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| * Goguryeo's second capital was located at ], North Korea. Before the capital city was moved, Goguryeo territory comprised what is today North Korea and parts of Manchuria. | * Goguryeo's second capital was located at ], North Korea. Before the capital city was moved, Goguryeo territory comprised what is today North Korea and parts of Manchuria. | ||
| * A nation that existed in China today doesn't mean it is ethnically Chinese. | |||
| * Goguryeo lasted about 900 years while no Chinese state concurrent with Goguryeo's rule lasted for more than 400. If Goguryeo was indeed Chinese, this would not be possible. | * Goguryeo lasted about 900 years while no Chinese state concurrent with Goguryeo's rule lasted for more than 400. If Goguryeo was indeed Chinese, this would not be possible. | ||
| * The claim following the fall of Goguryeo only a few hundred thousand of its estimated 4 million inhabitants were taken into captivity by China and not the whole population. The Goguryeo state continued with ], which considered itself as the successor of Goguryeo; when Balhae was destroyed, its population dissipated into the Korean dynasty of ]. Hence, ] was not the sole source of the modern Korean nation. | |||
| *Goguryeo defeated the ] and ] Dynasties of China several times before finally being destroyed by a Tang and Silla alliance | |||
| * The claim that only the present South Korean ] and ] regions were descendants of Samhan, where is south of ]. There are more Koreans descended from inhabitants from outside ] and ], i.e., north of ]. North Koreans are descendants of Goguryeo, and North Korean shares the same languange and culture with the South Koreans. | * The claim that only the present South Korean ] and ] regions were descendants of Samhan, where is south of ]. There are more Koreans descended from inhabitants from outside ] and ], i.e., north of ]. North Koreans are descendants of Goguryeo, and North Korean shares the same languange and culture with the South Koreans. | ||
Revision as of 06:21, 6 March 2007
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Template:Koreanname Goguryeo (traditional founding date 37 BCE; probably 2nd century BCE – 668 CE) was an ancient Korean kingdom located in the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Baekje and Silla.
The modern English name "Korea" derives from the Goryeo Dynasty (935-1392), which itself took one of the various names by which Goguryeo was originally known (see Names of Korea).
Goryeo-era records indicate Goguryeo was founded in 37 BCE by Jumong, although it probably dates back to the 2nd century BCE, around the time of Gojoseon's fall. Other small states in the former Gojoseon territory included Buyeo, Okjeo and Dongye, all of which were later conquered by Goguryeo. It was a major regional power of East Asia until it was defeated by a Silla-Tang alliance in 668. After its defeat, it was later divided between the Tang Dynasty, Unified Silla and Balhae. Goguryeo was ruled by its Taewangs for almost 900 years.
History
Founding
According to the Samguk Sagi, a 12th century Korean history, Jumong (posthumously called King Dongmyeongseong) founded the state in 37 BCE in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle Yalu and T'ung-chia river basin, overlapping the current China-North Korea border. However, Kim Busik, the chief compiler of the Samguk Sagi and a direct descendant of Silla nobility, is widely thought to have been justifying Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms by retroactively claiming Goguryeo was founded later than Silla.
Many modern scholars believe Goguryeo was actually founded in the 2nd century BCE. . In the Book of Tang, it is recorded that Emperor Taizong of Tang refers to Goguryeo's history as being some 900 years old. In 75 BCE, a local confederacy which may have included Goguryeo made an incursion into China's Xuantu commandery west from the Amnok River valley.
The Goguryeo people originated from Bukbuyeo, integrating with existing chiefdoms. In the aftermath of the disintegration of Gojoseon and Buyeo, various small tribes coalesced into five chiefdoms along the banks of the Yalu River, and these five were eventually led by the king of Goguryeo.
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Jumong (Dongmyeongseong)
Goguryeo was founded by Jumong, who migrated south from Buyeo. Jumong is a Korean name transcribed in hanja as 朱蒙 (Jumong, 주몽), 鄒牟(Chumo, 추모), or 仲牟 (Jungmo, 중모). Although his family name is recorded as Go (meaning "high" in Hanja), this is thought to be a posthumous change from the original family name of Hae, the royal surname of Buyeo.
Jumong is said to be descended from Hae Mosu, the son of the Sun-god (hae in modern Korean means sun). According to legend, Jumong left Dongbuyeo ("Eastern Buyeo") for Jolbon Buyeo, where he married the daughter of its ruler. He subsequently became king himself, founding Goguryeo with a group of his followers from his native country.
Goguryeo maintained close early relationship with Dongbuyeo until it was absorbed into Goguryeo. Jumong is recorded to have conquered the states of Biryu (비류국, 沸流國) in 36 BCE, Haeng-in (행인국, 荇人國) in 33 BCE, and North Okjeo in 28 BCE.
Centralized kingdom
Goguryeo became a significant independent kingdom in the first century, and expanded its power in the region. By the time of Taejo of Goguryeo in 53, the five tribes became five centrally ruled districts of the kingdom, and foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Taejo successfully expanded Goguryeo by attacking Han China's commanderies of Lolang, Xiantu, and Liaodong, becoming fully independent from the Han commanderies.
Continuing its expansion to the northwest, Goguryeo began large-scale, organized attacks against the Chinese, as well as conquering neighboring statelets such as Okjeo and Dongye. New laws regulated peasants and the aristocracy, as tribal leaders continued to be absorbed into the central aristocracy. Royal succession changed from fraternal to patrilineal, strengthening the royal court.
Further expansion
As Goguryeo extended its reach into the Liaodong peninsula, the last Chinese commandery, at Lelang, was destroyed by Micheon of Goguryeo in 313, and the Three Kingdoms dominated the peninsula.
The expansion met temporary setbacks when in 342, Former Yan, a Sixteen Kingdoms state of Xianbei ethnicity, (Some Goguryeo royal family members were seized by Former Yan, and one of them, Gao Yun, briefly ruled Former Yan's successor state Northern Yan from 407 to 409.) attacked Goguryeo’s capital, then at Wandu (丸都, in modern Ji'an, Jilin), and in 371, King Geunchogo of Baekje sacked Goguryeo’s largest city, Pyongyang, and killed King Gogukwon of Goguryeo in battle.
Turning to domestic stability and the unification of various conquered tribes, Sosurim of Goguryeo proclaimed new laws, embraced Buddhism as the national religion in 372, and established a national educational institute called the Taehak (태학, 太學). By 391, the kingdom's rulers had achieved undisputed control of all of Manchuria and eastern inner Mongolia, as well as of the northern and central regions of the Korean Peninsula.
Gwanggaeto the Great
The greatest territorial expansion of Goguryeo began during the reigns of Goguryeo's Gwanggaeto Taewang (whose name literally means “great expander of territory”) and his son Jangsu Taewang.
Gwanggaeto reigned from 391 to 412, during which Goguryeo conquered 64 walled cities and 1,400 villages from one campaign against Buyeo alone, destroyed Later Yan and annexed Buyeo and Mohe tribes to the north, subjugated Baekje, contributed to the dissolution of the Gaya confederacy, and turned Silla into a protectorate in wars against Gaya and Wa (Japan). In doing so, he brought about a loose unification of Korea that lasted about 50 years. His accomplishments are recorded on the Gwanggaeto Stele, erected in 414 in southern part of Manchuria.
Jangsu Taewang, ascending to the throne in 413, moved the capital to Pyongyang in 427, evidence of the intensifying rivalries between it and the other two Korean kingdoms of Baekje and Silla to its south. Jangsu, like his father, continued Goguryeo's territorial expansion into Manchuria and reached the Eastern Songhua River, which marked Goguryeo's farthest reach to the north. Jangsu also advanced into the east, occupying part of Russia's Primorsky Krai.
During this period, Goguryeo territory included three fourths of the Korean peninsula, including today's Seoul, and most of the Manchuria and the Russian maritime province. Goguryeo considered itself the center of the world, and founder Jumong the son of Heaven. The title of the ruler, Taewang, while literally translated as the Greatest of the Kings, is often translated to mean Emperor.
In the late 5th century, it absorbed Bukbuyeo and more Mohe and Khitan tribes, competed with Northern Wei in the north, and continued its strong influence over Silla.
Internal strife
Goguryeo’s fortunes began to change in the 6th century. King Anjang was assassinated, and succeeded by his brother King Anwon, during whose reign aristocratic factionalism increased. A political schism deepened as two factions advocated different princes for succession, until the eight-year-old Yang-won was finally crowned. But the power struggle was never resolved definitively, as feudal lords with private armies appointed de facto rulers called Daedaero.
Taking advantage of Goguryeo's internal struggle, a nomadic group called the Tuchueh attacked Goguryeo's northern castles in the 550s and conquered Goguryeo's northern lands. Weakening Goguryeo even more, as civil war continued among feudal lords over royal succession, Baekje and Silla allied to attack Goguryeo from the south in 551. Goguryeo fought back to reclaim the Seoul region that had been taken by Silla, and manoeuvered to effectively sever the Silla-Baekje alliance.
Goguryeo-Sui Wars
- Main article:Goguryeo-Sui Wars.
The Sui Dynasty was founded in 581. It grew in power and emerged as a powerful dynasty in China. Goguryeo's expansion conflicted with the Sui Dynasty and increased tensions. In 598 the Sui, provoked by Goguryeo military offensives in the Liaodong region, attacked Goguryeo in the first of the Goguryeo-Sui Wars. In this campaign, as with those that followed in 612, 613, and 614, Sui was unsuccessful. The 612 campaign was terminated after tremendous losses -- reported to be at a greater than 99% casualty rate. The 613 and 614 campaigns were aborted after launch -- the 613 campaign was terminated when the Sui general Yang Xuangan rebelled against Emperor Yang of Sui, while the 614 campaign was terminated after Goguryeo offered peace and returned Husi Zheng (斛斯政), an associate of Yang Xuangan, who had fled to Goguryeo, for Emperor Yang to be able to execute Husi.
One of Sui's most disastrous campaigns was the campaign of 612, in which Sui mobilised at least 1,138,000 combat troops. General Eulji Mundeok, led the Goguryeo troops to victory by luring the Sui troops into a trap outside of Pyongyang. At the Battle of Salsu River, Goguryeo soldiers released water from a dam, which overwhelmed the Chinese army and drowned nearly every Chinese soldier. Chinese histories record that of the over 300,000 Sui troops, a mere 2,700 returned.
The wars depleted the national treasury of the Sui Dynasty and after revolts and political strife, the Sui Dynasty disintegrated in 618. However the wars also exhausted Goguryeo's strength and its power declined.
Silla-Tang invasion
Although Goguryeo had repulsed the Sui Dynasty, attacks by the Tang Dynasty from the west proved too formidable. Under Tang Taizong, Sui's succeeding dynasty Tang Dynasty forged an alliance with Goguryeo's rival Silla after defeating Goguryeo's western ally, the Göktürks. This, combined with Goguryeo's increasing political instability following the 642 murder of King Yeongnyu at the hands of the military general Yeon Gaesomun, increased tensions between Tang and Goguryeo, as Yeon took an increasingly provocative stance against Tang. Further, when Yeon rejected peace negotiations with Silla, Silla sought aid from Tang.
In 645, Taizong launched an attack against Goguryeo. Goguryeo was able to repel the attack at Ansi Fortress. the central figure of a repulse was Yeon Gaesomun and Yang Manchun. In the end, Taizong was not able to capture Ansi, and the Tang army withdrew after suffering large losses during the siege of Ansi and running out of food supplies. After Taizong's death in 649, a Tang army was again sent to conquer Goguryeo in 661 and 662, but while Yeon Gaesomun was alive, Tang was not able to conquer Goguryeo.
Fall
Goguryo's ally in the southwest, Baekje, fell to the Silla-Tang alliance in 661; the victorious allies continued their assault on Goguryeo for the next eight years. Meanwhile, in 666 (though dates vary from 664-666), Yeon Gaesomun died and civil war ensued among his three sons.
Silla-Tang eventually vanquished the weary kingdom, which had been suffering from a series of famines and internal strife. Goguryeo finally fell in 668.
Silla thus unified most of the Korean peninsula in 668, but the kingdom's reliance on China's Tang Dynasty had its price. Silla had to forcibly resist the imposition of Chinese rule over the entire peninsula, but their own strength did not extend beyond the Taedong River.
The last King Bojang was captured. He was taken into exile by the Tang forces. Tang faced increasing problems ruling the former inhabitants of Goguryeo, as well as Silla's resistance to Tang's remaining presence on the Korean Peninsula. In 677, Tang crowned Bojang "King of Joseon" and put him in charge of the Liaodong commandery of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East. However, King Bojang continued to foment rebellions against Tang in an attempt to revive Goguryeo, organizing Goguryeo refugees and allying with the Mohe tribes. He was eventually banished to Szechuan in 681, and died the following year.
Revival movements
After the fall of Goguryeo in 668, many Goguryeo people rebelled against the Tang and Silla by starting Goguryeo revival movements. Among these were Geom Mojam, Dae Jung-sang, and several others. Tang tried but failed to form several commanderies to rule over the area.
The revival movements were suppressed until the rise of Dae Joyeong, a former Goguryeo general. Dae Joyeong reconquered most of Goguryeo's northern land established the kingdom of Balhae in 698, 30 years after the fall of Goguryeo. The southern portion of the erstwhile Goguryeo territory was claimed by Silla, while the rest was succeeded by Balhae. In her diplomatic language with Japan, Balhae stood as a successor state to Goguryeo. Balhae was conquered in 926 by the Khitans, after which many Goguryeo descent people migrated down to Goryeo.
In the early 10th century, Taebong (also called Hu-Goguryeo ("Later Goguryeo")), which briefly rose in rebellion against Silla, also claimed to be a successor to Goguryeo, as did Goryeo, the state that replaced Silla to rule the unified Korean peninsula.
Culture
Remains of walled towns, fortresses, palaces, tombs, and artifacts have been found in North Korea, including ancient paintings in a Goguryeo tomb complex in Pyongyang. Some ruins are also still visible in China, for example at Onyeosan ("Five Maiden Peaks") near Ji'an in Manchuria along the present border with North Korea, site of the state's first permanent capital. Ji'an is also home to a large collection of Goguryeo era tombs, including what Chinese scholars consider to be the tombs of kings Gwanggaeto and his son Jangsu, as well as perhaps the best-known Goguryeo artifact, the mammoth funeral stele of King Gwanggaeto, around whose interpretation a debate still rages. The stele is one of the primary sources for pre-fifth century Goguryeo history.
Goguryeo art, preserved largely in tomb paintings, is noted for the vigor of its imagery. It absorbed influences from the northern dynasties of China.
Cultural legacies of Goguryeo may be found in modern Korean culture, for example, Ondol, Goguryeo's unique floor heating system, and Hanbok, traditional clothes of Korea. A modernized version of Ondol can be found in the floor of every modern house in Korea, and Koreans wear Hanbok on traditional holidays and other special occasions.
World Heritage Site
UNESCO added Complex of Goguryeo Tombs in present-day North Korea and Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom in present-day China to the World Heritage Sites in 2004.
Language
- Main article: Goguryeo language.
The Goguryeo language is unknown except for a small number of words, which mostly suggests that it was similar to the language of Silla and influenced by the Tungusic languages. Supporters of the Altaic language family often classify the Goguryeo language as a member of that language family. Most Korean linguists believe that the Goguryeo language was closest to the Altaic languages out of the Three Kingdoms that followed Gojoseon.
Striking similarities between Baekje and Goguryeo can also be found, which is consistent with the legends that describe Baekje being founded by the sons of Goguryeo's founder. The Goguryeo names for government posts are mostly similar to those of Baekje and Silla.
The American linguist Christopher Beckwith has also noted similarities in certain vocabulary with Old Japanese. Some linguists propose the so-called "Buyeo languages" family that includes the languages of Buyeo, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Old Japanese. Chinese records suggest that the languages of Goguryeo, Buyeo, East Okjeo, and Gojoseon were similar, while Goguryeo language differed significantly from that of Malgal (Mohe).
Some words of Goguryeo origin can be found in the old Korean language (early 10th-late 14th centuries) but most were replaced by Silla-originated ones before long.
See also: Korean language
Modern politics
Conventionally, Goguryeo has been viewed as a Korean state, more specifically as one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Traditional Chinese histories have also identified Goguryeo with Goryeo, a Korean dynasty that took its name from Goguryeo and ruled Korea for centuries.
Starting from the 1980's, the People's Republic of China began to re-identify Goguryeo, especially the first half of Goguryeo's history before it moved its capital to the Korean peninsula, as a part of the regional history of China rather than of Korea. More recently, this effort has been called the Northeast Project (東北工程). This is based on the following points:
- that Goguryeo was established in Manchuria, now a part of China;
- that Goguryeo actively sought a tributary relationship with successive Chinese empires
- the claim that after the end of Goguryeo, its descendants were largely assimilated into the Han Chinese
- the claim that the Goryeo Dynasty and hence, the Korean nation, descends from Samhan and Silla, not Goguryeo; and that Goryeo appropriated the name from Goguryeo when in fact the two were established by different ethnicities.
By contrast, Korean historians dispute the legitimacy of the North East Project, upon the following points.
- Goguryeo's second capital was located at Pyongyang, North Korea. Before the capital city was moved, Goguryeo territory comprised what is today North Korea and parts of Manchuria.
- A nation that existed in China today doesn't mean it is ethnically Chinese.
- Goguryeo lasted about 900 years while no Chinese state concurrent with Goguryeo's rule lasted for more than 400. If Goguryeo was indeed Chinese, this would not be possible.
- The claim following the fall of Goguryeo only a few hundred thousand of its estimated 4 million inhabitants were taken into captivity by China and not the whole population. The Goguryeo state continued with Balhae, which considered itself as the successor of Goguryeo; when Balhae was destroyed, its population dissipated into the Korean dynasty of Goryeo. Hence, Silla was not the sole source of the modern Korean nation.
- Goguryeo defeated the Sui and Tang Dynasties of China several times before finally being destroyed by a Tang and Silla alliance
- The claim that only the present South Korean Jeolla and Kyongsang regions were descendants of Samhan, where is south of Geum River. There are more Koreans descended from inhabitants from outside Samhan and Silla, i.e., north of Geum River. North Koreans are descendants of Goguryeo, and North Korean shares the same languange and culture with the South Koreans.
In 2002 the Chinese government launched the Northeast China Project, a 20-billion-yuan (2.4 billion US dollars) project dealing with the region of Manchuria, which has involved rewriting history textbooks and restoring important Goguryeo sites in China. In 2004 this dispute threatened to lead to diplomatic disputes between the China and the Republic of Korea, although all governments involved seem to exhibit no desire to see the issue damage relations.
The PRC's revision of Goguryeo history, in an attempt to recharacterize it as a Chinese provincial state rather than an independent Korean kingdom, has received international criticism for making a flawed and politically motivated rewriting of history. Such criticisms came from numerous scholars from other countries such as the United States, Russia, Mongolia, and Australia, including prominent Goguryeo experts such as Mark Byington of Harvard University Korea Institute, and R. Sh. Djarylgashinova of Russian Academy of Science Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography .
The Northeast Project is not universally accepted in the PRC. In 2006, a senior scholar of Peking University, one of the most prestigious universities in the People's Republic of China, affirmed Goguryeo as a part of Korean history and denied Chinese connections. He has expressed disagreements with the CASS institute, the PRC government institution running the Northeast Project, and indirectly criticized the project on behalf of the Peking University Department of History.
Notes
- Lee, Ki-baik (1984). A new history of Korea, tr. by Wagner & Shultz. Seoul: Ilchogak. p. 19. ISBN 89-337-0204-0.
- This relationship is also supported by non-Chinese historians, including Byeon (1999), p. 40.
- 동북공정과 고대사 왜곡의 대응방안. 서울: 백암. 2006. ISBN 89-7625-119-9.
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See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- History of Korea
- Taewangs of Goguryeo
- Complex of Goguryeo Tombs
- List of monarchies
- Gando Convention
- Jolbon
- Cheolli Jangseong
- China-Goguryeo wars
- Goguryeo-Sui Wars
References
- Byeon Tae-seop (변태섭) (1999). 韓國史通論 (Hanguksa tongnon) (Outline of Korean history), 4th ed. ISBN 89-445-9101-6.
- Koguryo (Encyclopedia Britannica; paid registration required to view full article)
- Korea - The Three Kingdoms Period (U.S. Library of Congress)
- Korea, 1-500 A.D. Metropolitan Museum
- Yonson Ahn: Competing Nationalisms The mobilisation of history and archaeology in the Korea-China wars over Koguryo/Gaogouli (Japan Focus)
- Yonson Ahn: The Korea-China Textbook War What's It All About? (History News Network)
- Austin Ramzy: Rewriting History China and the Koreas feud over the ancient kingdom of Koguryo (Time Asia, August 16th, 2004)
- Bruce Klingner: China shock for South Korea (Asia Times, September 11th, 2004)
- Lost kingdom, modern spat Antiquities spark Korea-China row of historical proportions (JoongAng Daily, April 7th, 2006)
External links
- English Content and Conclusion of "History of Koguryo"(Korean) By Hyoung-Sik Shin, Ewha Womans University Press, Seoul, Korea 2003
- Information about the ancient kingdom
- "The Forgotten Glory of Koguryo" by Lee Wha Rang
- Excavated paintings about the ancient kingdom
- -An excellent site to learn about the history, culture of Goguryeo.