Three Unified Han | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 668–935 | |||||||||||||||
 Silla (in blue) duringNorth–South States Period | |||||||||||||||
| Status | Kingdom | ||||||||||||||
| Capital | Seorabeol[a][b] | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Old Korean Classical Chinese,(literary)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | Buddhism (state religion),Confucianism,Taoism,Shamanism | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||||||
• 661–681 | Munmu | ||||||||||||||
• 681–692 | Sinmun | ||||||||||||||
• 887–897 | Jinseong | ||||||||||||||
• 927–935 | Gyeongsun (last) | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Post-classical | ||||||||||||||
| 668 | |||||||||||||||
| 670–676 | |||||||||||||||
• Start ofLater Three Kingdoms period | 892–936 | ||||||||||||||
• Handover to theGoryeo | 935 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||
• 8th century[2] | 6,000,000 | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Today part of | North Korea South Korea | ||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 통일신라 | ||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 統一新羅 | ||||||||||||||
| RR | Tongil Silla | ||||||||||||||
| MR | T'ongil Silla | ||||||||||||||
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Unified Silla,[d] orLate Silla,[e] is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom ofSilla after its conquest ofGoguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of theThree Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conqueredBaekje in theBaekje–Tang War. Following theGoguryeo–Tang War andSilla–Tang War in the 7th century, Silla annexed the southern part of Goguryeo, unifying the central and southern regions of theKorean peninsula.
Unified Silla existed during theNorthern and Southern States period at a time whenBalhae controlled the north of the peninsula. Unified Silla lasted for 267 years until it fell toGoryeo in 935 during the reign ofKing Gyeongsun.
The people of the Unified Silla period considered themselves to be of a kingdom of unified Koreans, which they called"三韓一統", (ModernHangul:삼한일통,Samhan-iltong) meaning the unity of three kingdoms (the three kingdoms being Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje). The term was used by generalKim Yu-sin, credited with leading many of the military campaigns to unify theKorean peninsula under Silla, in a letter he wrote toKing Munmu as he lay dying. King Munmu is considered to have been the first ruler of the Unified Silla period, and subsequent kings continued to hold the perception of a unified Silla, as evidenced byKing Sinmun's installment of "nine counties" (九州) and "nine legions" (九書堂). In the ancientSinosphere, the number nine connoted great things, and ancient China was composed of nine counties as well, so the term "九州" was used as a synonym for the entirety of China, as well as for "all under heaven" (天下). In addition, Silla gave noble ranks to the nobles of Goguryeo and Baekje as a token of unification.[3]
North Korean historians criticize the idea of "Unified Silla" as from their perspective,Goryeo was the first state to unify the Korean people as Silla failed to conquer parts of Goguryeo andBalhae in the northeast of the Korean peninsula.[4][5] Because of this, North Korean historians use the term "Late Silla" (후기신라) where South Korean historians would use "Unified Silla".[citation needed]
In 660, KingMunmu ordered his armies to attack Baekje. GeneralKim Yu-sin, aided by Tang forces, defeated GeneralGyebaek and conquered Baekje. In 661, he moved on Goguryeo but was repelled. Silla thenfought against the Tang dynasty for nearly a decade.[6]
During its heyday, the country contested withBalhae, a Goguryeo–Mohe kingdom, to the north for supremacy in the region. Throughout its existence, Unified Silla was plagued by intrigue and political turmoil in its newly conquered northern territory, caused by the rebel groups and factions in Baekje and Goguryeo, which eventually led to theLater Three Kingdoms period in the late 9th century.
Gyeongju remained the capital of Silla throughout the whole existence of the dynasty, which demonstrates the power of the governmental system employed in Silla. By using the“Bone Clan Class” system, a small group of powerful people (the 'bone clan') was able to rule over a large number of subjects. To maintain this rule over a large number of people for an extensive period of time, it was important for the government to keep the unity of the bone-rank system and hold the governed subjects in a low social status.[7]
Despite its political instability, Unified Silla was a prosperous country,[8] and its metropolitan capital ofSeorabeol (present-day Gyeongju)[9] was the fourth-largest city in the world at the time.[10][11][12][13] Through close ties maintained with theTang dynasty,Buddhism andConfucianism became the principal philosophical ideologies of the elite as well as the mainstays of the period's architecture and fine arts. Its last king,Gyeongsun, ruled over the state in name only and submitted toWang Geon of the emergingGoryeo in 935, bringing the Silla dynasty to an end.
Unified Silla carried on the maritime prowess ofBaekje, which has been likened to the "Phoenicia of medievalEast Asia",[14] and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea and Japan, most notably during the time ofChang Pogo; in addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on theShandong Peninsula and the mouth of theYangtze River.[15][16][17][18]
Unified Silla was a golden age of art and culture,[19][20][21][22] as evidenced by theHwangnyongsa,Seokguram, andEmille Bell. Buddhism flourished during this time, and many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhists[23] and contributed to Chinese Buddhism,[24] including:Woncheuk,Wonhyo,Uisang,Musang,[25][26][27][28] andKim Gyo-gak, a Silla prince whose influence madeMount Jiuhua one of the FourSacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.[29][30][31][32][33]
Unified Silla and the Tang maintained close ties. This was evidenced by the continual importation ofChinese culture. Many Koreanmonks went to China to learn aboutBuddhism. The monkHyecho went toIndia to study Buddhism and wrote an account of his travels.[34] Different new sects of Buddhism were introduced by these traveling monks who had studied abroad such asSeon andPure Land Buddhism.[34] A smallMuslim presence also existed during this time.[35][36]
Unified Silla conducted acensus of all towns' size and population, as well ashorses,cows and special products and recorded the data inMinjeongmunseo (민정문서). The reporting was done by the leader of each town.[37]
A nationalConfucian college was established in 682 and around 750 it was renamed the National Confucian University.[34] The university was restricted to the elite aristocracy. However, in Silla society, because thebone-rank system was used for the election of officials rather than theimperial examination process that was used in Confucianism, the National Confucian University did not have great appeal to the nobility class of Silla.[38]
Silla was very scientifically and technologically advanced for the time. There was an emphasis put on astrology especially as it was closely tied to agriculture. This allowed them to accurately record events such as solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.[39]
Woodblock printing was used to disseminate Buddhistsutras and Confucian works. During a refurbishment of the "Pagoda That Casts No Shadows", an ancient print of a Buddhist sutra was discovered. The print is dated to 751 CE and is one of the oldest discovered printed material in the world.[34]
Korea held a dominant position in the north-eastern seas.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) "From what Ennin tells us, it seems that commerce between East China, Korea and Japan was, for the most part, in the hands of men from Silla. Here in the relatively dangerous waters on the eastern fringes of the world, they performed the same functions as did the traders of the placid Mediterranean on the western fringes. This is a historical fact of considerable significance but one which has received virtually no attention in the standard historical compilations of that period or in the modern books based on these sources. . . . While there were limits to the influence of the Koreans along the eastern coast of China, there can be no doubt of their dominance over the waters off these shores. . . . The days of Korean maritime dominance in the Far East actually were numbered, but in Ennin's time the men of Silla were still the masters of the seas in their part of the world."golden age of art and culture.
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