Silla–Tang War

The Silla–Tang War (670–676) occurred between Silla (joined by Goguryeo and Baekje loyalists) and the Tang dynasty.[1] It began in the geopolitical context immediately following the conquest of Goguryeo and Baekje by the joint forces of Silla and Tang. The conflict ended with a truce between Tang and Silla due to the internal political situation in both states,[4] with the dividing territorial line at the Taedong River basin.

Silla–Tang War

Map of the Silla-Tang War (in Korean), with final northern border of Silla marked in dark green line. Red arrows indicate Tang attack routes; blue arrows indicate Silla attack routes; explosion marks indicate battles.
Date670–676 [1]
Location
Korean Peninsula and Yellow Sea
Result Silla victory[2][3][4][5]
Territorial
changes		 Silla recaptured the territory south of Taedong River, while Tang held control over former Goguryeo territory north of Taedong River.[6]
Belligerents
Silla
Goguryeo loyalists[7]
Baekje loyalists[7]		 Tang China
Commanders and leaders
King Munmu
Kim Yushin
Geom Mojam
Kim Wonsul
Go Yeonmu		 Xue Rengui
Gao Kan
Buyeo Yung
Li Jinxing

Context

In 668, following the Goguryeo-Tang War, despite the fall of both the Korean kingdoms of Baekje and Goguryeo, the Korean Peninsula was still not completely united under the Korean kingdom of Silla; the Silla–Tang alliance, which had defeated both Baekje and Goguryeo, resulted in the occupation of the former territories of both of these kingdoms by coalition (i.e. Silla and Tang) armies. The people of these former kingdoms underwent major upheaval: a substantial number were forcibly resettled by the Tang[8] and many fled to the Japanese Archipelago; while somewhat hostile to Silla, those people who remained in place were more hostile to the Tang Chinese.

After the fall of Goguryeo in 668, the Tang Emperor created the office of Protectorate General to Pacify the East[9][8][10] and attempted to place the entire Korean Peninsula, including its erstwhile independent ally Silla, under its rule. The Silla-Tang alliance subsequently fell apart as the Tang tried to establish dominion over the entire Korean Peninsula through this new office and its former ally Silla resisted these efforts.

King Munmu of Silla then assembled the army of Silla, incorporating the remnants of the armed forces of Baekje and Goguryeo in a sort of coalition, against the Tang army.[7][11] The Sillan objective was to eject the Tang forces from their positions on the Korean Peninsula (particularly the entirety of what was formerly Baekje and some of the southern portions of what was formerly Goguryeo) and prevent any Tang attempts to control Silla.[12] To achieve this, Munmu forged alliances with Goguryeo resistance leaders such as Geom Mojam and Anseung and launched attacks on the Tang positions in territories formerly belonging to the conquered kingdoms of Baekje and Goguryeo. Starting almost immediately after the fall of Goguryeo in 668 AD and the establishment of the office of Protectorate General to Pacify the East, the struggle between the former allies lasted through much of the 670s.

Course

Silla's efforts were aided by revolts/uprisings in the territories of the former Korean kingdoms, notably Goguryeo; the first revolt of the people of Goguryeo took place in 669. Revolts in the former territories of Goguryeo took place for several subsequent years, the last of which endured for four years.[8]

In 671, Sillan forces expelled Tang forces from most of the former territories of Baekje.[13] However, the dispute between Silla and Tang was nowhere near finished, and by 674, Tang and Silla were in frequent battle, as King Munmu of Silla had taken over much of the former territories of Baekje and Goguryeo from the Tang forces that had occupied these lands following the Goguryeo–Tang War and Baekje–Tang War. In addition, Munmu fostered native resistance against the Tang in those territories of Baekje and Goguryeo still occupied by the Tang. In 674, Emperor Gaozong, in anger, arbitrarily declared King Munmu's brother Kim Inmun (김인문, 金仁問) to be the king of Silla and commissioned Liu Rengui with an army to attack Silla. However, before any major battles could be fought, King Munmu, for unknown reasons (perhaps unwilling to deal with the potential divisions that could be caused by having a royal pretender loose in his kingdom and unprepared to fight the Tang), formally apologized and offered tribute; this satisfied Emperor Gaozong (he and King Munmu's father, King Muyeol, were actually friends before Gaozong became emperor, and it has been suggested that this relationship not only enabled Gaozong to help King Muyeol start the wars of Korean unification in 660 AD in spite of having active enemies elsewhere, but also caused Gaozong to view Silla in a non-antagonistic manner), and, not wanting to prolong the campaign, he ordered a withdrawal and recalled Kim Inmun.

In 675, Li Jinxing (李謹行) reached Sillan territory via land, using Mohe forces in Manchuria that had submitted to Tang, with the intent of occupying territory in Silla. However, the Tang forces were defeated by a Sillan army at the Maeso fortress, in or near present-day Yeoncheon.

In 676, Xue Rengui crossed the Yellow Sea to fight against Silla, but was unsuccessful.[14] Over the course of several battles during this year, Silla destroyed the Ungjin commandery (the remaining Tang positions in Baekje's former territories) and drove Tang forces north of the Taedong River.[15] These forced the Tang to relocate the seat/capital of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East (also called the Andong Protectorate by Tang) farther north and west to the more easily-defensible city of Liaoyang,[16][10][17] effectively ending any Tang claims to territory controlled by Silla.

Aftermath

Tang government's relocation of the seat/capital of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East to Liaodong was effectively the end of Tang designs on Sillan territory.[18][16][10][17] Although the Tang forces were expelled from territories south of Taedong River, Silla failed to regain the former Goguryeo territories north of the Taedong River, which were now under Tang dominion.[6] The Tang empire had taken control of the Liaodong Peninsula, while Silla controlled most of the Korean Peninsula.[11] Relations between Tang and Silla ceased until the early 8th century,[11][19] when King Seongdeok of Silla (702–737) and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (712–755) reestablished diplomatic ties and initiated a reconciliation between the states.[19] A formal Tang recognition of Sillan sovereignty over the Korean Peninsula south of the Taedong River occurred in 736.[20]

See also

References
  1. Shin, Hyong Sik (2006). A Brief History of Korea (Translated ed.). Seoul: Ewha Womans University Press. p. 51. ISBN 9788973006199. Tang's territorial ambitions led Silla to wage a war against the Chinese dynasty from 668 to 676. Eventually, Silla joined with remnant forces of Baekje and Goguryeo to drive Tang out of the Korean Peninsula and unified the Three Kingdoms.
  2. Graff, David A. (2002). Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. London: Routledge. p. 201. ISBN 9780415239554. In 674 and 675 Tang forces under Liu Rengui attacked Silla itself. Chinese histories record that Liu was victorious and forced the king of Silla to sue for peace, while Korean historians report the defeat of the Chinese armies. The fact that the Tang government found it necessary to withdraw the headquarters of its Korean protectorate to the Liao River valley in the early months of 676 suggests that the Korean version is probably closer to the truth. Silla was left in uncontested control of almost the whole of the Korean peninsula, and there was no great Tang campaign to recover what had been won with such difficulty and so quickly lost.
  3. Encyclopedia of World History, Vol II, P371 Silla Dynasty, Edited by Marsha E. Ackermann, Michael J. Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, Mark F. Whitters, ISBN 978-0-8160-6386-4
  4. Shin, Hyong Sik (2006). A Brief History of Korea (Translated ed.). Seoul: Ewha Womans University Press. p. 51. ISBN 9788973006199. [...] Silla engaged in an all-out war against Tang at one point. But, a truce was declared due to the political situation in both countries at that time.
  5. Peterson, Mark (2010). A Brief History of Korea. Facts On File. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8160-5085-7. The fighting between the Tang and Silla ended fairly quickly, however, in favor of a diplomatic settlement in 676.
  6. Fuqua, Jacques L. (2007). Nuclear endgame: The need for engagement with North Korea. Westport: Praeger Security International. p. 40. ISBN 9780275990749.
  7. Wang 2013 Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia: A History of Diplomacy and War (p. 95)
  8. Wang 2013, p. 81.
  9. "舊唐書". 中國哲學書電子化計劃. Retrieved 3 August 2017. 安東都護府總章元年九月，司空李勣平高麗。高麗本五部，一百七十六城，戶六十九萬七千。其年十二月，分高麗地為九都督府，四十二州，一百縣，置安東都護府於平壤城以統之。In the ninth month of the first year of the Zongzhang era [668], the Minister of Works Li Ji pacified Goguryeo. Originally Goguryeo had 5 regions, 176 cities, and 697,000 households. In the twelfth month of that year, Goguryeo's territory was divided into 9 commanderies, 42 prefectures, and 100 counties. The Andong Protectorate was situated at Pyeongyang to govern it.
  10. Xiong 2008, p. 43.
  11. Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Walthall, Anne; Palais, James B. (2006). East Asia: A cultural, social, and political history. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 107. ISBN 9780618133840.
  12. Encyclopedia of World History, Vol II, P371 Silla Dynasty, Edited by Marsha E. Ackermann, Michael J. Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, Mark F. Whitters, ISBN 978-0-8160-6386-4
  13. Seth 2020, p. 45.
  14. Boudewijn Walraven, Remco E. Breuker (2007). Remco E. Breuker (ed.). Korea in the middle: Korean studies and area studies : essays in honour of Boudewijn Walraven. Vol. 153 of CNWS publications (illustrated ed.). CNWS Publications. p. 341. ISBN 978-9057891533. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  15. Seth, Michael J. (2020). A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-5381-2898-5.
  16. "舊唐書". 中國哲學書電子化計劃. Retrieved 3 August 2017. 上元三年二月，移安東府於遼東郡故城置。儀鳳二年，又移置於新城。In the second month of the third year of the Shangyuan era [676], the seat of Andong was moved to the Old City of Liaodong. In the second year of the Yifeng era [677], it was move again, this time to Xincheng.
  17. Wang 2013, p. 84.
  18. Kim, Djun Kil (2005). The history of Korea (1st ed.). Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 41. ISBN 9780313038532.
  19. Shin, Hyong Sik (2006). A Brief History of Korea (Translated ed.). Seoul: Ewha Womans University Press. p. 51. ISBN 9788973006199. As a consequence, Silla and Tang severed ties and interchanges all but ceased. However, Silla's King Seongdeok(702~737) and Tang's Hsuan Tsung(712~755) saw the need for reestablishing diplomatic ties and initiated a reconciliation.
  20. Wang 2013, p. 85.
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