Draft Gija: The Theory behind the Origin of Korea's Confucian Culture
Title | Who Was Gija? Even Most Koreans Don't Know |
---|---|
Author | Nam Jeongnan |
Actor | Dangun, Gija, Wiman |
Place | Pyeongyang, Cheomseongdan Altar, Yellow River Basin |
Event | The Founding of Gojoseon, Mongol Invasion |
Record | Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, Great Commentaries to the Book of Documents, Records of the Grand Historian, Songs of Emperors and Kings |
Concept | Gojoseon, Dangun Joseon, Gija Joseon |
Object | dolmen, slender daggers, mandolin-shaped daggers |
1차 원고
The first nation to be established on the Korean peninsula was Gojoseon, founded in 2333 BCE.
According to Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, Gojoseon was founded by Dangun, son of the Lord of Heaven, and flourished based on the iron culture until 194 BCE but fell to a man named Wiman from China who introduced the bronze culture to Korea. Wiman was defeated in an attack by the Han Dynasty in 108 BCE.
Hence, the first rulers of Gojoseon, the first Korean nation, were Dangun and Wiman. But a number of Chinese history books state that Gojoseon was founded by a man named Gija from the Shang Dynasty of China. Who is Gija and what do Koreans say about him?
Records of the Grand Historian and the Analects of Confucius say Gija lived in the Shang Dynasty around 1000 BCE but make no mention of him going to the Korean peninsula. Gija is first described as the ruler of the Korean peninsula in Records of the Grand Historian and Great Tradition of the Book of Documents, which were written after the third century BCE.
From records written in the Goryeo Dynasty, it seems ancient Koreans were aware of a man named Gija but did not consider him important. Indeed, Gija did not loom large in the Korean consciousness until the 13th century, when two foreign invasions gave rise to a strong national awareness and reexamination of the history of Gojoseon. Confucian scholars considered Gija to be important as the man who brought Chinese culture to Korea, and hence as evidence that Korea's Confucian tradition is as old as that of China.
In Korea today, however, neither Gija nor Gija Joseon are recognized as historical fact, considering the distance Gija would have had to travel and the dissimilarity between the bronze culture of China and Korea at the time. Whether Gija really came to Korea or not, some scholars argue that the story of Gija shows that Korean culture was greatly influenced by China.
1차 원고 수정
The first nation to be established on the Korean peninsula was Gojoseon, founded in 2333 BCE.
According to Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (三國遺事, Samguk yusa), Gojoseon was founded by Dangun, son of the Lord of Heaven, and flourished based on the iron culture until 194 BCE but fell to a man named Wiman from China who introduced the bronze culture to Korea. Wiman was defeated in an attack by the Han Dynasty in 108 BCE.
Hence, the first rulers of Gojoseon, the first Korean nation, were Dangun and Wiman. But a number of Chinese history books state that Gojoseon was founded by a man named Gija from the Shang Dynasty of China. Who is Gija and what do Koreans say about him?
Records of the Grand Historian and the Analects of Confucius say Gija lived in the Shang Dynasty around 1000 BCE but make no mention of him going to the Korean peninsula. Gija is first described as the ruler of the Korean peninsula in Records of the Grand Historian and Great Tradition of the Book of Documents Great Commentaries to the Book of Documents, which were written after the third century BCE.
From records written in the Goryeo Dynasty, it seems ancient Koreans were aware of a man named Gija but did not consider him important. Indeed, Gija did not loom large in the Korean consciousness until the 13th century, when two foreign invasions gave rise to a strong national awareness and reexamination of the history of Gojoseon. Confucian scholars considered Gija to be important as the man who brought Chinese culture to Korea, and hence as evidence that Korea's Confucian tradition is as old as that of China.
In Korea today, however, neither Gija nor Gija Joseon are recognized as historical fact, considering the distance Gija would have had to travel and the dissimilarity between the bronze culture of China and Korea at the time. Regardless of whether Gija really came to Korea or not, the debate around Gija demonstrates that Koreans' understanding of the origin of Korean Confucianism have changed over time and speaks to the key role Confucianism has played in Korea over the past millenia.
감수본
According to an old myth there was once a bronze-age tribal-confederation called Gojoseon (“Ancient Joseon”) somewhere on the Liaoning Peninsula and the northern Korean peninsula, founded by Dangun, grandson of the Lord of Heaven. The story is retold in the medieval collection of tales Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (三國遺事, Samguk yusa), written by the Buddhist master Iryeon. Early 20th century cultural nationalists declared it to be “the original Korean nation,” and made numerological calculations to set its foundation in 2333 BCE.
This Gojoseon proto-state flourished until 194 BCE, but then fell to a noble warrior named Wiman from the Han Dynasty who introduced iron-age culture to Korea. King Ugeo, grandson of Wiman, was defeated in an attack by the Han Dynasty in 108 BCE.
Hence, the first rulers of the first Korean proto-state were lines of chieftains descended from Dangun and Wiman. But a number of Chinese history books including Records of the Grand Historian (史記, Shiji) state that Gojoseon was conquered by a man named Gija from China. Who is Gija and what do Koreans say about him?
Very ancient Chinese records say that as the Zhou Dynasty was founded in 1046 BCE a Shang nobleman called Gija survived, but make no mention of him going to the Korean peninsula. Gija is first described as the ruler of the Korean peninsula in Han Dynasty histories.
Gija is included in that myth beginning the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, and from other records written in the Goryeo Dynasty it seems that ancient Koreans were aware of a ruler named Gija but did not consider him important. Indeed, Gija did not loom large in the Korean consciousness until the 13th Century, when two foreign invasions gave rise to a strong national awareness and reexamination of the tales of Gojoseon. Confucian scholars considered Gija to be important as the man who brought Chinese culture to Korea, and hence as evidence that Korea's Confucian tradition is almost as old as that of China.
In Korea today, however, neither Gija nor “Gija Joseon” are recognized as historical fact, considering the distance Gija would have had to travel and the dissimilarity between the bronze-age culture of China and Korea at the time. Whether Gija really came to Korea or not, some scholars argue that the story of Gija shows that Korean culture was greatly influenced by China.