Buyeo


Buyeo or Puyŏ, also rendered as Fuyu in Chinese, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It had deep ties to the Yemaek people, who are considered to be the ancestors of modern Koreans. It is also called Northern Buyeo according to its founding legend.
Historically, both Goguryeo and Paekche, two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, considered themselves Buyeo's successors. In addition, it is also considered a major predecessor of the Korean kingdoms of Eastern Buyeo, and Galsa Buyeo.

History

Founding legend

The legendary founder of the Buyeo kingdom was Hae Mo-su, the "Dongmyeong of Buyeo" which literally means "Holy King of Buyeo". Hae Mo-su is said to be the father to famous historical figures in Korean history. Famously, Dongmyeong, the founder of Goguryeo, is described as the son of Hae Mo-su and Lady Yuhwa who was the daughter of Habaek. He was also the father to Hae Buru, the founder of Eastern Buyeo and another son of Lady Yuhwa as well as brother to Dongmyeong, who carried his father's kingdom's name to his newly founded kingdom.
However, the legendary accounts are considered mystifying due to different sources positing different genealogies. According to the Samguk yusa, it is said that Dongmyeong of Goguryeo and Buru of Buyeo were both sons of Lady Yuhwa, but their fathers were different, Dongmyeong being Hae Mo-su's offspring while Buru being Tan'gun's. The author of the Samguk yusa, Il-yeon, suspected that therefore, the two individuals were half-brothers.
The Samguk sagi by Kim Pusik offered a completely different story with Dongmyeong being a child that was born from an egg after his mother, Lady Yuhwa, was discovered/rescued by Geumwa of Buyeo and was touched by sunlight. It is said that Geumwa was the son of Buru which makes him the grandson of Hae Mo-su, and Dongmyeong being his adopted son, becoming Hae Mo-su's great grandson. However, since the Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi were created by different authors with different intentions, the general consensus is that the founding story is merely a legend and should not be taken literally.

Early period

The exact founding year of Buyeo is unclear. However, it most likely coexisted with Old Chosŏn and the Jin state, and was founded prior to the formation of the Four Commanderies of Han which happened after the fall of Old Chosŏn in the 2nd century BCE by the Han dynasty of China. It is speculaterd to have emerged from the Bronze Age polities of the ancient Seodansan and Liangquan archaeological cultures in the context of trade with various ancient Chinese polities. In particular was the state of Yan which introduced iron technology to Manchuria and the Korean peninsula after its conquest of Liaodong in the early third century BCE.
Ethnically, the inhabitants of the kingdom were the same as Old Chosŏn, being the Yemaek people, but different from the Jin state, as its successor polities' inhabitants were said to be closer to the people of Wa according to the Book of Wei - Volume 30. It likely remained that way until the end of the Samhan period, and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period of Korea, where it is said that the indigenous people of Old Chosŏn founded southern kingdoms such as Silla, which hints at a continuous migration from Old Chosŏn–Buyeo to the southern part of the Korean peninsula.

Relations with Chinese dynasties

In the later Western Han, Buyeo established close ties with the Xuantu Commandery, one of Four Commanderies of Han according to the Book of the Later Han volume 85 Treatise on the Dongyi, although it proceeded to becoming a nominal tributary-state and practical ally of Eastern Han in 49 CE. This was advantageous to the Han as an ally in the northeast would curb the threats of the Xianbei in western Manchuria and eastern Mongolia and Goguryeo in the Liaodong region and the northern Korean peninsula. The Buyeo elites also sought this arrangement as it legitimized their rule and gave them better access to Han's prestige trade goods.
During a period of turmoil in China's northeast, Buyeo attacked some of Eastern Han's holdings in 111, but relations were mended in 120 and thus a military alliance was arranged. Two years later, Buyeo sent troops to the Xuantu commandery to prevent it from being destroyed by Goguryeo when it sent reinforcement to break the siege of the commandery seat. In 167 CE, Buyeo attacked the Xuantu commandery but was defeated. When Emperor Xian ruled Eastern Han, Buyeo was reclassified as a tributary of the Liaodong Commandery of Han.
In the early 3rd century, Gongsun Du, a Chinese warlord in Liaodong, supported Buyeo to counter Xianbei in the north and Goguryeo in the east. After destroying the Gongsun family, the northern Chinese state of Cao Wei sent Guanqiu Jian to attack Goguryeo. Part of the expeditionary force led by Wang Qi, the Grand Administrator of the Xuantu Commandery, pursued the Guguryeo court eastward through Okjeo and into the lands of the Yilou. On their return journey they were welcomed as they passed through the land of Buyeo. It brought detailed information of the kingdom to China.
In 285 the Murong tribe of the Xianbei, led by Murong Hui, invaded Buyeo, pushing King Uiryeo to suicide, and forcing the relocation of the court to Okjeo. Considering its friendly relationship with the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu helped King Uira revive Buyeo. According to accounts in the Zizhi Tongjian and the Book of Jin, the Murong attacked the Buyeo and forced the Buyeo to relocate several times in the 4th century.
Goguryeo's attack sometime before 347 caused further decline. Having lost its stronghold on the Ashi River, Buyeo moved southwestward to Nong'an. Around 347, Buyeo was attacked by Murong Huang of the Former Yan, and King Hyeon was captured. Originally, the Murong Xianbei created the Yan states, with five states emerging during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and thus were able to do so.

Later period and demise

According to the Samguk sagi, in 504, the tribute emissary Yesilbu mentions that the gold of Buyeo could no longer be obtainable for tribute as Buyeo had been driven out by the Malgal and the Somna and absorbed into Paekche. It is also shown that the Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei wished that Buyeo would regain its former glory.
A remnant of Buyeo seems to have lingered around modern Harbin area under the influence of Goguryeo. Buyeo paid tribute once to Northern Wei in 457–8, but otherwise seems to have been controlled by Goguryeo. In 494, Buyeo was under attack by the rising Wuji, and the Buyeo court moved and surrendered to Goguryeo.

Legacy

Many ancient historical records indicate the "Jolbon Buyeo", apparently referring to the incipient Goguryeo or its capital city. In 37 BCE, Dongmyeong became the first king of Goguryeo. Dongmyeong went on to conquer Okjeo, Dongye, and Haengin, regaining some of Buyeo and former territories of Old Chosŏn.
The name of the kingdom was later incorporated into the ruling class of Paekche with their clan name being called the "Buyeo clan".

Culture

According to Chapter 30 "Description of the Eastern Archerians, Dongyi" in the Chinese Records of the Three Kingdoms, the Buyeo were agricultural people who occupied the northeastern lands in Manchuria beyond the great walls. The aristocratic rulers subject to the king bore the title ka and were distinguished from each other by animal names, such as the dog ka and horse ka.Four kas existed in Buyeo, which were horse ka, cow ka, pig ka, and dog ka, and ka is presumed to be of similar origin with the title khan. The ka system was similarly adopted in Goguryeo.
The same text states that the Buyeo language was similar to those of its southern neighbours Goguryeo and Ye, and that the language of Okjeo was only slightly different from them.
Based on this account, Ki-Moon Lee grouped the four languages as the Puyŏ languages, contemporaneous with the Han languages of the Samhan confederacies in southern Korea.
The earliest mentions of the Korean practice of wearing minbok are also from this source. The text reads:
The practice of wearing white clothes is believed to have been carried over by their descendants.

Language

There is no scholarly consensus on the classification of the languages spoken by the inhabitants of Buyeo, with theories including Japonic, Amuric, and a separate branch of macro-Tungusic.
According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the Buyeo language was similar to those of Goguryeo and Ye, and the language of Okjeo was only slightly different from them.

Law

Buyeo had a law that makes the thief reimburse the price that is equivalent to twelve times of the original amount the person stole, and had an eye to eye approach in terms of law.

Influence

In the 1930s, Chinese historian Jin Yufu developed a linear model of descent for the people of Manchuria and northern Korea, from the kingdoms of Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Paekche, to the modern Korean nationality. Later historians of Northeast China built upon this influential model.
Goguryeo and Paekche, two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, considered themselves successors of Buyeo. King Onjo, the founder of Paekche, is said to have been a son of King Dongmyeong, founder of Goguryeo. Paekche officially changed its name to "Southern Buyeo " in 538. Goryeo also considered itself a descendant of Buyeo through their direct ancestral ties with Goguryeo and Paekche. This is seen in their representation of palace names that were named after former kingdoms that were considered their forefathers.