Sadae

Sadae (Korean: 사대; Hanja: 事大; lit. 'serving the great') is a Korean term which is used in pre-modern contexts. 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 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. Korea's sadae toward China from the 7th century to the 13th century was only nominal. Sadae describes a foreign policy characterized by the various ways a small country acknowledges the strength of a greater power like that of China. Sadae is made manifest in the actions of the weaker state as it conveys goodwill and respect through its envoys. The utility of the sadae concept in Korea was recognized from the period of Three Kingdoms of Korea to 1895; and it is demonstrated in the relationship of mid-Joseon Korea towards the Ming Dynasty of China. 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. Sadae construes China as the center of a Confucian moral universe. 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 sadae is contrasted with limited trade relationships or kyorin diplomacy (교린정책; 交隣政策; lit. 'neighborly relations') which marked Joseon–Japanese relations in this period.