Dongcheon of Goguryeo

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Dongcheon of Goguryeo
Hangul 동천왕 or 동양왕
Hanja 東川王 or 東襄王
Revised Romanization Dongcheon-wang or Dongyang-wang
McCune-Reischauer Tongch'ǒn-wang or Tongyang-wang
Birth name
Hangul 우위거 or 위궁 or 교체
Hanja 憂位居 or 郊彘
Revised Romanization Uwigeo or Wigung or Gyoche
McCune-Reischauer Uwigǒ or Wigung or Kyoch'e
Monarchs of Korea
Goguryeo
  1. Dongmyeong 37-19 BCE
  2. Yuri 19 BCE-18 CE
  3. Daemusin 18-44
  4. Minjung 44-48
  5. Mobon 48-53
  6. Taejo 53-146
  7. Chadae 146-165
  8. Sindae 165-179
  9. Gogukcheon 179-197
  10. Sansang 197-227
  11. Dongcheon 227-248
  12. Jungcheon 248-270
  13. Seocheon 270-292
  14. Bongsang 292-300
  15. Micheon 300-331
  16. Gogug-won 331-371
  17. Sosurim 371-384
  18. Gogug-yang 384-391
  19. Gwanggaeto the Great 391-413
  20. Jangsu 413-490
  21. Munja-myeong 491-519
  22. Anjang 519-531
  23. An-won 531-545
  24. Yang-won 545-559
  25. Pyeong-won 559-590
  26. Yeong-yang 590-618
  27. Yeong-nyu 618-642
  28. Bojang 642-668

King Dongcheon of Goguryeo (209 - 248, r. 227-248) was the 11th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

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[edit] Background

He was the grandson of Goguryeo's eighth ruler, Sindae and the son of the tenth ruler, Sansang. His mother was Emperor Sansang's second queen, from the Jutong-chon of Gwanno-bu. He was made crown prince in 213, and rose to the throne upon Sansang's death.

[edit] Reign

Dongcheon played off the rivalries among the Chinese powers Gongsun Yuan, Eastern Wu, and Cao Wei. In 234, Dongcheon sent an envoy to Wei to make peace. In 236, an ambassador from Wu arrived at Goguryeo and asked for peace. Dongcheon imprisoned the ambassador for months before finally beheading him and sending the head to Wei.

In 238, Dongcheon was able to ally with the Wei in order to destroy the Gongsun family and erase its influence over Liaodong Peninsula and other areas bordering Goguryeo. Dongcheon sent an army to attack Yodong fortress in 242 to successfully expand Goguryeo territory.

The war on the Gongsun was a victory, but Goguryeo's ally, Wei, eventually became a new threat, and Dongcheon ordered an attack on the Wei in the same year. In 246, Wei sent an invasion force of 10,000 to Goguryeo and took the capital city of Hwando, forcing Dongcheon to temporarily move the capital to Pyongyang in 247. From Pyongyang, Dongcheon clashed with the Wei forces, and reclaimed the lost territory.

Then, a Goguryeo general named Yu Yu (유유, 紐由) approached the Wei encampment and fooled the Wei commander into thinking that Goguryeo had come to surrender. Yu Yu took this chance to murder the commander and then committed suicide, causing great confusion and discord in the Wei army. King Dongcheon received news of Yu Yu's death and ordered that a memorial be made for Yu Yu the Patriot. Then, he led his armies in the attack to push the Wei forces out of Goguryeo territory. General Mil U (밀우, 密友) and Yu Okgu (유옥구, 劉屋句) also repulse the Wei forces. The Goguryeo forces won this battle, and regained all of the territory that had been lost from defeats against the Wei.

In 243, he named his son Yeonbul the crown prince and successor to the throne. He attacked Silla, another of the Three Kingdoms to its south, in 245 but made peace in 248.

[edit] Death and succession

Dongcheon fell ill and died during the fall of 248 after 22 years of rule. His tomb is said to be in South Pyongan Province near Pyongyang, North Korea. He is said to have been so loved that many people followed him in death. Crown Prince Yeon-Bul succeeded his father as King Jungcheon immediately after his father's death.

[edit] See also