Queen Seondeok of Silla (606 - 8 January 647) reigned as
QueenA queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of
SillaSilla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
, one of the
Three Kingdoms of KoreaThe Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
, from
632Year 632 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 632 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* January 27 – Annular eclipse of the...
to
647Year 647 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 647 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* A stone tower astronomical observatory named...
. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen. She was also one of the first female sovereigns in East Asian history and encouraged a renaissance in thought, literature, and the arts in Silla.
Selection as heiress
Before she became queen, Seondeok was known as Princess Deokman (덕만(德曼)). She was the first of King
JinpyeongJinpyeong of Silla is the 26th king of the Silla Dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. King Jinpyeong followed in the footsteps of King Jinheung by reorganizing the central ruling system, and as many conflicts with Baekje and Goguryeo arose, sent emissaries to improve relations and...
's three daughters. Her nephew, Princess Cheonmyeong's son, eventually became
King Muyeol of SillaKing Taejong Muyeol , born Kim Chunchu, was the 29th monarch of the southern Korean kingdom of Silla and ruled from 654 to 661. He is credited for leading the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea...
while Seondeok's other sister, Princess Seonhwa, eventually married King Mu of Baekje and became the mother of King Uija of Baekje. Seonhwa's existence is controversial due to the discovery of evidence that points to King Uija's mother as being Queen Sataek, and not Seonhwa as indicated by historical records.
Because he had no sons, Jinpyeong selected Seondeok as his heir. The act was not unusual within Silla, as women of the period had already had a certain degree of influence as advisors, dowager queens, and
regentA regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
s. Throughout the kingdom, women were heads of families since matrilineal lines of inheritance existed alongside patrilineal ones. During the Silla kingdom, the status of women was relatively high, but there were still restrictions on female behavior and conduct; they were discouraged from activities considered unwomanly. Her succesful reign in turn facilitated the acceptance of two more
Queens regnantA queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of Silla.
Reign
In
632Year 632 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 632 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* January 27 – Annular eclipse of the...
, Seondeok became the sole ruler of Silla, and reigned until 647. She was the first of three female rulers of the kingdom (the other two being
Jindeok of SillaQueen Jindeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 647 to 654. She was the kingdom's 28th ruler, and its second reigning queen following her predecessor Queen Seondeok. During her reign, Silla jockeyed with Baekje for favor in the Chinese Tang court...
and
Jinseong of SillaQueen Jinseong of Silla was the fifty-first to ruler of the Korean kingdom, Silla. She was also Silla's third and final reigning queen . Her reign saw the end of Unified Silla and the beginning of the Later Three Kingdoms period.Jinseong was the daughter of King Gyeongmun...
), and was immediately succeeded by her cousin
JindeokQueen Jindeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 647 to 654. She was the kingdom's 28th ruler, and its second reigning queen following her predecessor Queen Seondeok. During her reign, Silla jockeyed with Baekje for favor in the Chinese Tang court...
, who ruled until
654Year 654 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 654 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Rhodes is invaded by an Arab force;...
.
Seondeok's reign was a violent one; rebellions and fighting in the neighboring kingdom of
BaekjeBaekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
were often what preoccupied her. Yet, in her fourteen years as queen of Korea, she used her wit to her advantage. When Baekje invaded, she sought an alliance with Goguryeo. When Goguryeo also turned on Silla, she strengthened ties with
Tang ChinaThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
. She kept the kingdom together and sent royal emissaries and scholars to China. She is also credited with the initial formulation of a Korean chivalric code and sent young Koreans to China for martial arts training.
Like Empress
Wu ZetianWu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
of the Tang, she was drawn to
BuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and presided over the completion of Buddhist temples. Notable amongst Buddhist structures she had built is the nine-story wooden pagoda in
HwangnyongsaHwangnyongsa, or Hwangnyong Temple, is the name of a former Buddhist temple in the city of Gyeongju, South Korea. Built in the 6th century, it was the center of state-sponsored Buddhism during the Silla and Unified Silla eras...
. On each story of the 80 meters high structure was the name inscribed of one of the neighbors Silla intended to subjugate.
BunhwangsaBunhwangsa is a temple complex from the Old Silla era of Korea. It is located in Gyeongju. The temple is recorded to have been built in 634 under the auspices of Queen Seondeok...
and Yeongmyosa were also built under her auspices.
She built the "Star-Gazing Tower," or
CheomseongdaeCheomseongdae is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae means star-gazing tower in Korean. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia, and one of the oldest scientific installations on Earth. It dates to the 7th century to the time of kingdom of...
, considered the first
observatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
in the Far East. The tower still stands in the old Silla capital of
GyeongjuGyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of 269,343 people according to the 2008 census. Gyeongju is southeast of Seoul, and east of the...
,
South KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. She also worked towards relief of poverty.
Lord Bidam of SillaLord Bidam of Silla was a Sangdaedeung during the end of Queen Seondeok of Silla's reign...
is said to have led a revolt with the slogan that "female rulers cannot rule the country” (女主不能善理).
Legend says that during the uprising, a star fell and was interpreted by Bidam's followers as a sign of the end of the queen's reign.
Kim YushinKim Yushin was a general in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol of Silla and King Munmu of Silla. He is said to have been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya state...
(commander-in-chief of the royal army from 629) advised the queen to fly a burning kite as a sign that the star was back in its place.
Yeomjong stated that about ten days after Bidam's uprising, he and thirty of his men were executed (Queen Seondeok died on 8 January, and Bidam was executed on 17 January after Jindeok took the throne).
Chilsuk and Seokpum are also believed to have staged an insurrection during her reign, but it was short-lived.
Legends
It is believed that Seondeok's selection as her father's successor was justified by her displays of precocious intelligence when she was a princess. One such story (both in
Samguk SagiSamguk Sagi is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The Samguk Sagi is written in Classical Chinese and its compilation was ordered by Goryeo's King Injong Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of...
and
Samguk YusaSamguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea , as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period.The text was written in Classical Chinese, which was...
) recounts that her father received a box of peony seeds from the
Emperor Taizong of TangEmperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
accompanied by a painting of what the flowers looked like. Looking at the picture, the young Seondeok remarked that while the flower was pretty it was a shame that it did not smell. "If it did, there would be butterflies and bees around the flower in the painting." Her observation about the peonies' lack of scent proved correct — just one of many illustrations of her intellect and hence of her ability to rule.
There are two other accounts of Seondeok's unusual ability to perceive events before their occurrence. In the first it is said that Seondeok once heard a horde of white frogs croaking by the Jade Gate pond in the winter. She interpreted this as an impending attack from the Kingdom of
BaekjeBaekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
(the croaking frogs were seen as angry soldiers) in the northwest of Silla (white symbolized the west in astronomy) at the Women's Valley (the Jade Gate was associated with women). When she sent her generals to the Women's Valley, they were able to capture two thousand
BaekjeBaekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
soldiers.
The second is an account of her death. Some days before she died, Seondeok gathered her officials and gave the order "When I die, bury me near the Dori-cheon (忉利天, "Heaven of Grieved Merits")." Decades after her death, the thirtieth king
Munmu of SillaMunmu of Silla was the thirtieth king of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He is usually considered to have been the first ruler of the Unified Silla period. Munmu was the son of King Muyeol and Munmyeong, who was the younger sister of Kim Yu-shin...
constructed Sacheonwang-sa (四天王寺 "Temple of the
Four Heavenly KingsIn the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.The Kings are collectively named as follows:...
") in her tomb. Then the nobles realized that one of the Buddha's sayings, "Dori-cheon is above the Sacheonwang-cheon", was accomplished by the Queen.
In media
She was portrayed by actresses Nam Ji Hyeon and
Lee Yo-wonLee Yo-won is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Seondeok in the eponymous hit period drama, as well as for her work in Surgeon Bong Dal-hee and Fashion 70's...
in
MBC's-Broadcasting:* Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, Public broadcasting company located in Seoul, South Korea* Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, a state-run radio company in Malawi, Africa* Manila Broadcasting Company, Inc., in the Philippines...
Queen SeondeokQueen Seondeok is a South Korean historical drama aired on MBC. It chronicles the life of Queen Seondeok of Silla.-MBC official synopsis:...
, which was first broadcast in 2009. Because the series was a success, a movie based on the life of Queen Seondeok will be released internationally in August 2012.
Family
- Father: King Jinpyeong
Jinpyeong of Silla is the 26th king of the Silla Dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. King Jinpyeong followed in the footsteps of King Jinheung by reorganizing the central ruling system, and as many conflicts with Baekje and Goguryeo arose, sent emissaries to improve relations and...
(眞平王 진평왕)
- Mother: Lady Maya of the Kim clan
Queen Maya was a member of the Silla royal house and the wife and Queen Consort to King Jinpyeong of Silla, 26th King of Silla. She was of the royal Kim clan...
(摩耶夫人金氏 마야부인김씨)
- Sisters:
- Princess Cheonmyeong (天明公主 천명공주)
- Princess Seonhwa
- Kim Yong-chun (金龍春 김용춘), Princess Cheonmyeong's husband, 13th Pungwolju.
- Jang Seo-dong
King Mu of Baekje was the 30th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the son of King Wideok.- Background :...
(璋暑童 장서동), Princess Seonhwa's (supposed; see explanation above) husband, later Mu of Baekje (武王 무왕).
- Kim Chun-chu
King Taejong Muyeol , born Kim Chunchu, was the 29th monarch of the southern Korean kingdom of Silla and ruled from 654 to 661. He is credited for leading the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea...
(金春秋 김춘추), Princess Cheonmyeong and Kim Yong-chun's first son, 18th Pungwolju, later King (Taejong) Muyeol (太宗武烈王 태종무열왕).
- Kim Yeon-chung (金蓮忠 김연충), Princess Cheonmyeong and Kim Yong-chun's second son.
- King Uija
Uija of Baekje was the 31st and final ruler of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His reign ended when Baekje was conquered by the alliance of the rival Korean kingdom Silla and China's Tang Dynasty.- Background :...
(義慈王 의자왕), Princess Seonhwa's (supposed; see explanation above) only son.
- Cousin: Kim Seung-man
Queen Jindeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 647 to 654. She was the kingdom's 28th ruler, and its second reigning queen following her predecessor Queen Seondeok. During her reign, Silla jockeyed with Baekje for favor in the Chinese Tang court...
(金勝曼 김승만), only daughter of GalmunwangGalmunwang was a title used in the early period of the Korean kingdom of Silla. Its precise meaning and function are not known. From Korean sources, namely the Samguk Sagi, it would appear that the title of Galmunwang was granted to very high ranking personages in early Silla and was equivalent to...
Gukban (國飯葛文王 국반갈문왕) & Lady Wolmyeong (月明夫人 월명부인); later Queen JindeokQueen Jindeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 647 to 654. She was the kingdom's 28th ruler, and its second reigning queen following her predecessor Queen Seondeok. During her reign, Silla jockeyed with Baekje for favor in the Chinese Tang court...
(眞德女王 진덕여왕).
- Husbands:
- Memorabilia of the Three Kingdom
Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea , as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period.The text was written in Classical Chinese, which was...
's version:{historical accuracy uncertain} Galmunwang Eum (飮葛文王 음갈문왕) - possibly married to Queen Seondeok after the first year of her reign.
- The Annals of the Hwarang
Hwarang segi was a historical record of the Hwarang of the Silla kingdom in ancient Korea. It is said to have been written by Silla historian Kim Daemun 金大問 in the reign of Seongdeok the Great Hwarang segi (lit. Annals of Hwarang or Generations of the Hwarang) was a historical record of the...
's version: possibly{historical accuracy uncertain}
- Kim Yong-chun (金龍春 김용춘), Princess Cheonmyeong's husband, 13th Pungwolju.
- Heumban (欽飯 흠반) - one of Queen Seondeok's relatives.
- Eulje (乙祭 을제) - reigned on behalf of Queen Seondeok in times of war.
-
- In the Korean drama series Queen Seon Duk she is depicted as never having a husband.
See also
- Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
- History of Korea
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited from the Lower Paleolithic about 400,000-500,000 years ago. Archeological evidence indicates that the presence of modern humans in northeast Asia dates to 39,000 years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period began...
- Rulers of Korea
- List of Korea-related topics
- Queen Seon Duk (TV series)