Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (Korean: 고구려; Hanja: 高句麗; RR: Goguryeo; lit. 'high castle'; Korean pronunciation: [ko̞.ɡu.ɾjʌ̹]; Old Korean: Guryeo), also later known as Goryeo (Korean: 고려; Hanja: 高麗; RR: Goryeo; lit. 'high and beautiful'; Korean pronunciation: [ko.ɾjʌ]; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, kwòwlyéy), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of modern-day Northeast China (Manchuria). At its peak of power, Goguryeo encompassed most of the Korean Peninsula and large parts of Manchuria, along with parts of modern-day Russia. Archaeological evidence suggests it may have extended as far west as modern-day eastern Mongolia.
Along with Paekche and Silla, Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. It was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean Peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan.
Goguryeo was one of the great powers in East Asia until its defeat by a Silla–Tang alliance in 668 after prolonged exhaustion and internal strife following the death of Yŏn Kaesomun. After its fall, its territory was divided between the Tang dynasty, Later Silla and Parhae.
The name "Goryeo" (alternatively spelled "Koryŏ"), a shortened form of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ), was adopted as the official name in the 5th century, and is the origin of the English name "Korea".
Names and etymology
The kingdom was originally called Guryeo (Old Korean: 句麗, Yale: Kwulye, [ku.ɾjʌ̹]) or something similar to kaukuri), Both words were derived from "忽" (*kuru or *kolo) which meant castle or fortress. The word was possibly a Wanderwort like the Middle Mongolian qoto-n.
Several possible cognates for 忽 exist as well, which was used at a later stage as an administrative subdivision with the spelling of hwol [hʌ̹ɭ], as in 買忽 mwoyhwol / michwuhwol [mit͡ɕʰuhʌ̹ɭ], alongside the likely cognate of 骨 kwol [ko̞ɭ]. Nam Pung-hyun presents it also as a Paekche term, probably a cognate with the Goguryeo word with the same meaning and spelling.
The iteration of 徐羅伐 Syerapel as 徐羅城 *SyeraKUY equated the Old Korean word for village, 伐 pel with the Old Japanese one for castle 城 ki, considered a borrowing from Paekche 己 *kuy, in turn a borrowing from Goguryeo 忽 *kolo. Middle Korean 골〯 kwǒl [ko̞ɭ] and ᄀᆞ옳 kòwòlh [kʌ̀.òl] ("district") are likely descended from *kolo.
The name Goguryeo (Korean: 고구려; Hanja: 高句麗; Korean pronunciation: [ko̞ɡuɾjʌ̹]), which means "high castle", is a combination of Guryeo and the prefix Go (Korean: 고; Hanja: 高; lit. 'high, big'). The name came from Goguryeo-hyeon, a subdivision that was established by the Xuantu Commandery. As Han influence over Korea declined, Goguryeo-hyeon became the center of the early Goguryeo union.
From the mid-5th century, Goguryeo was shortened to the calque of Goryeo (Korean: 고려; Hanja: 高麗; Korean pronunciation: [ko.ɾjʌ]; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, Kwòwlyéy), which by itself had the meaning of "high and beautiful".
History
Origins
The earliest record of the name of Goguryeo can be traced to geographic monographs in the Book of Han and is first attested as the name of one of the subdivisions of the Xuantu Commandery, established along the trade routes within the Amnok river basin following the destruction of Gojoseon in 113 BC. The American historian Christopher Beckwith offers the alternative proposal that the Guguryeo people were first located in or around Liaoxi (western Liaoning and parts of Inner Mongolia) and later migrated eastward, pointing to another account in the Book of Han. The early Goguryeo tribes from whom the administrative name is derived were located close to or within the area of control of the Xuantu Commandery. Its tribal leaders also appeared to have held the ruler title of "marquis" over said nominal Gaogouli/Goguryeo county. The collapse of the first Xuantu Commandery in 75 BC is generally attributed to the military actions of the Goguryeo natives. In the Old Book of Tang (945), it is recorded that Emperor Taizong refers to Goguryeo's history as being some 900 years old. According to the 12th-century Samguk sagi and the 13th-century Samguk yusa, a prince from the Buyeo kingdom named Jumong fled after a power struggle with other princes of the court and founded Goguryeo in 37 BC in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle Amnok/Yalu and Hun River basin.
The Samguk sagi, a text from the 12th century in Goryeo, claims that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC, but today the date of the dynasty's foundation is in doubt, as archaeological evidence suggests that Goguryeo was founded before Silla, and four things support this:
- Kim Pusik was a 12th-century historian and author of the Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms). Since he was a descendant of the Silla royal family, it is likely that he distorted history to show the superiority of his ancestor, Silla, and this is undeniable.
- Since Kim Pusik wrote the History of the Three Kingdoms at least 5 centuries after the events of the Three Kingdoms and was not an eyewitness to the events of that era, his book is considered a secondary source and cannot be considered a primary source alone.
- The age of Goguryeo in the Samguk sagi contradicts what is inscribed in Gwanggaeto the Great's stele (which is a primary source). Gwanggaeto the Great's stele states that Goguryeo is 900 years old, but the Samguk sagi mentions Goguryeo as a dynasty that lasted 705 years.
- Also, the Old Book of Tang (945), a primary source, written by Li Shimin (Taizong), mentions that Goguryeo is about 900 years old.
In 75 BC, a group of Yemaek who may have originated from Goguryeo made an incursion into China's Xuantu Commandery west of the Yalu. The first mention of Goguryeo as a group label associated with Yemaek tribes is a reference in the Han Shu that discusses a Goguryeo revolt in 12 AD, during which they broke away from the influence of the Xuantu Commandery.
According to Book 37 of the Samguk sagi, Goguryeo originated north of ancient China, then gradually moved east to the side of Taedong River. At its founding, the Goguryeo people are believed to be a blend of people from Buyeo and Yemaek, as leadership from Buyeo may have fled their kingdom and integrated with existing Yemaek chiefdoms. The Records of the Three Kingdoms, in the section titled "Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians", implied that Buyeo and the Yemaek people were ethnically related and spoke a similar language.
According to John Jorgensen, "Goguryeo was a multi-ethnic kingdom, ruled by mounted warrior tribes originating from the north in Buyeo, consisting of local Yemaek farmers and other groups, who were likely the ancestors of modern Koreans. There were as well migrants and captives of Chinese and Xianbei ethnic groups, brought in to bolster the rulers' powers in the captured territories." Book 28 of Samguk sagi stated that "many people of China fled [to] East of the Sea due to the chaos of war by Qin and Han". Later Han dynasty established the Four Commanderies, and in 12 AD Goguryeo made its first attack on the Xuantu Commandery. The population of Xuantu Commandery was about 221,845 in 2 AD, and they lived in the commandery's three counties of Gaogouli, Shangyintai, and Xigaima. Later on, Goguryeo gradually annexed all the Four Commanderies of Han during its expansion.
Both Goguryeo and Paekche shared founding myths and originated from Buyeo.
Jumong and the foundation myth
The earliest mention of Jumong is in the 4th-century Gwanggaeto Stele. Jumong is the modern Korean transcription of the hanja 朱蒙 Jumong, 鄒牟 Chumo, or 仲牟 Jungmo.
The Stele states that Jumong was the first king and ancestor of Goguryeo and that he was the son of the prince of Buyeo and daughter of Habaek (Korean: 하백; Hanja: 河伯), the god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak (Korean: 해밝). The Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa paint additional detail and names Jumong's mother as Yuhwa (Korean: 유화; Hanja: 柳花). Jumong's biological father was said to be a man named Haemosu who is described as a "strong man" and "a heavenly prince". The river god chased Yuhwa away to the Ubal River (Korean: 우발수; Hanja: 優渤水) due to her pregnancy, where she met and became the concubine of Geumwa.
Jumong was well known for his exceptional archery skills. Eventually, Geumwa's sons became jealous of him, and Jumong was forced to leave Eastern Buyeo. The Stele and later Korean sources disagree as to which Buyeo Jumong came from. The Stele says he came from Buyeo and the Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi say he came from Eastern Buyeo. Jumong eventually made it to Jolbon, where he married Soseono, daughter of its ruler. He subsequently became king himself, founding Goguryeo with a small group of his followers from his native country.
A traditional account from the "Annals of Paekche" section in the Samguk sagi says that Soseono was the daughter of Yeon Tabal, a wealthy influential figure in Jolbon and married to Jumong. However, the same source officially states that the king of Jolbon gave his daughter to Jumong, who had escaped with his followers from Eastern Buyeo, in marriage. She gave her husband, Jumong, financial support in founding the new statelet, Goguryeo. After Yuri, son of Jumong and his first wife, Lady Ye, came from Dongbuyeo and succeeded Jumong, she left Goguryeo, taking her two sons Biryu and Onjo south to found their own kingdoms, one of which was Paekche.
Jumong's given surname was "Hae" (Korean: 해; Hanja: 解), the name of the Buyeo rulers. According to the Samguk yusa, Jumong changed his surname to "Go" (Korean: 고; Hanja: 高) in conscious reflection of his divine parentage. Jumong is recorded to have conquered the tribal states of Biryu (Korean: 비류국; Hanja: 沸流國) in 36 BC, Haeng-in (Korean: 행인국; Hanja: 荇人國) in 33 BC, and Northern Okjeo in 28 BC.
Centralization and early expansion (mid-first century)
Goguryeo developed from a league of various Yemaek tribes to an early state and rapidly expanded its power from their original basin of control in the Hun River drainage. In the time of Taejodae in 53 AD, five local tribes were reorganized into five centrally ruled districts. Foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Early expansion might be best explained by ecology; Goguryeo controlled territory in what is currently central and southern Manchuria and northern Korea, which are both very mountainous and lacking in arable land. Upon centralizing, Goguryeo might have been unable to harness enough resources from the region to feed its population and thus, following historical pastoralist tendencies, would have sought to raid and exploit neighboring societies for their land and resources. Aggressive military activities may have also aided expansion, allowing Goguryeo to exact tribute from their tribal neighbors and dominate them politically and economically.
Taejo conquered the Okjeo tribes of what is now northeastern Korea as well as the Dongye and other tribes in Southeastern Manchuria and Northern Korea. From the increase of resources and manpower that these subjugated tribes gave him, Taejodae led Goguryeo in attacking the Han Commanderies of Lelang and Xuantu on the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas, becoming fully independent from them.
Generally, Taejodae allowed the conquered tribes to retain their chieftains, but required them to report to governors who were related to Goguryeo's royal line; tribes under Goguryeo's jurisdiction were expected to provide heavy tribute. Taejodae and his successors channeled these increased resources to continuing Goguryeo's expansion to the north and west. 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, stabilizing the royal court.
The expanding Goguryeo kingdom soon entered into direct military contact with the Liaodong Commandery to its west. Around this time, Chinese warlord Gongsun Kang established the Daifang Commandery by separating the southern half from the Lelang commandery. Balgi, a brother of King Sansang of Goguryeo, defected to Kang and asked for Kang's aid to help him take the throne of Goguryeo. Although Goguryeo defeated the first invasion and killed Balgi, in 209, Kang invaded Goguryeo again, seized some of its territory and weakened Goguryeo. Pressure from Liaodong forced Goguryeo to move their capital in the Hun River valley to the Yalu River valley near Hwando.
Goguryeo–Wei Wars
In the chaos following the fall of the Han dynasty, the former Han commanderies had broken free of control and were ruled by various independent warlords. Surrounded by these commanderies, who were governed by aggressive warlords, Goguryeo moved to improve relations with the newly created dynasty of Cao Wei in China and sent tribute in 220. In 238, Goguryeo entered into a formal alliance with Wei to destroy the Liaodong commandery.