Goryeo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Goryeo | |
|---|---|
| Image:Wang Geon.jpg | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul: | 고려 |
| Hanja: | 高麗 |
| Revised Romanization: | Goryeo |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Koryŏ |
The Goryeo Dynasty established in 918 ruled Korea from the fall of the Unified Silla in 935 until replaced by the Joseon dynasty in 1392.
The name "Goryeo" is a shortened form of "Goguryeo," one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea that were united by Silla in 668. The English name "Korea" derives from "Goryeo." See Names of Korea.
Two of this period's most notable products are Goryeo pottery — the famous Korean celadon pottery — and the Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks. Goryeo also created the world's first metal-based movable type printing press in 1234.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Founding
As Unified Silla weakened and lost control over local lords, the country entered a period of civil war and rebellion. Major rebellion forces were led by Gung Ye (궁예, 弓裔, ?~918), Gi Hwon (기훤,箕萱[1]), Yang Gil (양길, 梁吉) and Gyeon Hwon (견훤,甄萱, 867-935[2]). Two new kingdoms were established: Hugoguryeo (후고구려, Post-Goguryeo, later renamed Taebong (태봉) by Gung Ye, and Hubaekje (후백제, later Baekje) by Gyeon Hwon. This period is known as the Later Three Kingdoms era.
Wang Geon (왕건), who was a lord of Songak (present-day Gaesong), joined Taebong but overthrew Gung Ye and established Goryeo in 918. [2] The Later Three Kingdoms era ended as Goryeo annexed Silla and defeated Hubaekje in 936.
[edit] Political structure
The terminology used in the court of Goryeo adopted the system of an empire, not of a kingdom. The capital, Gaeseong (at that time called Gaegyeong (開京)), was called "Imperial Capital" (皇都) and the palace was referred to as "Imperial Palace" (皇城). Other terms, such as "Your (Imperial) Majesty" (陛下), "Prince" (太子), "Empress Dowager" (太后), and "Imperial Ordinance" (詔 or 勅) also suggest that Goryeo adopted the title system of an empire. However, not all Goryeo rulers used the posthumous term for "emperor"(皇帝) as this usually referred to the Chinese rulers. Only a few rulers were posthumously named this way, and those rulers took era names as well. Instead, the majority of Goryeo monarchs used the term supreme king (大王) in their posthumous names. The Goryeo rulers also were given temple names that consisted of two characters, the latter was always either -jo (hangeul: 조; hanja: 祖) or -jong (hangeul: 종; hanja: 宗). This practice, however, ceased after Mongol subjugation. Instead, all rulers were enshrined with three syllable names always ending in the word "Wang" (hangeul: 왕; hanja: 王) to signify Mongol sovreignty. However, it is acceptable to refer to the monarchs of Goryeo (until the Mongol invasions) as emperors, as this indicates the lack of a subjugated relationship between Goryeo and China prior to Mongolian rule. Emperor in the case of Goryeo, however, did not hold the same meaning as it did in China (with the exception of the few rulers that posthumously rose themselves); the rulers of Goryeo were not seen by the Koreans as Sons of Heaven, like the Chinese viewed their emperors, but instead as chosen representatives of it.
In order to strengthen the power of the central government, Gwangjong, the 4th ruler (the second Goryeo monarch to be posthumously titled using the same title as the Chinese emperor (hangeul: 황제; hanja: 皇帝)), made a series of laws including that of freeing slaves in 958, and one creating the exam for hiring civil officials.
The 5th monarch, Gyeongjong (hangeul: 경종; hanja: 景宗), launched land-ownership reformation called Jeonsigwa (hangeul: 전시과; hanja: 田柴科) and the 6th Goryeo monarch Seongjong(성종, 成宗) appointed officials to local areas, which were previously succeeded by the lords. Between 993 and 1019, the Goryeo-Khitan Wars ravaged the northern border.
By the time of the 11th monarch,Munjong (hangul: 문종; hanja: 文宗), the central government of Goryeo gained complete authority and power over local lords. Munjong and later emperors emphasized the importance of civilian leadership over the military.
[edit] Assassination and Wars
Emperor Mokjong of Goryeo, the 7th monarch of Goryeo, was faced with a plot of usurption that was led by his own mother and her lover, Kim Chi-Yang. Kim Chi-Yang went as far down the line as to burning the palace in an attempt to eliminate the Emperor. Emperor Mokjong called General Gang Jo to come and eliminate Kim Chi-Yang and his follower, which he did. Gang Jo, however, killed the Emperor after hearing of plots of conspiracy against him. Gang Jo blocked the Liao invasions untill his own death. After Kang Jo came General Yoon Gwan, who destroyed the Liao armies and expanded the Goryeo territory for a temporary time.
[edit] Power struggles
The House Yi of Inju (인주 이씨, 仁州李氏) provided consorts to the Goryeo monarchs from Munjong to the 17th emperor, Injong. Eventually the Yis gained more power than the Emperor himself. This led to the coup of Yi Ja-gyeom in 1126. The coup failed but the power of monarch was weakened; Goryeo underwent a civil war among the nobility.
In 1135, Myo Cheong argued to move the capital to Seogyeong (present day P'yŏngyang). This proposal divided the nobilities of Goryeo in half. One faction, led by Myo Cheong, believed in moving the capital to Pyongyang and expanding into Manchuria. The other one, led by Kim Bu-sik (author of the Samguk Sagi), wanted to keep the status quo. Myo Cheong failed to persuade the Emperor and rebelled against the central government, but failed.
In 1170, a group of army officers led by Jeong Jung-bu (정중부, 鄭仲夫) and Yi Ui-bang (이의방, 李義方), launched a coup d'état and succeeded. Emperor Injong went into exile and Emperor Myeongjong (명종,明宗) ascended to the throne. Effective power, however, lay with a succession of generals: Military rule of Goryeo had begun. In 1177, the young general Kyong Taesung rose to power and began an attempt to restore the full power of the monarch and purge the corruption of the state. However, he died in 1184, and was succeeded by the son of a slave Yi Uimin. His unrestrained corruption and cruelty led to a coup by a more traditionalist general, Choi Chungheon, who assassinated Yi Uimin and took supreme power in 1197. For the next 61 years, the Choe house ruled as military dicators, maintaining the emperors as puppet monarchs; Choe Chungheon was succeeded in turn by his son Choi U, his grandson Choi Hang and his great-grandson Choi Ui. On taking power, Choi Chungheon forced Myeongjong off the throne and replaced him with Emperor Sinjong, but after Sinjong died, Choi forced two more emperors off the throne until he found the pliable Emperor Gojong.
[edit] Mongol invasions (1231 - 1259)
- See main article: Mongol invasions of Korea
In 1231, Mongolians under Ögedei Khan invaded Goryeo, as part of a general campaign to conquer China. The Imperial Court moved to Ganghwa Island in the Bay of Gyeonggi, in 1232. The military ruler of the time Choe Chung-heon (최충헌, 崔忠獻) insisted on fighting back. Goryeo resisted for about 30 years but finally sued for peace in 1259. On March 1258, the dictator Choi was assassinated by Kim Jun. Thus, the dictatorship by military group was ended, and then the Literati, who had insisted peace with the Mongols, gained power. Eventually, the Literati sent an envoy to the Mongol Court, and a peace treaty was contracted between the Mongols and Goryeo. Some military officials who refused to surrender formed the Sambyeolcho Rebellion and resisted in the islands off the southern shore of the Korean peninsula. For about 30 years the Mongols could not conquer Goryeo, and the peace treaty was concluded after the dictator Choi was murdered by the the literati[3]. The treaty garaunteed the sovereignty of Goryeo as a state (to a degree) and cultural independence of Goryeo, however Goryeo rulers were forced to lower their status and could no longer take temple names (see above). Although Goryeo was not absorbed into the Mongol Empire, it became a vassal-state but at the same time enjoyed the privellage of being a "son-in-law" state of Yuan. Most Goryeo queens after the treaty was established were of Mongolian origin, and most Yuan empresses were of Goryeo origin. This implies that the Mongols gave up attempts to bring Goryeo under their direct control and held at least some level of respect for Goryeo[4]. However, the Mongols were quite demanding. Tribute was extremely high, and shortly after this peace was established, Mongolia forced Goryeo to participate in an invasion of Japan in effort to subjugate it and pressure the Southern Song (as Japan had close maritime relations with the Song) further.
[edit] Fall
In 1388, King U planned a campaign to invade present-day Liaoning of China. King U put the general Yi Seong-gye (later Taejo) in charge, but he stopped at the border and rebelled. Goryeo fell to General Yi In 1392. He then established the Joseon Dynasty.
[edit] References
- ^ 三國史記,高麗史
- ^ 三國史記,高麗史
- ^ 국방부 군사편찬연구소, 고려시대 군사 전략 (2006) (The Ministry of National Defense, Military Strategies in Goryeo)
- ^ 국사편찬위원회, 고등학교국사교과서 p63(National Institute of Korean History, History for High School Students, p64)[1]
[edit] See also
- The History of the Koryo Dynasty[5](高麗史, the 1st source written in Chinese, the file type is PDF.) Seoul National Univ.
- List_of_Korean_monarchs#Goryeo
- Names of Korea
- List of Korea-related topics
- Korean Pottery: Categorized by Periods
