Misplaced Pages

#998001

76-534: The records of Chumo are often regarded as semi-legendary, and the extent to which the records are historical or mythological is debated. They are also mixed with legends about Dongmyeong of Buyeo told among the people of Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Baekje — whose monarchs all claim the same ancestry. The founding myths of Goguryeo are told in ancient writings, including the Gwanggaeto Stele . The best-known versions of Chumo's life are found, with slight variations, in

152-665: A focal point of national rivalries in East Asia manifested in the interpretations of the stele's inscription and the place of Goguryeo in modern historical narratives . An exact replica of the Gwanggaeto Stele stands on the grounds of the War Memorial of Seoul and the rubbed copies made in 1881 and 1883 are in the custody of China and Japan. The stele's location, in Ji'an in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin ,

228-425: A future of increased international rivalry. Initially only rubbings of sporadic individual letters could be made, due to the overgrowth. In order to uncover the entire inscription, the county magistrate in 1882 ordered the vegetation to be burnt off, causing damage to the stele's surface. Almost every inch of the stele's four sides were found to be covered with Chinese characters (nearly 1800 in total), each about

304-535: A great regional territory with considerable power and influence. Goguryeo existed for 705 years and was ruled by 28 consecutive monarchs of the Go Dynasty until the collapse of the central government by the Silla-Tang alliance in 668. Both Balhae and Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and the modern descendants of Chumo still bear his family name of "Go." In Goguryeo, Chumo was deified as an ancestral deity and he

380-423: A life mission to rescue and band together the refugees of the ancient Joseon peoples, leading the fight against the oppression of Imperial China, finally establishing himself as the king of the new nation Goguryeo. From 2010 to 2011, KBS1 aired King Geunchogo , also known as The King of Legend . In this series, Jumong is portrayed as a tyrant who could not accept sharing the power over Goguryeo with Soseono and

456-442: A local Chinese official named Guan Yueshan, who also dabbled as an amateur epigrapher, began collecting such tiles and discovered the mammoth stone stele of Gwanggaeto obscured under centuries of mud and overgrowth. The discovery soon attracted the attention of Korean, Chinese and Japanese scholars, the third often supplemented by Japanese spies travelling incognito to spy the region's fortifications and natural layout, prescient of

532-573: A major part of the population in the kingdom of Balhae in northeast Asia, which lasted from the late 7th century to early 10th century. After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the primary ethnic group from whom the Jurchen people descended. The Heishui Mohe in particular are considered to be the direct ancestors of the Jurchens, from whom

608-459: A passage describing the king's military campaigns for the sinmyo 辛卯 year of 391 ( sinmyo being a year designator in the sexagenary cycle that characterizes the traditional Sino-oriented East Asian calendar). Some officers in the Japanese army and navy conducted research during the 1880s and the rubbed copy was later published in 1889. Most Japanese scholars, notably Masatomo Suga, interpreted

684-457: A surname to each person: Jaesa, wearing hemp cloth, was named Geuk Jaesa ( 극재사 ; 克再思 ); Mugol, wearing monk cloth, was named Jungsil Mugol ( 중실무골 ; 仲室武骨 ); Mukgeo, wearing waterweed cloth, was named Sosil Mukgeo ( 소실묵거 ; 少室默居 ). Chumo gave roles to everyone, and together they arrived at Holboncheon (or Holbon Stream; 홀본천 ; 忽本川 ). Chumo wanted to build a palace on the mountain, but he wasn't able to afford it. Thus, he built

760-469: A thatched house near Biryusu (or Biryu River; 비류수 ; 沸流水 ) and lived there. He named his newly founded nation Goguryeo, and he changed his surname to Go at the age of 21 (37 BC). Hearing the news that a new a nation was born, many people joined him. In 37 BC, in the first year of his reign, Chumo launched a preemptive strike on the Mohe near the border, fearing raids from them. The Mohe surrendered after

836-400: A token of gratitude for the virtue and generosity shown by Geumwa. In April of 19 BC, Yuryu ( 유류 ; 儒留 ) and his mother fled from Buyeo, arriving at Goguryeo. Chumo appointed Yuryu as the crown prince of Goguryeo. In September, Chumo died at the age of 39. He was buried at Yongsan (or Yong Mountain; 용산 ; 龍山 ), and was posthumously given the title Dongmyeong-Seongwang. By noting

SECTION 10

#1732772827999

912-645: Is an adjective, a customary expression meaning " barbarian " or Xiongnu . Before the Five dynasties period, it was recorded as "靺羯", such as on the Honglujing Stele . He 鞨 is gal ( Middle Chinese gat or /ɦɑt̚/ ), meaning " stone " by Mohe/Malgal, Jie /Gal language. The Jie ruler Shi Le (石勒) takes the surname shi (石 "stone") from gal . According to the History of Jin (Jin Shi), Shi Tumen ( 石土門 )

988-417: Is difficult to tell when sentences begin or end because of the absence of punctuation and the necessity of reading into the text via context. Furthermore, the subjects Baekje and Silla are not recognizably mentioned in the passage; only the first character for "Baekje" ( 百 ) is noted, and even the supposed first character of Silla is not complete (only 斤 as opposed to 新). Furthermore, the character "jan" ( 殘 )

1064-543: Is located at the south of the mountain Taebaeksan , he met a woman named Yuhwa ( 유화 ; 柳花 ) who was a daughter of Habaek . She told Geumwa that she was exiled by her father because she slept with Hae Mosu, who claimed to be the son of heaven, prior to marriage. She explained that Hae Mosu lured her to a place near the Yalu River , next to Ungsimsan (or Ungsim Mountain; 웅심산 ; 熊心山 ). Geumwa thought her story

1140-626: Is located southeast of Taebaek Mountain. In November of 18 BC, the king ordered Bu Wiyeom ( 부위염 ; 扶尉猒 ) to attack the Northern Okjeo ( 북옥저 ; 北沃沮 ), and Bu Wiyeom successfully made the Northern Okjeo submit to Goguryeo. In August of 24 BC, Yuhwa died in Eastern Buyeo. A funeral was held, and a shrine was built to her as the dowager of Geumwa. In October, Chumo sent an envoy along with regional products to Buyeo as

1216-477: Is not a country but a pirate group, and he also denied Japan dominated the southern part of Korea. 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 damaged any of the stele characters. Today, most Chinese scholars deny the conspiracy theory proposed by Lee Jin-hui in light of

1292-630: Is the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it; the dance and song were introduced to the Japanese court during the Nara period or around the beginning of the Heian period from the Balhae kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the " kana " reading Makkatsu (まっかつ), which is probably a transliteration based on the standard Sino-Japanese readings of

1368-532: Is the prince of the Jurchen people , whose surname shi hints to a connection with the Mohe and Jie . The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested *Motgit in Middle Chinese ( Chinese : 勿吉 ; pinyin : mò jí ; Jyutping : mat6 gat1 ; Korean : 물길 [Mulgil]; Japanese : もつきつ [Motsukitsu]). The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" (Japanese 新靺鞨, しんまか) or "New Mohe," which

1444-414: Is the subjugators being referred to here. However, Korean scholarship generally disagrees, and renders this portion as Goguryeo's claims to the two kingdoms as "our subject peoples". Some scholars also posit that "Wa" here does not refer to the "Japanese" people in the conventional sense at all. ( For further information on the "sinmyo passage" controversy, see section below ) It soon became clear that

1520-494: Is unreasonable that a monument honoring the triumphs of a Goguryeo king singles out a Japanese ("Wa") victory as worthy of mention on the stele (if one follows the Japanese interpretation). Generally, Japanese scholars points out that the rhetoric of inscription describes Gwanggaeto's battle as "overcoming the trying situation". Yukio Takeda claims that "Wa's invasion" was used as such situation when describing battles against Baekje. Some Japanese scholars also propose that Wa's power

1596-683: The Qing dynasty , they instituted a "closure policy" ( fengjin 封禁) that blocked entry into a vast area in Manchuria north of the Yalu River, including the stele's site. This seclusion came to an end in the latter half of the 19th century, when the region was opened up for resettlement. In 1876, the Qing government established the Huairen County (now Huanren Manchu Autonomous County ) to govern

SECTION 20

#1732772827999

1672-557: The Samguk sagi , Samguk yusa , and the "Dongmyeongwang" chapter ( 동명왕편 ; 東明王篇 ) of the Donggukisanggukjip ( 동국이상국집 ; 東國李相國集 ). Hae Buru , the king of Buyeo, performed religious ceremonies in hope of having a son, as he was getting old without an heir. When he arrived at Gonyeon (or Gon Pond; 곤연 ; 鯤淵 ), he noticed his horse was shedding tears in front of a large rock. The king issued an ordered to remove

1748-484: The "sinmyo passage" of year 391 is whether it states that the Goguryeo subjugated Baekje and Silla, as Korean scholars maintain, or whether it states that Wa had at one time subjugated Baekje and Silla, as Japanese scholars have traditionally interpreted. The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office , which learned about the stele and obtained a rubbed copy from its member Kageaki Sakō in 1884, became intrigued over

1824-471: The 17th century Manchu people and Qing dynasty founders originated. The Mohe practiced a sedentary agrarian lifestyle and were predominantly farmers who grew soybean, wheat, millet, and rice, supplemented by pig raising and hunting for meat. The Mohe were also known to have worn pig and dog skin coats. The Chinese exonym Mohe (靺鞨) is a graphic pejorative written with mo 靺 "socks; stockings" and he 鞨 "shoes". Mo (靺) ( Middle Chinese : /muɑt̚/ )

1900-413: The 1910s and 20s, Torii Ryūzō and other Japanese scholars traveled to Ji'an and observed the stele close hand. They found that the inscription had been repaired by clay and lime, and therefore questioned the credibility of the rubbed copy. The first Korean scholarly study challenging the Japanese interpretation was published by Chŏng In-bo  [ ko ] in 1955. He supposed that the subjects of

1976-713: The Japanese Army in the 20th century to justify the Japanese invasion of Korea. According to his books, Sakō altered the copy and later the Japanese General Staff thrice sent a team to make the falsification of the stele with lime. In 1981, the Korean Lee Hyung-gu began putting forth the argument, based on the irregularity of the Chinese character style and grammar, that the sinmyo passage was altered so as 後 read 倭, and 不貢因破 read 來渡海破. Thus,

2052-514: The Jolbon faction. After Yuri of Goguryeo 's arrival, the declared crown prince and successor to Jumong's throne, Soseono and all her subordinates and servants decided to leave "their beloved Goguryeo" to establish a new kingdom "much more powerful than Goguryeo ever was." Since 2017, KCTV aired 고주몽 , a historical animation directed by Kim Kyung-ho at the SEK Studio . The animation contains

2128-606: The New Goguryeo was founded by Chumo. In 82 BC, New Goguryeo launched an attack on the Commanderies of Han, and was responsible for driving out the Xuantu Commandery from its original location to an area northwest of Goguryeo. Based on this account, Chumo was old enough to command his military force by 82 BC, which directly challenges the records from Samguk sagi . However, there are indications that Goguryeo

2204-637: The Sumo Mohe, named after the Songhua River . They have been traditionally defined by the approximate use of what would have been Tungusic languages . The Heishui Mohe are commonly thought as being direct ancestors to the 12th century Jurchens . The Tang documented the Mohe as inhabiting the land of Sushen , to the northeast of the Tang, east of the Turks, and north of Goguryeo . The Mohe constituted

2280-556: The Way. Great King Churyu succeeded to rule and the throne was handed on, [eventually] to the seventeenth in succession, [who], having ascended the throne at twice-nine [i.e., eighteen], was named King Yongnak ("Eternal Enjoyment") (Gwanggaeto the Great) The inscription continues with the king's obituary and an account of the erection of the stele. The stele records entire battles of Gwanggaeto's reign and his triumphs. Many of

2356-475: The area. New settlers into the region around Ji'an began making use of the many bricks and baked tiles that could be found in the region to build new dwellings. The curious inscriptions on some of these tiles soon reached the ears of Chinese scholars and epigraphers . A few tiles were found inscribed "May the mausoleum of the Great King be secure like a mountain and firm like a peak". It was around 1876 that

Dongmyeong of Goguryeo - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-500: The battles concern conflict with the Wa (people from what is now Japan). The king of Goguryeo is described as assisting Silla when it was invaded by the Wa, and punishing Baekje for allying with the Wa. The inscription states that since the "sinmyo" year (391 AD), the Wa had been crossing the sea into Korea. The passage continues by saying that "it" subjugated the two kingdoms Baekche and Silla. Japanese scholarship generally considers that Wa

2508-585: The centuries. According to the records, Chumo was born in Northern Buyeo. He arrived to Holbon ( 홀본 ; 忽本 ), and built the capital on the mountain located west of Holbon. After he became tired of the throne, he went to the hill east of Holbon and died there. According to the Notes on History of the Three Kingdoms , in previous books written by Chinese dynasties, there are huge discrepancies in

2584-495: The contents of Jumong , when he brings small countries of the same family together and builds up Goguryeo into a powerful nation. It deals with the history from the time when the parents Hae Mo-su and Yuhwa established their family until the birth of Jumong . In the first ten parts, Jumong tells the story of Buyeo , where he was born, and escaped. The first episode was broadcast on January 1, 2017, and so far 24 episodes have been broadcast. South Korean netizens were surprised at

2660-419: The egg, Geumwa returned the egg to Yuhwa. Later, a boy was born from the egg. The young boy learned how to craft a bow and arrows, and he became a master of archery by the age of 7, earning the nickname Chumo, a word used by the people of Buyeo to describe excellent archers. Daeso , the eldest of the seven sons of Geumwa, was worried Chumo would rise as a threat to him, but Geumwa commanded Chumo to take care of

2736-583: The fight. One day, Chumo saw vegetable leaves floating on the Biryu River. He went hunting farther upstream and arrived at Biryuguk (or the Kingdom of Biryu; 비류국 ; 沸流國 ). Song Yang ( 송양 ; 松讓 ), the king of Biryu, saw Chumo and commanded him to submit to Song's authority, since the State of Biryu was stronger and older. The two kings had an argument, then had an archery competition in which Chumo

2812-423: The full inscriptions were not made until 1887 according to one researcher. It was after the authentic "rubbings" (rather than "tracings") became available that Chinese scholars started studying the earnest, and the first scholarly paper produced by the Chinese was Wang Chih-hsiu (王志修; Wang Zhixiu), Kao-chü-li Yung-lo t'ai-wang ku pei k'ao (高句麗永樂太王古碑攷 1895). And Korea was not aware of the monument until Kaiyoroku

2888-434: The growing threat, Yuhwa asked Chumo to leave and use his abilities elsewhere. Chumo and his three friends — Oi ( 오이 ; 烏伊 ), Mari ( 마리 ; 摩離 ), and Hyeopbo ( 협보 ; 陜父 ) — escaped from Eastern Buyeo, followed by cavalry sent out by Daeso. Chumo and his companions arrived to Eomsasu (or Eomsa River; 엄사수 ; 淹㴲水 ), but failed to find a bridge to cross the river. As the cavalry were approaching, Chumo asked

2964-531: The history of Goguryeo, as they treated Old Goguryeo ( 고고구려 ; 古高句麗 ) and the New Goguryeo ( 신고구려 ; 新高句麗 ) as the same entity, while separating Sosu Maek ( 소수맥 ; 小水爲 ) and the events involving Eastern Okjeo. The Old Goguryeo was occupied by the Han Dynasty shortly after the fall of Gojoseon, and became one of the counties under the Xuantu Commandery in 107 BC. On the other hand,

3040-449: The horses. While raising the horses, Chumo intentionally gave more food to slow horses and gave less food to fast and talented horses to make them look unappealing and thin. When Geumwa went on a hunting trip with Chumo and others, Chumo was given a thin horse and fewer arrows, yet he was able to hunt more than anyone else who participated, since his thin horse was faster. This hunting episode further fueled Daeso's desire to kill Chumo. Seeing

3116-509: The illegitimate grandson of Hae Buru, and Soseono ( 소서노 ; 召西奴 ), the daughter of Holbon native Yeon Tabal ( 연타발 ; 延陀勃 ). Unfortunately, Soseono became a widow after Wu Tae died. When Chumo arrived at Holbon, he established Goguryeo and married Soseono. Soseono supported Chumo in every way possible, paving the way for the future of the Kingdom of Goguryeo, while Chumo helped raise her sons as if they were his own children. However, everything eventually turned against Soseono after Yuryu,

Dongmyeong of Goguryeo - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-558: The king should resettle at Gaseopwon ( 가섭원 ; 迦葉原 )," a fertile land next to the ocean. Hae Buru and his followers relocated the capital and created a new kingdom called Eastern Buyeo . Meanwhile, in Buyeo, a person named Hae Mosu , proclaiming himself as the Son of Heaven, established the new capital at Buyeo. After Hae Buru died, Geumwa became the next king of Eastern Buyeo. When he went to Wubalsu (or Wubal Pond; 우발수 ; 優渤水 ), which

3268-703: The legendary founder of the kingdom to the King who is memorialized by the stele. Note: Text written in italics in brackets has been reconstructed from glyphs chipped or eroded on the stone monument. Of old, when our first Ancestor King Ch'umo laid the foundations of our state, he came forth from Northern Buyeo as the son of the Celestial Emperor. His mother, the daughter of Habaek , gave birth to him by cracking an egg and bringing her child forth from it. Endowed with heavenly virtue, King Ch'umo [ accepted his mother's command and ] made an imperial tour to

3344-499: The maintenance of Gwanggaeto's tomb in perpetuity. It is the rest of the inscription, which provides a synopsis of Gwanggaeto's reign and his numerous martial accomplishments (see section above) that is rife with the most controversy. The most controversial portion of the stele's narrative has come to be known simply as the "sinmyo passage". The sinmyo passage as far as it is definitively legible reads thus (with highly defaced or unreadable characters designated by an X): Disagreement in

3420-402: The military exploits of King Gwanggaeto; and 3) personal record of the custodians of the monarch's grave. The first part details the legend of the Goguryeo's founder and his lineage while the second outlined Gwanggaeto's martial accomplishments, beginning with the conquest of Paeryo ( 稗麗 ) in 395. The record of the king's conquest was outlined in the form of a list of the castles he occupied and

3496-459: The newly discovered rubbed copy. In the project of writing a common history textbook, Kim Tae-sik of Hongik University (Korea) denied Japan's theory. But, Kōsaku Hamada  [ ja ] of Kyushu University (Japan) reported his interpretation of the Gwanggaeto Stele text, neither of them adopting Lee's theory in their interpretations. In refuting the interpretation that Wa conquered Baekje and Silla, some Korean scholars alleges that it

3572-470: The only biological son of Chumo from Lady Ye, came to Goguryeo and was appointed as the crowned prince. Biryu was displeased by the decision since Yuryu had not contributed at all to the creation of the kingdom. Also, fearing a purge by Yuryu after Chumo's death, Biryu led his followers along with Onjo and Soseono, and left Goguryeo to create his own kingdom. There are only a handful of records from Goguryeo still remaining today as many have been lost throughout

3648-412: The passage as follows (brackets designating a "reading into" the text where the character is not legible): And in the sinmyo year (辛卯年) the Wa (倭) came and crossed the sea (來渡海) and defeated (破) Baekje (百 殘), [unknown], and [Sil]la (新羅) and made them (以爲) subjects (臣民) They presumed that Wa referred to a centralized Japanese government at the time that controlled the entire western part of Japan. In

3724-414: The passage is that Goguryeo, not Japan, crossed the sea and defeated Baekje or Wa. In the case of this interpretation, and the abbreviation of King Gwanggaeto's title in the passage, the passage states: And in the sinmyo year the Wa crossed the sea. King Gwanggaeto (abbreviation) made Silla and Baekje subjects of (?) Some point out several facts that put in doubt the traditional Japanese interpretation of

3800-621: The quality development of the North Korean animation. Gwanggaeto Stele The Gwanggaeto Stele is a memorial stele for the tomb of Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo , erected in 414 by his son Jangsu . This monument to Gwanggaeto the Great is the largest engraved stele in the world. It stands near the tomb of Gwanggaeto in the present-day city of Ji'an along the Yalu River in Jilin Province, Northeast China , which

3876-568: The repair of the stele and concluded that Sakō's copy had not been made by the rubbing method but rather had been traced, a method known in China as shuanggou tianmo ( 双鉤塡墨 ). The North Korean scholar Kim reported his conclusions in a 1963 article. He had studied the Japanese chronicles Kojiki and Nihonshoki , and concluded that Wa referred to colonies of Samhan in Japan. He claimed that these colonies were established by Korean immigrants and

SECTION 50

#1732772827999

3952-536: The river for help, declaring himself a son of the Heavenly God ( 천제 ; 天帝 ) and maternal grandchild of Habaek . Answering Chumo's call, fish and softshell turtles floated up from the river and created a bridge for Chumo to cross, then disappeared by the time the pursuing troops arrived. After escaping death, Chumo met three people, each wearing different cloths at Modungok (or Modun Valley; 모둔곡 ; 毛屯谷 ). Considering them as gifts from heaven, Chumo gave

4028-660: The river. Upon the mountain-fort west of Cholbon in Piryu Valley established his capital, wherein his family would long enjoy the hereditary position. Accordingly, he [ritually] summoned the Yellow Dragon to come down and "meet the king." The King was on the hill east of Cholbon, and the Yellow Dragon took him on its back and ascended to Heaven. He left a testamentary command to his heir apparent, King Yuryu , that he should conduct his government in accordance with

4104-474: The rock, and there he found a young boy who looked like a golden frog. The king treated the boy as a gift from heaven and named him Geumwa . Hae Buru adopted Geumwa and made him the Crown Prince when he became older. Later, Aranbul ( 아란불 ; 阿蘭弗 ), the minister of Buyeo, told Hae Buru that he received the messages from heaven. "Heaven will send its descendent and create a new kingdom above Buyeo, thus

4180-574: The sea." But, it is probable that the phrase indicate Battle in Gwanmi, a maritime fortress of Baekje until 391. Mohe people The Mohe , Malgal , Mogher , or Mojie were historical groups of people that once occupied parts of what is now Northeast Asia during late antiquity. The two most well known Mohe groups were known as the Heishui Mohe , located along the Amur River , and

4256-422: The sentence 渡海破 and 以爲臣民 were respectively Goguryeo and Baekje. By Chŏng's interpretation the entire passage read as follows: And in the sinmyo year Wa [invaded Goguryeo], [and Goguryeo also] came and crossed the sea and defeated [Wa]. Then Baekje [allied with Wa] and subjugated [Sil]la In 1959 the Japanese scholar Teijiro Mizutani published another important study. He had acquired rubbed copies made before

4332-479: The similarities in these myths, we can presume the following: There is an alternative story of Chumo, which was noted by the compilers of Samguk sagi . The name Soseono only appears here. The storyline can extend to the theory of a coup led by Onjo, killing both Biryu and Soseono in order to claim Baekje for himself. The following description is based on Samguk sagi. Both Biryu ( 비류 ; 沸流 ) and Onjo ( 온조 ; 溫祚 ) were sons of Wu Tae ( 우태 ; 優台 ),

4408-545: The sinmyo passage. Firstly, the term Wa at the time the stele was made did not solely refer to people from Japan but could also refer to the people from southern Korean, particularly from the Gaya Confederacy. In 1972 the Zainichi Korean scholar Lee Jin-hui (Yi Jin-hui; romaji : Ri Jinhi) reported the most controversial theory of the interpretation. He claimed the stele had been intentionally damaged by

4484-541: The size of a grown man's hand. But rubbed copies could not initially be made due to the irregular surface and other factors, so that the early batch of copied inscriptions were actually "tracings" rather than "rubbings". In 1883, a young Japanese officer named Sakō Kageaki  [ ja ] (or "Sakao Kagenobu" ) traveling disguised as a civilian kanpo (Chinese medicine) herbalist while gathering intelligence in Manchuria. While in Liaoning he apparently heard of

4560-615: The south. His route went by the way of Puyo's Great Omni River. Gazing over the ford, the king said, "I am Ch'umo, son of August Heaven and the daughter of the Earl of the River. Weave together the bulrushes for me so that the turtles will float to the surface." And no sooner had he spoken than [the God of the River] wove the bullrushes so that the turtles floated to the surface, whereupon he crossed over

4636-441: The stele was dedicated to king Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo, who reigned 391–413 CE It also became clear the stele was raised as a grand memorial epitaph to the celebrated monarch, whose empty tomb lay nearby. Though historians and epigraphers still grapple with the interpretation of portions of the text, the inscription's general layout is clear. One face provides a retelling of the foundation legend of Goguryeo. Another provides terms for

SECTION 60

#1732772827999

4712-539: The stele's recent discovery, traveled to Ji'an sometime during April ~ July 1883, and procured a "tracing" of the stele's inscriptions to carry back to his homeland. The inscription drew significant attention from Japanese scholarship after the advent of this copy. Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office invited leading sinologists and historians to decode the text, later publishing their findings in Kaiyoroku 會餘録, volume 5 (1889). The first authentic rubbings of

4788-454: The stele. Therefore, the statement in the stele that claims Baekje was a Goguryeo subject before the sinmyo passage would be propaganda on the part of Goguryeo; thus the conquest of Baekje would not be redundant. Further, Japanese arbitrarily assert the Korean interpretation which claim Goguryeo as the subject that conquered Baekje and Silla as an inconsistency with the preceding phrase "crossed

4864-403: The story in a more down-to-earth manner than found in the myths, recounting how Jumong, the spoiled stepchild of the Buyeo royal family, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, becoming a leading figure of Buyeo, but retreats from Buyeo after his step-brothers' betrayal. Relaunching the armed and militarily capable guerrilla fighters' force his biological father Hae Mo-su once headed, Jumong goes on

4940-441: The subject of the sinmyo passage becomes Goguryeo. Geng Tie-Hua questioned another character, claiming 毎 was altered to 海. Chinese scholars participated in studies of the stele from the 1980s. Wang Jianqun interviewed local farmers and decided the intentional fabrication had not occurred and the lime was pasted by local copy-making workers to enhance readability. He criticized Lee Jin-hui's claim. He considered 倭 ("Wa") word meaning

5016-530: The surrender of the states conquered such as Paekche 's in 396. The stele identified a total of seven conquests, which were corroborated by the historical accounts found in the Samguk sagi , or the Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms . Finally, the last part contains the list of custodians called Sumyoin , who were appointed to oversee the king's tomb. The inscription thus traces lineage from

5092-537: Was a character used derogatively by Goguryeo in place of the character "jae" ( 濟 ) in Baekje's official name (this may have denoted wishful thinking on the part of Goguryeo that another nation came and conquered Baekje). Thus, when taking into consideration the major absence of characters and lack of punctuation, the passage reads: And in the sinmyo year the Wa (Japanese) crossed the sea. (Abbreviation of someone's title) made (?) subjects of (?) However, further analysis of

5168-431: Was actually older than 705 years based on other records. According to Gwanggaeto Stele, Gwanggaeto the Great was the 17th generation (世孫) after Chumo, while Samguk sagi recorded him as the 13th generation after Chumo. There are two analyses of this: These other sources suggests there may be significant gaps or issues in the timeline of Goguryeo found in the Samguk sagi . The Kingdom of Goguryeo eventually evolved into

5244-497: Was centered in Kyūshū , Kinai , Izumo . Later, according to Kim, the colonies were absorbed by Yamato polity , which was also founded by Koreans. He also posited that the subject of 來渡海破百殘 was Goguryeo, and 百殘 was not the Baekje kingdom but Baekje's colony in Japan. Other North Korean scholar also argued for Goguryeo's invasion of Japan. Many Korean scholars reject the interpretation that Japan ( 倭 ) conquered ( 破 ) Baekje and Silla. It

5320-522: Was key to its long neglect. Following the fall of Goguryeo in 668, and to a lesser extent the fall of its successor state Balhae in 926, the region drifted outside the sway of both Korean and Chinese geopolitics. Afterwards the region came under the control of numerous Manchurian states, notably the Jurchen and from the 16th century the Manchu . When the Manchu conquered China in 1644 and established

5396-450: Was more or less exaggerated by Goguryeo to illustrate the triumph of the King, and the sinmyo passage does not necessarily prove the power of Wa in Korean peninsula of the late 4th century. On the other hand, they generally reject the Korean interpretation because the stele says Baekje was previously a state subservient to Goguryeo before the sinmyo passage and that recording the conquest into Baekje would result tautology in this section of

5472-467: Was published in 1889. Thus, the Japanese scholars were the ones to make the first detailed analysis of the stele's ancient text. There is some discrepancy with regards to the number of inscribed characters. Some sources state that the stele has 1,802 characters, while others say it has 1,775. The inscribed text can be grouped by content into three parts. 1) Foundation myth of the Goguryeo kingdom; 2)

5548-448: Was strange, so he locked her in a room. While Yuhwa was locked away, the sunlight followed her wherever she went, and she eventually became pregnant. After she gave a birth to a large egg, Geumwa gave the egg to dogs and pigs, but they refused to eat it. He then put the egg in the middle of the street, but cows and horses walked around it. The egg was also thrown on a field, but birds came to protect it. After multiple failed attempts to crack

5624-495: Was the capital of Goguryeo at that time. It is carved out of a single mass of granite , stands approximately 6.39m tall and has a girth of almost four meters. The inscription is written exclusively in Classical Chinese . The stele is one of the major primary sources for the history of Goguryeo, and supplies invaluable historical detail on Gwanggaeto's reign as well as insights into Goguryeo mythology. It has also become

5700-508: Was victorious. In June of 36 BC, Song Yang surrendered to Chumo. Chumo renamed the land Damuldo (or Damul City; 다물도 ; 多勿都 ),, appointed Song Yang as the Marquis of Damul ( 다물후 ; 多勿侯 ), and continued to rule the area. In July of 34 BC, the construction of walls and a palace was completed. In October of 32 BC, Chumo sent Oi and Bu to Bunno ( 부분노 ; 扶芬奴 ), and conquered Haenginguk (or State of Haengin; 행인국 ; 荇人國 ), which

5776-400: Was worshipped throughout the centuries. Today, Korea's Heongseong Go clan ( Hanja :橫城 高氏, 횡성 고씨 ), China's Liaoyang Go clan ( Hanzi :遼陽 高氏) and Japan's Koma clan ( Kanji :高麗氏) consider him their founder. From May 2006 to March 2007, MBC aired an 81-episode drama, Jumong , to mark the network's anniversary. The series took elements from historical records and mythology, and retold

#998001