Buyeo
According to the Book of the Later Han, Buyeo was initially placed under the jurisdiction of the Xuantu Commandery,["夫餘本屬玄菟", Dongyi, Fuyu chapter of the Book of the Later Han] one of Four Commanderies of Han in the later Western Han. Buyeo entered into formal diplomatic relations with the Eastern Han dynasty by the mid-1st century AD as an important ally of that empire to check the Xianbei state and Goguryeo threats. Jurisdiction of Buyeo was then placed under the Liaodong Commandery of the Eastern Han.["獻帝時, 其王求屬遼東云", Dongyi, Fuyu chapter of the Book of the Later Han] After an incapacitating Xianbei invasion in 285, Buyeo was restored with help from the Jin dynasty. This, however, marked the beginning of a period of decline. A second Xianbei invasion in 346 finally destroyed the state excepting remnants in its core region; these survived as vassals of Goguryeo until their final annexation in 494.[La Universidad de Seúl, 《Seoul Journal of Korean Studies,》, Vol.17, 2004. p.16]
Inhabitants of Buyeo included the Yemaek tribe.
Mythical origins
The mythical founder of the Buyeo kingdom was Hae Mo-su, the Dongmyeong of Buyeo which literally means Holy King of Buyeo. After its foundation, the son of heaven (Hae Mo-su ) brought the royal court to his new palace, and he was proclaimed to be King.
Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo, is described as the son of Hae Mo-su and Lady Yuhwa () who was the daughter of Habaek (), the god of the Yalu River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak ().
History
Archaeological predecessors
The Buyeo state emerged from the Bronze Age polities of the Xituanshan and Liangquan archaeological cultures in the context of trade with various Chinese polities. In particular was the state of Yan which introduced iron technology to Manchuria and the Korean peninsula after its conquest of Liaodong in the early third century BC.
Relations with Chinese dynasties
In the later Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD), Buyeo established close ties with the Xuantu Commandery, one of Four Commanderies of Han according to the Book of the Later Han volume 85 Treatise on the Dongyi,[Book of the Later Han Volume 85 Treatise on the Dongyi] although it proceeded to becoming a nominal tributary-state and practical ally of Eastern Han in 49 AD. This was advantageous to the Han as an ally in the northeast would curb the threats of the Xianbei in western Manchuria and eastern Mongolia and Goguryeo in the Liaodong region and the northern Korean peninsula. The Buyeo elites also sought this arrangement as it legitimized their rule and gave them better access to Han's prestige trade goods.
During a period of turmoil in China's northeast, Buyeo attacked some of Eastern Han's holdings in 111, but relations were mended in 120 and thus a military alliance was arranged. Two years later, Buyeo sent troops to the Xuantu commandery to prevent it from being destroyed by Goguryeo when it sent reinforcement to break the siege of the commandery seat. In AD 167, Buyeo attacked the Xuantu commandery but was defeated.
In the early 3rd century, Gongsun Du, a Chinese warlord in Liaodong, supported Buyeo to counter Xianbei in the north and Goguryeo in the east. After destroying the Gongsun family, the northern Chinese state of Cao Wei sent Guanqiu Jian to attack Goguryeo. Part of the expeditionary force led by Wang Qi (), the Grand Administrator of the Xuantu Commandery, pursued the Guguryeo court eastward through Okjeo and into the lands of the Yilou. On their return journey they were welcomed as they passed through the land of Buyeo. It brought detailed information of the kingdom to China.[Ikeuchi, Hiroshi. "The Chinese Expeditions to Manchuria under the Wei dynasty," Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko 4 (1929): 71-119. p. 109]
In 285 the Murong tribe of the Xianbei, led by Murong Hui, invaded Buyeo,[Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall, 《East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History》, Cengage Learning, 2013, pp.101-102] pushing King Uiryeo (依慮) to suicide, and forcing the relocation of the court to Okjeo.[Hyŏn-hŭi Yi, Sŏng-su Pak, Nae-hyŏn Yun, 《New history of Korea:Korean studies series》, vol.30, Jimoondang, 2005. p.116] Considering its friendly relationship with the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu helped King Uira (依羅) revive Buyeo.[
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Goguryeo's attack sometime before 347 caused further decline. Having lost its stronghold on the Ashi River (within modern Harbin), Buyeo moved southwestward to Nong'an. Around 347, Buyeo was attacked by Murong Huang of the Former Yan, and King Hyeon (玄) was captured.
Fall
According to Samguk sagi, in 504, the tribute emissary Yesilbu mentions that the gold of Buyeo could no longer be obtainable for tribute as Buyeo had been driven out by the Mohe people and the Somna and absorbed into Baekje. It is also shown that the Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei wished that Buyeo would regain its former glory.
A remnant of Buyeo seems to have lingered around modern Harbin area under the influence of Goguryeo. Buyeo paid tribute once to Northern Wei in 457–8,[Northeast Asian History Foundation, 《Journal of Northeast Asian History》, Vol.4-1-2, 2007. p.100] but otherwise seems to have been controlled by Goguryeo. In 494, Buyeo was under attack by the rising Wuji (also known as the Mohe people, ), and the Buyeo court moved and surrendered to Goguryeo.[La Universidad de Seúl, 《Seoul Journal of Korean Studies,》, Vol.17, 2004. p.16]
Jolbon Buyeo
Many ancient historical records indicate the "Jolbon Buyeo" (), apparently referring to the incipient Goguryeo or its capital city.
Culture
According to Chapter 30 "Description of the Eastern Archerians, Dongyi" in the Chinese Records of the Three Kingdoms (3rd century), the Buyeo were agricultural people who occupied the northeastern lands in Manchuria (North-East China) beyond the great walls. The aristocratic rulers subject to the king bore the title ka (加) and were distinguished from each other by animal names, such as the dog ka and horse ka.Four kas existed in Buyeo, which were horse ka, cow ka, pig ka, and dog ka, and ka is presumed to be of similar origin with the title khan. The ka system was similarly adopted in Goguryeo.
The same text states that the Buyeo language was similar to those of its southern neighbours Goguryeo and Eastern Ye, and that the language of Okjeo was only slightly different from them.
Based on this account, Lee Ki-Moon grouped the four languages as the Puyŏ languages, contemporaneous with the Han languages of the Samhan confederacies in southern Korea.
The earliest mentions of the Korean practice of wearing Minbok
Law
Buyeo had a law that makes the thief reimburse the price that is equivalent to twelve times of the original amount the person stole, and had an eye to eye approach in terms of law.
Legacy
In the 1930s, Chinese historian Jin Yufu (金毓黻) developed a linear model of descent for the people of Manchuria and northern Korea, from the kingdoms of Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Baekje, to the modern Korean nationality. Later historians of Northeast China built upon this influential model.
Goguryeo and Baekje, two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, considered themselves successors of Buyeo. King Onjo, the founder of Baekje, is said to have been a son of King Dongmyeong, founder of Goguryeo. Baekje officially changed its name to Nambuyeo (South Buyeo, ) in 538.[Il-yeon: Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea, translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 119. Silk Pagoda (2006). ] Goryeo also considered itself a descendant of Buyeo through their direct ancestral ties with Goguryeo and Baekje. This is seen in their representation of palace names that were named after former kingdoms that were considered their forefathers.
See also
Bibliography
