Old Chosŏn | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ?–108 BCE | |||||||||||
 Old Chosŏn in 108 BCE | |||||||||||
| Capital | Wanggeom City | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Ye-Maek(Koreanic), Classical Chinese(literary) | ||||||||||
| Ethnic groups | Yemaek | ||||||||||
| Religion | Shamanism | ||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||
• ? | Tan'gun (first) | ||||||||||
• 232 BCE? – 220 BCE? | Bu | ||||||||||
• 220 BCE – 194 BCE | Jun | ||||||||||
• 194 BCE – ? | Wi Man | ||||||||||
• ? – 108 BCE | Wi Ugeo (last) | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Ancient | ||||||||||
• Established | ? | ||||||||||
• Coup byWi Man | 194 BCE | ||||||||||
| 109–108 BCE | |||||||||||
• Fall ofWanggeom City | 108 BCE | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | North Korea South Korea China | ||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||
| Hangul | 고조선 | ||||||||||
| Hanja | 古朝鮮 | ||||||||||
| RR | Gojoseon | ||||||||||
| MR | Kojosŏn | ||||||||||
| IPA | [ko.dʑo.sʌn] | ||||||||||
| Alternate Korean name | |||||||||||
| Hangul | 조선 | ||||||||||
| Hanja | 朝鮮 | ||||||||||
| RR | Joseon | ||||||||||
| MR | Chosŏn | ||||||||||
| IPA | [tɕo.sʌn] | ||||||||||
Old Chosŏn, also known asGojoseon (Korean: 고조선;Hanja: 古朝鮮;RR: Gojoseon;MR: Kojosŏn) and its contemporary nameJoseon (Korean: 조선;Hanja: 朝鮮;RR: Joseon;MR: Chosŏn), was the first kingdom on theKorean Peninsula. According toKorean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary kingTan'gun. Old Chosŏn possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Peninsula at the time and was an important marker in the progression towards the more centralized states of later periods. The addition ofGo (고;古), meaning "old" or "ancient", is used inhistoriography to distinguish the kingdom from theJoseon dynasty, founded in 1392 CE.
According to theMemorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, Old Chosŏn was established in 2333 BCE by Tan'gun, who was said to be born from the heavenly princeHwanung and a bear-woman,Ungnyeo. While Tan'gun is a mythological figure of whose existence no concrete evidence has been found,[1] some interpret his legend as reflections of the sociocultural situations involving the kingdom's early development.[2] Regardless, the account of Tan'gun has played an important role in the development of Korean identity. Today, the founding date of Old Chosŏn is officially celebrated asNational Foundation Day inNorth[3] andSouth Korea.
Some sources claim that in the 12th century BCE, following the establishment of Old Chosŏn,Jizi (also known as Gija), asage who belonged to the royal family from theShang dynasty, immigrated to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and became the founder ofGija Joseon.[4][5] There are many interpretations of Old Chosŏn and Gija Joseon as well as debates regarding Gija Joseon's existence.[6]
In 194 BCE, the ruling dynasty of Old Chosŏn was overthrown byWi Man (Wei Man in Chinese), a refugee from theHan vassal state ofYan,[7][8][9][10][11] who then establishedWiman Joseon.
In 108 BCE, the Han dynasty, underEmperor Wu,invaded and conquered Wiman Joseon. The Han establishedfour commanderies to administer the former Old Chosŏn territory. After the fragmentation of the Han Empire during the3rd century and the subsequentchaotic 4th century, the area escaped Chinese control and was conquered byGoguryeo in 313 CE.
The capital of Old Chosŏn wasWanggeom (modernPyongyang) from at least the 2nd century BCE. In the southern region of the Korean Peninsula, theJin state arose by the 3rd century BCE.[12]
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There are three different main founding myths concerning Old Chosŏn, which revolve around Tan'gun, Gija, or Wi Man.[13]
The myths revolving around Tan'gun were recorded in the later Korean workSamguk yusa of the 13th century.[14] This work states thatTan'gun, the offspring of a heavenly prince and a bear-woman, founded Old Chosŏn in 2333 BCE, and was succeeded by Gija (Qizi) after King Wu of Zhou had placed him onto the throne in 1122 BCE.[14] A similar account is found inJewang Ungi. According to the legend, the Lord of Heaven,Hwanin had a son,Hwanung, who descended toBaekdu Mountain and founded the city of Shinsi. Then a bear and a tiger came to Hwanung and said that they wanted to become people. Hwanung said to them that if they went in a cave and lived there for 100 days while only eatingmugwort and garlic he would change them into human beings. However, about halfway through the 100 days the tiger gave up and ran out of the cave. The bear, in contrast, successfully restrained herself and became a beautiful woman namedUngnyeo. Hwanung later married Ungnyeo, and she gave birth toTan'gun.[15]
While the Tan'gun story is considered to be a myth,[1] it is believed it is a mythical synthesis of a series of historical events relating to the founding of Old Chosŏn.[16] There are various theories on the origin of this myth.[17] Seo and Kang (2002) believe the Tan'gun myth is based on integration of two different tribes, an invasive sky-worshipping Bronze Age tribe and a native bear-worshipping neolithic tribe, that led to the foundation of Old Chosŏn.[18] Lee K. B. (1984) believes 'Tan'gun-wanggeom' was a title borne by successive leaders of Old Chosŏn.[19]
Tan'gun is said to have founded Old Chosŏn around 2333 BCE, based on the descriptions of theSamguk yusa,Jewang Ungi,Tongguk t'onggam and theAnnals of the Joseon Dynasty.[20] The date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during the mythicalEmperor Yao's reign (traditional dates: 2357 BCE? – 2256 BCE?).Samguk yusa says Tan'gun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the legendary Yao's reign,Annals of the King Sejong says the first year, andTongguk t'onggam says the 25th year.[21]
In the 7th century BCE, theYan pioneered the Northeast regions. According toThe Growth of Yan andThe Context of Guanzi,[22] it can be presumed that Old Chosŏn grew through trade in this era. It is estimated that Old Chosŏn developed so far as to be able to wagewar against the Yan in the 4th century BCE.
Gija, a man from the period of theShang dynasty, allegedly fled to the Korean peninsula in 1122 BCE during the fall of the Shang to theZhou dynasty and foundedGija Joseon.[23] Gija Joseon is recognized and mentioned in the earliest surviving Chinese record,Records of the Three Kingdoms. No contemporary Korean sources existed for Kija Chosŏn, and the oldest sources produced in Korea were from the Goryeo dynasty. The earliest Korean record about Kija Chosŏn can be seen fromSamguk Yusa,[a][24]
By the middle ofGoryeo dynasty, a state cult had developed around Gija.[25] TheDongsa Gangmok of 1778 described Gija's activities and contributions in Old Chosŏn. The records of Gija refer toEight Prohibitions (범금팔조;犯禁八條), that are recorded by theBook of Han and evidence a hierarchical society with legal protections of private property.[26]
In pre-modern Korea, Gija represented the authenticating presence of Chinese civilization. Until the 12th century CE, Koreans commonly believed that Tan'gun bestowed upon Korea its people and basic culture, while Gija gave Korea its high culture, and presumably, standing as a legitimate civilisation.[27]
Many modern experts have denied Gija Joseon's existence for various reasons, mainly due to contradicting archaeological evidence and anachronistic historical evidence.[28][25] They point to theBamboo Annals and theAnalects of Confucius, which were among the first works to mention Gija, but do not mention his migration to Old Chosŏn.[29] Gija Joseon might have just existed as a symbol of the pre-Qin dynasty migrants who escaped the chaos of theWarring States period.[30]
Wi Man was a military officer of theYan of northeastern China who fled to the northern Korean peninsula in 195 BCE from the encroachingHan dynasty.[14] He founded a principality withWanggeom-seong as its capital, which is thought to be in the region of present-day Pyongyang.[14] The 3rd-century Chinese textWeilüe of theSanguozhi recorded that Wi Man usurpedKing Jun and thus took over the kingship of Old Chosŏn.[14][31]
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Old Chosŏn mythology and history can be divided into three phases, Tan'gun, Gija Joseon, and Wi Man Joseon.[32]
The first extant Korean text to mention Kija (the Korean pronunciation of Jizi) wasKim Pusik'sSamguk sagi (completed in 1145), which claimed that Kija had been enfeoffed in Haedong (海東: Korea) by the Zhou court, but commented that this account was uncertain because of the brevity of the sources.[33] Only in the thirteenth century did Korean texts start to integrate Kija more fully into Korean history. TheSamguk yusa (1281) explained that after being enfeoffed byKing Wu of Zhou, Kija replacedDangun's descendants as the ruler of Old Chosŏn, whereasJewang Ungi (1287) identified Tan'gun and Kija as the first rulers of former and latter Joseon respectively.[33] Most premodern Korean historians after that accepted that Kija had replaced another indigenous power (represented by Tan'gun) in Old Joseon.[33]
In 1102, during theGoryeo period,King Sukjong built amausoleum to Kija in a place nearPyongyang that had been identified asKija's tomb.[34]Sadang for Kija called Kijasa (箕子祠) was also built inPyongyang.[35] The mausoleum was rebuilt in 1324 and was repaired in 1355, but the cult of Kija spread most widely after the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. Because Joseon's state ideology wasNeo-Confucianism borrowed from China, Joseon intellectuals promoted Kija as aculture hero who had raised Korean civilization to the same level as China.[36]
By the mid-Joseon dynasty, the established view among historians traced Korean origins to Chinese refugees, considering Korean history that of a long series of kingdoms connected with China. As such, theGija Joseon andSilla states were valorized, while the Old Chosŏn andGoguryeo states were not considered as important.[37] According to this view, the first state in Korea,Gija Joseon, was founded byJizi in 1122 BCE, who was a disgruntled Chinese advisor to theShang dynasty. The story of how he brought poetry, music, medicine, trade, and a political system to the Korean peninsula was conceived similarly to the proposedFounding of Rome by theTrojan refugeeAeneas.[38] But by the 1930s, under the influence ofShin Chaeho's histories, the Jizi Korean founding story became less popular than that ofTan'gun, the son of a tiger and a bear – the latter being common inJapanese folklore – who brought civilization to the Korean peninsula.[38] Shin and the other historians who promulgated this myth had been influenced byDaejonggyo, anew religious movement which worshipped Tan'gun,[39] but attacked pre-annexation textbook narratives of Tan'gun which portrayed him as the brother of the Japanese godSusanoo.[40] To Shin, Tan'gun was both the founder of the Koreanminjok and the first Korean state (kuk), and thus the necessary starting point for Korean history.[41] In response to a challenge by the Japanese scholarsShiratori Kurakichi andImanishi Ryū of Tan'gun as a fabrication by the author of theSamguk yusa, nationalist historianChoe Nam-seon attackedJapanese mythology as being built upon fabrications.[42]
By focusing on a mythological god which founded a "sacred race" (shinsŏng chongjok), Korean nationalist historiography aims to portray ancient Korea as a golden age of "gods and heroes" where Korea's cultural achievements rivaled those of China and Japan.[43] Accordingly, Shin Chaeho elevated Tan'gun to play a similar role as did theYellow Emperor in China and whichAmaterasu does in Japan.[44]Choe Nam-seon, according to hisPurham culture theory [ko], places Tan'gun even above the Chinese and Japanese emperors, because those rulers were supposedlyShamanistic rulers of the ancient Korean "Părk" tradition.[45] The Tan'gun story also lends credence to claims that Korean heritage is over 5000 years old. According to Hyung Il Pai, the popularity of Tan'gun studies can be said to "reflect the progressively ultra-nationalistic trend in Korean historical and archaeological scholarship today".[46] Shin Chaeho namedMount Paektu in theChangbai Mountains on the Sino-Korean border as a part of Korean heritage, by virtue of connection with the mythical Tan'gun. The mountain, however, was also claimed by theManchus of theQing dynasty as part of their origin myth at least since the 17th century,[47][48] and the mountain range is considered sacred inHan Chinese culture as well.[49] This nationalist identification of Baekdu with Koreans was cemented by the operation ofKorean independence movement partisans operating from the Chinese border and legitimized with associations to the history of the Old Chosŏn andBalhae states.[47] The Chinese civilizational connection to ancient Korea continues to be attacked by North Korean historians, who allege that the history ofGija Joseon was "viciously distorted by the feudal ruling class, thesadaejuui followers, and the big-power chauvinists".[50]
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The first mentions of Old Chosŏn are found in historical records ofGuanzi. It locates Old Chosŏn aroundBohai Bay and mentions the state trading withQi (齊) of China.[51] TheZhanguoce,Shanhaijing, andShiji—containing some of its earliest records—refers to Joseon as a region, until the textShiji began referring it as a country from 195 BCE onwards.[52]
By the 4th century BCE, other states with defined political structures developed in the areas of the earlier Bronze Age "walled-town states"; Old Chosŏn was the most advanced of them in the peninsular region.[12] The city-state expanded by incorporating other neighboring city-states by alliance or military conquest. Thus, a vast confederation of political entities between the Taedong and Liao rivers was formed. As Old Chosŏn evolved, so did the title and function of its leader, who came to be designated as "king" (Han), in the tradition of theZhou dynasty, around the same time as theYan (燕) leader.[53] Records of that time mention the hostility between the feudal state in Northern China and the "confederated" kingdom of Old Chosŏn. Notably, a plan to attack the Yan beyond the Liao River frontier is recorded. This confrontation led to the decline and eventual downfall of Old Chosŏn, described in Yan records as "arrogant" and "cruel". But the ancient kingdom also appears as a prosperous Bronze Age civilization with a complex social structure, including a class of horse-riding warriors who contributed to the development of Old Chosŏn and its northern expansion[54] into most of the Liaodong basin.
Around 300 BCE, Old Chosŏn lost significant western territory after a war with the Yan state, but this indicates Old Chosŏn was already a large enough state that it could wage war against the Yan and survive the loss of 2000li (800 kilometers) of territory.[26] Old Chosŏn is thought to have relocated its capital to thePyongyang region around this time.[53]
In 195 BCE,King Jun appointed a refugee from Yan,Wi Man, to guard the frontier.[55] Wi Man later rebelled in 194 BCE and usurped the throne of Old Chosŏn. King Jun fled toJin in the south of theKorean Peninsula.[56]
In 109 BCE,Emperor Wu of Han invaded near theLiao River.[56] A conflict would erupt in 109 BCE, when Wi Man's grandson KingUgeo (우거왕;右渠王) refused to let Jin's ambassadors through his territory in order to reach the Han dynasty. King Ugeo refused and had his son, PrinceWi Jang (長降) escort the ambassador back home. However, when they got close to Han's borders, the ambassador assassinatedWi Jang (長降) and claimed to Emperor Wu that he had defeated Joseon in battle. Emperor Wu, unaware of this deception, made him the military commander of the Commandery of Liaodong. The outraged King Ugeo made a raid on Liaodong and killed She He. Scholars also hypothesize that the initiation of war may also have been because the Han dynasty was concerned that Old Chosŏn would ally with theXiongnu against the Han.[57]
In response, Emperor Wu commissioned a two-pronged attack, one by land and one by sea, against Old Chosŏn.[56] The two forces attacking Old Chosŏn were unable to coordinate well with each other and suffered large losses. Eventually, the commands were merged, and Wanggeom fell in 108 BCE. Han took over the Old Chosŏn lands and establishedFour Commanderies of Han in the western part of former Old Chosŏn.[58]
Old Chosŏn disintegrated by the 1st century BCE as it gradually lost the control of its former fiefs. Many successor states sprang from its former territory, such asBuyeo,Okjeo,Dongye.Goguryeo andBaekje arose out from Buyeo.
Around 2000 BCE, a new pottery culture of painted and chiseled design was developed. These people practiced agriculture in a settled communal life, probably organized into familial clans. Rectangular huts and increasingly largerdolmen burial sites were found throughout the peninsula. Bronze daggers and mirrors have been excavated, and there is archaeological evidence of small walled-town states in this period.[54][59]Dolmens and bronze daggers found in the area are uniquely Korean and cannot be found in China. A few dolmens are found in China, mostly in theShandong province.[60]
In theMumun pottery period (1500 – 300 BCE), plain coarse pottery replaced earlier comb-pattern wares, possibly as a result of the influence of new populations migrating to Korea from Manchuria and Siberia. This type of pottery typically has thicker walls and displays a wider variety of shapes, indicating improvements in kiln technology.[12] This period is sometimes called the "Korean Bronze Age", but bronze artifacts are relatively rare and regionalized until the 7th century BCE.
Rice cultivation was extensive in the lower parts of South Korea and Manchuria in the periods between 1900 BCE to 200 CE.
The beginning of theBronze Age on the peninsula is usually said to be 1000 BCE, but estimates range from the 13th to 8th centuries BCE.[61] Although the Korean Bronze Age culture derives from theLiaoning and Manchuria, it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects.[62]
By the 7th century BCE, a Bronze Age material culture with influences from Manchuria, eastern Mongolia, as well as Siberia and Scythian bronze styles, flourished on the peninsula. Korean bronzes contain a higher percentage of zinc than those of the neighboring bronze cultures. Bronze artifacts, found most frequently in burial sites, consist mainly of swords, spears, daggers, small bells, and mirrors decorated with geometric patterns.[12][63]
Gojoseon's development seems linked to the adoption of bronze technology. Its singularity finds its most notable expression in the idiosyncratic type of bronze swords, or "mandolin-shaped daggers" (비파형동검;琵琶形銅劍). The mandolin-shape dagger is found in the regions ofLiaoning,Hebei, and Manchuria down to the Korean Peninsula. It suggests the existence of Old Chosŏn dominions. Remarkably, the shape of the "mandolin" dagger of Old Chosŏn differs significantly from the sword artifacts found in China.
Megalithic dolmens appear in Korean peninsula and Manchuria around 2000 BCE to 400 BCE.[64][65] Around 900 BCE, burial practices become more elaborate, a reflection of increasing social stratification. Goindol, thedolmen tombs in Korea and Manchuria, comprising upright stones supporting a horizontal slab, are more numerous in Korea than in other parts of East Asia. Other new forms of burial are stonecists (underground burial chambers lined with stone) and earthenware jar coffins. The bronze objects, pottery, and jade ornaments recovered from dolmens and stone cists indicate that such tombs were reserved for the elite class.[12][66]
Around the 6th century BCE, burnished red wares, made of a fine iron-rich clay and characterized by a smooth, lustrous surface, appear in dolmen tombs, as well as in domestic bowls and cups.[12]
In 1964, through a joint excavation by China and North Korea, Gangsang tomb (강상무덤;崗上墓) and Nusang tomb (누상무덤;樓上墓) were found in 1964 at theLiaodong peninsula. Nusang was found earlier prior to the excavation in 1958[67][68] Gangsang and Nusang tombs are considered to be burialcairn tombs of local nobilities of Old Chosŏn. Some consider the tombs as the evidences of the slavery that could have existed,[68][69] but others find that the evidences are inadequate and lacking to deduce such conclusion.[70]
Around this time, the state ofJin occupied the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about this state except that it was the apparent predecessor to theSamhan confederacies.
Around 300 BCE, iron technology was introduced into Korea from Yan state. Iron was produced locally in the southern part of the peninsula by the 2nd century BCE. According to Chinese accounts, iron from the lowerNakdong River in the southeast was valued throughout the peninsula and Japan.[12]
In the book of Gogeumju (古今注) written by Cui Bao (崔豹) of theWestern Jin period, poetry called Gonghuyin (箜篌引) orGongmudohaga [ko] (공무도하가;公無渡河歌) is said to be of Old Chosŏn origin.[71]The poetry is as follows:
公無渡河 "Don't cross the river, my love."
公竟渡河 "My love eventually crossed the river.'
墮河而死 "Now that my love is drowned,"
當奈公何 "There's nothing that I can do."
Numerous small states and confederations arose from the remnants of Old Chosŏn, includingGoguryeo, theBuyeo kingdom,Okjeo, andDongye. Three of the Chinese commanderies fell to local resistance within a few decades, but the last, Nakrang, remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expandingGoguryeo in 313 CE.
Jun of Gojoseon is said to have fled to the state ofJin in the southern Korean Peninsula.Jin developed into theSamhan confederacies, the beginnings ofBaekje andSilla, continuing to absorb migration from the north. The Samhan confederacies wereMahan,Jinhan, andByeonhan. King Jun ruled Mahan, which was eventually annexed by Baekje. Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla gradually grew into theThree Kingdoms of Korea that dominated the entire peninsula by around the 4th century.
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