Samguk Sagi
Encyclopedia
Samguk Sagi is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
: Goguryeo
, Baekje
and Silla
. The Samguk Sagi is written in Classical Chinese
(the written language of the literati in traditional Korea) and its compilation was ordered by Goryeo's
King Injong (r. 1122-1146) and undertaken by the government official and historian Kim Busik (金富軾) and a team of junior scholars. It was completed in 1145. It is well known in Korea as the oldest extant Korean history.
Imperial traditions, just as he modeled the history’s format after its Chinese forebears. Specifically, he was harking back to the “Grand Historian” himself, Sima Qian
(ca. 145-90 BCE) of the former Han Dynasty
(206 BCE-24 CE), the title of whose singular history of China, the Shi ji
(Korean sagi), Kim Busik adopted for his own work. Adopted as well from Chinese historiographical tradition was the classic four-part division of the standard dynastic history into Annals (bongi, 本紀), Tables (pyo, 表), Monographs (ji, 志), and Biographies (yeoljeon, 列傳).
There were various motivating factors behind the compilation of the Samguk Sagi in the 12th century. These may roughly be categorized as ideological and political. The ideological factors are made manifest in the work's preface, written by Kim Busik, where the historian states,
"Of today’s scholars and high-ranking officials, there are those who are well-versed and can discuss in detail the Five Classics 五經 and the other philosophical treatises...as well as the histories of Qin
and Han
, but as to the events of our country, they are utterly ignorant from beginning to end. This is truly lamentable."
In this quote can be discerned two clear motives. One was to fill the vast gap in knowledge concerning Korea's Three Kingdom Era. Though each of the three kingdoms of Goguryeo
, Baekje
, and Silla
had apparently produced their own histories these were largely lost in the continual wars and the fall of Goguryeo and Baekje and the dispersal of their records. The other motive was to produce a history that would serve to educate native Korean literati in native history, and provide them with Korean exemplars of Confucian virtues. This was especially important in mid-Goryeo as that dynasty became increasingly Confucianized.
But there were other factors not so clearly discerned. In Chinese tradition the compilation of a dynastic history also served political ends. The dynastic history was written by the succeeding dynasty and the very act of writing it served to illustrate that the succeeding dynasty had inherited the mandate to rule from its predecessor. In this context it should be remembered that the compilation of the Samguk Sagi was an officially sponsored undertaking, commissioned by the Goryeo king, with the members of its compilation staff approved by the central bureaucracy. As stated earlier, one aspect of its purpose would be to educate scholars and officials of the Confucianized bureaucracy in their native heritage, and native potential for attaining Confucian virtue. However, the fact that "native heritage" is primarily interpreted by the Samguk Sagi to mean "Three Kingdoms
heritage" brings us to the work’s ostensibly broader purpose, and that was to promote Three Kingdoms, in contrast to the competing neighbors like Buyeo
, Mahan
, Gaya
, which were absorbed into Three Kingdoms, as the orthodox ruling kingdoms of Korea, and to thus solidify the legitimacy and prestige of the Goryeo state, as Three Kingdoms’s rightful successor. In this way it helped confer the idea of zhengtong 正統, or "orthodox line of succession", upon the new dynasty. Though this objective was not directly stated in the memorial Kim Busik submitted in 1145, the intent was clearly understood. It was with just such intent that Goryeo's King Injong tapped Kim Busik to compile the history of the Three Kingdoms. Goryeo’s quest, through the writing of the Samguk Sagi, to secure its legitimacy, its carrying on of the "mantle of authority" (or Mandate of Heaven
) from Three Kingdoms, meant as a necessary consequence that the compilers of the Samguk Sagi, unlike the Jewang Ungi
or the Gaoli tujing (高麗圖經), emphasized United Silla
, the last survivor among the Three Kingdoms, and ignored Balhae
.
(花郞世記, Annals of Hwarang) , most of which are no longer extant. Though Kim Busik was apparently ignorant of, or scorned to quote, Japanese histories, he lifts generously from the Chinese dynastic chronicles and even unofficial Chinese records, most prominently the Wei shu (魏書, Book of Wei
), Sanguo Zhi (三國志), Jin Shu (晉書), Jiu Tangshu
(舊唐書, Old history of Tang), Xin Tangshu
(新唐書, New history of Tang), and the Zizhi Tongjian
(資治通鑑, Comprehensive mirror for aid in government).
). It thus appears that his background and tendencies would have been reflected in the Samguk Sagi.
Some Korean historians are critical of the records provided in the Samguk Sagi, citing a bias towards China and the Silla-centered view of the Three Kingdoms period. In the Biographies portion for instance, not only are a majority of the subjects Sillanese (68%), but the Silla biographies are filled with glorious exemplars of loyalty and bravery. Nonetheless, the formal mechanism of the Samguk Sagi was to treat the Three Kingdoms equally. For example, Kingdoms of Goguryeo and Baekje were referred, along with Silla, with the term "aguk (아국, 我國)" and their forces with the term "abyeong (아병, 我兵)", meaning "our nation" and "our troops" respectively. Furthermore, through the Samguk Sagi, Kim Busik praised a castellan of Goguryeo who defeated The Emperor Taizong of Tang
at the Siege of Ansi Fortress
and judged the Goguryeo castellan a hero.
However, what all historians agree upon is that Kim Busik's history is critical to the study of Korean history during the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla periods. Further, recent archaeological evidence provides verification of astronomical events, and comparison with Chinese and Japanese records have shown the Samguk Sagi to be surprisingly accurate.
However, portions of the work have appeared in various English language studies, notably:
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...
: Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
and Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
. The Samguk Sagi is written in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
(the written language of the literati in traditional Korea) and its compilation was ordered by Goryeo's
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
King Injong (r. 1122-1146) and undertaken by the government official and historian Kim Busik (金富軾) and a team of junior scholars. It was completed in 1145. It is well known in Korea as the oldest extant Korean history.
Contents
The work's 50 volumes (gwon 권 卷, originally meaning "scroll") are composed of:- Records of Silla (Nagi 나기 羅紀 or Silla bongi, 신라 본기, 新羅本紀) (12 volumes)
- Records of Goguryeo (Yeogi 여기 麗紀 or Goguryeo bongi, 고구려 본기, 高句麗本紀) (10 volumes)
- Records of Baekje (Jegi 제기 濟紀 or Baekje bongi, 백제 본기, 百濟本紀) (6 volumes)
- Chronological tables (Yeonpyo, 연표, 年表) (3 volumes)
- Monographs (also translated as Treatises) (ji, 지, 志) (9 volumes): ceremonies and music (the two were intimately connected), transport and housing, geography, and official offices and ranks
- Biographies (yeoljeon, 열전, 列傳) (10 volumes)
Background
In taking on the task of compiling (this term is more accurate than "writing" because much of the history is taken from earlier historical records) the Samguk Sagi Kim Busik was consciously modeling his actions on ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Imperial traditions, just as he modeled the history’s format after its Chinese forebears. Specifically, he was harking back to the “Grand Historian” himself, Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
(ca. 145-90 BCE) of the former Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BCE-24 CE), the title of whose singular history of China, the Shi ji
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
(Korean sagi), Kim Busik adopted for his own work. Adopted as well from Chinese historiographical tradition was the classic four-part division of the standard dynastic history into Annals (bongi, 本紀), Tables (pyo, 表), Monographs (ji, 志), and Biographies (yeoljeon, 列傳).
There were various motivating factors behind the compilation of the Samguk Sagi in the 12th century. These may roughly be categorized as ideological and political. The ideological factors are made manifest in the work's preface, written by Kim Busik, where the historian states,
"Of today’s scholars and high-ranking officials, there are those who are well-versed and can discuss in detail the Five Classics 五經 and the other philosophical treatises...as well as the histories of Qin
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
and Han
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
, but as to the events of our country, they are utterly ignorant from beginning to end. This is truly lamentable."
In this quote can be discerned two clear motives. One was to fill the vast gap in knowledge concerning Korea's Three Kingdom Era. Though each of the three kingdoms of Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
, and Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
had apparently produced their own histories these were largely lost in the continual wars and the fall of Goguryeo and Baekje and the dispersal of their records. The other motive was to produce a history that would serve to educate native Korean literati in native history, and provide them with Korean exemplars of Confucian virtues. This was especially important in mid-Goryeo as that dynasty became increasingly Confucianized.
But there were other factors not so clearly discerned. In Chinese tradition the compilation of a dynastic history also served political ends. The dynastic history was written by the succeeding dynasty and the very act of writing it served to illustrate that the succeeding dynasty had inherited the mandate to rule from its predecessor. In this context it should be remembered that the compilation of the Samguk Sagi was an officially sponsored undertaking, commissioned by the Goryeo king, with the members of its compilation staff approved by the central bureaucracy. As stated earlier, one aspect of its purpose would be to educate scholars and officials of the Confucianized bureaucracy in their native heritage, and native potential for attaining Confucian virtue. However, the fact that "native heritage" is primarily interpreted by the Samguk Sagi to mean "Three Kingdoms
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...
heritage" brings us to the work’s ostensibly broader purpose, and that was to promote Three Kingdoms, in contrast to the competing neighbors like Buyeo
Buyeo (state)
Buyeo or Puyŏ , Fuyu in Chinese, was an ancient Korean kingdom located from today's Manchuria to northern North Korea, from around the 2nd century BC to 494. Its remnants were absorbed by the neighboring and brotherhood kingdom of Goguryeo in 494...
, Mahan
Mahan
Mahan may refer to:*Mahan confederacy, chiefdoms in ancient Korea*Mahan, Iran, a city in Kerman province*Mahan District, an administrative subdivision of Kerman Province*Iranian male first name*Mahan Air, an airline based in Kerman province...
, Gaya
Gaya confederacy
Gaya was a confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period.The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is 42–532 CE...
, which were absorbed into Three Kingdoms, as the orthodox ruling kingdoms of Korea, and to thus solidify the legitimacy and prestige of the Goryeo state, as Three Kingdoms’s rightful successor. In this way it helped confer the idea of zhengtong 正統, or "orthodox line of succession", upon the new dynasty. Though this objective was not directly stated in the memorial Kim Busik submitted in 1145, the intent was clearly understood. It was with just such intent that Goryeo's King Injong tapped Kim Busik to compile the history of the Three Kingdoms. Goryeo’s quest, through the writing of the Samguk Sagi, to secure its legitimacy, its carrying on of the "mantle of authority" (or Mandate of Heaven
Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. It is similar to the European concept of the divine right of kings, in that both sought to legitimaze rule from divine approval; however, unlike the divine right of kings, the Mandate of...
) from Three Kingdoms, meant as a necessary consequence that the compilers of the Samguk Sagi, unlike the Jewang Ungi
Jewang ungi
The Jewang Ungi is a historical poem composed by Yi Seung-hyu in 1287, in the late Goryeo period. It depicts the history of Korea from Dangun to King Chungnyeol. A possible translation in English reads: "Rhymed Chronicles of Sovereigns"....
or the Gaoli tujing (高麗圖經), emphasized United Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
, the last survivor among the Three Kingdoms, and ignored Balhae
Balhae
Balhae was a Manchurian kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-yeong, a Mohe general, whose father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin , later called Balhae.Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria and...
.
Historical sources
The Samguk Sagi was written on the basis of the Gu Samguksa (舊三國史, Old history of the Three Kingdoms), and other earlier historical records such as the Hwarang SegiHwarang Segi
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...
(花郞世記, Annals of Hwarang) , most of which are no longer extant. Though Kim Busik was apparently ignorant of, or scorned to quote, Japanese histories, he lifts generously from the Chinese dynastic chronicles and even unofficial Chinese records, most prominently the Wei shu (魏書, Book of Wei
Book of Wei
The Book of Wei is a classic Chinese historical writing compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and serves as an important historical text describing the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 550....
), Sanguo Zhi (三國志), Jin Shu (晉書), Jiu Tangshu
Book of Tang
The Book of Tang , Jiu Tangshu or the Old Book of Tang is the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty. The book began when Gaozu of Later Jin ordered its commencement in 941...
(舊唐書, Old history of Tang), Xin Tangshu
New Book of Tang
The New Book of Tang , is a classic work of history about the Tang Dynasty edited by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi and other official scholars of the Song Dynasty. The emperor called for a revision of the former Book of Tang in 1044. The New Book was presented to the throne in 1060. It was given its...
(新唐書, New history of Tang), and the Zizhi Tongjian
Zizhi Tongjian
The Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...
(資治通鑑, Comprehensive mirror for aid in government).
Assessment
Kim Busik was a patrician of Silla origin, and though he himself was a practicing Buddhist, he supported Confucianism over Buddhism as the guiding principle of governance and favored presenting tributes to the Chinese emperor to prevent a conflict with China and in deference to the lofty (sadaeSadaejuui
Sadaejuui is a largely pejorative Korean term which evolved in the mid-20th century from a more widely used historical concept....
). It thus appears that his background and tendencies would have been reflected in the Samguk Sagi.
Some Korean historians are critical of the records provided in the Samguk Sagi, citing a bias towards China and the Silla-centered view of the Three Kingdoms period. In the Biographies portion for instance, not only are a majority of the subjects Sillanese (68%), but the Silla biographies are filled with glorious exemplars of loyalty and bravery. Nonetheless, the formal mechanism of the Samguk Sagi was to treat the Three Kingdoms equally. For example, Kingdoms of Goguryeo and Baekje were referred, along with Silla, with the term "aguk (아국, 我國)" and their forces with the term "abyeong (아병, 我兵)", meaning "our nation" and "our troops" respectively. Furthermore, through the Samguk Sagi, Kim Busik praised a castellan of Goguryeo who defeated The Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
at the Siege of Ansi Fortress
Yang Manchun
Yang Manchun is the name given to the Goguryeo commander of Ansi fortress in the 640s.Ansi fortress was located on the Goguryeo-Chinese border, probably present-day Haicheng. Yang is sometimes credited with saving the kingdom by his refusal to surrender the fortress to invading Tang...
and judged the Goguryeo castellan a hero.
However, what all historians agree upon is that Kim Busik's history is critical to the study of Korean history during the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla periods. Further, recent archaeological evidence provides verification of astronomical events, and comparison with Chinese and Japanese records have shown the Samguk Sagi to be surprisingly accurate.
Translations in Western languages
The only full Western language translation of the Samguk Sagi to appear to date is a Russian edition that appeared in two parts, 1959 and 2001.However, portions of the work have appeared in various English language studies, notably:
- Best, Jonathan. 2007. A History of the Early Korean Kingdom of Paekche [Baekje], together with an annotated translation of The Paekche Annals of the Samguk sagi. [A complete translation of the Baekje bongi]. Cambridge, MA: Harvard East Asian Monographs.
- Byington, Mark E. 1992. "Samguk Sagi Volume 48 Biographies Book 8". Transactions of the Korea Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, 67:71-81.
- Gardiner, Kenneth H.J. 1982. "Legends of Koguryǒ (I): Samguk sagi, Annals of Koguryǒ." Korea Journal, 22(1): 60-69. [part one of a translation of book one of the Goguryeo bongi].
- Gardiner, Kenneth H.J. 1982. "Legends of Koguryǒ (II)." Korea Journal, 22(2): 31-48. [part two of a translation of book one of the Goguryeo bongi].
- Jamieson, John Charles. 1969. “The Samguk sagi and the Unification Wars.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. [Translation of books 6 and 7 of the Silla bongi and eleven of the biographies, mostly of men of Silla].
- Shultz, Edward J. and Hugh H.W. Kang (with Daniel C. Kane and Kenneth J.H.[sic] Gardiner). 2011. The Koguryŏ Annals of the Samguk Sagi. [A complete translation of the Goguryeo bongi]. Seongnam-si: The Academy of Korean Studies.
Other sources
- Gardiner, K.H.J. “Samguk sagi and its Sources.” Papers on Far Eastern History, 2 (September 1970): 1-41.
- Kim, Kichung. "Notes on the Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa". In Kichung Kim, An Introduction to Classical Korean Literature. London: M.E. Sharpe, 1996.
- Lee, Hai-soon. "Kim Pu-sik's View of Women and Confucianism: An Analytic Study of the Lives of Women in the Samguk sagi". Seoul Journal of Korean Studies, Vol. 10 (1997):45-64.
- McBride, Richard D. II. "Hidden Agendas in the Life Writings of Kim Yusin." Acta Koreana, 1 (August 1998): 101-142.
- Shim, Seungja. "Plants and Animals in the Place Names of Samguk Sagi." In Proceedings of the 9th Annual Conference, 10-15 April 1985, Association for Korean Studies in Europe. Le Havre: Association for Korean Studies in Europe, 1985.
- Shultz, Edward J. "An Introduction to the Samguk sagi." Korean Studies, 28 (2004):1–13.
- Soloviov, Alexander V. "Kim Busik's Samguk Sagi: the 12th Century Man Viewpoint on Korean Culture". Major Issues in History of Korean Culture: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Korean Studies, Moscow, December 17-20, 1996. Moscow: International Center for Korean Studies, 1997:71-74.
- Yi, Chong-hang. "On the True Nature of 'Wae' in Samguk sagi." Korea Journal, 17:11 (November 1977): 51-59.
External links
- 삼국사기 The original text of the Samguk Sagi in HTML format.
- The text of the Samguk Sagi, available in PDF format from the Seoul National UniversitySeoul National UniversitySeoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...
. - University of Hawaii: The Samguk sagi Translation Project
See also
- Samguk YusaSamguk 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...
- Goryeo-sa
- Annals of Joseon DynastyAnnals of Joseon DynastyThe Annals of the Joseon Dynasty are the annual records of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, which were kept from 1413 to 1865. The annals, or sillok, comprise 1,893 volumes and are thought to cover the longest continual period of a single dynasty in the world...
- Rulers of Korea
- List of Korea-related topics