Goguryeo

Goguryeo

zh-cn:高句丽 zh-tw:高句麗 Goguryeo or Koguryo (高句麗; 고구려; gao1 gou1 li2) (1st century BC-668) was a kingdom in southern Manchuria and northern Korea. It is often referred to as one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Baekje and Silla. It was named after Gaogouli (高勾驪), an ancient Chinese prefecture in Xuantu commandry (玄菟) in modern Liaoning province.

Table of contents

1 History
2 Culture
3 Language
4 Modern politics
5 See also
6 External links

History

According to Samguk Sagi, King Jumong (posthumously called King Dongmyeongseong) founded the kingdom in 37 BC around what is now the border between China and North Korea. It gained power while China was fragmented. The maximum extent of the kingdom was reached during the reigns of King Gwanggaeto the Great and his son King Jangsu. During this period they ruled half of Korean penninsula and most of Manchuria. It was overthrown by an alliance of the Chinese Tang Empire and Silla in 668. The southernmost parf of Goguryeo was seized by Silla, the northwestern part was by Tang, and the rest was succeeded by Bohai.

Culture

Remains of castles, palaces and several artifacts including tomb paintings have been found in North Korea. Some ruins are also still visible in Manchuria, for example at Onyeosan ("Five Maiden Peaks") near Jian in northeast China, thought to be the site of the first city of Goguryeo. Some cultural heritage still remain in modern Korean culture, for example, Ondol, Goguryeo's indigenous heating system, can be found in every house in Korea nowadays.

Language

The Goguryeo language is unknown except for small number of words, which suggests that it was significantly different from Korean or Tungusic languages. Some of these words can be found in the old Korean language (early 10th-late 14th centuries) but were replaced by Silla-originated ones before long. It is interesting that some words including numerals correspond with Japanese ones. Supporters of the Altaic language family often classifies the Goguryeo language as a member of that language family. Based on Chinese accounts, some linguists set the so-called "Fuyu languages" that included the languages of Fuyu, Goguryeo and the upper class of Baekje.

Modern politics

Both China and Korea claim Goguryeo as their own projecting their modern views to ancient history. Koreans have traditionally viewed Goguryeo as a Korean state although Goguryeo people were different from Koreans in various aspects. Fearing a potential regional dispute caused by South Korean nationalism, China has launched a project to treat Goguryeo as a local government within China, which is followed by South Korea's counter-project. History cannot be free from politics there.

Notes:

For Korean names for kings, see Rulers of Korea.
The legendary line had already been formed with some variants in the early 5th century when King Changshou built a monument for his father and Gaolouli made contacts with Northern Wei.
The great king line with the following two kings was formed on the basis of Chinese documents like Houhanshu. It contains contradictions and mismatches.
The royal surname Gao (高) seems to have been adopted in the early 5th century when King Guangkaitu was acknowledged as a member of the Northern Yan imperial family by Gao Yun (高雲 or Murong Yun 慕容雲), Emperor of Northern Yan, whose grandfather He (和) was in line of the Gaogouli royal family. According to Jinshu, Gao Yun took the surname Gao from Gaoyang (高陽氏 or Zhuan Xu, one of Sanhuangwudi) but it is doubtful. Later history books say that Gao was named after the country name Gaogouli.

External links

Korean history in Manchuria