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Revision as of 17:11, 23 November 2014 editCydevil38 (talk | contribs)2,772 edits Removing rejected accounts of Korean mythology and history, as well as a fringe view from North Korea. You can elaborate accounts of Gija within the context of Gija controversy.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 14:06, 13 December 2024 edit undoCave3johnson (talk | contribs)4 edits Dangun myth 
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{{Short description|2333 BC? – 108 BC state in East Asia}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2014}}
{{Distinguish|Joseon{{!}}Kingdom of Joseon}}
{{Infobox Former Country

|native_name = 고조선 (古朝鮮)
{{Infobox country
|conventional_long_name = Gojoseon
| native_name = {{lang|ko|古朝鮮}} (])<br />{{lang|ko|고조선}} (])<br /><hr />{{lang|ko|朝鮮}} (Hanja)<br />{{lang|ko|조선}} (Hangul)<br />{{small|''Joseon''}}
|common_name = Gojoseon
| conventional_long_name = Gojoseon
|
| common_name = Gojoseon
|continent = Asia
| era = Ancient
|region = East Asia
| government_type = Monarchy
|country = ], and northern parts of the ]
| year_start = ?
|era = Ancient, legendary
| year_end = 108 BC
|status =
| event_start = Established
|status_text =
| date_start =
|empire =
| event_end = Fall of ]
|government_type = Monarchy
| date_end =
|
| event1 = Coup by ]
|year_start = ???
|year_end = 108 BC | date_event1 = 194 BC
| event2 = ]
|
| date_event2 = 109–108 BC
|
| event3 =
|event_start = legendarily established
| date_event3 =
|date_start = ???
| event4 =
|event_end = Fall of ]
| date_event4 =
|date_end =
| event_post =
|
| date_post =
|event1 = Gojoseon-Han War
| p1 =
|date_event1 = 109 BC
| s1 = Yemaek
|event2 =
| s2 = Samhan
|date_event2 =
| s3 = Four Commanderies of Han
|event3 =
| image_map = History_of_Korea-108_BC.png
|date_event3 =
| image_map_caption = Gojoseon in 108 BC
|event4 =
| capital = ]
|date_event4 =
| common_languages = ] {{small|(])}},<br />] {{small|(literary)}}
|
| religion = ]
|event_post =
| leader1 = ] (first)
|date_post =
| leader2 = ]
|
| leader3 = ]
|p1 =
| leader4 = Wi Man
|s1 = Buyeo kingdom
| leader5 = ] (last)
|s2 = Samhan
| year_leader1 = ?
|s3 = Four Commanderies of Han
| year_leader2 = 1126 BC? – 1082 BC?
|flag_s2 =
| year_leader3 = 220 BC – 194 BC
|
| year_leader4 = 194 BC – ?
|image_flag =
| year_leader5 = ? – 108 BC
|flag =
| title_leader = ]
|flag_type =
| today = ]<br />]<br/>]
|
| ethnic_groups = ]
|image_coat =
| demonym =
|symbol =
| area_km2 =
|symbol_type =
| area_rank =
|
| GDP_PPP =
|
| GDP_PPP_year =
|image_map = History of Korea-108 BC.png
| HDI =
|image_map_caption = Gojoseon at its decline in 108 BC
| HDI_year =
|
|capital = ], ]
|
|common_languages = ]
|religion = ]
|currency =
|
|leader1 = ]
|leader2 = ]
|year_leader1 = 194 BC - ?
|year_leader2 = ? - 108 BC
|title_leader = ]
|stat_year1 =
|stat_area1 =
|today = {{flag|North Korea}}<br/>{{flag|South Korea}}<br/>{{flag|China}}
|footnotes =
}} }}

{{Infobox Korean name|
{{Infobox Korean name
hangul=고조선
| title = Korean name
|hanja=古朝鮮
| hangul = 고조선
|rr=Gojoseon
| hanja = 古朝鮮
|mr=Kojosŏn
| rr = Gojoseon
| mr = Kojosŏn
| koreanipa = {{IPA|ko|ko.dʑo.sʌn|}}
| othername1 = Alternative Korean name
| hangul1 = 조선
| hanja1 = 朝鮮
| rr1 = Joseon
| mr1 = Chosŏn
| koreanipa1 = {{IPA|ko|tɕo.sʌn|}}
}} }}

{{History of Korea}} {{History of Korea}}
{{Manchurian History}} {{History of Manchuria}}


'''Gojoseon''' ({{IPA-ko|kodʑosʰʌn}}; {{Ko-hhrm|hangul=고조선|hanja=朝鮮}}) was an ancient ]n kingdom. The addition of ''Go'' ({{lang|ko|고}}, {{linktext|古}}), meaning "ancient", distinguishes it from one of the various ]. '''Gojoseon''' ({{Korean|hangul=고조선|hanja=古朝鮮|rr=Gojoseon}}; {{IPA|ko|ko.dʑo.sʌn}}), contemporary name '''Joseon''' ({{Korean|hangul=조선|hanja=朝鮮|rr=Joseon|labels=no}}; {{IPA|ko|tɕo.sʌn|}}), was the first kingdom on the ]. According to ], the kingdom was established by the legendary king ]. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Peninsula at the time and was an important marker in the progression towards the more centralized states of later periods. The addition of ''Go'' ({{Korean|hangul=고|hanja=|labels=no}}), meaning "ancient", is used in ] to distinguish the kingdom from the ], founded in 1392 CE.


According to the '']'', Gojoseon was established in 2333 BCE by Dangun, who was said to be born from the heavenly prince ] and a bear-woman, ]. While Dangun is a mythological figure of whose existence no concrete evidence has been found,<ref name="Gojoseon"/> some interpret his legend as reflections of the sociocultural situations involving the kingdom's early development.<ref name="KimJB">{{cite web|url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/SearchNavi?keyword=%EB%8B%A8%EA%B5%B0&ridx=0&tot=92|title=Dangun|publisher=]}}</ref> Regardless, the account of Dangun has played an important role in the development of Korean identity. Today, the founding date of Gojoseon is officially celebrated as ] in ]<ref>uriminzokkiri 우리민족끼리 official website of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea</ref> and ].
During its early phase, the capital of Gojoseon was located in ]; around 400 BC, and was moved to ], while in the south of the peninsula, the ] arose by the 3rd century BC.<ref>{{ko icon}} {{cite web |url = http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do?&m=all&articleID=b01g4157b |title = 고조선(古朝鮮)}}</ref><ref name = "Met">{{cite web |url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht04eak.htm | publisher = Metropolitan Museum of Art | title = Timeline of Art and History, Korea, 1000 BC – 1 AD}}</ref>


Some sources claim that in the 12th century BCE, following the establishment of Gojoseon, ] (also known as Gija), a ] who belonged to the royal family from the ], immigrated to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and became the founder of ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|last=Kim|first=Djun Kil|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2014|isbn=9781610695824|pages=8}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BZ8WAAAAQBAJ|title=Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia Buckley|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2013|isbn=9781285546230|pages=100}}</ref> There are many interpretations of Gojoseon and Gija Joseon as well as debates regarding Gija Joseon's existence.<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=ko:기자조선|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?cid=40942&docId=1071411&categoryId=33373|access-date=2021-05-02|website=terms.naver.com|language=ko}}</ref>
The territory of Gojoseon was invaded by the ] of ] during the ] in 108 BC, which is said to have led to the collapse of the kingdom into many small states, until the ] emerged and marked their own period in Korean history.


In 194 BCE, the ruling dynasty of Gojoseon was overthrown by ] (Wei Man in Chinese), a refugee from the ] vassal state of ],<ref group="note">*{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Mark|title=Brief History of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByIo1D9RY40C&pg=PA6|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2738-5|page=6}}
Their language was probably a predecessor of the equally prehistoric ], and perhaps a form of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-09022004-124406/unrestricted/13ancientjapaneseandkoreanconnection.pdf|title=The Relatedness Between The Origin of Japanese and Korean Ethnicity|author=Jaehoon Lee|pages=31|publisher=The Florida State University|year=2004|accessdate=2007-04-11}}</ref>
:"The term was used again by a refugee from the Han dynasty named Wiman, set up a kingdom in Korea called Wiman Joseon around 200 BCE."
*{{cite book|last=Cotterell|first=Arthur|title=Asia: A Concise History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_vVTWXK5kQC&pg=PT80|year=2011|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0470825044}}
:"The earliest documented event in Korean history involves China. After an unsuccessful uprising against the first Han emperor Gaozu, the defeated rebels sought refuge beyond the imperial frontier and one of them Wiman, took control of Joseon, a Korean state in the north of the peninsula."
*{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA10|year=2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000248|page=10}}
:"For instance, Wiman, a refugee from the Yan dynasty, which then existed around present-day Beijing, led his band of more than 1,000 followers into exile in Old Joseon in the early second century BCE."
*{{cite book|last=Tennant|first=Roger|title=History Of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SlGnq9flYdMC&pg=PA18|year=1996|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0710305329|page=18}}
:"Retaliation by the Han then brought in refugees from Yan, the most notable of whom was a warlord, Weiman ('Wiman' in Korean), who, somewhere around 200 BCE, led his followers into the territory held by Joseon."
*{{cite book|last=Xu|first=Stella Yingzi|title=That glorious ancient history of our nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFYVwaS8N58C&pg=PA220|year=2007|publisher=University of California, Los Angeles|isbn=9780549440369|page=220}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
:"Here, Wiman was described as a "Gu Yanren 故燕人"or a person from former Yan. It is confusing because there were two entities named Yan around this period. The first was the Yan state, which was one of the seven states during the Warring States period, and the second was the vassal state of Yan of the Han dynasty."</ref> who then established ].


In 108 BCE, the Han dynasty, under ], ] Wiman Joseon. The Han established ] to administer the former Gojoseon territory. After the fragmentation of the Han Empire during the ] and the subsequent ], the area escaped Chinese control and was conquered by ] in 313 CE.
==Founding legend==
{{main|Korean founding myth}}


The capital of Gojoseon was ] (modern ]) from at least the 2nd century BCE. In the southern region of the Korean Peninsula, the ] arose by the 3rd century BCE.<ref name = "Met">{{cite web |url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht04eak.htm |publisher = Metropolitan Museum of Art |title = Timeline of Art and History, Korea, 1000 BC – 1 AD |access-date = 2006-02-10 |archive-date = 2010-02-07 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100207003037/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht04eak.htm |url-status = dead }}</ref>
] of ], where Dangun's father is said to have descended from heaven]]


==Founding myths==
] is the legendary founder of ]. The oldest written record of this ] appears in the ''],'' a 13th-century collection of legends and stories. A similar account is found in '']''.
{{main|Korean mythology#Founding myth}}


There are three different main founding myths concerning Gojoseon, which revolve around Dangun, Gija, or Wi Man.<ref name=bar0-10>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina|title= State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives |date=2000|publisher=Curzon| location=Richmond|isbn=9780700713233|page=10}}</ref>
The Lord of Heaven ] (환인, 桓因, a name which also appears in ]n ] texts), had a son ] (환웅) who yearned to live on the earth among the people. Hwanin relented, and Hwanung descended to ] with 3,000 helpers, where he founded a city he named ] (신시, 神市, "City of God" or "Holy City"). Along with his ministers of clouds, rain, and wind, he instituted laws and moral codes and taught the people various arts, medicine, and agriculture.


===Dangun myth===
A tiger and a bear living in a cave prayed to Hwanung that they may become human. Upon hearing their prayers, Hwanung gave them 20 cloves of garlic and a bundle of ], instructing them to eat only this sacred food and remain out of the sunlight for 100 days. The tiger shortly gave up and left the cave, but the bear remained and after 21 days was transformed into a woman.
] of ], where Dangun's father is said to have descended from heaven|alt=]]


The myths revolving around Dangun were recorded in the later Korean work '']'' of the 13th century.<ref name=bar0-11>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina|title=State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives|date=2000|publisher=Curzon|location=Richmond|isbn=9780700713233|page=11}}</ref> This work states that ], the offspring of a heavenly prince and a bear-woman, founded Gojoseon in 2333 BC, and was succeeded by Gija (Qizi) after King Wu of Zhou had placed him onto the throne in 1122 BC.<ref name=bar0-11/> A similar account is found in '']''. According to the legend, the Lord of Heaven, ] had a son, ], who descended to ] and founded the city of Shinsi. Then a bear and a tiger came to Hwanung and said that they wanted to become people. Hwanung said to them that if they went in a cave and lived there for 100 days while only eating ] and garlic he would change them into human beings. However, about halfway through the 100 days the tiger gave up and ran out of the cave. The bear, in contrast, successfully restrained herself and became a beautiful woman named ]. Hwanung later married Ungnyeo, and she gave birth to ].<ref>Samguk yusa《삼국유사》(三國遺事)</ref>
The bear-woman ('']'', 웅녀, 熊女) was very grateful and made offerings to Hwanung. She lacked a husband, however, and soon became sad and prayed beneath a Sindansu (신단수, 神檀樹, "Divine Betula") tree to be blessed with a child. Hwanung, moved by her prayers, took her for his wife and soon she gave birth to a son, ] (단군 왕검, 檀君王儉). The Dangun (단군, 檀君) was a ruler's title of Gojoseon, and it is said to be a theocracy state. It is said that Gojoseon was founded at the place where many birch trees existed. At that time, people roughly called the Gojoseon as the Birchen Nation because hanja for "Dan" means a birch tree. At this time, the power of a ruler was stronger than Baedal nation so that the word "Gun" was used ("Gun" means a king). Thus, Dangun can be translated into Heavenly Regent King. Some say that the pronunciation of Korean translation for Dan(檀) is similar with the pronunciation of the Korean word "bright." So, Dangun means the king of "Bright Nation."


While the Dangun story is considered to be a myth,<ref name="Gojoseon">
Gojoseon is said to have been established in ???, based on the description of the '']'' (1485). The date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during the mythical ]'s reign (traditional dates: 2357 BC? – 2256 BC?). '']'' says Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the legendary Yao's reign, ''Sejong Sillok'' says the first year, and ''Dongguk Tonggam'' says the 25th year.<ref>Yoon, N.-H. (윤내현), The Location and Transfer of Go-Chosun's Capital (고조선의 도읍 위치와 그 이동), ''단군학연구'', '''7''', 207–38 (2002)</ref> Some historians suggested that Gojoseon was founded around 3000 BC.<ref>허종호, 고조선력사 개관 (An Introduction to Gojoseon's History), 사회과학원 (2001) ISBN 89-89524-04-0</ref>
*{{cite book|last=Seth|first=Michael J.|title=A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJtMGXyGlUEC&pg=PA443|year=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-0-7425-6717-7|page=443}}
:"An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the family cult was the revival of interest in Tangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean state... Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat him as a myth."


*{{cite book|last=Stark|first=Miriam T.|title=Archaeology of Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4_bT2SJ-HUC&pg=PA49|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-5303-4|page=49}}
==State formation==
:"Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."
{{See also|Gojoseon–Yan War}}


*{{cite book|last=Schmid|first=Andre|title=Korea Between Empires|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVgaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA269|year=2013|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50630-4|page=270}}
Gojoseon is first found in contemporaneous historical records of early 7th century BC, as located around ] and trading with ] (齊) of China.<ref>{{ko icon}} {{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=14543 |title=고조선 |publisher= Naver/Doosan Encyclopedia |language=Korean |accessdate= }}</ref>
:"Most treat the myth as a later creation."


*{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Mark|title=Brief History of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByIo1D9RY40C&pg=PA5|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2738-5|page=5}}
Some historians argue that "Dangun" may have been the title of Gojoseon's early leaders. The legitimacy of the Dangun seems to have been derived from the divine lineage of Hwanin, a religious characteristic found in other ancient fortified ]s, such as those of Ancient Greece. The ] (1675) mentions a lineage of 47 Dangun rulers in Gojoseon, ruling from ??? to around ???. But the authenticity of these books is disputed as the ].
:"The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China."


*{{cite book|last=Hulbert|first=H. B.|title=The History of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdusAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-84941-4|page=73}}
By the 4th century BC, other states with defined political structures developed in the areas of the earlier Bronze Age "walled-town states"; Gojoseon was the most advanced of them in the peninsular region.<ref name = "Met" /> The city-state expanded by incorporating other neighboring city-states by alliance or military conquest. Thus, a vast confederation of political entities between the Taedong and Liao rivers was formed. As Gojoseon evolved, so did the title and function of the leader, who came to be designated as "king" (]), in the tradition of the ], around the same time as the ] (燕) leader.<ref name = "naver">{{ko icon}} http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=14543</ref> Records of that time mention the hostility between the feudal state in Northern China and the "confederated" kingdom of Gojoseon, and notably, a plan to attack the Yan beyond the Liao River frontier. The confrontation led to the decline and eventual downfall of Gojoseon, described in Yan records as "arrogant" and "cruel". But the ancient kingdom also appears as a prosperous Bronze Age civilization, with a complex social structure, including a class of horse-riding warriors who contributed to the development of Gojoseon, particularly the northern expansion<ref name = "NYT">{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cumings-korea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | work=The New York Times | title=Korea's Place in the Sun}}</ref> into most of the Liaodong basin.
:"If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija."</ref> it is believed it is a mythical synthesis of a series of historical events relating to the founding of Gojoseon.<ref name="enc.daum.net">{{cite encyclopedia |url = http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do?&m=all&articleID=b01g4157b |script-title = ko:고조선(古朝鮮) |encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica( Korean) |language = ko |access-date = 2006-02-10 |archive-date = 2007-06-30 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070630054223/http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do |url-status = dead }}</ref> There are various theories on the origin of this myth.{{sfn|Barnes|2001|pp=9–14}} Seo and Kang (2002) believe the Dangun myth is based on integration of two different tribes, an invasive sky-worshipping Bronze Age tribe and a native bear-worshipping neolithic tribe, that led to the foundation of Gojoseon.{{sfn|서강|2002}} Lee K. B. (1984) believes 'Dangun-wanggeom' was a title borne by successive leaders of Gojoseon.{{sfn|Lee|1984}}


Dangun is said to have founded Gojoseon around 2333 BC, based on the descriptions of the '']'', '']'', '']'' and the '']''.<ref name="동국통감단기산정"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101075056/http://www.kookhakwon.org/KookhakStudy/ForumView.aspx?contIdx=1246 |date=2014-11-01 }} – 단기가 최초로 산정된 것은 《]》으로 요임금 즉위 25년 무진년을 기준으로 삼았다. 의 주석에는 다음과 같은 해석이 실려있다. – 古記云, 檀君與堯竝立於戊辰, 虞夏至商武丁八年乙未, 入阿斯達山爲神, 享壽千四百十八年. 此說可疑今按, 堯之立在上元甲子甲辰之歲, 而檀君之立在後二十五年戊辰, 則曰與堯竝立者非也. 이에 대한 한글 해석은 에서 확인할 수 있다.</ref> The date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during the mythical ]'s reign (traditional dates: 2357 BC? – 2256 BC?). ''Samguk yusa'' says Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the legendary Yao's reign, ''Annals of the King Sejong'' says the first year, and ''Tongguk t'onggam'' says the 25th year.<ref>Yoon, N.-H. (윤내현), The Location and Transfer of Go-Chosun's Capital (고조선의 도읍 위치와 그 이동), ''단군학연구'', '''7''', 207–38 (2002)</ref>
Around 300 BC, Gojoseon lost significant western territory after a war with the Yan state, but this indicates Gojoseon was already a large enough state that could wage war against Yan and survive the loss of 2000 ] (800 kilometers) of territory.<ref name = "daum">{{ko icon}} </ref> Gojoseon is thought to have relocated its capital to the ] region around this time.<ref name = "naver" />


In the 7th century BCE, the ] pioneered the Northeast regions. According to ''The Growth of Yan'' and ''The Context of Guanzi'',<ref>](管子) > 桓公問管子曰 吾聞 海內玉幣有七筴 可 得以聞乎 管子對曰 陰山之礌礝 一筴也 燕之紫山白金 筴也 發朝鮮之文皮 筴也 : Records of trade between Gojoseon and Qi</ref> it can be presumed that Gojoseon grew through trade in this era. It is estimated that Gojoseon developed so far as to be able to wage ] in the 4th century BCE.
===Gija Joseon and its controversy===

===Gija myth===
{{Main|Gija Joseon}} {{Main|Gija Joseon}}


According to Chinese records, ] is the kingdom founded by ] descendants led by ] in the 12th century BC. The earliest survived Korean record, '']'' admitted Gija Joseon. The Korean historical record "Tongsa Kangmok" (東史綱目) in 1778 described Gija's activities and contributions in Gojoseon. The records of Gija refer to eight laws (Beomgeum Paljo, 범금팔조, 犯禁八條), that are recorded by ] and evidence a hierarchical society and legal protection of private property.<ref name = "daum" /> ], a man from the period of the ], allegedly fled to the Korean peninsula in 1122 BC during the fall of the Shang to the ] and founded ].{{sfn|Barnes|2001|pp=9–10}} Gija Joseon is recognized and mentioned in the earliest surviving Chinese record, '']''. Gija's story was further developed in later Korean texts such as '']'' and ''Jewang ungi''. By the middle of ] dynasty, a state cult had developed around Gija.<ref name="Shim 2002"/> The '']'' of 1778 described Gija's activities and contributions in Gojoseon. The records of Gija refer to ] ({{korean|hangul=범금팔조|hanja=犯禁八條|labels=no}}), that are recorded by the '']'' and evidence a hierarchical society with legal protections of private property.<ref name = "daum" />


In the pre-modern Korea, Gija represented the authenticating presence of Chinese civilization, and until the 12th century Koreans commonly believed that Danjun bestowed upon Korea its people and basic culture, while Gija gave Korea its high culture—and presumably, standing as a legitimate civilization.<ref name="Korea 2010, pp. 4">Kyung Moon hwang, "A History of Korea, An Episodic Narrative", 2010, pp. 4</ref> In pre-modern Korea, Gija represented the authenticating presence of Chinese civilization. Until the 12th century CE, Koreans commonly believed that Dangun bestowed upon Korea its people and basic culture, while Gija gave Korea its high culture, and presumably, standing as a legitimate civilisation.<ref name="Korea 2010, pp. 4">Kyung Moon hwang, "A History of Korea, An Episodic Narrative", 2010, p. 4</ref>


However, Nationalist sentiment in the modern era has diminished Gija's place today to the point of near extinction.<ref name="Korea 2010, pp. 4"/> Many Korean scholars deny its existence for various reasons.<ref>http://www.dbpia.co.kr/view/ar_view.asp?pid=694&isid=30674&arid=657709&topMenu=&topMenu1=</ref> They point to the book entitled Chu-shu chi-nien (竹書紀年) and Confucian Analects (論語), which were among the first works to mention Gija, but do not mention his migration to Gojoseon.<ref></ref> Some revisionist historians in Korea who believe in the existence of Gija Joseon divide Gojoseon into an eastern and western part. They argue that the western part includes areas around ], ] and southeast ], and that it was there where Gija Joseon and ] were both established, while the eastern part remained under the control of Dangun's Joseon. {{citation needed|date=December 2013}} Many modern experts have denied Gija Joseon's existence for various reasons, mainly due to contradicting archaeological evidence and anachronistic historical evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE00657710|title=古朝鮮과 琵琶形銅劍의 問題|date=June 16, 2005|journal=단군학연구|issue=12|pages=5–30|via=www.dbpia.co.kr}}</ref><ref name="Shim 2002"/> They point to the '']'' and the '']'' of Confucius, which were among the first works to mention Gija, but do not mention his migration to Gojoseon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=40942&docId=1071411&categoryId=33373|script-title=ko:기자조선|website=terms.naver.com}}</ref> Gija Joseon might have just existed as a symbol of the pre-] migrants who escaped the chaos of the ].<ref>Immigrants provided Gojoseon with the opportunity to learn and incorporate advanced technologies, but it is believed that they were only a minor influence (e.g. because the ] was still used in Gojoseon). It is presumed that later Koreans claimed to be "Gija" for their relations with China and for their desire to be a part of Chinese civilization.</ref>


===Wiman Joseon and fall=== ===Wi Man===
] was a military officer of the ] of northeastern China who fled to the northern Korean peninsula in 195 BCE from the encroaching ].<ref name=bar0-11/> He founded a principality with ] as its capital, which is thought to be in the region of present-day Pyongyang.<ref name=bar0-11/> The 3rd-century Chinese text '']'' of the '']'' recorded that Wi Man usurped ] and thus took over the kingship of Gojoseon.<ref name=bar0-11/><ref>This may explain why the ] people claim that they are descendants of the ].</ref>
{{See also|Wiman Joseon|Gojoseon-Han War|Four Commanderies of Han}}


===Academic perspectives===
In 195 BC, ] appointed a refugee from Yan, ]. Wiman later rebelled in 194 BC, and Jun fled to southern Korean Peninsula.
{{POV|date=January 2023}}
Gojoseon mythology and history can be divided into three phases, Dangun, Gija Joseon, and Wi Man Joseon.<ref name=c-bar0-12/>


# Kang & Macmillan (1980), Sohn et al. (1970), Kim J.B. (1980), Han W.K. (1970), Yun N. H. (1985), Lee K.B. (1984), Lee J.B. (1987) viewed the Dangun myth as a native product of proto-Koreans, although it is not always associated with Gojoseon.<ref name="c-bar0-12" /> Kim J.B. (1987) rejected the Dangun myth's association with Gojoseon and pushes it further back to the Neolithic period. Sohn et al. (1970) suggested that the Dangun myth is associated with the ], whom they viewed as the ancestors of Koreans. Kim C. (1948) suggested the Dangun myth had a Chinese origin, tracing it to a Han dynasty tomb in the ].
In 109 BC, ] invaded near the ]. A conflict would erupt in 109 BC, when Wiman's grandson ] (右渠, 우거) refused to permit ]'s ambassadors to reach China through his territories. When Emperor Wei sent an ambassador ] (涉何) to ] to negotiate right of passage with King Ugeo, King Ugeo refused and had a general escort She back to Han territory — but when they got close to Han borders, She assassinated the general and claimed to Emperor Wu that he had defeated Joseon in battle, and Emperor Wu, unaware of his deception, made him the military commander of the Commandery of Liaodong. King Ugeo, offended, made a raid on Liaodong and killed She He.
# Gardiner (1969), Henderson (1959), McCune (1962) considered the Gija myth to be a later conflation. Sohn et al. (1970) dismissed the Gija story as a Chinese fabrication. On the other hand, Hatada (1969), gave Gojoseon a Chinese identity, exclusively ascribed it to the Gija myth, and moved it to the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="c-bar0-12" /> Shim Jae-Hoon (2002) accepted the eastward migration of Gija, but denied the relationship between Gija and Joseon, suggesting that the existence of Gojoseon could not be extended to the second millennium BCE.<ref name="Shim 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Shim|first1=Jae-Hoon|title=A new understanding of Kija Chosŏn as a historical anachronism|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|date=2002|volume=62|issue=2|pages=271–305|doi=10.2307/4126600|jstor=4126600}}</ref>
# Kim C.W. (1966), Han W.K. (1970), Choi M.L. (1983, 1984, 1985, 1992), Han W.K. (1984), Kim J.B. (1987), Lee K.B. (1984) accepted Wi Man as a historical figure.<ref name="c-bar0-12" /> Gardiner (1969) questioned authenticity of the Wi Man myth, although he mentioned there were interactions between Gojoseon and the Han dynasty and social unrest in the area during that time period.<ref name="c-bar0-12">Cited in {{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina|title= State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives |date=2014| publisher=Routledge| location=New York| isbn=9780700713233|pages=10–13}}</ref>


====Controversies====
In response, Emperor Wu commissioned a two-pronged attack, one by land and one by sea, against Joseon. The two forces attacking Joseon were unable to coordinate well with each other and eventually suffered large losses. Eventually the commands were merged, and Wanggeom fell in 108 BC. Han took over the Joseon lands and established ] in the western part of former Gojoseon area.
Around the mid-], the established view among historians traced Korean origins to Chinese refugees, considering Korean history that of a long series of kingdoms connected with China. As such, the ] and ] states were valorized, while the Gojoseon and ] states were not considered as important.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Northern Territories and the Historical Understanding of Territory in Late Chosŏn |first=Anders |last=Karlsson|date=December 2009 |page=3 |series=Working Papers in Korean Studies|publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London}}</ref> According to this view, the first state in Korea, ], was founded by ] in 1122 BCE, who was a disgruntled Chinese advisor to the ]. The story of how he brought poetry, music, medicine, trade, and a political system to the Korean peninsula was conceived similarly to the proposed ] by the ] refugee ].<ref name="Simons70">{{Cite book|title=Korea: The Search for Sovereignty|first=G. L.|last=Simons|publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|year=1999 |page=70}}</ref> But by the 1930s, under the influence of ]'s histories, the Jizi Korean founding story became less popular than that of ], the son of a tiger and a bear – the latter being common in ] – who brought civilization to the Korean peninsula.<ref name="Simons70"/> Shin and the other historians who promulgated this myth had been influenced by ], a ] which worshipped Dangun,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Parliament of Histories: New Religions, Collective Historiography, and the Nation|first=Boudewijn|last=Walraven|journal=Korean Studies|volume=25|issue=2 |year=2001|page=158 |doi=10.1353/ks.2001.0024|s2cid=145784087}}</ref> but attacked pre-annexation textbook narratives of Dangun which portrayed him as the brother of the Japanese god ].<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Young-woo|last=Han|year=1992|title=The Establishment and Development of Nationalist History|journal=Seoul Journal of Korean Studies|volume=5|pages=69–70}}</ref> To Shin, Dangun was both the founder of the Korean ''minjok'' and the first Korean state (''kuk''), and thus the necessary starting point for Korean history.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Centering the Periphery: Manchurian Exile(s) and the North Korean State|first=Charles K.|last=Armstrong|journal=Korean Studies|volume=19|year=1995|pages=3|doi=10.1353/ks.1995.0017|s2cid=154659765|url=http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:168680/CONTENT/19.armstrong.pdf}}</ref> In response to a challenge by the Japanese scholars ] and ] of Dangun as a fabrication by the author of the '']'', nationalist historian ] attacked ] as being built upon fabrications.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Northeast Asia Centered Around Korea: Ch'oe Namsŏn's View of History|first=Chizuko T.|last=Allen|volume=49|issue=4|date=November 1990|pages=793–795|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|doi=10.2307/2058236|jstor=2058236|s2cid=162622386 }}</ref>


By focusing on a mythological god which founded a "sacred race" (''shinsŏng chongjok''), Korean nationalist historiography aims to portray ancient Korea as a golden age of "gods and heroes" where Korea's cultural achievements rivaled those of China and Japan.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories|first=Hyung Il|last=Pai|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000 |page=2}}</ref> Accordingly, Shin Chaeho elevated Dangun to play a similar role as did the ] in China and which ] does in Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Rediscovering Manchuria: Sin Ch'aeho and the Politics of Territorial History in Korea|journal=Journal of Asian Studies|volume=56|number=1|page=32|year=1997|first=Andre|last=Schmid|doi=10.2307/2646342|jstor=2646342|s2cid=162879663 |doi-access=free}}</ref> ], according to his {{ill|Purham culture theory|ko|불함문화론}}, places Dangun even above the Chinese and Japanese emperors, because those rulers were supposedly ] rulers of the ancient Korean "Părk" tradition.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Northeast Asia Centered Around Korea: Ch'oe Namsŏn's View of History|first=Chizuko T.|last=Allen|volume=49|issue=4|date=November 1990|page=800|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|doi=10.2307/2058236|jstor=2058236|s2cid=162622386 }}</ref> The Dangun story also lends credence to claims that Korean heritage is over 5000 years old. According to Hyung Il Pai, the popularity of Dangun studies can be said to "reflect the progressively ultra-nationalistic trend in Korean historical and archaeological scholarship today".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories|first=Hyung Il|last=Pai|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000 |pages=95–96}}</ref> Shin Chaeho named ] in the ] on the Sino-Korean border as a part of Korean heritage, by virtue of connection with the mythical Dangun. The mountain, however, was also claimed by the ] of the ] as part of their origin myth at least since the 17th century,<ref name="Pai254"/><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ginseng and Border Trespassing Between Qing China and Chosŏn Korea|first=Seonmin|last=Kim|journal=Late Imperial China|volume=28|number=1|date=June 2007|pages=42–43|doi=10.1353/late.2007.0009|s2cid=143779357}}</ref> and the mountain range is considered sacred in ] culture as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Centering the Periphery: Manchurian Exile(s) and the North Korean State|first=Charles K.|last=Armstrong|journal=Korean Studies|volume=19|year=1995|page=2|doi=10.1353/ks.1995.0017|s2cid=154659765|url=http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:168680/CONTENT/19.armstrong.pdf}}</ref> This nationalist identification of Baekdu with Koreans was cemented by the operation of ] partisans operating from the Chinese border and legitimized with associations to the history of the Gojoseon and ] states.<ref name="Pai254">{{Cite book|title=Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories|first=Hyung Il|last=Pai|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000 |page=254}}</ref> The Chinese civilizational connection to ancient Korea continues to be attacked by North Korean historians, who allege that the history of ] was "viciously distorted by the feudal ruling class, the ] followers, and the big-power chauvinists".<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Reinterpreting Traditional History in North Korea|first=Yŏng-ho|last=Ch'oe|volume=40|issue=3|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|date=May 1981|pages=503–505|doi=10.2307/2054553|jstor=2054553|s2cid=145140808 }}</ref>
The Gojoseon disintegrated by 1st century BC as it gradually lost the control of its former fiefs. As Gojoseon lost control of its confederacy, many successor states sprang from its former territory, such as ], ], ]. ] and ] evolved from Buyeo.

==State formation==
{{See also|Gojoseon–Yan War}}

The first mentions of Gojoseon are found in historical records of ]. It locates Gojoseon around ] and mentions the state trading with ] (齊) of China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=14543 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701153430/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=14543 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-01 |script-title=ko:고조선 |publisher= Naver/Doosan Encyclopedia |language=ko }}</ref> The '']'', '']'', and '']''—containing some of its earliest records—refers to Joseon as a region, until the text ''Shiji'' began referring it as a country from 195 BC onwards.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina| title=State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives |date=2000| publisher=Curzon| location=Richmond| isbn=9780700713233|pages=9–10}}</ref>

By the 4th century BCE, other states with defined political structures developed in the areas of the earlier Bronze Age "walled-town states"; Gojoseon was the most advanced of them in the peninsular region.<ref name = "Met" /> The city-state expanded by incorporating other neighboring city-states by alliance or military conquest. Thus, a vast confederation of political entities between the Taedong and Liao rivers was formed. As Gojoseon evolved, so did the title and function of its leader, who came to be designated as "king" (]), in the tradition of the ], around the same time as the ] (燕) leader.<ref name = "naver">{{Cite web|url=https://terms.naver.com/list.nhn?cid=40942&categoryId=40942|script-title=ko:두산백과 : 네이버 지식백과|website=terms.naver.com}}</ref> Records of that time mention the hostility between the feudal state in Northern China and the "confederated" kingdom of Gojoseon. Notably, a plan to attack the Yan beyond the Liao River frontier is recorded. This confrontation led to the decline and eventual downfall of Gojoseon, described in Yan records as "arrogant" and "cruel". But the ancient kingdom also appears as a prosperous Bronze Age civilization with a complex social structure, including a class of horse-riding warriors who contributed to the development of Gojoseon and its northern expansion<ref name = "NYT">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cumings-korea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | work=The New York Times | title=Korea's Place in the Sun}}</ref> into most of the Liaodong basin.

Around 300 BCE, Gojoseon lost significant western territory after a war with the Yan state, but this indicates Gojoseon was already a large enough state that it could wage war against the Yan and survive the loss of 2000 ] (800 kilometers) of territory.<ref name = "daum">{{Cite web|url=http://status.daum.net/error/error403.html|title=Daum 요청하신 페이지의 사용권한이 없습니다.|website=status.daum.net}}</ref> Gojoseon is thought to have relocated its capital to the ] region around this time.<ref name = "naver" />

===Wiman Joseon and Its Fall===
{{See also|Wiman Joseon|Han conquest of Gojoseon|Four Commanderies of Han}}
] destroys ], establishing ] in the northern Korean peninsula.]]

In 195 BCE, ] appointed a refugee from Yan, ], to guard the frontier.<ref>Academy of Korean Studies, ''The Review of Korean Studies'', vol. 10권,3–4, 2007, p. 222</ref> Wi Man later rebelled in 194 BC and usurped the throne of Gojoseon. King Jun fled to ] in the south of the ].<ref name="Lee">Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, ''Korean History in Maps'', Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. 20</ref>

In 109 BCE, ] invaded near the ].<ref name="Lee"/> A conflict would erupt in 109 BCE, when Wi Man's grandson King ] ({{Korean|hangul=우거왕|hanja=右渠王|labels=no}}) refused to let Jin's ambassadors through his territory in order to reach the Han dynasty. King Ugeo refused and had his son, Prince ] (長降) escort the ambassador back home. However, when they got close to Han's borders, the ambassador assassinated ] (長降) and claimed to Emperor Wu that he had defeated Joseon in battle. Emperor Wu, unaware of this deception, made him the military commander of the Commandery of Liaodong. The outraged King Ugeo made a raid on Liaodong and killed She He. Scholars also hypothesize that the initiation of war may also have been because the Han dynasty was concerned that Gojoseon would ally with the ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pai |first1=Hyung |title=Constructing "Korean" origins: A critical review of archaeology, historiography, and racial myth in Korean state-formation theories |date=2000 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |location=Cambridge |pages=144–145}}</ref>

In response, Emperor Wu commissioned a two-pronged attack, one by land and one by sea, against Gojoseon.<ref name="Lee"/> The two forces attacking Gojoseon were unable to coordinate well with each other and suffered large losses. Eventually, the commands were merged, and Wanggeom fell in 108 BCE. Han took over the Gojoseon lands and established ] in the western part of former Gojoseon.<ref name="Kang">Jae-eun Kang, ''The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism'', Homa & Sekey Books, 2006, pp. 28–31</ref>

Gojoseon disintegrated by the 1st century BCE as it gradually lost the control of its former fiefs. Many successor states sprang from its former territory, such as ], ], ]. ] and ] arose out from Buyeo.


==Culture== ==Culture==
Around 2000 BC, a new pottery culture of painted and chiseled design is found. These people practiced agriculture in a settled communal life, probably organized into familial clans. Rectangular huts and increasingly larger ] burial sites are found throughout the peninsula. Bronze daggers and mirrors have been excavated, and there is archaeological evidence of small walled-town states in this period.<ref name = "NYT" /><ref></ref> ]s and bronze daggers found in the area are uniquely Korean and can't be found in China. Around 2000 BCE, a new pottery culture of painted and chiseled design was developed. These people practiced agriculture in a settled communal life, probably organized into familial clans. Rectangular huts and increasingly larger ] burial sites were found throughout the peninsula. Bronze daggers and mirrors have been excavated, and there is archaeological evidence of small walled-town states in this period.<ref name = "NYT" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9500.html|title=North Korea THE ORIGINS OF THE KOREAN NATION|website=www.country-data.com}}</ref> ]s and bronze daggers found in the area are uniquely Korean and cannot be found in China. A few dolmens are found in China, mostly in the ] province.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dolmens for the dead : megalith-building throughout the world|last=Joussaume, Roger|date=1988|publisher=Batsford|isbn=0713453699|location=London|oclc=15593505}}</ref>


===Mumun pottery=== ===Mumun Pottery===
In the ] (1500–300 BC), plain coarse pottery replaced earlier comb-pattern wares, possibly as a result of the influence of new populations migrating to Korea from Manchuria and Siberia. This type of pottery typically has thicker walls and displays a wider variety of shapes, indicating improvements in kiln technology.<ref name = "Met" /> This period is sometimes called the "Korean bronze age", but bronze artifacts are relatively rare and regionalized until the 7th century BC. In the ] (1500 – 300 BCE), plain coarse pottery replaced earlier comb-pattern wares, possibly as a result of the influence of new populations migrating to Korea from Manchuria and Siberia. This type of pottery typically has thicker walls and displays a wider variety of shapes, indicating improvements in kiln technology.<ref name = "Met" /> This period is sometimes called the "Korean Bronze Age", but bronze artifacts are relatively rare and regionalized until the 7th century BCE.


Rice cultivation was extensive in the lower parts of South Korea and Manchuria in the periods between 1900 BCE to 200 CE.
===Rice cultivation===
Sometime around 1200 to 900 BC, rice cultivation spread to Korea from China and Manchuria. The people also farmed native grains such as millet and barley, and domesticated livestock.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web | url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht03eak.htm | publisher = Metropolitan Museum of Art | title = Timeline of Art and History}}</ref>


===Bronze tools=== ===Bronze Tools===
{{Main|Liaoning bronze dagger culture}} {{Main|Liaoning bronze dagger culture}}


The beginning of the ] on the peninsula is usually said to be 1000 BC, but estimates range from the 13th to 8th centuries BC.<ref>{{ko icon}} </ref> Although the Korean Bronze Age culture derives from the ] and Manchuria, it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} The beginning of the ] on the peninsula is usually said to be 1000 BCE, but estimates range from the 13th to 8th centuries BCE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=43065&docId=1639855&categoryId=43065|script-title=ko:청동기문화|website=terms.naver.com}}</ref> Although the Korean Bronze Age culture derives from the ] and Manchuria, it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects.<ref>김정배, 고조선 연구의 사적 고찰 (Historical Survey on Research of Kochosun), 단군학연구, 7, 185 – 206 (2002)</ref>


By the 7th century BC, a Bronze Age material culture, with influences from northeastern China as well as Siberia and Scythian bronze styles, flourishes on the peninsula. Korean bronzes contain a higher percentage of zinc than those of the neighboring bronze cultures. Bronze artifacts, found most frequently in burial sites, consist mainly of swords, spears, daggers, small bells, and mirrors decorated with geometric patterns.<ref name = "Met" /><ref></ref> By the 7th century BCE, a Bronze Age material culture with influences from Manchuria, eastern Mongolia, as well as Siberia and Scythian bronze styles, flourished on the peninsula. Korean bronzes contain a higher percentage of zinc than those of the neighboring bronze cultures. Bronze artifacts, found most frequently in burial sites, consist mainly of swords, spears, daggers, small bells, and mirrors decorated with geometric patterns.<ref name = "Met" /><ref></ref>


Gojoseon's development seems linked to the adoption of bronze technology. Its singularity finds its most notable expression in the idiosyncratic type of bronze swords, or "mandolin-shaped daggers" (비파형동검, 琵琶形銅劍). The mandolin-shape dagger is found in the regions of ], ], and ] down to the ]. It suggest the existence of Gojoseon dominions, at least in the area shown on the map. Remarkably, the shape of the "mandolin" dagger of Gojoseon differs significantly from the sword artifacts found in China. Gojoseon's development seems linked to the adoption of bronze technology. Its singularity finds its most notable expression in the idiosyncratic type of bronze swords, or "mandolin-shaped daggers" ({{Korean|hangul=비파형동검|hanja=琵琶形銅劍|labels=no}}). The mandolin-shape dagger is found in the regions of ], ], and Manchuria down to the Korean Peninsula. It suggests the existence of Gojoseon dominions. Remarkably, the shape of the "mandolin" dagger of Gojoseon differs significantly from the sword artifacts found in China.


===Dolmen tombs=== ===Tombs===
====Dolmen Tombs====
Around 900 BC, burial practices become more elaborate, a reflection of increasing social stratification. Goindol, the ] tombs in Korea and Manchuria, formed of upright stones supporting a horizontal slab, are more numerous in Korea than in other parts of East Asia. Other new forms of burial are stone cists (underground burial chambers lined with stone) and earthenware jar coffins. The bronze objects, pottery, and jade ornaments recovered from dolmens and stone cists indicate that such tombs were reserved for the elite class.<ref name = "Met" /><ref name = "Unesco">.</ref>
Megalithic dolmens appear in Korean peninsula and Manchuria around 2000 BCE to 400 BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wontackhong.com/homepage1/data/1061.pdf |title=A Tripolar Approach to East Asian History |access-date=2015-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704121705/http://www.wontackhong.com/homepage1/data/1061.pdf |archive-date=2015-07-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHeb7wQu0xIC&q=dolmen+in+korea+2000+BCE&pg=PA79|title=A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century|first=Charles|last=Holcombe|date=December 16, 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780521515955}}</ref> Around 900 BCE, burial practices become more elaborate, a reflection of increasing social stratification. Goindol, the ] tombs in Korea and Manchuria, comprising upright stones supporting a horizontal slab, are more numerous in Korea than in other parts of East Asia. Other new forms of burial are stone ]s (underground burial chambers lined with stone) and earthenware jar coffins. The bronze objects, pottery, and jade ornaments recovered from dolmens and stone cists indicate that such tombs were reserved for the elite class.<ref name = "Met" /><ref name = "Unesco">.</ref>


Around the 6th century BC, burnished red wares, made of a fine iron-rich clay and characterized by a smooth, lustrous surface, appear in dolmen tombs, as well as in domestic bowls and cups.<ref name = "Met" /> Around the 6th century BCE, burnished red wares, made of a fine iron-rich clay and characterized by a smooth, lustrous surface, appear in dolmen tombs, as well as in domestic bowls and cups.<ref name = "Met" />


===Iron culture=== ====Other types of tombs====
In 1964, through a joint excavation by China and North Korea, Gangsang tomb ({{Korean|hangul=강상무덤|hanja=崗上墓|labels=no}}) and Nusang tomb ({{Korean|hangul=누상무덤|hanja=樓上墓|labels=no}}) were found in 1964 at the Liaodong peninsula. Nusang was found earlier prior to the excavation in 1958<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/SearchNavi?keyword=%EB%88%84%EC%83%81&ridx=0&tot=5|script-title=ko:요령누상유적|website=]}}</ref><ref name="gangsang">{{cite web|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=918040&cid=62047&categoryId=62047|website=Korean ancient medieaval history dictionary|script-title=ko:강상무덤}}</ref> Gangsang and Nusang tombs are considered to be burial ] tombs of local nobilities of Gojoseon. Some consider the tombs as the evidences of the slavery that could have existed,<ref name ="gangsang" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=918041&ref=y&cid=62047&categoryId=62047|script-title=ko:누상무덤|website=Korean ancient medieaval history dictionary}}</ref> but others find that the evidences are inadequate and lacking to deduce such conclusion.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0039304|script-title=ko:요령강상유적|encyclopedia=]}}</ref>
Around this time, ] occupied the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about this state, except it was the apparent predecessor to the ] confederacies.


===Iron Culture===
Around 300 BC, iron technology was introduced into Korea from Yan state. Iron was produced locally in the southern part of the peninsula by the 2nd century BC. According to Chinese accounts, iron from the lower ] valley in the southeast, was valued throughout the peninsula and Japan.<ref name = "Met" />
{{main|Jin (Korean state)}}
Around this time, the state of ] occupied the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about this state except that it was the apparent predecessor to the ] confederacies.


Around 300 BCE, iron technology was introduced into Korea from Yan state. Iron was produced locally in the southern part of the peninsula by the 2nd century BCE. According to Chinese accounts, iron from the lower ] in the southeast was valued throughout the peninsula and Japan.<ref name = "Met" />
==Proto–Three Kingdoms==

===Poetry===
In the book of Gogeumju (]) written by Cui Bao (崔豹) of the ] period, poetry called Gonghuyin (箜篌引) or {{ill|Gongmudohaga|ko|공무도하가}} ({{korean|hangul=공무도하가|hanja=公無渡河歌|labels=no}}) is said to be of Gojoseon origin.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0004279|script-title=ko:공무도하가(公無渡河歌)|encyclopedia=]}}</ref>
The poetry is as follows:

公無渡河 "Don't cross the river, my love."

公竟渡河 "My love eventually crossed the river.'

墮河而死 "Now that my love is drowned,"

當奈公何 "There's nothing that I can do."

==Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea==
{{Main|Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea}} {{Main|Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea}}


Numerous small states and confederations arose from the remnants of Gojoseon, including ], ], ], ], and ]. Three of the Chinese commanderies fell to local resistance within a few decades, but the last, Nakrang, remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expanding ] in 313. Numerous small states and confederations arose from the remnants of Gojoseon, including ], the ], ], and ]. Three of the Chinese commanderies fell to local resistance within a few decades, but the last, Nakrang, remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expanding ] in 313 CE.


King ] is said to have fled to the state of ] in southern Korean peninsula. Jin developed into the ] confederacies, the beginnings of ] and ], continuing to absorb migration from the north. The Samhan confederacies were Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan. King Jun ruled Mahan, which was eventually annexed by Baekje. Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla gradually grew into the ] that dominated the entire peninsula by around the 4th century. ] is said to have fled to the state of ] in the southern Korean Peninsula. ] developed into the ] confederacies, the beginnings of ] and ], continuing to absorb migration from the north. The Samhan confederacies were ], ], and ]. King Jun ruled Mahan, which was eventually annexed by Baekje. Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla gradually grew into the ] that dominated the entire peninsula by around the 4th century.


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]


== Notes == == Notes ==
{{Reflist|2}} {{Reflist|2}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
|last=Barnes
|first=Gina Lee
|title=State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yK8m1XiEKz0C&pg=PA7
|year=2001
|publisher=Psychology Press
|isbn=978-0-7007-1323-3
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Lee
|first=Ki-Baik
|title=A New History of Korea
|year=1984
|publisher=Harvard University Press
|isbn=978-0-674-61575-5
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofkore0000leek
}}
*{{cite book|last1=Peterson|first1=Mark|last2=Margulies|first2=Phillip|title=A brief history of Korea|date=2009|publisher=Facts On File|location=New York, NY|isbn=9781438127385}}
*{{cite book
|last1=서
|first1=의식
|last2=강
|first2=봉룡
|script-title=ko:뿌리 깊은 한국사 샘이 깊은 이야기 1 : 고조선·삼국
|trans-title=Deep-rooted Korean History 1 : Gojoseon·Three Kingdoms
|language= ko
|year=2002
|publisher=솔
|isbn=978-8981335366
}}


{{coord missing}} {{Authority control}}


] ]
] ]
] ]
]

Latest revision as of 14:06, 13 December 2024

2333 BC? – 108 BC state in East Asia Not to be confused with Kingdom of Joseon.
Gojoseon古朝鮮 (Hanja)
고조선 (Hangul)

朝鮮 (Hanja)
조선 (Hangul)
Joseon
?–108 BC
Gojoseon in 108 BCGojoseon in 108 BC
CapitalWanggeom City
Common languagesYe-Maek (Koreanic),
Classical Chinese (literary)
Ethnic groups Yemaek
Religion Shamanism
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• ? Dangun (first)
• 1126 BC? – 1082 BC? Bu
• 220 BC – 194 BC Jun
• 194 BC – ? Wi Man
• ? – 108 BC Wi Ugeo (last)
Historical eraAncient
• Established ?
• Coup by Wi Man 194 BC
• Gojoseon–Han War 109–108 BC
• Fall of Wanggeom City 108 BC
Succeeded by
Yemaek
Samhan
Four Commanderies of Han
Today part ofNorth Korea
South Korea
China
Korean name
Hangul고조선
Hanja古朝鮮
Revised RomanizationGojoseon
McCune–ReischauerKojosŏn
IPA[ko.dʑo.sʌn]
Alternative Korean name
Hangul조선
Hanja朝鮮
Revised RomanizationJoseon
McCune–ReischauerChosŏn
IPA[tɕo.sʌn]
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Prehistoric period
Palaeolithic 700,000 BC-8000 BC
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Gojoseon 2333 BC–108 BC
* Dangun
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Yemaek
Proto–Three Kingdoms period
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Goguryeo 37 BC–668 AD
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Gojoseon (Korean: 고조선; Hanja: 古朝鮮; RRGojoseon; Korean pronunciation: [ko.dʑo.sʌn]), contemporary name Joseon (조선; 朝鮮; Joseon; [tɕo.sʌn]), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary king Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Peninsula at the time and was an important marker in the progression towards the more centralized states of later periods. The addition of Go (고; 古), meaning "ancient", is used in historiography to distinguish the kingdom from the Joseon dynasty, founded in 1392 CE.

According to the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, Gojoseon was established in 2333 BCE by Dangun, who was said to be born from the heavenly prince Hwanung and a bear-woman, Ungnyeo. While Dangun is a mythological figure of whose existence no concrete evidence has been found, some interpret his legend as reflections of the sociocultural situations involving the kingdom's early development. Regardless, the account of Dangun has played an important role in the development of Korean identity. Today, the founding date of Gojoseon is officially celebrated as National Foundation Day in North and South Korea.

Some sources claim that in the 12th century BCE, following the establishment of Gojoseon, Jizi (also known as Gija), a sage who belonged to the royal family from the Shang dynasty, immigrated to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and became the founder of Gija Joseon. There are many interpretations of Gojoseon and Gija Joseon as well as debates regarding Gija Joseon's existence.

In 194 BCE, the ruling dynasty of Gojoseon was overthrown by Wi Man (Wei Man in Chinese), a refugee from the Han vassal state of Yan, who then established Wiman Joseon.

In 108 BCE, the Han dynasty, under Emperor Wu, invaded and conquered Wiman Joseon. The Han established four commanderies to administer the former Gojoseon territory. After the fragmentation of the Han Empire during the 3rd century and the subsequent chaotic 4th century, the area escaped Chinese control and was conquered by Goguryeo in 313 CE.

The capital of Gojoseon was Wanggeom (modern Pyongyang) from at least the 2nd century BCE. In the southern region of the Korean Peninsula, the Jin state arose by the 3rd century BCE.

Founding myths

Main article: Korean mythology § Founding myth

There are three different main founding myths concerning Gojoseon, which revolve around Dangun, Gija, or Wi Man.

Dangun myth

Heaven Lake of Baekdu Mountain, where Dangun's father is said to have descended from heaven

The myths revolving around Dangun were recorded in the later Korean work Samguk yusa of the 13th century. This work states that Dangun, the offspring of a heavenly prince and a bear-woman, founded Gojoseon in 2333 BC, and was succeeded by Gija (Qizi) after King Wu of Zhou had placed him onto the throne in 1122 BC. A similar account is found in Jewang Ungi. According to the legend, the Lord of Heaven, Hwanin had a son, Hwanung, who descended to Baekdu Mountain and founded the city of Shinsi. Then a bear and a tiger came to Hwanung and said that they wanted to become people. Hwanung said to them that if they went in a cave and lived there for 100 days while only eating mugwort and garlic he would change them into human beings. However, about halfway through the 100 days the tiger gave up and ran out of the cave. The bear, in contrast, successfully restrained herself and became a beautiful woman named Ungnyeo. Hwanung later married Ungnyeo, and she gave birth to Dangun.

While the Dangun story is considered to be a myth, it is believed it is a mythical synthesis of a series of historical events relating to the founding of Gojoseon. There are various theories on the origin of this myth. Seo and Kang (2002) believe the Dangun myth is based on integration of two different tribes, an invasive sky-worshipping Bronze Age tribe and a native bear-worshipping neolithic tribe, that led to the foundation of Gojoseon. Lee K. B. (1984) believes 'Dangun-wanggeom' was a title borne by successive leaders of Gojoseon.

Dangun is said to have founded Gojoseon around 2333 BC, based on the descriptions of the Samguk yusa, Jewang Ungi, Tongguk t'onggam and the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. The date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during the mythical Emperor Yao's reign (traditional dates: 2357 BC? – 2256 BC?). Samguk yusa says Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the legendary Yao's reign, Annals of the King Sejong says the first year, and Tongguk t'onggam says the 25th year.

In the 7th century BCE, the Yan pioneered the Northeast regions. According to The Growth of Yan and The Context of Guanzi, it can be presumed that Gojoseon grew through trade in this era. It is estimated that Gojoseon developed so far as to be able to wage war against the Yan in the 4th century BCE.

Gija myth

Main article: Gija Joseon

Gija, a man from the period of the Shang dynasty, allegedly fled to the Korean peninsula in 1122 BC during the fall of the Shang to the Zhou dynasty and founded Gija Joseon. Gija Joseon is recognized and mentioned in the earliest surviving Chinese record, Records of the Three Kingdoms. Gija's story was further developed in later Korean texts such as Samguk yusa and Jewang ungi. By the middle of Goryeo dynasty, a state cult had developed around Gija. The Dongsa Gangmok of 1778 described Gija's activities and contributions in Gojoseon. The records of Gija refer to Eight Prohibitions (범금팔조; 犯禁八條), that are recorded by the Book of Han and evidence a hierarchical society with legal protections of private property.

In pre-modern Korea, Gija represented the authenticating presence of Chinese civilization. Until the 12th century CE, Koreans commonly believed that Dangun bestowed upon Korea its people and basic culture, while Gija gave Korea its high culture, and presumably, standing as a legitimate civilisation.

Many modern experts have denied Gija Joseon's existence for various reasons, mainly due to contradicting archaeological evidence and anachronistic historical evidence. They point to the Bamboo Annals and the Analects of Confucius, which were among the first works to mention Gija, but do not mention his migration to Gojoseon. Gija Joseon might have just existed as a symbol of the pre-Qin dynasty migrants who escaped the chaos of the Warring States period.

Wi Man

Wi Man was a military officer of the Yan of northeastern China who fled to the northern Korean peninsula in 195 BCE from the encroaching Han dynasty. He founded a principality with Wanggeom-seong as its capital, which is thought to be in the region of present-day Pyongyang. The 3rd-century Chinese text Weilüe of the Sanguozhi recorded that Wi Man usurped King Jun and thus took over the kingship of Gojoseon.

Academic perspectives

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Gojoseon mythology and history can be divided into three phases, Dangun, Gija Joseon, and Wi Man Joseon.

  1. Kang & Macmillan (1980), Sohn et al. (1970), Kim J.B. (1980), Han W.K. (1970), Yun N. H. (1985), Lee K.B. (1984), Lee J.B. (1987) viewed the Dangun myth as a native product of proto-Koreans, although it is not always associated with Gojoseon. Kim J.B. (1987) rejected the Dangun myth's association with Gojoseon and pushes it further back to the Neolithic period. Sohn et al. (1970) suggested that the Dangun myth is associated with the Dongyi, whom they viewed as the ancestors of Koreans. Kim C. (1948) suggested the Dangun myth had a Chinese origin, tracing it to a Han dynasty tomb in the Shandong peninsula.
  2. Gardiner (1969), Henderson (1959), McCune (1962) considered the Gija myth to be a later conflation. Sohn et al. (1970) dismissed the Gija story as a Chinese fabrication. On the other hand, Hatada (1969), gave Gojoseon a Chinese identity, exclusively ascribed it to the Gija myth, and moved it to the 3rd century BCE. Shim Jae-Hoon (2002) accepted the eastward migration of Gija, but denied the relationship between Gija and Joseon, suggesting that the existence of Gojoseon could not be extended to the second millennium BCE.
  3. Kim C.W. (1966), Han W.K. (1970), Choi M.L. (1983, 1984, 1985, 1992), Han W.K. (1984), Kim J.B. (1987), Lee K.B. (1984) accepted Wi Man as a historical figure. Gardiner (1969) questioned authenticity of the Wi Man myth, although he mentioned there were interactions between Gojoseon and the Han dynasty and social unrest in the area during that time period.

Controversies

Around the mid-Joseon dynasty, the established view among historians traced Korean origins to Chinese refugees, considering Korean history that of a long series of kingdoms connected with China. As such, the Gija Joseon and Silla states were valorized, while the Gojoseon and Goguryeo states were not considered as important. According to this view, the first state in Korea, Gija Joseon, was founded by Jizi in 1122 BCE, who was a disgruntled Chinese advisor to the Shang dynasty. The story of how he brought poetry, music, medicine, trade, and a political system to the Korean peninsula was conceived similarly to the proposed Founding of Rome by the Trojan refugee Aeneas. But by the 1930s, under the influence of Shin Chaeho's histories, the Jizi Korean founding story became less popular than that of Dangun, the son of a tiger and a bear – the latter being common in Japanese folklore – who brought civilization to the Korean peninsula. Shin and the other historians who promulgated this myth had been influenced by Daejonggyo, a new religious movement which worshipped Dangun, but attacked pre-annexation textbook narratives of Dangun which portrayed him as the brother of the Japanese god Susanoo. To Shin, Dangun was both the founder of the Korean minjok and the first Korean state (kuk), and thus the necessary starting point for Korean history. In response to a challenge by the Japanese scholars Shiratori Kurakichi and Imanishi Ryū of Dangun as a fabrication by the author of the Samguk yusa, nationalist historian Choe Nam-seon attacked Japanese mythology as being built upon fabrications.

By focusing on a mythological god which founded a "sacred race" (shinsŏng chongjok), Korean nationalist historiography aims to portray ancient Korea as a golden age of "gods and heroes" where Korea's cultural achievements rivaled those of China and Japan. Accordingly, Shin Chaeho elevated Dangun to play a similar role as did the Yellow Emperor in China and which Amaterasu does in Japan. Choe Nam-seon, according to his Purham culture theory [ko], places Dangun even above the Chinese and Japanese emperors, because those rulers were supposedly Shamanistic rulers of the ancient Korean "Părk" tradition. The Dangun story also lends credence to claims that Korean heritage is over 5000 years old. According to Hyung Il Pai, the popularity of Dangun studies can be said to "reflect the progressively ultra-nationalistic trend in Korean historical and archaeological scholarship today". Shin Chaeho named Mount Paektu in the Changbai Mountains on the Sino-Korean border as a part of Korean heritage, by virtue of connection with the mythical Dangun. The mountain, however, was also claimed by the Manchus of the Qing dynasty as part of their origin myth at least since the 17th century, and the mountain range is considered sacred in Han Chinese culture as well. This nationalist identification of Baekdu with Koreans was cemented by the operation of Korean independence movement partisans operating from the Chinese border and legitimized with associations to the history of the Gojoseon and Balhae states. The Chinese civilizational connection to ancient Korea continues to be attacked by North Korean historians, who allege that the history of Gija Joseon was "viciously distorted by the feudal ruling class, the sadaejuui followers, and the big-power chauvinists".

State formation

See also: Gojoseon–Yan War

The first mentions of Gojoseon are found in historical records of Guanzi. It locates Gojoseon around Bohai Bay and mentions the state trading with Qi (齊) of China. The Zhanguoce, Shanhaijing, and Shiji—containing some of its earliest records—refers to Joseon as a region, until the text Shiji began referring it as a country from 195 BC onwards.

By the 4th century BCE, other states with defined political structures developed in the areas of the earlier Bronze Age "walled-town states"; Gojoseon was the most advanced of them in the peninsular region. The city-state expanded by incorporating other neighboring city-states by alliance or military conquest. Thus, a vast confederation of political entities between the Taedong and Liao rivers was formed. As Gojoseon evolved, so did the title and function of its leader, who came to be designated as "king" (Han), in the tradition of the Zhou dynasty, around the same time as the Yan (燕) leader. Records of that time mention the hostility between the feudal state in Northern China and the "confederated" kingdom of Gojoseon. Notably, a plan to attack the Yan beyond the Liao River frontier is recorded. This confrontation led to the decline and eventual downfall of Gojoseon, described in Yan records as "arrogant" and "cruel". But the ancient kingdom also appears as a prosperous Bronze Age civilization with a complex social structure, including a class of horse-riding warriors who contributed to the development of Gojoseon and its northern expansion into most of the Liaodong basin.

Around 300 BCE, Gojoseon lost significant western territory after a war with the Yan state, but this indicates Gojoseon was already a large enough state that it could wage war against the Yan and survive the loss of 2000 li (800 kilometers) of territory. Gojoseon is thought to have relocated its capital to the Pyongyang region around this time.

Wiman Joseon and Its Fall

See also: Wiman Joseon, Han conquest of Gojoseon, and Four Commanderies of Han
Han dynasty destroys Wiman Joseon, establishing Four Commanderies of Han in the northern Korean peninsula.

In 195 BCE, King Jun appointed a refugee from Yan, Wi Man, to guard the frontier. Wi Man later rebelled in 194 BC and usurped the throne of Gojoseon. King Jun fled to Jin in the south of the Korean Peninsula.

In 109 BCE, Emperor Wu of Han invaded near the Liao River. A conflict would erupt in 109 BCE, when Wi Man's grandson King Ugeo (우거왕; 右渠王) refused to let Jin's ambassadors through his territory in order to reach the Han dynasty. King Ugeo refused and had his son, Prince Wi Jang (長降) escort the ambassador back home. However, when they got close to Han's borders, the ambassador assassinated Wi Jang (長降) and claimed to Emperor Wu that he had defeated Joseon in battle. Emperor Wu, unaware of this deception, made him the military commander of the Commandery of Liaodong. The outraged King Ugeo made a raid on Liaodong and killed She He. Scholars also hypothesize that the initiation of war may also have been because the Han dynasty was concerned that Gojoseon would ally with the Xiongnu against the Han.

In response, Emperor Wu commissioned a two-pronged attack, one by land and one by sea, against Gojoseon. The two forces attacking Gojoseon were unable to coordinate well with each other and suffered large losses. Eventually, the commands were merged, and Wanggeom fell in 108 BCE. Han took over the Gojoseon lands and established Four Commanderies of Han in the western part of former Gojoseon.

Gojoseon disintegrated by the 1st century BCE as it gradually lost the control of its former fiefs. Many successor states sprang from its former territory, such as Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye. Goguryeo and Baekje arose out from Buyeo.

Culture

Around 2000 BCE, a new pottery culture of painted and chiseled design was developed. These people practiced agriculture in a settled communal life, probably organized into familial clans. Rectangular huts and increasingly larger dolmen burial sites were found throughout the peninsula. Bronze daggers and mirrors have been excavated, and there is archaeological evidence of small walled-town states in this period. Dolmens and bronze daggers found in the area are uniquely Korean and cannot be found in China. A few dolmens are found in China, mostly in the Shandong province.

Mumun Pottery

In the Mumun pottery period (1500 – 300 BCE), plain coarse pottery replaced earlier comb-pattern wares, possibly as a result of the influence of new populations migrating to Korea from Manchuria and Siberia. This type of pottery typically has thicker walls and displays a wider variety of shapes, indicating improvements in kiln technology. This period is sometimes called the "Korean Bronze Age", but bronze artifacts are relatively rare and regionalized until the 7th century BCE.

Rice cultivation was extensive in the lower parts of South Korea and Manchuria in the periods between 1900 BCE to 200 CE.

Bronze Tools

Main article: Liaoning bronze dagger culture

The beginning of the Bronze Age on the peninsula is usually said to be 1000 BCE, but estimates range from the 13th to 8th centuries BCE. Although the Korean Bronze Age culture derives from the Liaoning and Manchuria, it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects.

By the 7th century BCE, a Bronze Age material culture with influences from Manchuria, eastern Mongolia, as well as Siberia and Scythian bronze styles, flourished on the peninsula. Korean bronzes contain a higher percentage of zinc than those of the neighboring bronze cultures. Bronze artifacts, found most frequently in burial sites, consist mainly of swords, spears, daggers, small bells, and mirrors decorated with geometric patterns.

Gojoseon's development seems linked to the adoption of bronze technology. Its singularity finds its most notable expression in the idiosyncratic type of bronze swords, or "mandolin-shaped daggers" (비파형동검; 琵琶形銅劍). The mandolin-shape dagger is found in the regions of Liaoning, Hebei, and Manchuria down to the Korean Peninsula. It suggests the existence of Gojoseon dominions. Remarkably, the shape of the "mandolin" dagger of Gojoseon differs significantly from the sword artifacts found in China.

Tombs

Dolmen Tombs

Megalithic dolmens appear in Korean peninsula and Manchuria around 2000 BCE to 400 BCE. Around 900 BCE, burial practices become more elaborate, a reflection of increasing social stratification. Goindol, the dolmen tombs in Korea and Manchuria, comprising upright stones supporting a horizontal slab, are more numerous in Korea than in other parts of East Asia. Other new forms of burial are stone cists (underground burial chambers lined with stone) and earthenware jar coffins. The bronze objects, pottery, and jade ornaments recovered from dolmens and stone cists indicate that such tombs were reserved for the elite class.

Around the 6th century BCE, burnished red wares, made of a fine iron-rich clay and characterized by a smooth, lustrous surface, appear in dolmen tombs, as well as in domestic bowls and cups.

Other types of tombs

In 1964, through a joint excavation by China and North Korea, Gangsang tomb (강상무덤; 崗上墓) and Nusang tomb (누상무덤; 樓上墓) were found in 1964 at the Liaodong peninsula. Nusang was found earlier prior to the excavation in 1958 Gangsang and Nusang tombs are considered to be burial cairn tombs of local nobilities of Gojoseon. Some consider the tombs as the evidences of the slavery that could have existed, but others find that the evidences are inadequate and lacking to deduce such conclusion.

Iron Culture

Main article: Jin (Korean state)

Around this time, the state of Jin occupied the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about this state except that it was the apparent predecessor to the Samhan confederacies.

Around 300 BCE, iron technology was introduced into Korea from Yan state. Iron was produced locally in the southern part of the peninsula by the 2nd century BCE. According to Chinese accounts, iron from the lower Nakdong River in the southeast was valued throughout the peninsula and Japan.

Poetry

In the book of Gogeumju (古今注) written by Cui Bao (崔豹) of the Western Jin period, poetry called Gonghuyin (箜篌引) or Gongmudohaga [ko] (공무도하가; 公無渡河歌) is said to be of Gojoseon origin. The poetry is as follows:

公無渡河 "Don't cross the river, my love."

公竟渡河 "My love eventually crossed the river.'

墮河而死 "Now that my love is drowned,"

當奈公何 "There's nothing that I can do."

Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea

Main article: Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea

Numerous small states and confederations arose from the remnants of Gojoseon, including Goguryeo, the Buyeo kingdom, Okjeo, and Dongye. Three of the Chinese commanderies fell to local resistance within a few decades, but the last, Nakrang, remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expanding Goguryeo in 313 CE.

Jun of Gojoseon is said to have fled to the state of Jin in the southern Korean Peninsula. Jin developed into the Samhan confederacies, the beginnings of Baekje and Silla, continuing to absorb migration from the north. The Samhan confederacies were Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan. King Jun ruled Mahan, which was eventually annexed by Baekje. Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla gradually grew into the Three Kingdoms of Korea that dominated the entire peninsula by around the 4th century.

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    "An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the family cult was the revival of interest in Tangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean state... Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat him as a myth."
    "Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."
    "Most treat the myth as a later creation."
    "The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China."
    "If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija."
  2. "Dangun". Academy of Korean Studies.
  3. uriminzokkiri 우리민족끼리 official website of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  4. Kim, Djun Kil (2014). The History of Korea, 2nd Edition. ABC-CLIO. p. 8. ISBN 9781610695824.
  5. Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Walthall, Anne (2013). Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learning. p. 100. ISBN 9781285546230.
  6. 기자조선. terms.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  7. ^ "Timeline of Art and History, Korea, 1000 BC – 1 AD". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 2010-02-07. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
  8. Barnes, Gina (2000). State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. Richmond: Curzon. p. 10. ISBN 9780700713233.
  9. ^ Barnes, Gina (2000). State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. Richmond: Curzon. p. 11. ISBN 9780700713233.
  10. Samguk yusa《삼국유사》(三國遺事)
  11. 고조선(古朝鮮). Encyclopædia Britannica( Korean) (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
  12. Barnes 2001, pp. 9–14.
  13. 서강 2002.
  14. Lee 1984.
  15. 국학원 제24회 학술회의 – 단기 연호 어떻게 볼 것인가 Archived 2014-11-01 at the Wayback Machine – 단기가 최초로 산정된 것은 《동국통감》으로 요임금 즉위 25년 무진년을 기준으로 삼았다. 《동국통감》〈외기〉 의 주석에는 다음과 같은 해석이 실려있다. – 古記云, 檀君與堯竝立於戊辰, 虞夏至商武丁八年乙未, 入阿斯達山爲神, 享壽千四百十八年. 此說可疑今按, 堯之立在上元甲子甲辰之歲, 而檀君之立在後二十五年戊辰, 則曰與堯竝立者非也. 이에 대한 한글 해석은 네이버 지식백과 국역 동국통감(국역:세종대왕기념사업회) 에서 확인할 수 있다.
  16. Yoon, N.-H. (윤내현), The Location and Transfer of Go-Chosun's Capital (고조선의 도읍 위치와 그 이동), 단군학연구, 7, 207–38 (2002)
  17. Guanzi(管子) > 桓公問管子曰 吾聞 海內玉幣有七筴 可 得以聞乎 管子對曰 陰山之礌礝 一筴也 燕之紫山白金 筴也 發朝鮮之文皮 筴也 : Records of trade between Gojoseon and Qi
  18. Barnes 2001, pp. 9–10.
  19. ^ Shim, Jae-Hoon (2002). "A new understanding of Kija Chosŏn as a historical anachronism". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 62 (2): 271–305. doi:10.2307/4126600. JSTOR 4126600.
  20. ^ "Daum 요청하신 페이지의 사용권한이 없습니다". status.daum.net.
  21. Kyung Moon hwang, "A History of Korea, An Episodic Narrative", 2010, p. 4
  22. "古朝鮮과 琵琶形銅劍의 問題". 단군학연구 (12): 5–30. June 16, 2005 – via www.dbpia.co.kr.
  23. 기자조선. terms.naver.com.
  24. Immigrants provided Gojoseon with the opportunity to learn and incorporate advanced technologies, but it is believed that they were only a minor influence (e.g. because the Proto-koreanic language was still used in Gojoseon). It is presumed that later Koreans claimed to be "Gija" for their relations with China and for their desire to be a part of Chinese civilization.
  25. This may explain why the Jinhan people claim that they are descendants of the Qin dynasty.
  26. ^ Cited in Barnes, Gina (2014). State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. New York: Routledge. pp. 10–13. ISBN 9780700713233.
  27. Karlsson, Anders (December 2009). Northern Territories and the Historical Understanding of Territory in Late Chosŏn. Working Papers in Korean Studies. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. p. 3.
  28. ^ Simons, G. L. (1999). Korea: The Search for Sovereignty. Palgrave MacMillan. p. 70.
  29. Walraven, Boudewijn (2001). "The Parliament of Histories: New Religions, Collective Historiography, and the Nation". Korean Studies. 25 (2): 158. doi:10.1353/ks.2001.0024. S2CID 145784087.
  30. Han, Young-woo (1992). "The Establishment and Development of Nationalist History". Seoul Journal of Korean Studies. 5: 69–70.
  31. Armstrong, Charles K. (1995). "Centering the Periphery: Manchurian Exile(s) and the North Korean State" (PDF). Korean Studies. 19: 3. doi:10.1353/ks.1995.0017. S2CID 154659765.
  32. Allen, Chizuko T. (November 1990). "Northeast Asia Centered Around Korea: Ch'oe Namsŏn's View of History". The Journal of Asian Studies. 49 (4): 793–795. doi:10.2307/2058236. JSTOR 2058236. S2CID 162622386.
  33. Pai, Hyung Il (2000). Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories. Harvard University Asia Center. p. 2.
  34. Schmid, Andre (1997). "Rediscovering Manchuria: Sin Ch'aeho and the Politics of Territorial History in Korea". Journal of Asian Studies. 56 (1): 32. doi:10.2307/2646342. JSTOR 2646342. S2CID 162879663.
  35. Allen, Chizuko T. (November 1990). "Northeast Asia Centered Around Korea: Ch'oe Namsŏn's View of History". The Journal of Asian Studies. 49 (4): 800. doi:10.2307/2058236. JSTOR 2058236. S2CID 162622386.
  36. Pai, Hyung Il (2000). Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories. Harvard University Asia Center. pp. 95–96.
  37. ^ Pai, Hyung Il (2000). Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories. Harvard University Asia Center. p. 254.
  38. Kim, Seonmin (June 2007). "Ginseng and Border Trespassing Between Qing China and Chosŏn Korea". Late Imperial China. 28 (1): 42–43. doi:10.1353/late.2007.0009. S2CID 143779357.
  39. Armstrong, Charles K. (1995). "Centering the Periphery: Manchurian Exile(s) and the North Korean State" (PDF). Korean Studies. 19: 2. doi:10.1353/ks.1995.0017. S2CID 154659765.
  40. Ch'oe, Yŏng-ho (May 1981). "Reinterpreting Traditional History in North Korea". The Journal of Asian Studies. 40 (3): 503–505. doi:10.2307/2054553. JSTOR 2054553. S2CID 145140808.
  41. 고조선 (in Korean). Naver/Doosan Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01.
  42. Barnes, Gina (2000). State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. Richmond: Curzon. pp. 9–10. ISBN 9780700713233.
  43. ^ 두산백과 : 네이버 지식백과. terms.naver.com.
  44. ^ "Korea's Place in the Sun". The New York Times.
  45. Academy of Korean Studies, The Review of Korean Studies, vol. 10권,3–4, 2007, p. 222
  46. ^ Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, Korean History in Maps, Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. 20
  47. Pai, Hyung (2000). Constructing "Korean" origins: A critical review of archaeology, historiography, and racial myth in Korean state-formation theories. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center. pp. 144–145.
  48. Jae-eun Kang, The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism, Homa & Sekey Books, 2006, pp. 28–31
  49. "North Korea – THE ORIGINS OF THE KOREAN NATION". www.country-data.com.
  50. Joussaume, Roger (1988). Dolmens for the dead : megalith-building throughout the world. London: Batsford. ISBN 0713453699. OCLC 15593505.
  51. 청동기문화. terms.naver.com.
  52. 김정배, 고조선 연구의 사적 고찰 (Historical Survey on Research of Kochosun), 단군학연구, 7, 185 – 206 (2002)
  53. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arts of Korea, Bronze Age Objects
  54. "A Tripolar Approach to East Asian History" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  55. Holcombe, Charles (December 16, 2011). A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521515955 – via Google Books.
  56. Unesco.
  57. 요령누상유적. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
  58. ^ 강상무덤. Korean ancient medieaval history dictionary.
  59. 누상무덤. Korean ancient medieaval history dictionary.
  60. 요령강상유적. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
  61. 공무도하가(公無渡河歌). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
  1. *Peterson, Mark (2009). Brief History of Korea. Infobase Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4381-2738-5.
    "The term was used again by a refugee from the Han dynasty named Wiman, set up a kingdom in Korea called Wiman Joseon around 200 BCE."
    "The earliest documented event in Korean history involves China. After an unsuccessful uprising against the first Han emperor Gaozu, the defeated rebels sought refuge beyond the imperial frontier and one of them Wiman, took control of Joseon, a Korean state in the north of the peninsula."
    "For instance, Wiman, a refugee from the Yan dynasty, which then existed around present-day Beijing, led his band of more than 1,000 followers into exile in Old Joseon in the early second century BCE."
    "Retaliation by the Han then brought in refugees from Yan, the most notable of whom was a warlord, Weiman ('Wiman' in Korean), who, somewhere around 200 BCE, led his followers into the territory held by Joseon."
    "Here, Wiman was described as a "Gu Yanren 故燕人"or a person from former Yan. It is confusing because there were two entities named Yan around this period. The first was the Yan state, which was one of the seven states during the Warring States period, and the second was the vassal state of Yan of the Han dynasty."

Bibliography

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