扒车喵千年来，韩国在中国这个邻居的影响下，对中国的感情极为复杂，在美版知乎Quora上，有韩国网友提问道：韩国历史上很弱吗？这个问题引来各国网友的围观和热议，韩国网友对这种说法不能接受，称韩国在历史上也是一个强国。
问题：为什么韩国在历史上这么弱？
韩国网友田孔林的回答
Not so. Although the Korean Peninsula has always appeared in history books as China’s servant country, there are many examples of the failure of the ancient Central Plains Dynasty to fight on the Korean Peninsula.
并非如此，虽然朝鲜半岛一直作为中国的仆从国出现在历史书上，但古代中原王朝对朝鲜半岛作战失败的例子也很多。
1.For thousands of years, the center of the Chinese Empire has been the area between Xi’an and Luoyang. Even today, the area around Beijing was regarded as the edge of the Empire as early as the Three Kingdoms period (about 200 A.D.).
1.千年以来，中华帝国的中心是西安和洛阳之间的地区。即使是今天北京周围的地区，早在三国时期（大约公元200年）就被认为是帝国的边缘。
This means that any invasion of the Korean Peninsula requires an extremely long supply line, which is the most important aspect of any military action. After all, the labor expedition costs too much.
这意味着对朝鲜半岛的任何入侵都需要极长的补给线，这是任何军事行动中最值得重视的方面。毕竟劳师远征，成本太高。
The two wars against Korea launched by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty were the last straw for the fall of the Sui empire. The Tang Dynasty finally succeeded in attacking the Korean Peninsula, but that was because they had the help of a willing and hard-working ally, Xinluo.
隋炀帝发动的两场对朝战争是隋帝国倒下的最后一根稻草。唐朝最终成功地攻打了朝鲜半岛，但那是因为他们在当地有一个心甘情愿卖命的盟友——新罗的协助。
2. Military structure – the Chinese army has always been dominated by infantry. Chinese horses are very expensive, especially those suitable for war. The land route to North Korea is frozen for most of the year or muddy due to days of rain.
2.军事结构——中国军队历来以步兵为主。中国的马非常昂贵，特别是适合战争的马。通往朝鲜的陆路在一年中的大部分时间或被冻结，或因连日阴雨泥泞不堪。
There are only about 2-3 months of war time left. This window is enough for cavalry troops to reach the Korean Peninsula. However, cavalry troops are not good at siege.
只剩下大约2-3个月的战争时间。这个窗口期足够骑兵部队到达朝鲜半岛，然而，骑兵部队并不擅长围城战。
On the other hand, this window period is too short for infantry troops. They can’t afford long sieges and long supply lines.
另一方面，对于步兵部队来说这个窗口期又太短，长时间的围攻和过长的补给线让他们根本耗不起。
3. China is not a naval power in the traditional sense. Only in the Ming Dynasty did the first powerful navy capable of sea to land operations appear. Even then, the navy was used more for diplomacy and trade than for military affairs. At that time, North Korea was a very obedient vassal state and there was no need to attack.
3.中国不是一个传统意义上的海军强国，明朝才出现了第一支能够进行海洋对陆作战的强大海军。即使在那时，海军更多地被用于外交和贸易，而不是军事。那时，朝鲜是一个非常顺从的附庸国，没有必要进攻。
4. Economic aspect – what are the benefits of occupying more land? Taxes. For most of history, it was too difficult to get back and forth between the Korean Peninsula and the mainland.
4.经济层面—占领更多土地会带来什么好处？税收。在历史的大部分时间里，朝鲜半岛与大陆之间实在太难往返。
Even if China succeeds in gaining a foothold, it will not be able to return taxes to the capital in a cost-effective manner. Coupled with the cost of maintaining a large force stationed there for a long time, the cost is prohibitive.
即使中国成功地站稳了脚跟，也无法以低成本高效益的方式将税收返还首都。再加上维持一支长期驻扎在那里的大部队的费用，成本更是高得令人望而却步。
5. Strategy – Sun Tzu’s art of war tells the Chinese that the best strategy to win is to win without fighting. Therefore, once a friendly regime is established on the Korean Peninsula, there is no need to launch a war.
5.战略——孙子兵法告诉中国人，取胜的最佳战略是不战而胜。因此，一旦朝鲜半岛建立了友好政权，就没有必要发起战争。
In fact, the implementation of autonomy is a strategy often applied to the border as an imperial buffer zone, which is particularly common in the nomadic regimes in the north, but sometimes it will lead to the rise of a powerful enemy. In this case, the Central Plains Dynasty usually tries to create chaos by supporting internal rebellion, so as to decompose the enemy into manageable vassal regimes.
事实上，实施自治是一种经常应用于边境作为帝国缓冲区的策略，这在北方的游牧民族政权中尤为普遍，但有时这会导致一个强大敌人的崛起，在这种情况下，中原王朝通常试图通过支持内部叛乱来制造混乱，从而将敌人分解为可管理的附庸政权。
韩国网友保罗•西的回答，他现居美国加州
In history, South Korea has not always been a weak country. In fact, South Korea used to be a very powerful country.
历史上韩国并非一直是一个弱国，事实上，韩国曾经是一个非常强大的国家。
During the reign of guanggato the great (AD 391-413), Korea’s Koguryo kingdom can be said to be the most powerful kingdom in Northeast Asia. At that time, China fell into division, several dynasties rose one after another, and Northern China was ruled by five ethnic minorities, which was called “five random China” in history.
在光盖托大帝（公元391-413年）统治期间，朝鲜的高句丽王国可以说是东北亚最强大的王国。当时，中国陷入了分裂，多个王朝相继崛起，中国北方被五个少数民族统治，史称“五胡乱华”。
King guanggato defeated the later Yan state, which was established by the Xianbei people, the most powerful nomadic nation in northern China at that time, and repelled the invasion of Japanese pirates from the south.
光盖托国王打败了后来的燕国，它是当时中国北方最强大的游牧民族鲜卑人建立起来的国家，并击退了来自南方日本海盗的入侵。
Two hundred to three hundred years later, Koguryo successfully repelled many invasions by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. It was not until the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty that Koguryo finally fell into the hands of the Tang Dynasty.
在两百到三百年后，高句丽又成功击退了隋炀帝和唐太宗的多次入侵。直到唐高宗统治时期，高句丽才最终落入唐朝之手。
In other words, it took the Chinese a whole dynasty (the Sui Dynasty), one of the greatest conquerors in Chinese history (Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty), many attempts by Emperor Gaozong, and another North Korean ally Xinluo to finally defeat Koguryo.
换句话说，中国人用了整整一个王朝（隋朝），加上中国历史上最伟大的征服者之一（唐太宗），再加上高宗的多次尝试，再加上另一个朝鲜盟友新罗，才最终打败了高句丽。
In any case, North Korea is not a weak country; There is ample evidence that in the 1000 years after the birth of Jesus, South Korea (especially Koguryo) was the most powerful country in Northeast Asia for several periods.
无论如何，朝鲜都不是一个软弱的国家；有充足的证据表明，在耶稣诞生后的一千年内，韩国（特别是高句丽）在几个时期内都是东北亚最强大的国家。
Mongolia’s iron hooves swept across Eurasia. Although the Korean Peninsula was not spared, it took the Mongols nearly 30 years to finally conquer it (even then, North Korea was not fully integrated into China… It was more like a quasi state).
蒙古的铁蹄横扫欧亚大陆，朝鲜半岛虽不能幸免，但蒙古人也花了近三十年时间才最终征服（即使在那时，朝鲜也没有完全融入中国……更像是一个准国家）。
The only country that makes Mongols so scared is China. Considering that South Korea is much smaller than China, I think South Korea is better than China in fighting Mongols.
唯一让蒙古人如此怵头的国家是中国，考虑到韩国比中国小得多，我认为韩国在抗击蒙古人方面比中国做得更好。
The Korean Peninsula did not begin to decline until the Korean Dynasty (1392 and beyond). From this point of view, I don’t know much about Korean history, but I know that the Korean Dynasty began to accept Confucianism and began to weaken its military education (the same is true in China).
朝鲜半岛直到朝鲜王朝（1392年及以后）才开始衰落。从这一点上讲，我对韩国历史了解不多，但我知道朝鲜王朝开始接受儒家思想，并开始弱化其军事教育（中国也同样如此）。
For example, during the Japanese invasion in 1592, the Koreans did a terrible thing in the war, getting rid of the famous general Li sunshen.
例如，在1592年日本入侵期间，朝鲜人在战争中做了一件可怕的事情，除掉了名将李孙申。
According to historical records, North Korea believed that Japan ruled by Samurai was a barbaric country, while South Korea was proud of being a civilized country because it was ruled by aristocrats and scholars like the Ming Dynasty.
史书记载道朝鲜当时认为由武士统治的日本是一个野蛮的国家，而韩国为自己是一个文明国家而自豪，因为它和明朝一样，由贵族和学者统治。
If you look at the Ming Dynasty, which is also ruled by Confucianism, you will find that it is very similar to the situation in South Korea, emphasizing literature over martial arts.
如果你看看同样受儒家思想统治的明朝，你会发现它与韩国的情况非常相似，重文轻武。
This is why the Ming Dynasty failed to expand wildly compared with the Han and Tang Dynasties (the two former Central Plains empires). When the Central Plains Dynasty actively expanded to the outside world again, the brave Manchus in the Northeast conquered China.
这就是为什么明朝与汉朝和唐朝（之前的两个中原帝国）相比，未能疯狂扩张的原因。在中原王朝再次积极对外扩展时，东北骁勇善战的满族人征服了中国。
But guess what happened after the Manchus conquered China and expanded Chinese territory? They accepted Confucian culture and abandoned their samurai culture, which was part of the reason for their decline and became the victims of Western and Japanese aggression.
但是，猜猜在满族征服中国并扩张中国领土之后怎么样了？他们接受了儒家文化，摒弃了他们的武士文化，这是其衰落的根本原因，为其成为西方和日本侵略的受害者埋下了伏笔。
So I think that in the past few hundred years, South Korea seems to be weaker than the other two neighbors, because South Korean culture pays more attention to cultural scholars than military construction.
所以我认为，在过去几百年里，韩国似乎比其他两个邻国都要弱小，这是因为韩国文化更重视文化学者而不是军队建设。
网友金合伊的回答
Throughout history, South Korea has never been weak. They just think there is no reason to fight because there is no major threat. I know you want to mention these nation states: the Central Plains Dynasty, Manchurians and Japan. Well, let me explain.
纵观历史，韩国从来都不弱小，他们只是认为没有理由战斗，因为没有重大威胁。我知道你想提及这几个民族国家：中原王朝、满洲人和日本。好吧，让我解释一下。
Central Plains Dynasty: the Korean Peninsula has always maintained close relations with China’s previous dynasties, and offered year-old tribute to China, rarely attacking China. Moreover, China has no interest in conquering Korea, but has maintained relatively friendly relations.
中原王朝：朝鲜半岛一直与中国的历朝历代保持着密切的关系，并向中国进献岁贡，很少攻击中国，而且，中国对征服朝鲜毫无兴趣，反而保持了相对友好的关系。
Manchurians: Manchurians have been nomadic tribes for most of their history. Except for occasional attacks on the border, they do not pose a major threat to North Korea.
满洲人：满洲人在其大部分历史上都是游牧部落，除了偶尔在边境进行袭击外，他们对朝鲜没有构成重大威胁。
The only threat they posed to North Korea was when they established the Qing Dynasty, but they adopted a gentle way and turned North Korea into a vassal.
他们唯一对朝鲜构成威胁是在他们成立清朝时，但他们采用了怀柔的方式，进而把朝鲜变成了附庸。
Japan: Japan did not pose a threat to North Korea until the 16th century. Japan even frequently sent envoys to North Korea and learned from them the culture of the Central Plains, so North Korea never regarded it as a threat.
日本：直到16世纪，日本才对朝鲜构成威胁。日本甚至频繁向朝鲜派遣特使并向他们学习中原文化，因此朝鲜从未将其视为威胁。
Therefore, it is not necessarily weak, nor is it necessary to be strong militarily. However, when necessary, South Korea will become very strong.
所以，它不一定是弱小的，也没有必要在军事上强大。然而，必要时，韩国会变得非常强大。
Korea’s Koguryo defeated the Sui Dynasty at least three times, and Korea’s sinra Kingdom defeated the Tang Dynasty and drove them out of the Korean Peninsula. Korea Korea is also a highly militarist country, defeated the northern tribes in the war, and defeated the Mongols nine times!
朝鲜的高句丽至少三次打败隋朝，朝鲜的新罗王国打败了唐朝并将他们赶出朝鲜半岛。朝鲜高丽州也是一个高度军国主义的国家，在战争中打败了北方部落，并且9次打败了蒙古人！
Therefore, the Korean Dynasty is not a belligerent nation. They yearn for peace. However, they were not weak. In the Indian Tianjin war, they destroyed the Japanese Navy with the famous turtle ship and the famous crane wing formation.
因此，朝鲜王朝不是好战的国家，他们更向往和平。然而，他们并不软弱，在印津战争中与著名的海龟船和著名的鹤翼编队摧毁了日本海军。
I think most people think that South Korea is in a weak position due to its relationship with China, but let me say, no! South Korea has always maintained close relations with China to avoid conflict, which is the best strategy.
我想大多数人都认为韩国由于与中国的关系而处于弱势，但让我说，不！韩国一直与中国保持密切关系以避免冲突，这才是最佳策略。
Many Korean countries could have resisted the occupation and attack of the Chinese dynasty, such as the collapse of the Sui Dynasty due to its defeat to Koguryo. In short, it is never weak, but there is no main reason to fight.
许多朝鲜半岛国家可以抗衡得住中国王朝的占领和进攻，比如隋朝因为输给高句丽而导致覆灭。总之，它从不软弱，只是没有主要的理由去战斗。
