Kung Ye
| Kung Ye Cung duệ 궁예 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait of Kung Ye | |||||
| King of Taebong | |||||
| Reign | July 901 – 24 July 918[1] | ||||
| Coronation | July 901 | ||||
| Predecessor | Dynasty established | ||||
| Successor | Dynasty abolished (Taejo of Goryeoas the firstKing of Goryeo) | ||||
| Regent | Ku Chin(905–906) Wang Kon(912–913) | ||||
| Born | c.869 | ||||
| Died | 24 July 918 | ||||
| Spouse | Queen Kang | ||||
| Issue | Chong-gwang Sin-gwang Sun-baek | ||||
| |||||
| Father | Heonan of Silla | ||||
| Religion | Buddhism | ||||
| Korean name | |||||
| Hangul | 궁예 | ||||
| Hanja | |||||
| Revised Romanization | Gung Ye | ||||
| McCune–Reischauer | Kung Ye | ||||
| Dharma name | |||||
| Hangul | 선종 | ||||
| Hanja | |||||
| Revised Romanization | Seonjong | ||||
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏnjong | ||||
| Other name | |||||
| Hangul | 미륵 | ||||
| Hanja | |||||
| Revised Romanization | Mireuk | ||||
| McCune–Reischauer | Mirŭk | ||||
Kung Ye(Korean:궁예;Hanja:Cung duệ;c. 869– 24 July 918) was thekingof the short-lived state ofTaebong(901–918), one of theLater Three Kingdomsof Korea. Although he was a member of theSillaroyal family, he became a victim of the power struggle among the royal family members during the late 9th century.[2][3]He became a rebel leader against the unpopular Silla government, which almost abandoned the affairs of their subjects for the struggle for power among royal family members.[4]
Birth
[edit]The exact date of Kung Ye's birth is unknown, but records assume that he was a son ofKing Gyeongmun;[5]his mother is said to be a beloved lady of the court.[3][4]
According to legend, Kung Ye was born on the traditional holiday ofDano.The royalseerprophesied that a baby born on Dano would bring disaster to the nation, and the court officials and royal family members urged to the king to get rid of the infant. So the king ordered his servants to kill him. However, when the troops rushed to the residence of Kung Ye's mother, she threw her baby from the second floor, with her maid hiding in nearby bushes to catch the baby. Although her plot tricked the soldiers, the maid had accidentally poked the left eye of the baby, causing Kung Ye to lose one eye. She hid Kung Ye and raised him secretly; when she died, Kung Ye became aBuddhistmonk at Sedalsa (세달사), a Buddhist temple.[3][4]
Revolt
[edit]At the time, themonarch of SillawasQueen Jinseong(Kung Ye's half sister), who was the third female head of state inKorean history(the other three being:Queen Seondeok of Silla,Jindeok of Silla,and later PresidentPark Geun-hye). Queen Jinseong was a powerless ruler and the government was largely corrupted by interventions of royal family members and rampant bribery among members of the royal court.[6]The corrupt government continuously exploited the peasants and tenants, and after a year of famine, massively raised taxes in 889 which led to many revolts and rebellions.[3][4][7]Local aristocrats, calledhojok(호족;Hào tộc) emerged asde factorulers of many provinces and regions, with the attention of government concentrated on suppression of rebellion and their own power struggles.[8]Among the rebel leaders and local aristocrats,Ki HwŏnandYang Kilgained the most power.[4]
Kung Ye first joined the troops of Ki Hwon in 891 but left shortly after as Ki Hwon did not fully trust him.[9]Kung Ye joined Yang Kil's rebel group in 892,[10][11]and became leading general of the rebel forces by defeating the local Silla army and other rebel groups. Most of the local aristocrats ofMyeongjuandPaeseo,includingWang Kŏn,submitted to his force, making him even more powerful than his master Yang Kil.[3][4]Silla, after nearly a millennium as a centralized kingdom was quickly declining, and Kung Ye instigated his own rebellion in present-dayKaesŏngin 898. After turning against his master, Yang Kil, he eventually defeated and subjugated him and other local lords in central Korea to proclaim himself king ofLater Goguryeoin 901 as the claimant successor state to the renowned former hegemon of Northeast Asia,Goguryeo.With his rivalKyŏn Hwŏn'sLater Baekjetaking control of the peninsula's southwest as the claimant successor state to the maritime empire ofBaekje,he opened up the Later Three Kingdoms period of Korean History, a reference to the so-calledThree Kingdoms periodof Korea, several centuries earlier.[4][5]
Downfall
[edit]Kung Ye changed the country's name to Majin in 904, and moved the capital toCheorwonin the following year. Since Cheorwon was a fortress located in a mountainous area, he moved people from the populous city ofCheongjuand expanded his rule into theChungcheongregion, taking control of almost two-thirds of the land once controlled by Silla. In the same year Kung Ye took overPyongyangand called for total destruction of the state of Silla.[4][5]
Searching for a better way to unite his citizens, he wanted a more potent unifying theology. Therefore, around 905, he turned to religion.[12]He decided what was needed to unite people under his power was religious faith, and using his previous occupation as a Buddhist monk, he referred to himself asMaitreya Buddha,who came to the world to guide and save the suffering people from all hardship.[13]He changed the name of his kingdom to Taebong in 911.[4][5]
In his later days, it is recorded that Kung Ye started to haveparanoia.He claimed to have the supernatural ability to read minds, accusing many of his officials arbitrarily of treason and sentencing anyone who opposed him to death.[14]He accusedConsort Kang,one of his wives, of being unfaithful to him, and he killed her by shoving a heated, red-hot iron rod into her womb. Their two sons were executed.[15][4]As a result, in 918 four of his own top generals – Hong Yu (홍유;Hồng nho), Pae Hyŏn-gyŏng (배현경;裵 huyền khánh),Sin Sung-gyŏmand Pok Chigyŏm (복지겸;Bặc trí khiêm) – overthrew Kung Ye and enthronedWang Kŏn,one of Kung Ye's followers and the previous chief minister, of his nation, as king.[3][13]Kung Ye is said to have escaped the palace, but was killed shortly thereafter either by a soldier or by peasants who mistook him for a thief.[16]
Soon thereafter, theGoryeodynasty was proclaimed, and Wang Kŏn went on to defeat the rivaling Silla andLater Baekjeto reunite the three kingdoms in 936.[17]
Alternative theory of origin
[edit]Some historians present a theory that states that Kung Ye was, in fact, a direct descendant ofKo Ansŭng,who had been the ruler ofGoguryeo-Guk,which had been a failedGoguryeorevival state. Records of Silla reported that Ko Ansŭng was given the surname of theSillaroyal family, "Kim." Therefore, Kung Ye's commonly known origin as a prince of Silla was right in a way, but Kung Ye being a son of a king of Silla may have not been true.[18]
Harem
[edit]- Wife:Queen Kang(강비, died 915)
- Son: Kim Ch'ŏng-gwang (김청광, died 915)
- Son: Kim Sin-gwang (김신광, died 915)
- Son: Kim Sun-baek (김순백)
Legacy
[edit]Even though Kung Ye was not able to keep his rule and achieve the reunification of the Korean peninsula under his rule, many scholars today are attempting to review the true character of Kung Ye. Historical records regarding Kung Ye are negative, since many historians during the Goryeo period tried to justify the coup by Wang Kŏn that dethroned Kung Ye, in order to give legitimacy to the dynasty.[19]However, even after the founding of Goryeo, many people rejected the rule of Wang Kŏn and rebelled against the newly formed dynasty; some even voluntarily defected to Kyŏn Hwŏn's Later Baekje. It can be assumed that many people, even after the coup that crowned Wang Kŏn, favored the rule of Kung Ye and that he was not a total despot as described in history. Some scholars explain Kung Ye's self-proclamation as Buddha as an attempt to strengthen his power, since he, as a royal family member of Silla, had no influence over powerful local landlords and merchants, so he tried to use the power of religion in order to keep his rule, which did not prove to be effective.[4]
Popular culture
[edit]- Taejo Wang Geon(2000–2002): Portrayed byKim Yeong-cheolandMaeng Se-chang.
- Thousand Days Unofficial History- Episode 73 (ko)[20](2018)
- Omniscient Reader(2018): He appears under the name of One-eyed Maitreya or Maitreya King.[21]
References
[edit]- ^In theKorean calendar(lunar), he reigned from July 901 until 14 June 918.
- ^Korea through the Ages.Vol. 1, p. 111
- ^abcdef(in Korean)Gung YeArchived2012-02-27 at theWayback Machineat The Academy of Korean Studies
- ^abcdefghijk(in Korean)Gung YeArchived2011-06-10 at theWayback Machineat Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
- ^abcd(in Korean)Gung YeatDoosan Encyclopedia
- ^(in Korean)Queen JinseongatDoosan Encyclopedia
- ^Korea through the AgesVol. 1, pp. 100–101
- ^Korea through the AgesVol. 1, p. 103
- ^(in Korean)Gi HwonArchived2011-07-22 at theWayback Machineat The Academy of Korean Studies
- ^(in Korean)Yang GilatDoosan Encyclopedia
- ^Il-yeon,Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea,translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, p. 126. Silk Pagoda (2006).ISBN1-59654-348-5
- ^(in Korean)[1]atEncyclopedia of Korean Culture
- ^abKorea through the Ages Vol. 1p. 112
- ^Seth, Michael J. (2006).A Concise History of Korea: From the Neolithic Period through the Nineteenth Century.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 70.ISBN9780742574717.
- ^Hurst, C. Cameron (Summer–Fall 1981)."The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Personalities in the Founding of the Koryo Dynasty"(PDF).Korean Studies Forum.7:1–27.Retrieved8 November2023.
- ^Joanna Rurarz (2009).Historia Korei.Dialog. p. 145.ISBN978-83-89899-28-6.
- ^(in Korean)TaejoatDoosan Encyclopedia
- ^Seo Byeongguk (서병국),The History of Balhae Empire(발해제국사) p36, Seohaemunjib, Paju, 2005.ISBN89-7483-242-9.
- ^궁예(in Korean).Retrieved2018-05-26.
- ^왕건 대신 왕의 옷을 입고 죽은 신숭겸의 정체는?!｜천일야사 73회 다시보기[What is the identity of Shin Sung-gyeom who died wearing the king's clothes instead of Wang Geon?!｜Replay Episode 73 of Thousand Days Unofficial History] (in Korean). KBS Drama Classic. 14 May 2018.Retrieved2 June2023.
- ^"웹툰캐릭터디비센터".Chuing(in Korean).Retrieved3 June2023.
- The Academy of Korean Studies,Korea through the Ages Vol. 1,The Editor Publishing Co., Seoul, 2005.ISBN89-7105-544-8
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