Realm
Ancient Korean kingdom (18 BCE – 660 CE)
Paekche or Baekje was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms existed separately, Paekche had the largest population, at approximately 3,800,000, which was much larger than that of Silla and comparable to that of Goguryeo.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Baekje”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Paekche or Baekje (Korean: 백제; Hanja: 百濟) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms existed separately, Paekche had the largest population, at approximately 3,800,000 (760,000 households), which was much larger than that of Silla (850,000 people) and comparable to that of Goguryeo (3,500,000 people).
Paekche was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder, Donmeyong and Soseono, at Wiryeseong (now southern Seoul). Paekche, like Goguryeo, claimed to succeed Buyeo, a state established in Manchuria around the time of Old Chosŏn's fall.
Paekche alternately battled and allied with Goguryeo and Silla as the three kingdoms expanded control over the peninsula. At its peak in the 4th century, Paekche controlled most of the western Korean Peninsula, as far north as Pyongyang, and may have even held territories in China, such as in the Liaoxi Commandery, though this view is controversial. It became a significant regional sea power, with political and trade relations with China and Japan.
Paekche was a great maritime power; its nautical skills, which made it the Phoenicia of East Asia, was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.
In 660, it was defeated by Tang China and Silla, and ultimately submitted to Unified Silla.
The son of Uija, the last king of Paekche, Zenkō went to Japan and established the Kudara no Konikishi clan (百済王氏). The family served the emperor of Japan.
The most common name used by most historians is Paekche (백제), meaning "hundred counties", but was originally founded by Onjo as 十濟, which figuratively means "tens of counties". Only during the reign of Geunchogo (肖古王) was it renamed as Paekche. It is also attested as 居陀羅 Kudara, meaning "great place", which could have been a possible endonym that was later on borrowed into Old Japanese.
Paekche was mainly composed of the indigenous populations of the previous Mahan confederacy and the Koreanic Yemaek people from Goguryeo and Buyeo. In addition, smaller migrations happened via the inhabitants of the Jin state and the Lelang Commandery through trade and conquest, who were also admitted into the polities of Paekche.
According to the Samguk sagi, Paekche was founded in 18 BCE by King Onjo, who led a group of people from Goguryeo south to the Han basin. Jumong had left his son Yuri in Buyeo when he left that kingdom to establish the new kingdom of Goguryeo. Jumong became King Dongmyeong, and had two more sons with Soseono, Onjo and Biryu. Upon Yuri's later arrival in Goguryeo, Jumong promptly appointed him crown prince. Realizing Yuri would become the next king, Soseono left Goguryeo, taking her two sons, Biryu and Onjo, south to found their own kingdoms with their people, along with ten vassals. She is remembered as a key figure in the founding of both Goguryeo and Paekche.
Onjo settled in Wiryeseong now Hanam, and called his country Shipje (Korean: 십제; Hanja: 十濟; lit. 'Ten Vassals'), and Biryu settled in Michuhol, now Incheon, against the vassals' advice. The people of Wiryeseong lived prosperously, but the salty water and marshes in Michuhol made settlement difficult.
Biryu then approached his brother, Onjo, to request the throne of Shipje. When Onjo refused, Biryu declared war but lost. In shame, Biryu committed suicide, and his people moved to Wiryeseong, where King Onjo welcomed them and renamed his country Paekche "Hundred Vassals".
King Onjo moved the capital from the south to the north bank of the Han River, then back to the south, likely all within present-day Seoul, under pressure from other Mahan states. King Gaeru is believed to have moved the capital north of the river to Bukhansanseong in 132, probably in present-day Goyang to the northwest of Seoul.
Through the early centuries of the Common Era, sometimes called the Proto–Three Kingdoms period, early Paekche gradually gained control over the other Mahan peoples.
The Paekche Kingdom, which initially belonged to the Mahan confederacy, first integrated the Han River (Korea) basin area, then overthrew Mokji state (목지국; 目支國), the dominant country, and then integrated Mahan as a territorial state.
During the reign of King Goi (234–286), Paekche became a full-fledged kingdom, as it continued consolidating the Mahan confederacy. In 249, according to the ancient Japanese text Nihon Shoki, Paekche's expansion reached the Gaya confederacy to its east, around the Nakdong River valley. Paekche is first described in Chinese records as a kingdom in 345. The first diplomatic missions from Paekche reached Japan around 367 (According to the Nihon Shoki: 247).
King Geunchogo (346–375) expanded Paekche's territory to the north through war against Goguryeo, while annexing the remaining Mahan societies in the south. During Geunchogo's reign, the territories of Paekche included most of the western Korean Peninsula (except the two Pyeongan provinces), and in 371, Paekche defeated Goguryeo at Pyongyang. Paekche continued substantial trade with Goguryeo, and actively adopted Chinese culture and technology. Buddhism was introduced and accepted in 384, though it was not until 528 that King Seong officially established Buddhism as the state religion.
Paekche also became a sea power and continued mutual goodwill relationships with the Japanese rulers of the Kofun period, transmitting continental cultural influences to Japan. The Chinese writing system, Buddhism, advanced pottery, ceremonial burial, and other aspects of culture were introduced by aristocrats, artisans, scholars, and monks throughout their relationship.
During this period, the Han River basin remained the heartland of the country.
In the 5th century, Paekche retreated under the southward military threat of Goguryeo, and in 475, the Seoul region fell to Goguryeo. Paekche's capital was located at Ungjin (present-day Gongju) from 475 to 538.
Isolated in mountainous terrain, the new capital was secure against the north but also disconnected from the outside world. It was closer to Silla than Wiryeseong had been, however, and a military alliance was forged between Silla and Paekche against Goguryeo.
Most maps of the Three Kingdoms period show Paekche occupying the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, the core of the country in the Ungjin and Sabi periods.
In 538, King Seong moved the capital to Sabi (present-day Buyeo County), and rebuilt his kingdom into a strong state. Temporarily, he changed the official name of the country as the Nambuyeo (남부여; 南扶餘; Korean pronunciation: [na̠m.pu.jʌ̹]; lit. "Southern Buyeo"), a reference to Buyeo to which Paekche traced its origins. The Sabi period witnessed the flowering of Paekche culture, alongside the growth of Buddhism.
Under pressure from Goguryeo to the north and Silla to the east, Seong sought to strengthen Paekche's relationship with China. The location of Sabi, on the navigable Geum River, made contact with China much easier, and both trade and diplomacy flourished during his reign and continuing on into the 7th century.
In the 7th century, with the growing influence of Silla in the southern and central Korean peninsula, Paekche began its decline.
In 660, the coalition troops of Silla and Tang China attacked Paekche, which was then allied with Goguryeo. A heavily outmanned army led by General Gyebaek was defeated in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol near Nonsan. The capital Sabi fell almost immediately thereafter, resulting in the annexation of Paekche by Tang China. Tang government set up Ungjin Commandery for the purpose of governing the Paekche area. King Uija and his son Buyeo Yung were sent into exile in China while at least some of the ruling class fled to Japan. The fall of Sabi resulted in one of the infamous episodes in Korean history, as countless Paekche court ladies, concubines and women of the nobility committed suicide by jumping off a cliff near Sabi rather than be captured by the Silla-Tang Alliance. To memoralize this tragic event in history, a pavilion stands at the so-called "Rock of the Falling Flowers" commemorating Paekche's defeat and the suicide of the kingdom's court ladies and concubines who jumped off the cliff.
Paekche forces attempted a brief restoration movement but faced Silla–Tang joint forces. A Buddhist monk Dochim (도침; 道琛) and the former Paekche general Buyeo Boksin rose to try to revive Paekche. They welcomed the Paekche prince Buyeo Pung back from Japan to serve as king, with Juryu (주류, 周留, in modern Seocheon County, South Chungcheong) as their headquarters. They put the Tang general Liu Renyuan (劉仁願) under siege in Sabi. Emperor Gaozong sent the general Liu Rengui, who had previously been demoted to commoner rank for offending Li Yifu, with a relief force, and Liu Rengui and Liu Renyuan were able to fight off the Paekche resistance forces' attacks, but were themselves not strong enough to quell the rebellion, and so for some time the armies were in stalemate.
Paekche requested Japanese aid, and King Pung returned to Paekche with a contingent of 10,000 soldiers. Before the ships from Japan arrived, his forces battled a contingent of Tang forces in Ungjin County.
In 663, Paekche revival forces and a Japanese naval fleet convened in southern Paekche to confront the Silla forces in the Battle of Baekgang. The Tang dynasty also sent 7,000 soldiers and 170 ships. After five naval confrontations, all of which the Silla-Tang joint fleet won, that took place in August 663 at Baekgang, considered the lower reaches of Geum River or Dongjin river, the Silla–Tang forces emerged victorious, and Buyeo Pung escaped to Goguryeo.
The establishment of a centralized state in Paekche is usually traced to the reign of King Goi, who may have first established patrilineal succession. Like most monarchies, a great deal of power was held by the aristocracy. King Seong, for example, strengthened royal power, but after he was slain in a disastrous campaign against Silla, the nobles took much of that power away from his son.
The ruler titles of Paekche were *eraγa (於羅瑕), mostly used by the nobility, and *k(j)ə-n kici (鞬吉支), as he would be called by the commoners. The queen consort was called *oluk (於陸) and pasɨkasɨ (벗〯갓) meaning "woman companion".
The Hae clan and the Jin clan were the representative royal houses who had considerable power from the early period of Paekche, and they produced many queens over several generations. The Hae clan was probably the royal house before the Buyeo clan replaced them, and both clans appear descended from the lineage of Buyeo and Goguryeo. The "Great Eight Families" (Sa, Yeon, Hyeop, Hae, Jin, Guk, Mok, and Baek) were powerful nobles in the Sabi era, recorded in Chinese records such as Tongdian.
Central government officials were divided into sixteen ranks, the six members of the top rank forming a type of cabinet, with the top official being elected every three years. In the Sol rank, the first (Jwapyeong) through the sixth (Naesol) officials were political, administrative, and military commanders. In the Deok rank, the seventh (Jangdeok) through the eleventh (Daedeok) officials may have headed each field. Mundok, Mudok, Jwagun, Jinmu and Geuku from the twelfth to the sixteenth, may have been military administrators. Emperor Wu of Han spoke high of the efficiency of the central government in Paekche, according to the Book of the Later Han.
According to the Samguk yusa, during the Sabi period, the chief minister (Jaesang) of Paekche was chosen by a unique system. The names of several candidates were placed under a rock (Cheonjeongdae) near Hoamsa temple. After a few days, the rock was moved and the candidate whose name had a certain mark was chosen as the new chief minister. Whether this was a form of selection by lot or a covert selection by the elite is not clear. This council was called the Jeongsaamhoeui (政事巖會議, The council of rocks with state affairs).
The town leaders and its subjects participated in the military of Paekche on a local level, and loot and captives were distributed among them. The subjects usually worked in the supply division. The position of Jwajang led the military. Geunchogo established the division of central military and local militaries. The people of Paekche usually served in the military for three years. As Paekche entered the Sabi period, the military was divided into the royal private guard, the capital central military and the local military. The royal private guard handled matters such as protecting the palace. The weapons available to the soldiers were diverse.
The first ever bone remains of Paekche people were found in the eungpyeongri tombs in buyeo, which made possible reconstructions of appearances of Paekche people possible, and the tombs seem to have no sign of being looted.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Paekche”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.