Sam Horowitz

Silla kingdom

Background history

As with many kingdoms, the story of the creation of the Silla kingdom is infused with otherworldly magic.^[1] The mythical birth of the first ruler of Silla was recorded in the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk yusa), written by the Buddhist monk, Iryeon (1206-1289), over 1200 years after his birth. The Memorabilia is not a purely factual account and includes folklore, as well as some historical accounts.^[2] Other sources of the time period of the Silla kingdom from 57 BCE–935CE, is based on contemporaneous Chinese sources and two famous Goryeo-period historical documents. The information found in these three sources was gathered by Kim Busik (1075-1151). Initially, the Silla kingdom was divided into two different periods: Old Silla (57BCE–676CE) and Unified Silla (676–935).^[3] However, more recently, Silla has been broken up into three sections: Early (57BCE–654BCE), Middle (654–780), and Late (780–935).^[4] The founder of the Silla kingdom was King Bak (Pak) Hyeokgeose, becoming King at twelve years old, and known for being a wise and compassionate ruler. During the Unified Silla period (or Middle Period), the Silla kingdom conquered the kingdoms of Baekje and Goguryeo, in 668 and 660, respectively, with assistance of the armies of Tang China. Once Silla was unified, it occupied most of the Korean Peninsula. Throughout the whole Silla kingdom, there were a total of 56 rulers.

Early (57 B.C.- A.D. 654)

At this time Silla existed as a state in the southeastern area of the Korean Peninsula. Overtime, Silla’s influence expanded to the Jinhan chiefdoms. Moreover, through the third century, it was the strongest city-state, in a loose federation.^[5] However, overtime Silla’s power grew and it became a kingdom.^[6]

Naemul of Silla (356-402), of the Gim (Kim) clan, created a hereditary monarchy and declared himself Maripgan, meaning “ruler”. Numerous historians view this as the beginning of the Kim dynasty, which lasted over 550 years. Although the Kim family held the throne for over 500 years, the worship of Bak Hyeokgeose, the founder, continued. In the later part of the fourth century, Silla aligned itself with Goguryeo, through pressure by the kingdom of Baekje. Moreover, as Goguryeo expanded its kingdom, moving towards Pyongyang, Silla was forced to become allies with Baekje. Silla became a full-fledged kingdom by the time of king Beopheung (514-540), after conquering the Gaya confederacy,^[7] during the Gaya-Silla wars. During these wars, Silla annexed Geumgwan Gaya (532) and conquered Daegaya (562).^[8] King Jinheung (540-576), created a strong military and helped Baekje force Goguryeo out of the Han River area. The death of queen Jindeok, marked the end of the early period of the Silla kingdom.

Middle (654-780):

The middle period of the Silla kingdom was marked by the rising power of the monarchy, at the expense of the nobility. The line of succession that started with King Muyeol (the unifier of Silla) ended with the assassination of Hyegong in 780, marking the end of the middle period. Hyegong’s death was a result of a bloody civil war that involved the majority of the Kingdom’s high-ranking noble families. After his death, the King of Silla became a figurehead, and the aristocratic families became the ones in control.^[9]

Late (780-935):

The late period of the Silla kingdom was marked by chaos and civil war. This period saw the rise of the Later Baekje and Later Goguryeo kingdoms, and the falling of the Silla kingdom to King Gyeongsum in 935.^[10]

Hwarang

In the sixth century, in the Silla kingdom, an organization called the Hwarang emerged.^[11] There are several translations of Hwarang in English, the most accepted translation being “flower boys”. The origin story of the Hwarang was written by Kim Busik, in the History of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk Sagi). The origin story of the Hwarang starts in the thirty-seventh year of King Jinheung’s reign (576). In an attempt to find talented people that would serve the court, officials gathered a large group of people and ultimately appointed two beautiful women, Nammo and Junjeong, as leaders. Although these leaders had hundreds of followers, the women became envious of one another, with Junjeong killing Nammo. Junjeong was executed for her crime, and the organization was disbanded.^[12] After this incident, government officials appointed beautiful men, instead of women, as leaders.

The members of the Hwarang instructed each other in rightness, entertained one another, and went sightseeing together. It was said that a lot can be learned of a man’s character by watching them do these activities. After observing the Hwarang, officials observed men’s behavior as a way to determine who belonged in which area of service. Numerous military generals and political figures had Hwarang roots, which perhaps is why the Hwarang organization became known as militaristic, however, that is not the case. The Hwarang held religious and educational functions in the Silla kingdom, believing in a well-rounded education. The Hwarang were influenced by the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and native shamanism.

Some of the main beliefs were established by Wongwang, a famous monk. He believed that Hwarang needed to honor the five injunctions: “loyalty to the king, filial love toward one’s parents, fidelity in friendship, bravery in battle, chivalry in warfare.” The five injunctions were known as the “five commandments for laymen.” The commandments demand loyalty and filial piety (Confucian teaching) and the commandment demanding a restriction on unnecessary killing (Buddhist teaching) demonstrate the multiple religions shown in the Hwarang. When these five commandments are combined, the virtue of bravery with Buddhism’s compassion and Confucianism’s faithfulness, you have the Hwarangs’ ideals. The best way to think about the Hwarang is to view them as a group of individuals who intended to cultivate their abilities and talents in a way that would be useful to the military or government. The Hwarang youths, an exclusive phenomenon in Silla’s society, were taught military arts, religion, morals, and traditional values.

Bone-Rank system (class structure)

The golpum (bone-rank system), was a rigid caste system, created in the fifth and sixth centuries CE, and was developed as a form of social control in order to maintain order as the kingdom grew.^[13] Additionally, it was used as a method to integrate other royal families without giving them too much power. The golpum was formalized in 520 CE, under King Beopheung. The people of Silla were expected to marry within their bone-rank, although higher-ranking men could have concubines from a lower rank.^[14] Moreover, members of the higher sacred-bone rank had the right to become king, and marry others of higher sacred-bone.^[15] Typically, those who were of sacred-bone rank were related to the royal Kim family that had founded the Silla Dynasty. An individual’s hereditary bone-rank represented their relation to the royal family, and what rights and privileges they had in society.

The highest bone-rank was seonggol (sacred bone), those who fell into this category were related to members of the royal family on both their father’s and mother’s sides. The second rank was jingol (true bone), which consisted of people who were related to the royal family on one side of the family, and had noble blood on the other.^[16] This rank included members of the other royal families that had been conquered by the Silla kingdom. They could become full ministers to the royal court. Below these two ranks were dupum (head rank), they could hold a position of higher ministerial, deputy minister, and military positions if they were dupum rank six.^[17] Dupum rank six were people who were likely to have descended from sacred or true bone rank men, and lower concubines. Dupum ranks five and four had fewer privileges and could only hold low functionary jobs within the government. There are limited historical sources that have rankings of dupum ranks three, two, and one. It is speculated that these were the ranking of common people and that they could not hold government positions, and therefore did not deserve any mention in government documents.

During the reign of King Beopheung, the royal Kim family did not have any sacred-bone men available to take the throne, so the sacred-bone women became Queen Seondeok and Queen Jindeok. King Muyeol, the next man to ascend the throne in the year 654, amended the law to allow both true and sacred-bone royals to become King. The sacred-bone caste system put limits on career advancement, determining the colors and fabrics a person could wear, where they could live, and the size of the house they could build. The laws surrounding this system ensured that everyone knew their place within the system and that a person’s status was identifiable at first glance. Overtime, those who held the dupum rank six became frustrated with the system. They were surrounded by power every day, but due to the caste system, they were unable to obtain a higher position. Despite the frustration that was emerging due to the caste system, the Silla kingdom was able to conquer both Baekje and Goguryeo. Unfortunately, after conquering the kingdoms Silla suffered from a series of weak Kings and increasingly powerful rebellious lords from dupum rank six. This eventually led Silla to be overthrown by the Later Goguryeo kingdom, which actively recruited the head-rank six men to staff its military and bureaucracy.

Goguryeo kingdom

Background history

The Goguryeo kingdom covered mainly the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. According to legend, king Jumong founded the Goguryeo dynasty in the year 37 BCE, and he was a son of the Prince of the Buyeo kingdom. He was famous for his prowess in archery.^[18] Goguryeo had a total of twenty-eight rulers until it was conquered by a Tang-China/Silla alliance in 668CE.

Class structure

Goguryeo employed an ancient hierarchy, which at the time was considered a strong Korean social concept. During this dynasty, the new classes that had emerged fell into six different ranks: the royal group, Yangban (civil and military officers), palace functionaries of lower ranks, regional clerks and other lower government officials, tax-paying free citizens, and butchers and market hunters.^[19]

Baekje kingdom

Background history

The Baekje kingdom was located in the southwest region of the peninsula. The kingdom was said to be founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo’s founder Jumong and So Seo-no. In the fourth century, Baekje expanded and took control of most of the areas in the western Korean Peninsula. The kingdom extended its territory up to Pyongyang (in modern-day North Korea) in the north. The Baekje kingdom had significant political and economic relations with both China-based regimes and Japan at that time. There were thirty-one rulers within the Baekje dynasty, and in the year 660, the kingdom was defeated by the alliance of the Silla kingdom and the Tang dynasty of middle period China.^[20]

Class structure

During the reign of King Goi (r. 234-286), Baekje had matured into a fully-fledged kingdom and continued to consolidate its neighboring smaller states. As a way to govern his kingdom, he implemented an administrative system, which was ahead of the times compared to the other kingdom. Government positions were categorized into sixteen ranks, with each rank assigned a designated color for their garments. In order to maximize defense, a royal palace was also created.^[21]

Bibliography

Baekje World Heritage Center, http://www.baekje-heritage.or.kr/html/en/historic/historic_010101.html.

Hierarchystructure. “Korean Royal Hierarchy Structure: Royal Hierarchy.” Hierarchy Structure, December 4, 2017. https://www.hierarchystructure.com/korean-royal-hierarchy/.

Information Service. “KOREA.NET.” Pak Hyeokgeose: the founder of the Silla kingdom was respected and courageous : Korea.net : The official website of the Republic of Korea. http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=121866&fbclid=IwAR3M2cOvvQTkTSm7fUiL7GfQrqIqxfkwW1k0oECgd25y6tTgwSohYUsds0Y.

Lee, Soyoung, and Denise Patry Leidy. Silla: Koreas Golden Kingdom. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013.

No, Tae-don. Korea’s Ancient Koguryŏ Kingdom: a Socio-Political History. Leiden: Global Oriental, 2014.

Szczepanski, Kallie. “Korea’s Bone-Rank System: Golpum.” ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo, October 24, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-was-koreas-bone-rank-system-195711.

The Hwarang Warriors – Silla’s Flower Boys. https://www.dartmouth.edu/~quarterly/vol1/the-hwarang-warriors—silla-s-flower-boys.html.

“Unified Silla.” Unified Silla – New World Encyclopedia. Accessed May 7, 2020. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Unified_Silla.

---