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Regarding cognitive power and imagination, this refers tosystematic imaginative power, in another word, convergent imagination.Imagination tends to diverge, and knowledge tends to converge, so whenimagination and knowledge are combined, "convergent divergence"becomes possible. For example, the concept of car is originated from a "horselesscarriage." Without imagination, the era of carriages could simply havebeen regarded as an era of slow cars. However, if one can imagine that a horseis a living being, one can logically infer the distinct features of thecarriage era from the various characteristics of a living organism. For anotable example, we could infer various cultural, technological, and industrialcharacteristics of society at that time from the horse manure. Next is adescription of the Korean peddlers (known as Bocchanshou and Shoutaishou) atthe end of the 19th century. Through various descriptions of these peddlers, wecan systematically imagine the society, state, culture, or people of that era."In addition to oxen and donkeys, there is another 'beast of burden' that isa higher rank, which is none other than humans. No one can exactly describetheir appearance, but I think they used to carry much more loads on their backsthan those animals." (The History of the Demise of the Great KoreanEmpire, H. B. Hulbert 1906) "I have heard that among your peddlers, manyare spirited and gallant. Even when you carry loads on muddy roads, there is adistinction among the young/old and adults. Also I admire that people formbattalions with enough number of people so they can solve issues boldly andalways being loyal. If these spirited men serve the country, leaping overboiling water and walking on blades would not be too difficult."(Heungseon Daewongun, during the French invasion of Ganghwa Island in 1866,encouraging the service of peddlers) ‘Do ban-su’ (meaning the leader of peddlers,a position akin to an official post since the time of Heungseon Daewongun) SongBong-ho led thousands of peddlers in military service, preventing those knownas Donghak followers from setting foot there. (Korean Government Document A,1894)
Dobansu:meaning "Leader" or "boss", but it has been recognized asan official position by the government since the time of Heungseon Daewongun."It has come to my attention that the peddlers have been forming groupsand appearing in villages, where they threaten and robbed relatively well-off individualsor innocent villagers returning home from being away who were called Dongdo(followers of the Donghak movement). This has led to overflowing resentment andindescribable outrage. You peddlers are supposed to behave for the sake of thecountry right now, how can you engage in such acts? It is not only theviolators who will be strictly governed by the law, but the leaders who do notobey orders will be also difficult to escape severe punishment. Think carefullyand act accordingly." (Korean Government Document B, 1894)
Based on the premise that these records are factual, pleasedescribe all the features of that time that can be logically inferred from thisinformation. (Note: no need to describe specific events in detail such as DonghakPeasant Revolution.)
Regarding cognitive power and imagination, this refers tosystematic imaginative power, in another word, convergent imagination.Imagination tends to diverge, and knowledge tends to converge, so whenimagination and knowledge are combined, "convergent divergence"becomes possible. For example, the concept of car is originated from a "horselesscarriage." Without imagination, the era of carriages could simply havebeen regarded as an era of slow cars. However, if one can imagine that a horseis a living being, one can logically infer the distinct features of thecarriage era from the various characteristics of a living organism. For anotable example, we could infer various cultural, technological, and industrialcharacteristics of society at that time from the horse manure. Next is adescription of the Korean peddlers (known as Bocchanshou and Shoutaishou) atthe end of the 19th century. Through various descriptions of these peddlers, wecan systematically imagine the society, state, culture, or people of that era."In addition to oxen and donkeys, there is another 'beast of burden' that isa higher rank, which is none other than humans. No one can exactly describetheir appearance, but I think they used to carry much more loads on their backsthan those animals." (The History of the Demise of the Great KoreanEmpire, H. B. Hulbert 1906) "I have heard that among your peddlers, manyare spirited and gallant. Even when you carry loads on muddy roads, there is adistinction among the young/old and adults. Also I admire that people formbattalions with enough number of people so they can solve issues boldly andalways being loyal. If these spirited men serve the country, leaping overboiling water and walking on blades would not be too difficult."(Heungseon Daewongun, during the French invasion of Ganghwa Island in 1866,encouraging the service of peddlers) ‘Do ban-su’ (meaning the leader of peddlers,a position akin to an official post since the time of Heungseon Daewongun) SongBong-ho led thousands of peddlers in military service, preventing those knownas Donghak followers from setting foot there. (Korean Government Document A,1894)
Dobansu:meaning "Leader" or "boss", but it has been recognized asan official position by the government since the time of Heungseon Daewongun."It has come to my attention that the peddlers have been forming groupsand appearing in villages, where they threaten and robbed relatively well-off individualsor innocent villagers returning home from being away who were called Dongdo(followers of the Donghak movement). This has led to overflowing resentment andindescribable outrage. You peddlers are supposed to behave for the sake of thecountry right now, how can you engage in such acts? It is not only theviolators who will be strictly governed by the law, but the leaders who do notobey orders will be also difficult to escape severe punishment. Think carefullyand act accordingly." (Korean Government Document B, 1894)
Based on the premise that these records are factual, pleasedescribe all the features of that time that can be logically inferred from thisinformation. (Note: no need to describe specific events in detail such as DonghakPeasant Revolution.)
It appears that commercial activities of daily goods betweenregions were not highly developed in Joseon society. Even though Korea is amountainous country, if regional commerce had developed to a certain extent,roads would have been improved to use oxen or donkeys with carts fortransporting goods. No matter how much a person can carry, it cannot compare tothe amount a cart can carry. However, the ability to carry heavy loads was a requiredskill for most peddlers, and the fact that roads were not built for carts orother transportation means the peddlers' carrying capacity was sufficient.
Even today, Korea is not a land of rich resources. We can see mostcultural artifacts such as celadon or clothing were created by human resources.Daily goods, excluding international trade items like celadon or regionalspecialties offered to the king, were traded between regions through peddlers,and the demand for these goods was likely not very high.
In the late Joseon period, it can be inferred that peddlers playeda role as spreading information. Heungseon Daewongun was a powerful figurecomparable to the king. His praise for the strict rules of the peddlers and hisdesire to use them as his trusted aides suggest that the peddlers' abilitieswere highly valuable. People communicated by beacon fires in the Joseon era butthey could not convey complex information. However, peddlers had far betterendurance than animals and traveled nationwide, likely delivering the latestinformation more accurately and swiftly than any communication means at thattime. Information has always been a significant source of power for those inauthority.
Additionally, peddlers had strong organizational structure, and itcan be interpreted that promissory notes were used even during the Joseonperiod. The fact that peddlers were used to suppress external and internaldisturbances like the French Invasion of Korea in 1866 and the Donghak PeasantRevolution suggests that their organizational strength was substantial. Howcome their organizational structure had to be so strong? They carried goods tosell and received money in return. However, carrying money was dangerous, asthey could encounter bandits or face the risk of loss on their way back home.Therefore, they likely used promissory notes, which are based on trust. Thistrust cannot be maintained by relying solely on individual honesty.Consequently, a strong organizational structure with strict internal rules andhierarchical relationships was necessary to maintain external trust in theorganization. Otherwise, there would be members who might damage theorganization's external credibility. Thus, it can be inferred that the peddlersoperated under a strict organization that held collective responsibility forany issues arising during external tasks.
Finally,it appears that the solidarity between farmers and merchants was low during theDonghak Peasant Revolution. The Donghak Peasant Movement was an internalrebellion initiated by farmers who could no longer endure exploitation. Despitethis, the peddlers, under the command of the Joseon government, suppressed theDonghak Peasant Revolution and even mistreated innocent people by labeling themas Donghak members. This suggests that the peddlers' primary trading partnerswere the yangban (nobility) and that they did not have a strong connection withthe farmers.