Korean History: the Koryo Dynasty - Report Example

Korean History - Goryo Dynast The Koryo Dynasty that was created by Wang Geon in 935 lasted for more than four and half centuries. During this period, China was no longer a formidable force in the region and Korea had to cope with powerful non-Chinese neighbors mostly from the North. During this period, the Korean society continued to be highly stratified with the yangban aristocracy reigning in a predominant slave population at the bottom. During this period, Buddhism was the main religion but Confucianism continued to grow steadily especially among the yangban. The arrival of the printing press resulted in production and distribution of many books which were explaining the history of Korea. After years of a steady rise, the dynasty suffered a military conquest by the Choe family in 1170 (Lee 113). This paper examines the characteristics of Koryo dynasty in relation to political structure, foreign relationship and military role. These parts will be discussed thoroughly in order to understand the condition of Koryo dynasty. To achieve this, the paper will explore how political structure shaped military role, Koryo’s foreign relationship with Jurchens and Khitans as well as the issue of how foreign relationship affected the political structure of Koryo. Early Koryo Political Structure Wang Kon, the founder of the Koryo Dynasty came from a well known family in central Korea that teamed up with Kim Kungye to rebel against the Silla rule in the last years of the ninth century. Wang Kon rose fast in Kungye’s state of Taebong but as Kungye became more autocratic in his reign, Wang Kon led disgruntled followers in a rebellion and they established Koryo in 918. However, it was not until sometimes in 936 that Wang Kon was able to attain full control of the peninsula, and this was accomplished, legitimacy was the key issue facing him. When Kim Pu who was the last King of the Silla Dynasty transferred his mandate to rule in 935, Wang Kon attained the status and respectability that was needed for his kingdom to attain dynastic legitimacy (Lee 114). In addition to gaining acceptance for his leadership, Wang Kon wanted to present his subjects with a well run government. In his various visits in the state, he openly castigated his leaders for their excesses and admonished them to live by the people’s expectations. In order to ensure that there was a fair rule after he exited the scene, he wrote the Ten Injunctions, which was a set of instructions for his heir on how he was expected to rule. This document was influential for the entire duration of the Koryo period, and was significant not only as Wang’s final statement but also due to its encompassing advice on Buddhism, geomancy, potential threats to the dynasty as well as royal succession (Lee 115). Although the old Silla reign had been abolished, a new form of aristocracy soon came into place. Upon assuming the throne, Wang chose men to take central positions in his government from varied families and always ensured that he steered away from the old aristocracy. However, he offered the last king the right to collect taxes on behalf of the kingdom and honored a few of the Confucian intellectuals in the old kingdom. In order to ensure that the kingdom was united, he ensured that there was no any kind of conflict between Buddhism and Confucianism. Since Buddhism was the major religion, he ensured that all the Buddhist festivals instituted by the past kingdom were honored something that earned him the sect’s support (Lee 116). The third king, Gwangjong, also sought to increase the power of the kingdom and the central government by setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate the origins of the slaves. This saw all the slaves that had been acquired illegally being restored to the position of commoners and therefore made them eligible to pay taxes. Within the same period, he also adopted a model of governance where members of the civil service were chosen based on merit and not on ones social status. In essence, this earned his administration confidence and trust from the common people. In order to appease the aristocrats, the government put in place policies that favored them and this ensured that everyone within the kingdom was content (Lee 117). In order to ensure the stability of the kingdom, the successive kings also set up strong education institutions that were used as centers of learning throughout the region. The National University that was established in 992 resembled a modern day university since it carried six colleges within it. These colleges offered education on various disciplines and they were very instrumental in the regions success since it was from them that the civil servants were chosen from. The kingdom also established a strong economic system especially through the taxation of land held by the aristocrats. These policies were instrumental in carrying the kingdom through the first two centuries of its rule (Lee 118). Koryo’s Foreign Relations Apart from having very effective governmental structures, another factor that led to the success of the Koryo dynasty was its foreign relation with its neighbors. From the moment its inception, the Koryo dynasty had been wary of the relations with its neighbors especially the Khitans on the northern side. In the Ten Injunctions, Wang Kon had warned his successors to be wary of the Khitans and this warning proved to be prophetic since at the end of the tenth century the Khitans were conducting regular raids on the region something that led to the fall of the northern state of Parhae in the early tenth century. After conquering Parhae, the Khitans established a new base in Manchuria from where they attacked northern China, took control of the region and established the Liao kingdom. During this same period, Koryo was strengthening its control over the peninsula and marching on to the north. This set the stage for the collision of the two forces (Lee & Theodore 160). Apart from the Khitans, the Jurchens were also proving to be a challenge for the Koryo. This was challenging for Koryo since they were also trying to maintain ties with Sung China and causal links with the Japanese. Although the Koryo people were pragmatic, they resolutely guarded everything that was of interest to them. This saw So Hui one of their distinguished statesmen develop a foreign policy that did not in any way compromise the kingdom interests. Through his counsel, he helped in evading any crisis within the military that was bound to arise due to their exorbitant demands. He also used diplomacy to negotiate with the Khitans who had earlier occupied land belonging to Koryo (Lee & Theodore 161). Almost one decade after So Hui exited the stage, another Koryo Statesman Yun Kwan was faced with a similar predicament. This new crisis had been created by the Jurchens who like the Khitans had consolidated their power in Manchuria, attacked Sung China, and created the Chin dynasty. By 1126, the Chin dynasty had taken control of the entire China. However, unlike his predecessor, Yun Kwan proposed a more combative nature. This saw him leading several expeditions to attacks the Jurchens and consequently established the Nine Forts on Koryo’s northeastern frontier to secure the region (Lee & Theodore 162). Despite the success posted by Koryo over the Jurchens, their foreign relations still remained precarious. After reclaiming their lost land from the Jurchens, one of Kwan’s contemporaries, Kim Puui, came up with a policy that was characterized by caution. Keen to evade any unwanted conflict, Kim had sensibly proposed that they establish ties with Chin. Although this proposal was not at first adopted, by the court, they finally agreed to the normalization of ties with Chin. Several years earlier, the Koryo king had wanted to establish ties with his northern neighbors but in order to avoid any conflict with the Khitans, the king’s advisors had overruled this suggestion. Finally, the king decided to establish diplomatic ties with China but even in the audience of the ties, the Koreans and Chinese had numerous cultural and commercial associations in the entire period. Koreans naturally embraced Sung China, if not for anything else for its cultural advantages. The fact that Koryo was comfortable with Chinese ideas and beliefs is evident fro the numerous literature written within this period (Lee & Theodore 163). In the examination of the literature on the Koryo dynasty, one thing that comes out clearly is that its foreign relations set the stage for the military rule that was witnessed later on during the dynasty. Several years after the Khitans overthrew Parhae in 926 and by thus doing caused tem to share a common border with Koryo, the Khitans sent a delegation to present fifty camels to the Koryo king. However, the king regarded the Khitans as immoral and uncivilized and banished the delegation to a remote island where the camels were let to starve. During this period, the king took in refugees from Parhae while at the same time seeking out for ways to recover all the ancient Koryo territory. This saw the Koryo border increase significantly up to Chongch River (Lee & Theodore 164). Later kings carried on with Wang’s objective to reclaim the lost land of the Koryo kingdom. To fulfill this mandate, Koryo had to have a strong military. Although the kingdom continued to explore diplomatic solutions to their border problems, they were at the same time creating a formidable army that was later instrumental in maintaining the ideals of the kingdom. The pursuit of diplomatic relations in solving their border disputes presented the kingdom as having an effective military and the peace that followed this ruse saw the military develop further (Lee & Theodore 165). Military Role Aristocratic rule in Koryo was usually based in the principle of civil supremacy and this delegated the military to a junior position in the society. Politically, the military was ranked below the civil officials and economically they were also delegated to a junior position. In fighting the Khitans, Kang Kamchan made his name as a military commander but in reality he did not come from a military official background. This was true for other numerous statesmen who were central to carrying out the policies of the Koryo kingdom. Although a strong institution, the military was the target of discrimination and of exploitation at the hand of civil servants. In reality, this is what led to the attempted 1014 coup led by discontent military officials including Choe Chil and Kim Hun. These two officials had distinguished themselves during the Khitan struggle and unknown to the government they had established a strong military (Lee 138). The mistreatment of the military reached a new high under King Uijong, and he was known for his lavish lifestyle and he spend numerous resources going on foreign trips. The king was so absorbed in his private affairs such that he had no time to concentrate on the state affairs. The civil officials who were loyal to him shared in this pleasures and this led to even more neglect of the military. This neglect was even extended to those who were tasked with guarding the king. However, it took cases of extreme provocation by the civil officials that triggered the military revolt in 1170 (Lee 139). Upon seizing power, the military officials managed state affairs through the central mechanism of the Chungbang, the supreme military council, and they looked for ways to put into place a military monopoly of government positions, from the most prominent on high to the lowest office on the bottom of the ceremonial ladder. However, just like the civil officials before them, the military officials used their positions to increase their private landholdings and controlled the country’s economic resources as well. The new found political stature by the military created a scenario where slaves and family retainers were armed for the purpose of creating individual military forces. During this time, the only thing that seemed to matter was raw power and this resulted in disregard of prosperity. This was in stark contrast to the former Koryo period by civil officials who had placed importance on exalted ancestry background. Unlike in the past where ascending to the throne was defined by the family connections to the royal house, the new political dispensation was based on how much force one could muster. As a result, this saw the seat of power shifting from one military strong man to another within a very short time. The seize of power by the military marked the death of the Koryo dynasty and ushered in civilian leadership after civilian and peasant uprising (Lee 140). Conclusion The Koryo dynasty that lasted for four and half centuries was characterized by numerous intrigues. At first, the government laid down effective strategies that placed the Koryo Dynasty as a formidable force in the region. Although the dynasty pioneers had intended to create a system of government that was unique from the earlier regimes, the bureaucracies of the past administration soon found their way into the new regime. In the second half of the dynasty, the dynasty faced various external threats mainly from the Khitan and the Jurchens. In order to counter these external threats, a strong military was put into place to defend the kingdom’s borders. However, despite the prominence of the military they continued to be discriminated upon something that led them to revolt. Unlike in the past when the rise to power was based on ties to the royal house, the new political dispensation was based on the power that one would muster and this led to a destabilization of the kingdom and its consequent collapse. Works Cited Lee, Ki-baik. A New History of Korea. The Hereditary Aristocratic Order of Koryo, chapter 6. Harvard University Press, 1984. 113-120. Print. Lee, Ki-baik. A New History of Korea. Rule by the military, chapter 7. Harvard University Press, 1984. 138-140. Print. Lee, Peter, & Theodore, Bary. Sources of Korean Tradition. Early Koryo Political Structure, chapter 8. Columbia University Press, n.d. 142-175 Read More