Baekje

Baekje is mainly composed of the native Korean Han (Hanja: 韓人) from Mahan and the Koreanic Yemaek (Hanja: 濊貊族) from Buyeo and Gokuryeo. Those from the Lelang Commandery (Korean: Nakrang, Hanja: 樂浪) came in through trade and conquest, and a small number of Jin (Hanja: 辰人) were also admitted into the polities of Baekje.[7]

Baekje was founded in 18 BC[1] by King Onjo, who led a group of people from Goguryeo south to the Han River basin. According to the Chinese Records of the Three Kingdoms, during the Samhan period, one of the chiefdoms of the Mahan confederacy was called already Baekje.

The Samguk Sagi provides a detailed account of Baekje's founding. Jumong had left his son Yuri in Buyeo when he left that kingdom to establish the new kingdom of Goguryeo. Jumong became Divine King Dongmyeong, and had two more sons with So Seo-no, Onjo and Biryu. When Yuri later arrived in Goguryeo, Jumong promptly made him the crown prince. Realizing Yuri would become the next king, So Seo-no left Goguryeo, taking her two sons Biryu and Onjo south to found their own kingdoms with their people, along with ten vassals. She is remembered as a key figure in the founding of both Goguryeo and Baekje.

Onjo settled in Wiryeseong (present-day Hanam), and called his country Sipje (십제, 十濟, meaning "Ten Vassals"), while Biryu settled in Michuhol (present-day Incheon), against the vassals' advice. The salty water and marshes in Michuhol made settlement difficult, while the people of Wiryeseong lived prosperously.

Biryu then went to his brother Onjo, asking for the throne of Sipje. When Onjo refused, Biryu declared war, but lost. In shame, Biryu committed suicide, and his people moved to Wiryeseong, where King Onjo welcomed them and renamed his country Baekje ("Hundred Vassals").

King Onjo moved the capital from the south to the north of the Han river, and then south again, probably all within present Seoul, under pressure from other Mahan states. King Gaeru is believed to have moved the capital north of the river to Bukhansanseong in 132, probably in present-day Goyang to the northwest of Seoul.

Through the early centuries of the Common Era, sometimes called the Proto–Three Kingdoms Period, early Baekje gradually gained control over the other Mahan tribes.

The Baekje Kingdom, which belongs to the Mahan confederacy, first integrates the Han River (Korea) basin area, then overthrows Mokji state (목지국, 目支國), the dominant country, and then integrates Mahan as a territorial state.

During the reign of King Goi (234–286), Baekje became a full-fledged kingdom, as it continued consolidating the Mahan confederacy. In 249, according to the ancient Japanese text Nihonshoki, Baekje's expansion reached the Gaya confederacy to its east, around the Nakdong River valley. Baekje is first described in Chinese records as a kingdom in 345. The first diplomatic missions from Baekje reached Japan around 367 (According to the Nihon Shoki : 247).

King Geunchogo (346–375) expanded Baekje's territory to the north through war against Goguryeo, while annexing the remaining Mahan societies in the south. During Geunchogo's reign, the territories of Baekje included most of the western Korean Peninsula (except the two Pyeongan provinces), and in 371, Baekje defeated Goguryeo at Pyongyang. Baekje continued substantial trade with Goguryeo, and actively adopted Chinese culture and technology. Buddhism became the official state religion in 384.

Baekje also became a sea power and continued mutual goodwill relationships with the Japanese rulers of the Kofun period, transmitting continental cultural influences to Japan. The Chinese writing system, Buddhism, advanced pottery, ceremonial burial, and other aspects of culture were introduced by aristocrats, artisans, scholars, and monks throughout their relationship.[8]

During this period, the Han River basin remained the heartland of the country.

In the 5th century, Baekje retreated under the southward military threat of Goguryeo, and in 475, the Seoul region fell to Goguryeo. Baekje's capital was located at Ungjin (present-day Gongju) from 475 to 538.

Isolated in mountainous terrain, the new capital was secure against the north but also disconnected from the outside world. It was closer to Silla than Wiryeseong had been, however, and a military alliance was forged between Silla and Baekje against Goguryeo.

golden bronze incense burner, describing Seon mountain, dragon in the bottom, Bonghwang mystic bird on top.

Most maps of the Three Kingdoms period show Baekje occupying the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, the core of the country in the Ungjin and Sabi periods.

In 538, King Seong moved the capital to Sabi (present-day Buyeo County), and rebuilt his kingdom into a strong state. Temporarily, He changes the official name of the country as the Nambuyeo (Korean: 남부여; Hanja: 南扶餘; RR: Nambuyeo, Korean pronunciation: [na̠m.pu.jʌ̹]; lit. "Southern Buyeo"), a reference to Buyeo to which Baekje traced its origins. The Sabi Period witnessed the flowering of Baekje culture, alongside the growth of Buddhism.[9]

Under pressure from Goguryeo to the north and Silla to the east, Seong sought to strengthen Baekje's relationship with China. The location of Sabi, on the navigable Geum River, made contact with China much easier, and both trade and diplomacy flourished during his reign and continuing on into the 7th century.

In the 7th century, with the growing influence of Silla in the southern and central Korean peninsula, Baekje began its decline.

In 660, the coalition troops of Silla and Tang attacked Baekje, which was then allied with Goguryeo. A heavily outmanned army led by General Gyebaek was defeated in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol near Nonsan. The capital Sabi fell almost immediately thereafter, resulting in the annexation of Baekje by Silla. King Uija and his son Buyeo Yung were sent into exile in China while at least some of the ruling class fled to Japan.

Baekje forces attempted a brief restoration movement but faced Silla–Tang joint forces. A Buddhist monk Dochim (도침, 道琛) and the former Baekje general Buyeo Boksin rose to try to revive Baekje. They welcomed the Baekje prince Buyeo Pung back from Japan to serve as king, with Juryu (주류, 周留, in modern Seocheon County, South Chungcheong) as their headquarters. They put the Tang general Liu Renyuan (劉仁願) under siege in Sabi. Emperor Gaozong sent the general Liu Rengui, who had previously been demoted to commoner rank for offending Li Yifu, with a relief force, and Liu Rengui and Liu Renyuan were able to fight off the Baekje resistance forces' attacks, but were themselves not strong enough to quell the rebellion, and so for some time the armies were in stalemate.

Baekje requested Japanese aid, and King Pung returned to Baekje with a contingent of 5,000 soldiers. Before the ships from Japan arrived, his forces battled a contingent of Tang forces in Ungjin County. In 663, Baekje revival forces and a Japanese naval fleet convened in southern Baekje to confront the Silla forces in the Battle of Baekgang. The Tang dynasty also sent 7,000 soldiers and 170 ships. After five naval confrontations that took place in August 663 at Baekgang, considered the lower reaches of Geum River or Dongjin river, the Silla–Tang forces emerged victorious, and Buyeo Pung escaped to Goguryeo.

two gold diadem ornaments found in King Muryeong's tomb. They were worn on a silk cap afixed to the sides.

Part of a series on the
History of Korea
Prehistoric period Jeulmun Mumun
Ancient period Gojoseon  ? – 108 BC * Dangun * Gija * Wiman Jin 4th–2rd century BC
Proto–Three Kingdoms period Buyeo Goguryeo Okjeo Dongye Samhan Ma Byeon Jin Four Commanderies of Han
Three Kingdoms period Goguryeo 37 BC–668 AD Baekje 18 BC–660 AD Silla 57 BC–935 AD Gaya confederacy 42–562
Northern and Southern period United Silla (Unified Silla) 668–935 Balhae 698–926
Later Three Kingdoms period Later Baekje 892–936 Taebong (Later Goguryeo) 901–918 Unified Silla (Later Silla) 668–935
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Baekje had good relations with Yang and the same with other countries that was found in that same region later. It is hard to see past day Yang to today's China. After that, in 372, King Geunchogo gave a gift to the Nam-Jo(Jin Dynasty), located in the basin of the Yangtze River. After the fall of Jin and the establishment of Song Dynasty in 420, Baekje sent envoys seeking cultural goods and technologies.

Baekje sent an envoy to Northern Wei of Northern Dynasties for the first time in 472, and King Gaero asked for military aid to attack Goguryeo. Kings Muryeong and Seong sent envoys to Yang several times, in the picture attached below, It is written the king of Yang admit Yoseo(West from Lio peninsula) and Yodong are Baekje's territory.

Guze Kannon is a buddhist statue made in the image of King Seong[16] in the Korean style.[17] The statue, originally come from Baekje,[18] is kept in the Dream Hall at the Japanese temple Hōryū-ji

.

Replica of the Chiljido Seven-pronged Sword written "Baekje bestowed to the king of Wae, Ji"

Suda Hachiman Shrine Mirror looks like mirrors of Baekje

first temple in Japan. Hokoji, Asukadera, Bijosa, 飛鳥寺 in Asuka.

Baekje's boat

replica of the king Muryeong's Tomb in museum

Baekje influenced the formation of the ancient national system of the Waeguk(Japan’s

country name before Yayoi/Yamato) through the spread of culture in various fields. The spread of Buddhism also takes place in this mode of exchange. Beginning with the reign of King Seong of Baekje in the middle of the 6th century, Buddhist culture, including temple construction, flowed into the Japanese archipelago. In the dissemination of temple architectural culture, the elements that can clearly recognize the similarity between Baekje and Waeguk include the form of arrangement of a temple, its construction technology, the technologies and patterns making roof tiles, etc. In the case of Ikaruga in Waeguk, it can be seen that there was a cultural exchange between the Sanggung royal family(Jogu Oke) and the Iksan area of Baekje around 630, judging from the similarity of the palmette lotus design roofend tile and the Buddha statue.[19]

Baekje is believed to have introduced the man'yōgana writing system to Japan, of which the modern hiragana and katakana scripts are descendants.

Kojiki and the Nihon shoki both state this, and though direct evidence is hard to come by, most scholars tend to accept this idea.[20]

To confront the military pressure of Goguryeo to its north and Silla to its east, Baekje (Kudara in Japanese) established close relations with Japan. According to the Korean chronicle Samguk Sagi, Baekje and Silla sent some princes to the Japanese.[21] Whether the princes sent to Japan should be interpreted as diplomats as part of an embassy or literal hostages is debated.[22] the Nihon Shoki, a primary source of material for this relationship, is a compilation of myth, makes it difficult to evaluate. The Samguk Sagi, which also documents this, can also be interpreted in various ways and at any rate it was rewritten in the 13th century, easily seven or eight centuries after these particular events took place. Adding to the confusion is the discovery (in Japan) that the "Inariyama sword, as well as some other swords discovered in Japan, utilized the Korean 'Idu' system of writing". The swords "originated in Paekche and that the kings named in their inscriptions represent Paekche kings rather than Japanese kings".[22] The techniques for making these swords were the apparently similar to styles from Korea, specifically from Baekje.[23][24]

Other historians, such as those who collaborated on 'Paekche of Korea and the Origin of Yamato Japan' and Jonathan W. Best, who helped translate what was left of the Baekje annals,[25] have noted that these princes set up schools in Yamato Japan and took control of the Japanese naval forces during the war with Goguryeo, taking this as evidence of them being more along the lines of diplomats with some kind of familial tie to the Japanese imperial family and as evidence against any hostage status.

As is with many long-past histories and competing records, very little can be definitively concluded. Further research has been difficult, in part due to the 1976 restriction on the study of royal tombs in Japan (to include tombs such as the Gosashi tomb, which is allegedly the resting place of Empress Jingū). Prior to 1976, foreign researchers did have access, and some found Korean artifacts in Japanese dig sites. Recently in 2008, Japan has allowed controlled limited access to foreign archaeologists, but the international community still has many unanswered questions. National Geographic has written that Japan "the agency has kept access to the tombs restricted, prompting rumors that officials fear excavation would reveal bloodline links between the "pure" imperial family and Korea—or that some tombs hold no royal remains at all."[26]

In any case, these Koreans, diplomats and royal relatives or not, brought to Japan knowledge of the Hanja/Kanji writing system, Buddhism, architecture, iron processing for weapons, and various other technologies.[27][28] In exchange, Japan provided military support.[29]

According to mythical accounts in the controversial Nihon Shoki, Empress Jingū extracted tribute and pledges of allegiance from the kings of Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo. At the height of Japanese nationalism in the early 20th century, Japanese historians used these mythical accounts along with a passage in the Gwanggaeto Stele to establish ideological rationale to the imperialist outcry for invasion of Korea.[30][31] Other historians have pointed out that there is no evidence of this Japanese account in any part of Korea, in addition to not being in any viable text in China or Korea.[32][33] Regarding the Gwanggaeto Stele, because the lack of syntax and punctuation the text can be interpreted 4 different ways,[22][34] one which states that Korea crossed the water and subjugated Wae. Due to this problem in interpretation, nothing can be concluded. Also complicating the matter is that in the Nihongi a Korean named Amenohiboko is described in Nihon Shoki as a maternal predecessor of

Tajima-no-morosuku (但馬諸助),[35] This is highly inconsistent and difficult to interpret correctly.

Scholars believe that the Nihon Shoki gives the invasion date of Silla and Baekje as the late 4th century. However, by this time, Japan was a confederation of local tribes without sophisticated iron weapons, while the Three Kingdoms of Korea were fully developed centralized powers with modern iron weapons and were already utilizing horses for warfare. It is very unlikely that a developing state such as Yamato had the capacity to cross the sea and engage in battles with Baekje and Silla.[30][36][37] The Nihon Shoki is widely regarded to be an unreliable and biased source of information on early relations with Korea, as it mixes heavy amounts of supposition and legend with facts.[38][39][40]

Some Japanese scholars interpret the Gwanggaeto Stele, erected in 414 by King Jangsu of Goguryeo, as describing a Wae's invasion in the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. However, Mohan claims that Goguryeo fabricated the Japanese invasion in order to justify its conquest of Baekje.[30] If this stele was a dedication to a Korean king, it can be argued that it would logically highlight Korea's conquests and not dedicate it to a strange incident regarding Japan. In any case, because of these various possible interpretations, the circumstances surrounding the stele are still highly debated and inconclusive.

Chinese scholars participated in the study of the Stele during the 1980s. Wang Jianqun interviewed local farmers and decided that no intentional fabrication occurred, adding that the lime on the Stele was pasted by local copy-making workers to enhance readability.[41] Xu Jianxin of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences discovered the earliest rubbed copy which was made before 1881. He also concluded that there was no evidence the Japanese had intentionally damaged any of the characters on the Stele.[42]

Today, most Chinese and Japanese scholars contradict the conspiracy theories, based on the study of the Stele itself and advocate Japanese intervention in the era,[42][43][44] although its size and effect are disputed.

In the project of writing a common history textbook, Kim Tae-sik of Hongik University (Korea) denied Japan's theory.[45] But, Kōsaku Hamada of Kyushu University (Japan) reported their interpretations of the Gwanggaeto Stele text, neither of them adopting the intentionally damaged stele theory in their interpretations.[46]

Some members of the Baekje nobility and royalty emigrated to Japan even before the kingdom was overthrown. In response to Baekje's request, Japan in 663 sent the general Abe no Hirafu with 20,000 troops and 1,000 ships to revive Baekje with Buyeo Pung (known in Japanese as Hōshō), a son of king Uija of Baekje who had been an emissary to Japan. Around August 661, 10,000 soldiers and 170 ships, led by Abe no Hirafu, arrived. Additional Japanese reinforcement, including 27,000 soldiers led by Kamitsukeno no Kimi Wakako (上毛野君稚子) and 10,000 soldiers led by Iohara no Kimi (廬原君) also arrived at Baekje in 662.

This attempt, however, failed at the Battle of Baekgang, and the prince escaped to Goguryeo. According to the Nihon Shoki, 400 Japanese ships were lost in the battles. Only half of the troops were able to return to Japan.

The Japanese army retreated to Japan with many Baekje refugees. The former royal family members were initially treated as "foreign guests" (蕃客) and were not incorporated into the political system of Japan for some time. Buyeo Pung's younger brother Seon'gwang (Zenkō in Japanese) (善光 or 禅広) used the family name Kudara no Konikishi ("King of Baekje") (百濟王) (they are also called the Kudara clan, as Baekje was called Kudara in Japanese).

Ambassador of Baekje at the Chinese court of Emperor Yuan of Liang in his capital Jingzhou in 516–520 CE, with explanatory text. Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, 11th century Song copy.