Early Korea to Japan
A survey on the early history of Korea and Japan. Includes a description of the Three Kingdoms Period and the unification of Korea by Silla as well as the emergence of the Yamato state in Japan.
3.1 Early Korea to Three Kingdoms : Goguryeo; Paekchae; Silla
Koreans ae ethinically and linguistically distinct from the Han Chinese.
Korean language is part of the Altaic language family which includes Mongolian, Turkish, and Japanese.
The first human activty in the Korean peninsula can be traced back to the Paleolithic ( Old Stone Age ) and early Neolithic ( New Stone Age ) periods.
Radiocarbon shows that habitation began between 40,000 and 30,000 BCE
Pottery and tools from the Neolithic period date as far back as 6000 BCE
Koreans have a popular legend; Tangun myth, that the first Korean state (Joseon) was founded in 2300 BCE
Korea’s first political entities were town states surrounded by walls of chiefdoms from the 11th century BCE during the Bronze Age.
Introduction of iron from China in the fifth century BCE sparked political progress on the peninsula.
Early Chinese records states that many tribal states emerged across Manchuria and the Korean peninsula from 4th to 2nd century BCE. These included:
Buyeo [Sungari river basin]
Jin [south of the Han River]
split into three kingdoms — Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan — at the southern part of the peninsula.
Early Korean state that was most advanced was Old Joseon which stretched from Taedong River to Liao River.
ruled by kings who claimed descent from the mythical leader, Tangun.
before 3rd century BCE, Old Joseon moved from Liaotung peninsula to Pyongyang.
taken over eventually by a Korean-Chinese defector from northern China; Wei Man.
In 108 BCE, Han’s emperor; Wu, defeated Wei Man Joseon and created four commanderies in the territory.
due to resistence from the locals, except the Lelang (Nangnang in Korean) commandery, based in North Korea near Pyongyang.
had influence on the native Koreans until it fell in 313 CE at the hands of Goguryeo (37 BCE to 668 CE).
Lelang commandery served as a channel for cultural and political institutions such as
ideographic Chinese writing system
Confucian learning
a centralized monarchy
Southern Korea remained free from Chinese influence during this time.
Three Kingdoms
Goguryeo ,Paekchae (18 BCE - 660 CE), and Silla (57 BCE - 935 CE) — hereditary monarchies, began to centralize and consolidate their power on the peninsula.
all three monarchies adopted Buddhism as their offical religion
Goguryeo in 372
Paekchae in 384
Silla in 535
Confucianism and Taoism also spread throughout society.
rulers of Silla advocated the “Kingly Way” (Book of Documents and the Analects) to legitimize their territoral expansion.
based civil organization and religion on Chinese models mixed with indigenous animism.
common attribute of political structure was the existence of hereditary lines of kingship from tribal confederations to centralized monarchies
social stratification — bone-rank ( or golpum), institutionalized by Silla provides a clear example of aristrocratic structure in the Three Kingdoms period
used Chinese characters to write in their language even though Korean is an Altaic language and doesn’t share similarities with Chinese characters
adapted it to suit their needs
Idu and Hyangch’ai systems uses characters to put sentences into Korean syntax or use the sounds of certain Chinese characters to create syllabary.
The History of the Three Kingdoms by Kim Busik is the oldest Korean historical recorded of the Three Kingdoms era.
Goguryeo was the most culturally and politically advanced of the three
controlled territory that extended from North Korea to the southern part of Manchuria.
first kingdom to accept Buddhism and establish Korea’s first National Confucian Academy in the 4th century
Paekche emerged and flourished under Buddhism and Confucianism
sought relations with Yamato, Japan and helped bring its culture to Japan
ethnic distinctions between ruling class and population became a barrier into becoming a cohesive state
weakest of the three kingdoms — faced threats by militaristic Goguryeo and Silla
despite Japan’s assistance, fell in 660 when it was attacked by Silla and Tang
refugees fled to Japan resulting in the Sinicized Korean culture
Silla started as a minor town state and eventually became present day Gyeongju
initially lagged behind Goguryeo and Paekchae in cultural and political development
achieved dominance over its rivals due to superior institutional elements within its policy
Proto-democratic Hwabaek counsel proves to be the best example of the importance of conciliar bodies in political decision makings
govern by principal of unanimity and made decisions on matter most important to the state
royal succession
declaration of war
official adoption of Buddhism
Hwarang-do (Flower Youth Band), talented young military leaders that were recruited to serve the state.
excelled at international diplomacy and forged alliance with Tang in the 7th century
contributed to Silla’s military success and territorial expansions over Goguryeo and Baekjae during the 6th century.
Goguryeo and Baekjae fought periodic wars with Sui China, later Tang dynasty which put Silla in an advantageous position.
played both kingdoms against each other then struck a deal with the Tang and defeated both, unifying Korea in 668 CE
violence broke out between Silla and the Tang due to Tang’s armies not wanting to leave
resulted in war but lead to a force truce
in return for the loss of territories in the north, Silla made peace with the Tang and ruled a unified Korea from 668 to 935
3.2 Selective Sinification in Korea
Unified Silla was a time of sustained prosperity, stability, and cultural bloom
became a tributary state after establishing a peaceful relationship with the Tang
borrowed heavily on Chinese institutional and cultural elements to suit the needs of the kingdom.
Buddhism became a widely accepted religion
Confucianism coexisted with Buddhism and recieved patronage of Buddhist monks as evidence by the establishment of the National Confucian College in the late 7th century
scholar/monks travelled to China and took advantage of Tang’s Cosmopolitan policies towards non-Chinese
Hyech’o — monk who went to India after completing studies and wrote books about his travels,
An Account of the Journey to the Five Indian States
Chang Pogo — Silla merchant who returned from the military and controlled a flourishing trade between China and Japan in the Yellow Sea in the 10th century
astronomy, calendrical sciene, mathematics, and the development of woodblock printing were advances during this period
noteworthy exemplers of Buddhist artisty includes the construction of Sokkuram Grotto and Pulguksa Temple
3.3 Early State and Society in Japan
Compared to Korea and China, Japan’s history is short.
elements of Japanese civilization did not make it to the islands until the 6th century BCE — 700 - 2000 years after Korea and China’s developments
first human inhabitants migrated to the archipelago from Sibera and Manchuria around 30,000 BCE when sea levels were much lower and land bridges connected land masses
other migrations from Southeast Asia might have also occurred
Jomon culture is the first evidence of Neolithic civilization that date around 10,000 BCE - 300 BCE
hunter-gathers with some knowledge of agriculture, weaving, and pottery.
Yayoi Period
began in 300 BCE and marks movement of another group of people from the Korean peninsula
brought technology and had been further developed as a result of their proximity to China
technologies brought to Japan included:
wet-rice agriculture
iron - and bronze-making
new methods of pottery
these arrivals brough social structure that organized hunter-gathers into tribes living in stable villages
Yayoi were first Japanese mentioned in Chinese historical records
tells us about these people, Wa Ko ( or "hairy dwarves”)
existed on raw vegetables and fish, tattooed their bodies, and were led by female shamans at the local level
Yamato or Kofun Era
Yayoi period was followed by the Yamato or Kofun era (250 CE - 538 CE )
named after tombs that were built during this time
noted by Chinese visitors for their size and unique shape
During this period Japan began to organize around powerful warlords
Bronze artifacts included chariots and armor and evidence of tatics similar to those in Korea and northeast China
similarity suggests a close relationship between Yamato/Kofun and Koreans who acted as the lens through which technology from China was focused and filtered into Japan
Japanese historians believe that the Kofun-era tomb holds the remains of Emperor Nintoku, 16th emperor of Japan.
Yamato states formed alliance with Paekche and established a military presence on the Korean peninsula.
close relationship between the two countries yielded some military benefits for Paekche but more for the Yamato court
Paekche sent Confucian scholars, Buddhist monks, Buddhist sciptures, a Buddha statue, as well as Chinese writing and literature in 552
more Korean monks would later arrive in Japan and Prince Shotoku became a disciple of Buddhism
Emperors and Empresses would become Buddhists and the Nara period (709-784) would witness a full Buddhist conversion
new social and military organization, written language, religion, and humanist philosophy would all be imported from China via Korea
Under Prince Shotoku (573-621), Japan developed an official state policy, full-scale adoption of the policy of China
although devoted to Buddhism, devised Japan’s first constitution based on Confucian models
written in 604, constitution states that the emperor serves at the behest of heaven and stresses the moral development of officials
Emperor Kotoku Tenno instituted the great Taika reforms in 645
this was in hopes to elminate the clan systems and establish the emperor as supreme ruler over provinces
ideas were idealistic and based on unrealistic concepts of the Japanese community
Japan’s most illiterate were farmers
great thinkers and reforms had little impact on their daily lives