Baekje

Baekje (18 BC (legendary) – 660 CE) was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Its name at the time of its founding was Sipje, while to the ancient Japanese (before the establishment of the Yamato court and formal diplomatic relations) it was known as Kudara. The official name at the time of its collapse was Nambuyeo.

It was founded by Onjo, said to be the son of Goguryeo's founder, around present-day Seoul. It began as a chiefdom in the Mahan confederacy during the Samhan period. At its peak in the 4th century, Baekje controlled most of western Korean Peninsula, as far north as Pyongyang. It was defeated by an alliance of Silla and the Tang Dynasty in 660, becoming a part of Unified Silla.

History

Founding (18 BC – 234)

According to the Samguk Sagi, Baekje was founded in 18 BC by King Onjo, who led a group of people from Goguryeo to the Han River region of Korea, near present-day Seoul. Baekje claimed to be a successor state to Buyeo, a state in present-day northeastern China around the time of Gojoseon's fall. Goguryeo also claimed descent from Buyeo, which it eventually conquered.

According to Samguk Yusa, King Onjo was the son of Jumong (King Dongmyeongseong), the founder of Goguryeo. Yuri, Jumong's son from his original marriage in Buyeo, arrived in Goguryeo and became the crown prince. The sons of Jumong from his new marriage, (Onjo and Biryu), realizing Yuri would succeed Jumong, decided to head south with their people, along with ten vassals.

Onjo settled in Wiryeseong (present-day Seoul), and called his country Sipje (meaning "Ten Vassals"), while Biryu settle in Michuhol (present-day Incheon), against the vassals' advice. The salty water and marshes in Michuhol made settlement difficult, while the people of Wiryeseong lived prosperously. In shame, Biryu committed suicide, and his people moved to Wiryeseong, where King Onjo welcomed them and renamed his country Baekje ("Hundred Vassals").

According to the Chinese record San Guo Zhi, during the Samhan period, one of the chiefdoms of the Mahan confederacy in the Han River basin was called Baekje (伯濟).

King Onjo moved the capital from the south to the north of the Han river, and then south again, probably all within present Seoul, under pressure from other Mahan states. King Gaeru is believed to have moved the capital to the Bukhan Mountain Fortress in 132, probably in present-day Gwangju, to the southeast of Seoul.

Through the early centuries of the Common Era, sometimes called the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period, Baekje gradually gained control over the other Mahan tribes.

Expansion (234 – 475)

During the reign of King Goi (234–286), Baekje became a full-fledged kingdom, as it continued consolidating the Mahan confederacy. In 249, according to the Japanese chronicle Nihonshoki, Baekje's expansion reached the Gaya confederacy to its east, around the Nakdong River valley.

King Geunchogo (346–375) expanded its territory to the north through war against Goguryeo, while annexing the remaining Mahan societies in the south. Baekje is first described in Chinese records as a kingdom in 345.

During Geunchogo's reign, the territories of Baekje included most of the western Korean Peninsula (except the two Pyeongan provinces), and in 371, Baekje defeated Goguryeo at Pyongyang. Baekje continued substantial trade with Goguryeo, and actively adopted Chinese culture and technology. Buddhism became the official state religion in 384. Baekje also became a sea power and continued mutual goodwill relationships with the Japanese rulers of the Yamato period, transmitting cultural influences to Japan.

During this period, the Han River basin remained the heartland of the country.

Ungjin period (475 – 538)

In the 5th century, Baekje retreated under the southward military threat of Goguryeo, and in 475, the capital Hanseong (present day Seoul) was under Goguryeo control. Baekje moved its capital to Ungjin (present-day Gongju) as a defensive posture. 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 Hanseong had been, however, and a military alliance was forged between Silla and Baekje against Goguryeo.

Most maps of the Three Kingdoms period show Baekje occupying the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, the core of the country in the Ungjin and Sabi periods.

Sabi period (538 – 660)

In 538, King Seong moved the capital to Sabi (in modern-day Buyeo County), and rebuilt his kingdom into a strong state. From this time, the official name of the country was Nambuyeo ("South Buyeo"), a reference to Buyeo to which Baekje traced its origins. The Sabi Period witnessed the flowering of Baekje culture, alongside the growth of Buddhism.

Seong sought to strengthen Baekje'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 the 6th and 7th centuries. It also marked less friendly relations with Silla.

In the 7th century, with the growing influence of Silla in the southern and central Korean peninsula, Baekje began to lose influence. Finally, in 660, the coalition troops of Silla and Tang of China attacked Baekje. The capital Sabi eventually fell, resulting in the annexation of Baekje by Silla. King Uija and his son were sent into exile in China while some of the royals probably fled to Japan.

They also requested Japanese aid. Prince Naka no Ōe, later to become Emperor Tenji, agreed and dispatched an army contingent led by Abe no Hirafu (阿倍比羅夫) to Korea.

The Silla-Tang joint forces consisted of 130,000 men. General Boksin proclaimed Prince Buyeo Pung as the new king of Baekje, and Prince Buyeo Pung became King Pungjang. His forces harrased a contingent of Tang forces in Ung-jin County. King Pungjang arrived in Baekje before his Japanese aid.

Around August, 10,000 soldiers and 170 ships, led by Abe no Hirafu (廬原君臣), arrived. They had departed in May 661. Additional Japanese reinforcement, including 27,000 soldiers led by Kamitsukeno no Kimi Wakako (上毛野君稚子) and 10,000 soldiers led by Iohara no Kimi (廬原君), arrived at Baekje in 662.

In 663, Baekje revival forces and a Japanese navy convened in southern Baekje to confront the Silla forces. However, the Tang dynasty also sent 7000 soldiers and 170 ships. After five naval confrontations that took place in August 663 at Baekgang, considered the lower reaches of Tongjin river, the Silla-Tang forces emerged victorious. According to the Nihonshoki, 400 Japanese ships were lost in the battles(Battle of Baekgang). The Japanese army retreated to Japan with refugees of Baekje in September.

Political structure

The establishment of a centralized state in Baekje 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.

Hae clan and Jin clan were the representative royal houses who had considerable power from the early period of Baekje, 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 eight clans, Sa, Yeon, Hyeop, Hae, Jin, Guk, Mok, and Baek, were powerful nobles in the Sabi era, and these clans were recorded in Chinese records such as Tongjeon.

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. Officials in the rank of Sol dressed in purple, the rank of Deok dressed in red, and Mundok and below were dressed in blue.

According to the Samguk Yusa, during the Sabi period, the chief minister (Jaesang) of Baekje 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.

Language and culture

Baekje was established by immigrants from Goguryeo who spoke a Buyeo language, a hypothetical group linking the languages of Gojoseon, Buyeo, Goguryeo, Baekje, and early Japanese. The indigenous Samhan people, having migrated in an earlier wave from the same region, probably spoke a variation or dialect of the same language.

Baekje artists adopted many Chinese influences and synthesized them into a unique artistic tradition. Buddhist themes are extremely strong in Baekje artwork. The beatific Baekje smile found on many Buddhist sculptures expresses the warmth typical of Baekje art. In addition, Taoist and other Chinese influences are widespread. Chinese artisans were sent to the kingdom by the Liang Dynasty in 541, and this may have given rise to an increased Chinese influence in the Sabi period.

The tomb of King Muryeong (501–523), although modelled on Chinese brick tombs and yielding some imported Chinese objects, also contained many funerary objects of the Baekje tradition, such as the gold diadem ornaments, gold belts, and gold earrings. Mortuary practices also followed the unique tradition of Baekje. This tomb is seen as a representative tomb of the Ungjin period.

Delicate lotus designs of the roof-tiles, intricate brick patterns, curves of the pottery style, and flowing and elegant epitaph writing characterize Baekje culture. The Buddhist sculptures and refined pagodas reflect religion-inspired creativity. A splendid gilt-bronze incense burner () excavated from an ancient Buddhist temple site at Neungsan-ri, Buyeo County, exemplifies Baekje art.

Little is known of Baekje music, but local musicians were sent with tribute missions to China in the 7th century, indicating that a distinctive musical tradition had developed by that time.

Foreign relations

Relations with China

In 372, King Geunchogo paid tribute to Jin, located in the basin of the (Yangtze River). After the fall of Jin and the establishment of Song in 420, Baekje sent envoys seeking cultural goods and technologies.

Baekje sent an envoy to Northern Wei of Northern Dynasties for the first time in 472, and King Gaero asked for military aid to attack Goguryeo. Kings Muryeong and Seong sent envoys to Liang several times and received titles of nobility.

Relations with Japan

To confront with the military pressure of Goguryeo and Silla, Baekje established close relations with the Japanese kingdom of Wa. Accoding to the Korean chronicle Samguk Sagi, King Asin sent his son Jeonji as a hostage in 397. In exchange, Japan provided military support. The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms and Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms cite Baekje royalty and nobility as influential dignitaries in the Wa court to maintain Baekje influence in Japan and ensure the continuation of the Yamato dependence and alliance with Baekje, as in the time of Emperor Yomei when the Buddhist temple of Horyuji was constructed. It is also known that Muryeong of Baekje, the twenty-fifth king, was born in Japan.

Japanese scholars came to Baekje for education and culture, while Baekje scholars, architects, sculptors and potters and immigrants went to Japan and contributed much to the development of Japanese culture, religion, and technology. Baekje immigrants helped spread the Chinese writing system and loanwords in Japan.

Some members of the Baekje nobility and royalty fled to Japan even before the kingdom was overthrown. According to Shoku Nihongi, Takano no Niigasa (, ?–790), the birth mother of Emperor Kammu of Japan, was a pedigree of Muryeong of Baekje (462–523).

After Baekje's fall in 663, Japan sent the general Abe no Hirafu with twenty thousand troops and one thousand ships to revive Baekje with Buyeo Pung (known in Japanese as Hōshō), a son of Uija of Baekje who had been an emissary to Japan. This attempt, however, failed at the battle of Baekgang, and the prince was slain. Only half of the troops were able to return to Japan.

Buyeo Pung's younger brother Zenkō ( or ) served for Japan and was given the family name Kudara no Konikishi () by the emperor of Japan.

Legacy

Baekje was briefly revived in the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea period, as Unified Silla collapsed. In 892, General Gyeon Hwon established Hubaekje (“Later Baekje”), based in Wansan (present-day Jeonju). Hubaekje was overthrown in 936 by King Taejo of Goryeo.

Baekje's influence on Japanese culture during the Yamato period has been a contentious issue in contemporary relations between South Korea and Japan. The exact nature of the relationship is always investigated with some considering Yamato to be an extension/colony of Baekje's expansion efforts.From Paekche to Origin of Yamato "From Baekje (Paekche) of Korea & the origin of Yamato Japan."

In contemporary South Korea, Baekje relics are often symbolic of the local cultures of the southwest, especially in Chungnam and Jeolla. The gilt-bronze incense burner, for example, is a key symbol of Buyeo County, and the Baekje-era Buddhist rock sculpture of Seosan Maaesamjonbulsang is an important symbol of Seosan City.

Note

External links

Baekje History Museum
Buyeo National Museum
Gongju National Museum
Baekje Research Institute
East Asian History by Wontack Hong, Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University

Baekje | Ancient peoples | Buyeo languages | Former countries in Asia | 660 disestablishments

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