1
Lecture 1
Premodern History - overview
Three Kingdoms period
삼국시대
(
)
三國時代
Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla + Gaya!
Traditional founding dates
alternative "plus 360 (6x60) years" theory
1)
Silla
57 BCE
303 CE
Goguryeo
37 BCE
323 CE
Baekje
18 BCE
342 CE
Official introduction of Buddhism
Goguryeo
372
Baekje
384
Silla
527
Principal extant Korean sources on the Three Kingdoms period:
Gwanggaeto Stele
광개토왕릉비
廣開土王陵碑
erected by King Gwanggaeto's son King Jangsu in 414
(rediscovered by Japanese 1883).
Samguk-sagi
삼국사기
三國史記
History of the Three Kingdoms (1145)
or ‘
Histories of the Three Kingdoms‘
Dongmyeong'wang-pyeon
동명왕편
東明王篇
Ballad of King Dongmyeong (c.1200)
2)
Samguk-yusa
삼국유사
三國遺事
Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (c.1283)
Jewang-un'gi
제왕운기
帝王韻紀
Rhyming record of Emperors and Kings (1287)
Goguryeo (
고구려
高句麗
c.37BCE~668CE)
Jumong (King Dongmyeong) foundation myth (strong influence from northeast Asian shaman tradition).
v
부여
Largely borrowed/inherited from the northern kingdom of Buyeo (
?~346)
夫餘
Capital: moved southwards from southern Manchuria into the Korean peninsula.
졸본부여
First legendary settlement at Jolbon Buyeo (
)
卒本夫餘
3CE
국내성
Capital established at Gungnae-seong (
)
國內城
209
환도산성
Capital moved to Hwando-seong fortress (
)
丸都山城
247
Pyeongyang-seong fortress (
) temporarily becomes the capital - thought to be located in modern Jagang province of
平壤城
northern North Korea (though NK scholars assume it to have been the same site as modern Pyongyang).
342
Capital moved to Gungnae-seong fortress
국내성
(
), modern Ji’an (
國內城
集安市
) of Jilin province, China..
472
Capital moved to Pyeongyang-seong
평양성
(
) - thought to be Daeseong-sanseong mountain fortress (
) site
平壤城
大城山城
6-7km east of modern Pyongyang; argued by South Koreans not to be modern Pyongyang but somewhere slightly further
north.
586
Capital moved to Jang'an-seong
장안성
fortress (
) -
長安城
modern Pyongyang.
1) From Ledyard "Galloping along with the horseriders: Looking for the Founders of Japan"
Journal of Japanese
Studies Vol1, No2 (Spring 1975). He suggests this for Baekje dates only, but in general Western scholars claim the
Three Kingdoms did not emerge until the 4th century; Koreans disagree.
2) Complete English translation:
https://koreanology.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/sources-yi-gyubos-ballad-of-king-dongmyeong-
-part-1-of-3
東明王篇
/
2
Most famous Goguryeo king:
광개토대왕
King Gwanggaeto the Great (
"wide opener of land" r.391-413)
廣開土大王
Greatly expanded Goguryeo's territory in all directions, against ‘Khitan‘ in the north and Baekje to the south.
연호
영락
First "Korean" king to use his own era name (
) which was Yeongnak (
'long lasting pleasure').
年號
永樂
598-614 Goguryeo-Sui War
(started by Goguryeo!)
3)
597
Sui China sends emissary to Goguryeo telling them to behave as a vassal state.
598
Goguryeo attacks Sui inflicting hurt before withdrawing. Enraged Sui emperor Wendi (
r.541-604) sends army of 300,000 but suffers
文帝
humiliating defeat.
612
Wendi's son Emperor Yangdi (
r.604-618) leads a one million strong army against Goguryeo.
煬帝
Defeated by
Eulji Mundeok
을지문덕
(
)
乙支文德
at the
Battle of Salsu river
살수 대첩
(
) after Eulji
薩水大捷
sends his famous poem:
신책구천문
神策究天文
Devine schemes are researched by heaven,
묘주궁지리
妙籌窮地理
Subtle calculations penetrate the geography.
전승공기고
戰勝功旣高
Much merit has been achieved in [your] war victories,
지족원운지
知足願云止
[I] hope you will be satisfied and halt [your invasion].
613
Aborted Sui campaign (owing to revolt at home) against Goguryeo.
614
Final Sui invasion attempt is also 'defeated' (questionable, according to
Samguk-sagi Goguryeo sues for peace and Sui
readily accepts).
If not for Eulji Mundeok's victory over Sui China, there might be no Korea today!
을지로
Major street in central Seoul is named Eulji-ro (
"Eulji Road") in his honour.
Goguryeo-Tang war
631
Tang emissary holds ceremony for fallen Sui soldiers; fearing a new war, Goguryeo begins constructing a thousand
li wall
천리장성
(千里長城
cheolli-jangseong) in Liaodong, under the supervision of mangniji
막리지
(
)
莫離支
Yeon Gaesomun (淵蓋蘇
연개소문).
文
642
Yeon Gaesomun invites Goguryeo nobles to watch a military parade outside of Pyeongyang fortress; he kills them all and
then leads his army into Pyeongyang and kills King Yeongnyu.
645
안시성
Major Tang invasion, ostensibly to put down the Yeon Gaesomun rebellion, repelled by Ansi-seong fortress (
)
安市城
lord
Yang Manchun
양만춘
(
originally not named in the
楊萬春
Samguk-sagi ) who had also resisted against Yeon
Gaesomun.
Modern day dispute between Chinese government and the two Koreas over the ethnic heritage of Goguryeo.
As a result there has been renewed interest and focus on Goguryeo by South Korean scholars and media.
Both sides are motivated by fears of irredentist claims over one another's territory.
Korea certainly has the stronger claim over historiography: from early on Goguryeo history was fully 'internalized' by the Korean
people.
Baekje (
백제. Japanese:
"Kudara",
百濟
くだら
c.18BCE~660CE)
The least popular of the Three Kingdoms!
Baekje has been somewhat underrepresented (or even misrepresented) in Korean sources starting with the
Samguk-sagi.
Compared to Goguryeo and Silla, Baekje is typically said to have no distinct image (despite its refinement and South China -
Japan relations).
무령왕
This began to change following the discovering of King Muryeong's (
r.501-523) tomb in 1971.
武寧王
3) A good account of the war is in Graff, David. 2001:
Medieval Chinese Warfare. Routledge.