The fourth century is a critically important period in the history of the
Korean peninsula and is characterized by the rapid decline of the commanderies
first established by Han China and the appearance of indigenous kingdoms in
the southern part of the peninsula. Despite the importance of this historical
period, relevant historical data are sparse and a great many crucial questions
remain unanswered. There is today a real need to reassess the state of scholarship
involving the commanderies. North Korean scholars continue to deny the existence
of the peninsular commanderies, while in South Korea the entire issue of Chinese
involvement in the development of Korean states is viewed as a troublesome chapter
of Korean history. This situation has produced much confusion in scholarly research
and demands a comprehensive reevaluation of the commanderies and their role
in Korean history.
Panel presentations address various issues associated with a particular historical
problem – how the collapse of the commanderies in the early fourth century
resulted in the southward advance of Koguryo and the sudden emergence of the
state of Paekche. The presenters address these problems by reviewing previous
and present scholarship on the commanderies and the peninsular states, identifying
problem areas, and assessing the current state of understanding. Discussions
include the geographical placement of the commanderies and their interactions
with indigenous groups, the process of Koguryo’s southward advance and
its incorporation of new territories, and what a reassessment of the chronology
of early Paekche history reveals about the origins of that state.
Mark E. Byington, Harvard University
The study of historical geography (yoksa chiri) is an extremely useful tool
for the research of early Korean history, yet it is today rarely treated
in a comprehensive and systematic manner. This paper addresses the historical
geography of the Han commanderies on the Korean peninsula in an effort to
assess issues pertaining to the role of the commanderies in the development
of indigenous peninsular states – issues in which knowledge of geographical
location and extent is essential.
A century of hypothesis and speculation regarding the location of the commanderies
and their constituent districts has produced a confusing tangle of radically
divergent views, primarily because pertinent historical references are sparse
and ambiguous enough to allow for a wide range of interpretations. However,
the accumulation of archaeological data now demands an overall reassessment
of the historical geography of the commanderies – something necessary
to cut through the morass of ambiguity just described.
This presentation analyzes archaeological and historical material (some newly
discovered) to address problems associated with determining the geographical
placement of the commanderies and to assess what conclusions we can draw from
existing evidence. This approach will be of value as a great many scholarly
disputes hinge upon interpretations of the historical geography of the commanderies
in Korea. The paper focuses on the commanderies of Lelang and Daifang at the
time of their collapse in the fourth century, a poorly understood but critical
matter that is directly related to the topics of the other papers comprising
this panel.
Ho Kyu Yeo, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
The fourth century saw the introduction of a new international configuration
in Northeast Asia in which the China-centered world order abruptly disintegrated
and various ethnic groups and states neighboring China flourished. Koguryo responded
to this new situation and pursued a policy of vigorous growth beginning with
its occupation of the commanderies of Lelang and Daifang.
Initially, Koguryo’s attempts to expand toward its northwest were thwarted
by the Murong Xianbei state of Former Yan, and the need to focus its military
efforts on this region prevented Koguryo from exercising strong government
over the occupied Lelang and Daifang regions to the south. After normalizing
relations with Former Yan in 355, however, Koguryo was free to concentrate
its military efforts on the management of the Lelang and Daifang regions
in order to secure a bridgehead for further advances into the central and southern
parts of the Korean peninsula.
Given the new international conditions described above, I will explore the
changes in Koguryo’s management policies relating to the Lelang and Daifang
regions and compare these with changes in Koguryo’s foreign policy during
the former and latter parts of the fourth century respectively. This analysis
will be based upon primary written materials like Samguk sagi, Jin shu, and
Zizhi tongjian, as well as epigraphic materials discovered in the Lelang
and Daifang regions. It is expected that bricks inscribed with regnal years
unearthed from brick chamber tombs and ink inscriptions found in mural tombs
will provide a vivid picture of how Koguryo managed these regions.
Jonathan Best, Wesleyan University
The Samguk sagi contains reports of a scant dozen interactions between the
early Korean kingdom of Paekche and the Chinese commanderies of Lelang and
Daifang, most of which are dated to the first century BCE and the latest dating
to the first decade of the fourth century. Few scholars today, however, credit
the traditional founding date for Paekche of 18 BCE, most arguing for a date
in the late third century at the earliest. In this presentation, suggestions
will be offered for resolving the chronological problems in all of the relevant
Samguk sagi entries through both an analysis of the geography of the place names
mentioned in the text and a discussion of historical situation in fourth-century
Korea, including the southward expansion of Koguryo into territories long under
Chinese sway.
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