Hyeokgeose of Silla
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| Monarchs of Korea Silla (Pre-Unification) |
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Hyeokgeose of Silla (69 BCE - 4 CE, r. 57 BCE–4 CE), commonly called Park Hyeokgeose, was the founding monarch of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is the progenitor of all Pak clans in Korea.
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[edit] Name
His title Geoseogan (or Geoseulhan (거슬한, 居西干 or 居瑟邯)) means "King" in the language of the Jinhan confederacy, the group of chiefdoms in the southeast of the Korean Peninsula.
His surname was Park, which comes from the Korean word for "gourd", because he was born from an egg shaped like a gourd.
"Hyeokgeose" was not a personal name, but the hanja for his honorific name, pronounced "Bulgunae" in native Korean and meaning "bright world."[1]
[edit] Founding legend
The Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa describes the founding of Silla by Hyeokgeose.
Refugees of Gojoseon lived in the valleys of present-day Gyeongsang-do, South Korea, in six villages called Yangsan (양산촌, 楊山村), Goheo (고허촌, 高墟村), Jinji (진지촌, 珍支村), Daesu (대수촌, 大樹村), Gari (가리촌, 加利村), and Goya (고야촌, 高耶村) [2]
In 69 BCE, the heads of the six chiefdoms gathered to discuss forming a kingdom and selecting a king. In the forest, at a well called Najeong (나정, 蘿井) at Yangsan (양산, 楊山), a strange light shone from the sky, and a white horse was bowed down. Chief Sobeolgong of the Goheo village discovered a large egg there. A boy came out of the egg, and when bathed, his body radiated light and birds and beasts danced.
Sobeolgong raised him, and the six chieftains revered him. The chieftains made him king (Geoseogan) when he became 13 years old. The nation was named Seonabeol 서나벌(徐那伐) (also Seorabeol, Seobeol, Sara, or Saro).
Upon becoming king, he married Lady Aryeong (알영, 閼英), who is said to have been born from the ribs of a dragon
[edit] Historical context
This legend reflects developments in the city-state stage, the six chieftains representing a loose group of Gojoseon refugees. The story implies the ascendency of the Bak clan over the native peoples, and may indicate horse and sun worship.
During the Samhan period, the Mahan confederacy, later absorbed into the Baekje kingdom, occupied the central and southwestern part of the peninsula, while the Jinhan confederacy occupied the southeast. During Hyeokgeose's reign, Silla was probably limited to the present-day Gyeongju city region of Jinhan territory; Silla's expansion would later overtake the Jinhan.
The founding date is widely questioned today, as the Samguk Sagi was written from the viewpoint of Silla, claiming Silla's superiority and antiquity over the rival Goguryeo and Baekje kingdoms. Goguryeo is thought to have been founded the earliest, followed by Baekje, and then Silla.
[edit] Reign
According to the Samguk Sagi, Hyeokgeose and his queen traveled the realm in 41 BCE, helping the people improve their harvests. The people praised them as the Two Holies (이성, 二聖).
In 37 BCE Hyeokgeose built Geumseong (금성, 金城) in the capital city (present-day Gyeongju), and in 32 BCE he built a royal palace inside.
The Chinese Lelang commandery invaded in 28 BCE but seeing that the people enjoyed piles of grain and did not lock their doors at night, called Silla a moral nation and retreated.
In 20 BCE, the king of the Mahan confederacy demanded a tribute, and Silla sent Hogong. The king scolded that Silla did not sent a tribute, but Hogong criticized the king's impoliteness with fortitude. The king was angry at him and tried to kill him, but surrounding subordinates stopped the king, and he was permitted the his homecoming.
In 20 BCE, Hyeokgeose also sent an emissary upon the death of the Mahan king in 19 BCE. In 5 BCE, East Okjeo (a small state to the north, later conquered by Goguryeo) sent an emissary, and Hyeokgeose presented him with 20 horses.
[edit] Death and succession
Hyeokgeose ruled for around 60 years, and set the foundation for a kingdom that would unify much of the Korean Peninsula in 668.
Bak Hyeokgeose maintained control over his kingdom and was one of the few Bak rulers to hold complete power over Silla.
He died at age 73, and was buried in Sareung, north of Dameomsa (south of present-day Namcheon of Gyeongju). Hyeokgeose was succeeded by his eldest son Namhae.
[edit] Legacy
Though not much is known about Bak Hyeokgeose, his many legacies and reminders survive to this day. One of them being his numerous descendants, the Bak clans of Korea, who are numbered as the third largest group of people with a common last name. Another legacy was the kingdom that he established. Despite the fact that his descendants eventually lost power over Silla, the fact that he founded it remained under high respects and great consideration.
