Everything about The Three Kingdoms Of Korea totally explained
The
Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient
Korean kingdoms of
Goguryeo,
Baekje and
Silla, which dominated the
Korean peninsula and parts of
Manchuria for much of the
1st millennium CE. The Three Kingdoms period ran from 57 BCE until Silla's triumph over Goguryeo in 668, which marked the beginning of the
North and South States period (남북국시대) of
Unified Silla in the South and
Balhae in the North.
The earlier part of this period, before the three states developed into full-fledged kingdoms, is sometimes called
Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea.
Background
The name "Three Kingdoms" was used in the titles of the histories
Samguk Sagi (12th century) and
Samguk Yusa (13th century), and shouldn't be confused with the earlier Chinese
Three Kingdoms.
The Three Kingdoms were founded after the fall of
Gojoseon, and gradually conquered and absorbed various other small states and confederacies. After the fall of Gojoseon, the
Han dynasty established four
commanderies in northern parts of the Korean peninsula. Three fell quickly to the
Samhan, and the last was destroyed by Goguryeo in 313.
The nascent precursors of
Baekje and
Silla expanded within the web of complex
chiefdoms during the
Proto Three Kingdoms Period, and
Goguryeo conquered neighboring
Buyeo,
Okjeo,
Dongye, and other complex chiefdoms in northern Korea and Manchuria. The three polities made the transition from complex chiefdom to full-fledged state-level societies in the 3rd century CE.
All three kingdoms shared a similar culture and language. Their original religions appear to have been
shamanistic, but they were increasingly influenced by Chinese culture, particularly
Confucianism and
Taoism. In the
4th century, Buddhism was introduced to the peninsula and spread rapidly, briefly becoming the official religion of all three kingdoms.
Goguryeo
Goguryeo emerged on the north and south banks of the
Yalu (Amrok) River, in the wake of
Gojoseon's fall. The first mention of Goguryeo in Chinese records dates from 75 BCE in reference to a commandery established by the Chinese
Han dynasty, although even earlier mentions of "Guri" may be of the same state. Evidence indicates Goguryeo was the most advanced, and likely the first established, of the three kingdoms.
Goguryeo, eventually the largest of the three kingdoms, had several capitals in alternation: two capitals in the upper Yalu area, and later Nangrang (樂浪:
Lelang in Chinese) which is now part of
Pyongyang. At the beginning, the state was located on the border with
China; it gradually expanded into Manchuria and destroyed the Chinese
Lelang commandery in 313 CE. The cultural influence of the Chinese continued as Buddhism was adopted as the official religion in 372 CE.
The kingdom was at its zenith in the fifth century during the rule of
King Gwanggaeto and his son
Jangsu in their campaign against China in Manchuria. For the next century or so, Goguryeo was the dominant kingdom in the Korean peninsula. Goguryeo eventually occupied the Liaodong Plains in Manchuria and today's
Seoul area. Goguryeo controlled not only Koreans but also Chinese and other Tungusic tribes in Manchuria and
North Korea. After the establishment of the
Sui Dynasty and later the
Tang Dynasty in China, the kingdom continued to suffer from Chinese attacks until conquered by an allied Silla-Tang forces in 668 CE.
Baekje
Baekje was founded as a member of the
Mahan confederacy. Two sons of Goguryeo's founder are recorded to have fled a succession conflict, to establish Baekje around the present
Seoul area.
Baekje absorbed or conquered other Mahan chiefdoms and, at its peak in the 4th century, controlled most of the western Korean peninsula. Under attack from Goguryeo, the capital moved south to Ungjin (present-day
Gongju) and later further south to
Sabi (present-day
Buyeo).
Baekje exerted its political influence on
Tamna, a kingdom of
Jeju Island. Baekje maintained a close relationship with and extracted tribute from Tamna. Baekje's religious and artistic culture influenced
Goguryeo and
Silla.
Buddhism was introduced to Baekje in 384 from Goguryeo, which Baekje welcomed. Later, Baekje played a fundamental role in transmitting cultural developments, including Chinese characters and
Buddhism, into ancient Japan. Baekje was conquered by an alliance of Silla and Tang forces in 660.
Silla
According to Korean records, in 57 BC, Seorabeol (or
Saro, later
Silla) in the southeast of the peninsula unified and expanded the confederation of city-states known as
Jinhan. Although
Samguk Sagi records that Silla was the earliest-founded of the three kingdoms, other written and archaeological records indicate that Silla was likely the last of the three to establish a centralized government.
Renamed from Saro to Silla in 503, the kingdom annexed the
Gaya confederacy (which in turn had absorbed
Byeonhan earlier) in the first half of the
6th Century. Goguryeo and Baekje responded by forming an alliance. To cope with invasions from Goguryeo and Baekje, Silla deepened its relations with the Tang Dynasty, with her newly-gained access to the Yellow Sea making direct contact with the Tang possible. After the conquest of Goguryeo and Baekje with her Tang allies, the Silla kingdom drove the Tang forces out of the peninsula and occupied the lands south of Pyongyang.
The capital of Silla was Seorabeol (now
Gyeongju).
Buddhism became the official religion in 528. The remaining material culture from the kingdom of Silla including unique gold metalwork shows influence from the northern nomadic steppes, differentiating it from the culture of Goguryeo and Baekje where Chinese influence was more pronounced.
Other states
Other smaller states existed in Korea before and during this period:
The End of the Three Kingdoms Period
Allied with
China under the
Tang dynasty, Silla conquered Goguryeo in 668, after having already conquered Gaya in 562 and Baekje in 660, thus ushering in the North-South states period with
Later Silla to the south and
Balhae to the north.
Archaeological perspectives on the Three Kingdoms of Korea
Archaeologists use
theoretical guidelines derived from
anthropology,
ethnology, analogy, and
ethnohistory to the concept of what defines a
state-level society. This is different from the concept of state (
guk or Sino ko: 國, walled-town state, etc) in the discipline of Korean History. In anthropological
archaeology the presence of urban centres (especially capitals), monumental architecture, craft specialization and standardization of production, ostentatious burials,
writing or recording systems,
bureaucracy, demonstrated political control of geographical areas that are usually larger in area than a single river valley, etc make up some of these correlates that define states.
Among the archaeology sites dating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, hundreds of cemeteries with thousands of
burials have been excavated. The vast majority of archaeological evidence of the Three Kingdoms Period of Korea consists of burials, but since the 1990s there has been a great increase in the archaeological excavations of ancient industrial production sites, roads, palace grounds and
elite precincts, ceremonial sites, commoner households, and fortresses due to the boom in
salvage archaeology in South Korea.
Rhee and Choi hypothesize that a mix of internal developments and external factors lead to the emergence of state-level societies in Korea. A number of archaeologists including Kang demonstrate the role of frequent
warfare in the development of peninsular states.
Formation of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje States (c. 0 – A.D. 300/400)
Some individual correlates of complex societies are found in the chiefdoms of Korea that date back to c. 700 B.C. (for example see
Igeum-dong,
Songguk-ri). However, the best evidence from the archaeological record in Korea indicates that states formed between 300 B.C. and A.D. 300/400 . However, archaeologists are not prepared to suggest that this means there were states in the B.C. era, and so they refer to the polities that formed before the 4th century A.D. as
chiefdoms. The correlates of state-level societies didn't develop as a package, but rather in spurts and starts and at various points in time. It was some time in the
4th century AD that individual correlates of state societies had developed to a sufficient number and scale that state-level societies can be confidently identified using archaeological data.
Evidence from burials
Lee Sung-joo analyzed
variability in many of the
elite cemeteries of the territories of Silla and Gaya polities and found that as late as the
2nd century AD there was intra-cemetery variation in the distribution of
prestige grave goods, but there was an absence of hierarchical differences on a regional scale between cemeteries. Near the end of the 2nd century A.D. interior space in elite burials increased in size, and wooden chamber burial construction techniques were increasingly used by elites. In the 3rd century A.D. a pattern developed in which single elite cemeteries that were the highest in status compared to all the other cemeteries were built. Such cemeteries were established at high elevations along ridgelines and on hilltops. Furthermore, the uppermost elite were buried in large-scale tombs established at the highest point of a given cemetery. Cemeteries with 'uppermost elite' mounded burials such as Okseong-ri, Yangdong-ri, Daeseong-dong, and Bokcheon-dong display this pattern.
Evidence from factory-scale production of pottery and roof-tiles
Lee Sung-joo proposed that, in addition to the development of regional political hierarchies as seen through analysis of burials, variation in types of pottery production gradually disappeared and full-time specialization was the only recognizable kind of pottery production from the end of the 4th century A.D. At the same time the production centres for pottery became highly centralized and vessels became
standardized.
Centralisation and elite control of production is demonstrated by the results of the archaeological excavations at Songok-dong and Mulcheon-ni in
Gyeongju. These sites are part of what was an interconnected and sprawling ancient industrial complex on the northeast outskirts of the Silla capital. Songok-dong and Mulcheon-ri are an example of the large-scale of specialized
factory-style production in the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla Periods. The site was excavated in the late 1990s, and archaeologists found the remains of many production features such as
pottery kilns, roof-tile kilns,
charcoal kilns, as well as the remains of buildings and
workshops associated with production.
Capital cities, elite precincts, and monumental architecture
Since 1976, continuing archaeological excavations concentrated in the southeastern part of modern
Gyeongju have revealed parts of the so-called
Silla Wanggyeong (Silla capital). A number of excavations over the years have revealed
temples such as
Hwangnyongsa, Bunhwangsa, Heungryunsa, and 30 other sites. Signs of Baekje's capitals have also been excavated at the Mongchon Fortress and the
Pungnap Fortress in
Seoul.
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