Founding legends of the Goryeo royal family

The founding legends of the Goryeo royal family is a mythical account of the ancestral family of Wang Geon, who united the Korean Peninsula during the Later Three Kingdoms period and founded the Goryeo dynasty of Korea.

Legends

According to the Pyeonnyeontongnok (편년통록; 編年通錄) written by Kim Gwan-ui during the Goryeo period, the origin of the Goryeo royal family is from Goguryeo.[1] Hogyeong, who called himself General Seonggol, came from Mount Baekdu and traveled far and wide, finally settling down in Songak (modern Kaesong) and starting a family. While hunting on Mount Pyeongna, he met a widowed mountain spirit who asked for his hand in marriage and to become the king of the mountain.[2]

Gang Chung, a son of Gang Hogyeong, planted pine trees on Mount Songak so that rocks wouldn't be visible in order to fulfill a prophecy, based on feng shui, that his descendant would unite the "Sam Han" (삼한; 三韓),[2] another name for the Three Kingdoms of Korea.[3] He begot a son named Boyuk, whose daughter Jin-ui had a child named Jakjegeon with a member of the royal family of the Tang dynasty; according to the Goryeosa, which cites the Pyeonnyeontongnok, the father of the child was Emperor Suzong.[4] The union fulfilled a prophecy given to Boyuk by a sage that the Son of Heaven from the Tang dynasty would come to him and become his son-in-law.[5] However, there are no records of Emperor Suzong traveling to the east, and there is a time difference of more than 100 years.[6] Wang Geon's ancestral family had established itself in Songak, a center of commercial activity, accumulating great wealth through maritime commerce and engaging in direct trade with China by Boyuk's generation.[6] According to one speculation, the father of Jakjegeon was a wealthy Chinese merchant,[6] and according to another, he was a Korean merchant from one of the "Silla Quarters" (신라방; 新羅坊) in China, which were autonomous settlements of Korean merchants in the Tang dynasty.[7]

After reaching adulthood, Jakjegeon, who was described as courageous and exceptionally intelligent, set sail for Tang to meet his father Emperor Suzong. However, he was caught in a storm in the middle of the Yellow Sea and encountered a dragon woman (용녀; 龍女) whom he brought back home and married.[4] The Seongwonnok (성원녹; 聖源録) identifies the "dragon woman" as the daughter of a man from Pyongsan County named Dueunjeomgakgan (두은점각간; 頭恩坫角干),[8] who is thought to be a member of the Pyongsan Park clan.[9] Pyongsan County was called Pyeongju (평주; 平州) during the Goryeo period,[10][11][12][13][14] and was home to General Sin Sung-gyeom of the Pyongsan Sin clan, who sacrificed himself to save Wang Geon at the Battle of Gongsan. The dragon woman, known posthumously as Queen Wonchang, gave birth to Wang Ryung, whose son Wang Geon would become the founder of Goryeo.[4]

Interpretations

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture interprets Jakjegeon being the son of Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty as a hagiography and his marriage to the dragon woman from the Yellow Sea as symbolic of the maritime influence of Wang Geon's ancestors, who engaged in trade with China for generations.[8] Likewise, the Doosan Encyclopedia agrees that the claim of Emperor Suzong being Wang Geon's great-grandfather was invented to increase the legitimacy of the Goryeo royal family by linking it to the Tang royal family.[15]

Foreign accounts

Xu Jing (서긍; 徐兢), an envoy from the Song dynasty who went to Goryeo in 1123, documented in the Gaoli Tujing (선화봉사고려도경; 宣和奉使高麗圖經) that the ancestors of the Goryeo royal family were a great clan of Goguryeo.[16][17]

Sinchon Gang clan

The daedongbo (a compilation genealogy book of related clans) of the Sinchon Gang clan claims that Gang Hogyeong was the 67th generation descendant of Gang Hu (강후; 康侯), a grandson of King Wen of the Zhou dynasty. However, the historical veracity of that claim cannot be verified.[18] Furthermore, the true progenitor of the Sinchon Gang clan is considered to be Gang Ji-yeon, a 14th generation descendant of Gang Hogyeong, not Gang Hogyeong himself.[19]

See also

Korean mythology

References

1. "건국설화와 고려". 문화콘텐츠닷컴 (in Korean). Korea Creative Content Agency. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
2. "5) 사상의 지형이 다른 두 역사책; 『삼국사기』와 『편년통록』". 우리역사넷 (in Korean). National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
3. 이덕일. "[이덕일 사랑] 대~한민국". 조선닷컴 (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
4. "경강대왕(景康大王)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
5. "진의(辰義)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
6. 최완수 (2001). "王建의 후삼국통일 배후, 禪僧세력". 신동아. The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
7. 배한철 (2016). "용을 닮았다는 고려 왕건은 귀공자 형상". 얼굴, 사람과 역사를 기록하다 (in Korean). Maekyung Publishing. ISBN 9791155425473. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
8. "의조경강대왕(懿祖景康大王)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
9. "2) 군진세력 출신의 호족". 한국사데이터베이스. National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
10. 이은식 (2014). 필수역사용어해설사전 (in Korean). 타오름. p. 227. ISBN 9788994125855.
11. "평산군(平山郡)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
12. "황해도 평산(평산장)". 문화콘텐츠닷컴 (in Korean). Korea Creative Content Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
13. "서명 : 평산군지(平山郡誌)". 서울대학교 규장각 지리지 종합정보. Seoul National University. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
14. "세종실록 152권, 지리지 황해도 연안 도호부 평산 도호부". 조선왕조실록 (in Korean). National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
15. "원덕대왕[元德大王,?~?]". Doosan Encyclopedia (in Korean). Doosan Corporation. Retrieved 16 April 2018. 손호술은 그가 귀인임을 알아보고 작은딸 진의와 맺게 하였는데, 진의는 숙종과 동침한 후 왕건의 할아버지 작제건(作帝建)을 낳았다고 한다. 그러나 이 이야기는 고려 왕실의 정통성을 강조하기 위해 왕건의 가계를 당나라의 황실과 연계하여 지어낸 것으로 보인다.
16. 허인욱. "고려도경 [高麗圖經] "외국인의 눈에 비친 12세기 고려의 모습"". 한국사 콘텐츠 (in Korean). National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
17. 박종기 (2015). 고려사의 재발견: 한반도 역사상 가장 개방적이고 역동적인 500년 고려 역사를 만나다 (in Korean). 휴머니스트. ISBN 9788958629023. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
18. 김성회 (2 April 2013). "[김성회의 뿌리를 찾아서] <46> 진주강씨·신천강씨 등". 세계일보. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
19. "강씨(康氏)의 본관". 뿌리를 찾아서. RootsClick. Retrieved 15 April 2018.