House of Wang

The House of Wang (Korean: 왕; Hanja: 王) was the royal ruling house of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) of Korea.

This article is about the ruling family of the Goryeo dynasty. For other topics, see House of Wang (disambiguation).
House of Wang
Country Goryeo
FoundedJuly 25, 918, 1105 years ago
FounderTaejo of Goryeo
Final rulerGongyang of Goryeo
Titles
Deposition1392

Its founder was Wang Geon, the chancellor of Taebong who overthrew its tyrant king Gung Ye and founded the new dynasty of Goryeo. His descendants ruled as kings for 474 years. From 1170 to 1270, the Goryeo kings were puppets of the Goryeo military regime. In 1270, the royal house was able to break the power of the military dictators and became a vassal of the Mongol Empire. During the Mongol domination of Goryeo, the House of Wang became semi-autonomous vassals of the Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty, and engaged in intermarriage with the ruling Borjigin clan. In 1356, King Gongmin was able to restore the independence of Goryeo. However, after the Wihwado Retreat in 1388, Goryeo general Yi Seong-gye was able to seize power. In 1392, Yi ended the rule of the House of Wang, proclaiming himself King of Joseon.

After their fall from power, the House of Wang was persecuted by the new dynasty. From 1392 to 1413, they were subject to an extermination campaign where anyone with the Wang family name was to be apprehended and killed. Due to the extent of persecution, a majority of Wang Geon's descendants in the modern-day Kaesong Wang clan are descendants of his fifteenth son, Prince Hyoeun via Wang Mi (Korean: 왕미; Hanja: 王亹, 1365-?), a survivor of the extermination.

History

Origin

The House of Wang originated from the local regional lords, or hojok (호족; 豪族), of the Songak region. The ancestors of Wang Geon were thought to be influential maritime merchants.[1] Jakjegeon, the grandfather of Wang Geon, had influence beyond Songak, reaching as far as Ganghwa Island. Wang Geon's father, Wang Ryung, is thought to be the first likely member of the family to adopt the surname, Wang, mostly likely to facilitate trade with Tang China.[2]

The Wangs claimed ancestry from Dragon King of the West Sea via the wife of Jakjegeon, later posthumously honoured as Queen Wonchang. According to the Pyeonnyeon Tongnok (편년통록; 編年通錄) by Kim Gwan-ui, Jakjegeon was able to marry the daughter of the Dragon King of the West Sea, due to his help in eliminating Mr. Old Fox, the foe of the Dragon King.[3]

Rise to Power

In 896, Songak became part of the rising state of Later Goguryeo, later known as Taebong. King Gung Ye appointed Wang Geon as the castle lord of Songak.[4] Wang would later become the chancellor of Taebong. On July 24, 918, four generals of Taebong persuaded Wang Geon to become the king. After the successful coup, Wang Geon was crowned as the first king of Goryeo on the next day, July 25.[5] He would later unify the Later Three Kingdoms, absorbing Silla and conquering Later Baekje. To ensure his power, Taejo Wang Geon married 29 women from various powerful families, from fellow regional lords, to powerful maritime merchants, and the royals of the fallen Silla kingdom. The House of Wang was originally a primus inter pares amongst other powerful regional families.[6]

Under Taejo's son, King Gwangjong, Goryeo became a centralised society with the strengthening of royal rule. Gwangjong attempted to curb the power of the aristocrats of the powerful regional families. With the help of Chinese scholar, Shuang Ji, he instituted a civil service examination system in 958. He ruthlessly purged opposition to his centralization reforms, liquidating former comrades of his father.[7]

Fall and Extermination

In 1388, with the aftermath of the Wihwado Retreat, Goryeo general Yi Seong-gye was able to seize control of Goryeo. Initially, due to lack of legitimacy, Yi placed a puppet king, King Gongyang, on the throne after dethroning both King U and King Chang.[8] After the assassination of Goryeo loyalist Jeong Mong-ju by Yi's son, Yi Bang-won, there were no more significant opponents of Yi Seong-gye. On August 5, 1392, Yi had gathered enough support to proclaim himself king and end the 474 year rule of the House of the Wang.

Three days later, on August 8, the new royal court ordered the expulsion of all Wangs from Kaesong, with the exceptions of Taejo Yi Seong-gye's in-law, Wang U, his two sons, Wang Jo and Wang Gwan, and civilian official Wang Seung, and his son, Wang Gang. The expelled Wangs were sent to Ganghwa Island and Geoje Island. Wang U was recognized as the ritual heir for the fallen kingdom of Goryeo, and enfeoffed as the Prince Gwiui to perform ancestral rites for the former kings of Goryeo.[9] On February 16, 1394, two Joseon officials, Dongnae magistrate Kim Ga-haeng (김가행; 金可行) and Bak Jung-jil (박중질; 朴仲質), were caught using a blind fortune teller to discern the future fate of House of Yi and the House of Wang. The incident raised suspicions on the Wangs. On March 28, ex-king Gongyang and his sons were moved to a different place of exile in Samcheok. The remaining royal members of the House of Wang who were on the mainland were moved to Geoje Island. On May 14, King Taejo of Joseon accepted the demands of his royal court to execute the members of the House of Wang, with the exception of the family of his in-law, Wang U.[10]

On May 15, the Wangs on Ganghwa Island were killed. According to the Veritable Records, they were thrown into the sea. However, oral stories state that the Wangs were tricked into boarding a ship that was supposedly to take them to a new place of exile. However, the ship was intentionally sunk by divers who cut holes into the ship. On May 17, Officials were sent to Samcheok to kill King Gongyang and his two sons. They were strangled to death. On May 20, the royal court proclaimed that an extermination campaign where anyone with the Wang family name was to be apprehended and killed. The remaining Wangs on Geoje Island were killed, with at least 111 former royals killed. In order to survive, the remaining Wangs either went into hiding or assumed their maternal surnames.[11] Several Wangs were caught during this period of extermination. In December 1397, several illegitimate sons of members of the House of Wang were caught and executed.[12]

The persecution of the House of Wang finally ended in 1413 in the rule of Joseon's third king, King Taejong. Wang Geoeulomi (왕거을오미; 王巨乙吾未), a descendent of King Hyeonjong, was arrested in Gongju in December 8, 1413. When the officials asked Taejong to carry out his father's order and kill the royal descendent, the king refused. In December 19, he issued an edict repealing the extermination and guaranteed the safety the remaining survivors of purge. Taejong commuted the sentences of those who were guilty not reporting Wang Geoeulomi's existence.[13] Geoeulomi's son, Wang Sullye, would later be appointed as the ritual heir for the House of Wang by King Munjong, Taejong's grandson, in March 25, 1452.[14]

See also

References
  1. Kang, H. W. (May 1977). "The First Succession Struggle of Koryŏ, in 945: A Reinterpretation". The Journal of Asian Studies. 36 (3): 411–428. doi:10.2307/2054091. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  2. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1503602083.
  3. Rogers, Michael C. (1982). "P'yŏnnyŏn T'ongnok: The Foundation Legend of the Koryŏ State". Journal of Korean Studies. 4 (1): 3–72. doi:10.1353/jks.1982.0005. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. Vermeersch, Sem (2008). The power of the Buddhas: the politics of Buddhism during the Koryo dynasty 918-1392. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard university press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0674031883.
  5. Kang, Hi-Woong (1964). "The Eclipse of the Silla Aristocracy". The development of the Korean ruling class from late Silla to early Koryo (PhD thesis). University of Washington. ProQuest 302110231. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  6. Breuker, Remco (June 2008). "Forging the truth". East Asian History (35): 1–73. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  7. Lee, Ki-baek (1988). A New History of Korea. ISBN 978-0-67461-576-2.
  8. Wang, Sixiang (11 July 2023). Boundless Winds of Empire: Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Chosŏn Diplomacy with Ming China. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-55601-9. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  9. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 13–15. ISBN 978-1503602083.
  10. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1503602083.
  11. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 22–27. ISBN 978-1503602083.
  12. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1503602083.
  13. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 33–37. ISBN 978-1503602083.
  14. Park, Eugene Y. (2019). A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 51–53. ISBN 978-1503602083.
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