Goryeo
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{{#if:고려高麗|| Chosŏn'gŭl: | 고려 |
|s |south |rok |sk | #default = 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.
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[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<ref name="Threeking012>三國史記,高麗史</ref>), Yang Gil (양길, 梁吉) and Gyeon Hwon (견훤,甄萱, 867-935<ref name="Threeking012>三國史記,高麗史</ref>). 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 renamed Taebong to Goryeo in 918. [1] The Later Three Kingdoms era ended as Goryeo annexed Silla and defeated Hubaekje in 936. Wang Geon established and united the Korean peninsula and began his rule as the first king of Goryeo.
[edit] Political structure
The terminology used in the court of Goryeo adopted the system of an empire, not of a kingdom. The capital, Gaeseong, 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, Goryeo does not used the term of an "emperor(皇帝)" for rulers, instead a supreme king (大王) was used for the rulers. After the Mongol invasion, Supreme king was not used for posthumous name.
In order to strengthen the power of the central government, Gwangjong, the fourth supreme king, made a series of laws including that of freeing slaves in 958, and one creating the exam for hiring civil officials.
The fifth supreme king, Gyeongjong (hangul: 경종; hanja: 景宗), launched land-ownership reformation called Jeonsigwa (hangul: 전시과; hanja: 田柴科) and the 6th supreme king 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 eleventh supreme king Munjong (hangul: 문종; hanja: 文宗), the central government of Goryeo gained complete authority and power over local lords. Munjong and later supreme kings emphasized the importance of civilian leadership over the military.
[edit] Assassination and Wars
Supreme king 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 supreme king. Supreme king Mokjong called General Gang Jo to come and eliminate Kim Chi-Yang and his follower, which he did. Gang Jo, however, killed the Supreme king 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) married the supreme kings from Munjong to the 17th supreme king, Injong. Eventually the Yis gained more power than the supreme king 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 King 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. supreme king Injong went into exile and supreme king Myeongjong (명종,明宗) was made a king. 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 Uuimin. 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 supreme kings as puppet monarchs; Choe Chungheon was succeeded in turn by his son Choi U, his grandson Choi Hang and his greatgrandson Choi Ui. On taking power, Choi Chungheon forced Meyongjong off the throne and replaced him by Supreme king Sinjong, but after Sinjong died he forced two further kings off the throne until he found the pliable Supreme king 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 royal 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 literary men who had insisted peace with Mongol gained power. Eventually, the literary men sent an envoy to Mongol, and a peace treaty was contracted between Mongol 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 war, Mongol could not conquer Goryeo, and the peace treaty was concluded because the dictator Choi was murdered by the the literati<ref>국방부 군사편찬연구소, 고려시대 군사 전략 (2006) (The Ministry of National Defense, Military Strategies in Goryeo)</ref>. The treaty permit the sovereign power and tranditional cultures of Goryeo, and this implies that Mongol gave up conquering Goryeo under Mongol's direct control<ref>국사편찬위원회, 고등학교국사교과서 p63(National Institute of Korean History, History for High School Students, p64)[2]</ref> After the peace treaty with Mongol, it was planed to attack Japan by allied troops of Mongol and Goryeo even though it was failed due to heavy storm
[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
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[edit] See also
- The History of the Koryo Dynasty<ref name="seoul01">The official history of Koryo, is printed by woodblock 1580. </ref>(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 Periodsde:Goryeo
