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King Jinheung
King Jinheung, the 24th king of Silla, reigned from 540
and 576. His surname is Kim and given name is Sammaekjong,
alias Simmaekbu. He became a bonze in his late age and his
Buddhist name is Beop-un. His grandfather is King Jinheung
and his father is King Galmun. His mother is Madam Sikdo,
a daughter of King Beopheung, and his wife is Madam Sado
whose surname is Park.
King Jinheung ascended to the throne following King Beopheung
when he was seven years old. His mother, the wife of King
Beopheung, ruled as his regent during the early period of
his reign. In 541 King Jinheung appointed Yisabu to the
head of military affairs and adopted a peace policy towards
Baekje.
In 551 (the twelfth year of his reign), he changed the
name of his era as Gaeguk. In the same year he called Ureuk
and his pupil (Yimun) and listened to their music before
he occupies the Hangang valley.
In 551, King Jinheung who allied with Baekje attacked Goguryeo
and occupied the Hangang valley. There was a promise that
Silla and Baekje were to occupy the upper and down streams
of the Hangang, respectively. However, in 553 Silla, which
contracted a secret pact with Goguryeo, attacked Baekje
and occupied both the upper stream and downstream. Silla
set up Sinju (nowadays, Gwangju) in the region.
Hereupon, the alliance relation that the two states have
long maintained was broken. Gaya also participated in the
battle as an allied army of Baekje, but its activity is
unknown. However, it is believed that Gaya came to lose
its share because Baekje occupied both the upper stream
and the downstream.
King Seong of Baekje was angry with such betrayal of Silla.
In 554, he was killed by an ambush of Silla on his way to
the Gwansanseong in Okcheon where his son first went to
fight with the Silla army. In the Gwansanseong battle Baekje
suffered enormous losses: King Seong, several scores of
officers and thousands of soldiers were dead.
Daegaya which participated in this battle also suffered
big losses. Daegaya came to provoke Silla¡¯s antipathy as
well as lost its army.
Eventually, in 561 King Jinheung sent General Yisabu to
Daegaya and conquered it. King Jinheung erected a monument
in a new land that he exploited. The four monuments in Changryeong,
the Bukhansan, the Hwangchoryeong and the Maunryeong remain
nowadays. As can be seen from their places, King Jinheung
of Silla rapidly expanded its territory by occupying the
Hangang valley, the East Coast region and the Gaya region.
Further, in 565 Silla introduced monks and the Sutra from
Jin state in China and developed Buddhism by constructing
temples, including the Hwangryongsa. In 576, Silla initiated
an elite youth (Hwarang) institution. This organization
played a great role in Silla¡¯s unification of the Three
Kingdoms.
To sum up, in the King Jinheung period Silla prepared a
base for the unification of the Three Kingdoms by building
up military and cultural power.
The Silla Harp
When Ureuk of Gayaguk was exiled to Silla he brought the
harp. In the present, its actual thing is preserved in Shosoin
of Nara, Japan. It may be in the Unified Silla period that
this was transmitted to Japan.
Ilbonhugi (Later Chronicle of Japan) writes down that around
809 (the Nara period) the musicians of Silla passed on the
harp to Japan. It is called Siragigoto in Japanese.
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