Balhae
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Balhae (698 - 926) (Bohai in Chinese) was an ancient multiethnic kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-young, a former Goguryeo general, who father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin (振, Zhen in Chinese), later called Balhae, by uniting various Mohe and Goguryeo elements. Balhae was a successor state to Goguryeo.[1] Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria (Northeast China) and Primorsky Krai, and the northern part of the Korean peninsula. It was defeated by the Khitans in 926, and most of its northern territories were absorbed into the Liao Dynasty while the southern parts were absorbed into Goryeo.
History
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Stele from Balhae at the National Museum of Korea.
The earliest extant recorded mention of Balhae come from the Book of Tang, which was compiled between 941 to 945. Southern Manchuria and northern Korea were previously the territory of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo fell to the allied forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty in 668. The Tang annexed much of western Manchuria, while Silla unified the Korean peninsula south of the Taedong River and became Unified Silla. In the "New Book of Tang", it was recorded that the founder of Balhae, Dae Joyeong (大祚榮) was a former Goguryeo general. Expansion and foreign relationsThe second king Mu, who felt encircled by Tang, Silla and Black Water Mohe along the Amur River, attacked Tang with his navy in 732 and successfully attacked and killed a Tang prefect based on the Shandong Peninsula.[2] Later, a compromise was forged between Tang and Balhae, which resumed tributary missions to Tang. He also sent a mission to Japan in 728 to threaten Silla from the southeast. Balhae kept diplomatic and commercial contacts with Japan until the end of the kingdom. Balhae dispatched envoys to Japan 34 times, while Japan sent envoys to Balhae only 13 times. [3] Because of its proximity to many powerful states, Balhae became a buffer zone for the region. The third king Mun expanded its territory into the Amur valley in the north and the Liaodong Peninsula in the west. He also established Holhan fortress, the permanent capital near Lake Jingpo in the south of today's Heilongjiang province around 755. During his reign, a trade route with Silla, called Sillado, was established. By the 8th century, Balhae controlled northern Korea, all of Northeastern Manchuria, the Liaodong peninsula, and what is now Primorsky Krai of Russia. Its strength was such that Silla was forced to build a northern wall in 721 as well as maintain active defences along the common border. Fall and legacyTraditionally, historians believed that the ethnic conflicts between the ruling Koreans and underclass Malgal weakened the state.[citation needed] Recent study suggests that the downfall of Balhae is largely due to the catastrophic eruption in the 10th century of Baekdu Mountain located at the center of Balhae territory. Baekdu mountain still has one of the biggest volcanic caldera in the world Heaven Lake. Ashes of this eruption can still be found in a large area, even in a sedimentary layer in northern Japan. This massive explosion century created tremendous volcanic ash, damaging the agriculture and even societal integrity. The Khitans took advantage of this natural disaster. Eventually, Balhae would succumb to the Khitans, an emerging power in the Liaoxi area (east of current Beijing area). After destroying Balhae in 926, the Khitan established the puppet Dongdan Kingdom, which was soon followed by the annexation by Liao in 936. Some Balhae aristocrats were moved to Liaoyang but Balhae's eastern territory remained politically independent. Some Balhae people including aristocrats (est. 1 million), led by the last Crown Prince Dae Gwang-hyeon (대광현), fled southward to Goryeo, the new self-claimed successor of Goguryeo (934). Many descendants of the Balhae royal family in Goryeo, changed their family name to Tae (태,太) while Crown Prince Dae Kwang Hyun was conferred family name Wang (왕,王), the royal family name of Goryeo dynasty. Balhae was the last state in Korean history to hold any significant territory in Manchuria, although later Korean dynasties would continue to regard themselves as successors of Goguryeo and Balhae. Moreover that was the beginning of series of northern expansion of later Korean dynasties. The Khitans themselves eventually succumbed to the Jurchen people, who founded the Jin Dynasty. The Jin dynasty favored the Balhae people as well as the Khitans. Jurchen proclamations emphasized the common descent of the Balhae and Jurchen people from the seven Wuji (勿吉) tribes, and proclaimed "Jurchen and Balhae are from the same family". The fourth, fifth and seventh emperors of Jin were mothered by Balhae consorts. The 13th century census of Northern China by the Mongols distinguished Balhae from other ethnic groups such as Goryeo, Khitan and Jurchen. This suggests that the Balhae people still preserved their identity even after the conquest of the kingdom. AftermathAfter the fall of Balhae and its last king in 926, it was renamed Dongdan by its new Khitan masters [4], who had control over most of Balhae's old territories. However, starting from 927, many rebellions were triggered throughout the domains. These rebellions were eventually turned into several Balhae revivals. Out of these, only three succeeded and established kingdoms: Later Balhae, Jeong-Ahn Kingdom, Heung-Yo Kingdom and Daewon Kingdom. These three kingdoms were able to temporarily chase the Khitan and their Dongdan Kingdom out into the Liaodong peninsula[citation needed], but they were all eventually decimated by the Liao Empire. In 934, Dae Gwang-Hyun, the last Crown Prince of Balhae, revolted against their Khitan masters. After being defeated, he fled to Goryeo, where he was granted protection and the imperial surname. This resulted in the Liao breaking off diplomatic relations with Goryeo, but there was no threat to invade. [5] Government and cultureThe people of Balhae were made up of former Goguryeo elements and of several Tungusic peoples present in Manchuria, of which the Mohe (Malgal) made up the largest element. Its culture and government was heavily influenced by Tang China. It modeled its system of government upon that of Tang China, to an even greater extent than Silla. The government operated three chancelleries and six ministries, and its capital, Sanggyong, was modeled after Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, Balhae sent many students to Tang China to study, and many went on to take and pass the Chinese civil service examinations.([1][2]) An important source of cultural information on Balhae was discovered at the end of the 20th century at the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, especially the Mausoleum of Princess Jeong-Hyo. Characterization and political interpretation
Controversy rests over the ethnic makeup of the people of Balhae. That Balhae was founded by a former general from Goguryeo is undisputed, but there is some dispute over his ethnicity, due to ambiguous wording in historical sources. No written records from Balhae itself survive. Koreans regard Balhae as a Korean state, particular from the Joseon Dynasty onwards. The 18th century, during the Joseon Dynasty, was a period in which Korean scholars began a renewed interest in Balhae. The Qing and Joseon dynasties had negotiated and demarcated the Sino-Korean border along the Yalu and Tumen rivers in 1712, and Jang Ji-yeon (1762–1836), journalist, writer of nationalist tracts, and organizer of nationalist societies, published numerous articles arguing that had the Joseon officials considered Balhae part of their territory, they would not be as eager to "give up" lands north of the rivers. Yu Deuk-gong in his eighteenth-century work Balhaego (An investigation of Balhae) argued that Balhae should be included as part of Korean history, and that doing so would justify territorial claims on Manchuria. Korean historian Sin Chae-ho, writing about Jiandao in the early twentieth century, bemoaned that for centuries, Korean people in their “hearts and eyes considered only the land south of the Yalu River as their home” and that “half of our ancestor Dangun ancient lands have been lost for over nine hundred years.” Sin also criticized Kim Busik, author of the Samguk Sagi, for excluding Balhae from his historical work and claiming that Silla had achieved unification of Korea.[6] Inspired by ideas of Social Darwinism, Sin wrote:
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