II.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL COREA.
[[179]]
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL COREA.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
PING-AN, OR THE PACIFIC.
This province bears the not altogether appropriate name of Peaceful Quiet. It is the border land of the kingdom, containing what was for centuries the only acknowledged gate of entrance and outlet to the one neighbor which Corea willingly acknowledged as her superior. It contains, probably, the largest area of any province, unless it be Ham-kiung. Its northern, and a great part of its western, frontier is made by the Yalu River, called also the Ap-nok, the former name referring to its sinuous course, meaning “dragon’s windings,” and the latter after its deep green color.