construes China as the center of a Confucian moral universe.<ref>Mansourov, Alexandre Y. [http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/174/43/ "Will Flowers Bloom without Fragrance? Korean-Chinese Relations,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108074830/http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/174/43/ |date=2008-01-08 }} ''Harvard Asia Quarterly'' (Spring 2009).</ref>
As a foundation of diplomacy, the Joseon kingdom presumed that the Korean state was positioned within a Sinocentristic world order. The Joseon foreign policy was organized around maintaining stable Joseon–Chinese relations in the period from 1392 through 1895. The concept of {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} is contrasted with limited trade relationships or ''kyorin'' diplomacy ({{Korean|hangul=교린정책|hanja=交隣政策|labels=no|lit=neighborly relations}}) which marked Joseon–Japanese relations in this period.<ref name="Kang1997">Kang, Etsuko H. (1997). [https://books.google.com/books?id=4f0jnNzdRb4C&pg=PA49 ''Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century,'' p. 49.]</ref>
==Etymology== The historical term is derived from the Chinese ''shì dà'' ({{lang|zh|事大}}; Korean {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}}) as used by the philosopher Mencius. {{Transliteration|ko|rr|Sadae}} literally means "dealing with the great" or "serving the great"<ref name="pratt394">Pratt, Keith L. ''et al.'' (1999). ''Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary,'' pp. 384, 394.</ref> and can be interpreted as "Loving and admiring the great and powerful".<ref>Alford, C. Fred. (1999). {{Google books|X9Bdy_HJJpEC|''Think no evil: Korean values in the age of globalization,'' p. 150.|page=150}}</ref> The original phrase "{{lang|zh-hant|以小事大}}" in the Book of Mencius means "service to the great by the small" or "a small kingdom accommodates a large":<ref name="armstrong57-58" /> {{quote| The king Xuan of Qi asked, saying, 'Is there any way to regulate one's maintenance of intercourse with neighbouring kingdoms?' Mencius replied, 'Yes, there is. But it requires a perfectly virtuous prince to be able, with a great country, to serve a small one - as, for instance, Tang served Ge, and King Wen served the Kun barbarians. And it requires a wise prince to be able, with a small country, to serve a large one - as the King Tai served the Xunyu, and Goujian served Wu. He who with a great State serves a small one, delights in Heaven. He who with a small State serves a large one, stands in awe of Heaven. He who delights in Heaven, will affect with his love and protection the whole kingdom. He who stands in awe of Heaven, will affect with his love and protection his own kingdom. It is said in the ''Book of Poetry'', "I fear the Majesty of Heaven, and will thus preserve its favouring decree." '| <ref>[http://ctext.org/mengzi/liang-hui-wang-ii Liang Hui Wang II], Mencius {{quote| {{lang|zh|齊宣王問曰：交鄰國，有道乎<br/> 孟子對曰：有。惟仁者為能以大事小。是故，湯事葛，文王事昆夷。惟智者為能'''以小事大'''。故大王事獯鬻，句踐事吳。以大事小者，樂天者也。'''以小事大'''者，畏天者也。樂天者保天下，畏天者保其國。《詩》云：『畏天之威，于時保之。』}}| {{lang|zh|梁惠王下}} }} </ref>}}
The neutral term is distinguished from the pejorative '''''sadaejuui''''', which was invented by early 20th century Korean nationalists.<ref name="Mitchell2008">Mitchell, Anthony. [http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/09/265_35927.html "Happier Economy Better Than Larger Economy,"] ''Korea Times'' (Seoul). October 12, 2008.</ref> ''Juui'' means "ideology" and it is conventionally translated as "-ism."<ref>Duchatel, Mathieu. [http://www.ceri-sciencespo.com/themes/asie/ceri/enseignements/memoire/duchatel.pd ''Nationalisme et sentiment nationaliste en Corée''] (Nationalism and Nationalist Sentiment in Korea). ''IEP Paris, DEAA comparative des Aires Politiques,'' p. 4 n1.</ref>
==Sadaejuui: 20th-century reinterpretation== {{infobox Korean name/auto |title=''Sadaejuui'' |hangul=사대주의 |hanja=事大主義 |}}
'''''Sadaejuui''''' ({{Korean|hangul=사대주의|lit=serving-the-great ideology}}) is a largely pejorative Korean term which evolved in the mid-20th century from the more widely used historical concept of ''sadae''.<ref name="armstrong57-58"/> The term "''sadaejuui''" was invented by early 20th century Korean nationalists.<ref name="Mitchell2008" />
''Sadaejuui'' conflates an attitude of subservience with the political realism which accompanies the prudent recognition of greater power.<ref name="armstrong57-58"/>
The concept of {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} was rejected in the writings of polemicist Shin Chaeho and other Korean nationalists in the 20th century.<ref>Robinson, Michael. (1984) "National Identity and the Thought of Shin Ch'ae-ho: Sadaejuüi and Chuch'e in History and Politics," ''Journal of Korean Studies,'' Vol. 5, pp. 121–142.</ref> Shin is known for having argued that the {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} or ''sadaejuui'' inherent in Confucian historiography served effectively functioned in two ways: * to devalue the ethnic origins of the Korean people and state<ref name="Robinson129">Robinson, p. 129.</ref> * to subjugate Korean history within a Confucian interpretive framework<ref name="Robinson129"/> His revisionist writings sought to deny the relevance of {{Transliteration|ko|rr|sadae}} as an important element of Korean history.<ref>Robinson, pp. 131-132.</ref>
Kim Il Sung also opposed the "sadaejuui" and used the word in contrast to his ideology "juche" (self reliance). In December 28, 1955 he officially denounced it in his speech On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work he sees the sadaejuui as an ideological colonisation of Korea, therefore establishing a nationalist and Anti-imperialist basis of opposing the idea of sadaejuui.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Michael |title=Routledge Handbook of Modern Korean History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0p-CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 |publisher=Routledge |access-date=12 January 2026 |pages=214 |language=en |date=29 January 2016 |isbn=978-1-317-81149-7 }}</ref> For Kim Il Sung, the sadaejuui meant the dark ages of the past and overdependence to foreign powers a form of sycophancy, so as he saw it backwards he would seek all the ways to defend his ideas against it.<ref>{{cite web |title="Mostly Propaganda in Nature:" Kim Il Sung, the Juche Ideology, and the Second Korean War {{!}} Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/mostly-propaganda-nature-kim-il-sung-the-juche-ideology-and-the-second-korean-war |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |access-date=12 January 2026 |pages=13 |language=en |date=1 December 2010 |quote=Although nationalism was of course not unique to Korea, the nation's long history of colonial occupation and resistance, common language and shared ancestral culture, and critical Cold War position between three superpowers made it particularly strong at the time of Kim's emergence. Juche's nationalistic appeal was further strengthened by Korean history, since most of the nation had come to resent decisions made by the nation's leadership under the Yi Dynasty to become essentially a vassal state of China for hundreds of years. This sycophancy, labeled sadaejuui (or, "serving the great") was widely regarded as a betrayal of the nation's interests and was a critical factor in the constant struggle against foreign occupation. The Japanese occupation in the early 20th century contributed as well, since their efforts to eradicate all vestiges of Korean culture and national identity sparked a backlash that encouraged its rebirth after their departure, and further enhanced the appeal of Kim's stress on the defense of all things Korean.}}</ref>
== See also == * Emperor at home, king abroad * Finlandization * Gyorin * Joseon diplomacy * Melian dialog * Samguk Sagi * Tribute * Analogous concepts: ** West British ** Little Russian
== Notes == {{reflist|2}}
== References == * Alford, C. Fred. (1999). ''Think no evil: Korean values in the age of globalization.'' Ithaca: Cornell University Press. {{ISBN|9780801436666}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/247000674 OCLC 247000674] * Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). ''The Koreas.'' London: CRC Press. {{ISBN|9780415948524}}; {{ISBN|9780415948531}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71808039 OCLC 71808039] * Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin. (1997). ''Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century.'' Basingstoke, Hampshire; Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-0-312-17370-8}}; * Levinson, David and Karen Christensen. (2002). ''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-684-80617-4}}; {{OCLC|49936055}} * Mansourov, Alexandre Y. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080108074830/http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/174/43/ "Will Flowers Bloom without Fragrance? Korean-Chinese Relations,"] ''Harvard Asia Quarterly'' (Spring 2009). * Pratt, Keith L., Richard Rutt, and James Hoare. (1999). ''Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary,'' Richmond: Curzon Press. {{ISBN|9780700704637}}; {{ISBN|978-0-7007-0464-4}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/245844259 OCLC 245844259] * Robinson, Michael. (1984) "National Identity and the Thought of Sin Ch'ae-ho: Sadaejuüi and Chuch'e in History and Politics." ''Journal of Korean Studies'' 5: 121–142. * Robinson, Michael. (1988). ''Cultural Nationalism in Colonial Korea, 1920–1925.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press. {{ISBN|9780295966007}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18106164 OCLC 18106164] * {{citation |last1=Walker |first1=Hugh D. |editor1-last=Jo |editor1-first=Yung-hwan |title=Korea's Response to the West |date=1971 |publisher=The Korea Research and Publications, Inc. |pages=1–14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQBFAAAAIAAJ |chapter=The Weight of Tradition: Preliminary Observations on Korea's Intellectual Response}}
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Category:Political theories Category:Korean philosophy Category:Ideologies Category:Korean Confucianism