Peace in the East

On October 26, 1909, the Korean patriot An Chunggun assassinated the Japanese statesman Ito Hirobumi in Harbin, China. More than a century later, the ramifications of An's daring act continue to reverberate across East Asia and beyond. This volume explores the abiding significance of An, his life, and his written work, most notably On Peace in the East (Tongyang p'yonghwaron), from a variety of perspectives, especially historical, legal, literary, philosophical, and political. The ways in which An has been understood and interpreted by contemporaries, by later generations, and by scholars and thinkers even today shed light on a range of significant issues including the intellectual and philosophical underpinnings for both imperial expansion and resistance to it; the ongoing debate concerning whether violence, or even terrorism, is ever justified; and the possibilities for international cooperation in today's East Asia as a regional collective. Students and scholars of East Asia will find much to engage with and learn from in this volume.

Yi Tae-Jin is professor emeritus of Korean history at Seoul National University.
Eugene Y. Park is Korea Foundation associate professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kirk W. Larsen is associate professor of history at Brigham Young University.

Preface, Yi Tae-Jin, Eugene Y. Park, and Kirk W. Larsen
Introduction, Yi Tae-Jin, Eugene Y. Park, and Kirk W. Larsen
Maps
Chapter 1: Japanese Expansion in East Asia and An Chunggun's Peace in the East, Xu Yong
Chapter 2: An Chunggun and the Genealogy of Modern Korea's Discourse on Peace in the East, Suh Young-Hee
Chapter 3: Visions of Violence, Dreams of Peace: Religion, Race, and Nation in An Chunggun's On Peace in the East, Franklin D. Rausch
Chapter 4: The An Chunggun Trial and Peace in the East: The Effect of the 1905 "Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty" on International Relations, Totsuka Etsuro
Chapter 5: An Chunggun and the Political Philosophy of Immanuel Kant, Sasagawa Norikatsu
Chapter 6: Three Images of An Chunggun in Chinese Narratives, Wang Yuanzhou
Chapter 7: An Chunggun and Liang Qichao: Two Lights of Modern East Asia, Yi Tae-Jin
Chapter 8: The Philosophy and Possibilities of An Chunggun's Unfinished On Peace in the East, Yamamuro Shin'ichi
Chapter 9: Contemporary Meanings of An Chunggun's Peace in the East: A Pioneer of the New Concept of East Asian Community, Makino Eiji
Afterword, Frederick R. Dickinson