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The First Succession Struggle of Koryŏ, in 945: A Reinterpretation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2011
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Confucian historians presented the first succession struggle (in 945) of the Koryŏ Dynasty as simply an abortive usurpation attempt by Wang Kyu (the influential father-in-law of King Hyejong [r. 943–945]), thwarted by the timely intervention of the king's two half-brothers, Princes Yo and So, with military backing from Wang Singnyom of the P'yongyang Regional Military Command (Tae-doho Pu). The traditional account depicted the princes as archetypal protectors who safeguarded the legitimacy of royal succession, thereby placing the responsibility for the bloody struggle solely on the alleged villain, Wang Kyu. Such a treatment was apparently derived from a politically motivated moralistic interpretation intended to impart a lesson to posterity in the tradition of Confucian historiography. In the traditional account, therefore, the issues typically advanced were those best fitted to orthodox Confucian themes: legitimacy in royal succession, and loyalty to the throne. Factors incompatible with these themes were suppressed or perforce left unexplained, resulting in an account containing inconsistencies and gaps, which—surprisingly—went unchallenged until modern times.
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References
1 The most succinct version of the traditional account by Confucian historians is found in Kim Chongsō et al., Koryǒ sa chŏryo (Tokyo, 1960) [hereafter KSC], 2:1b-4Google Scholar. For a similar though slightly more detailed account scattered in the Annal of Hyejong, and biographies of the persons involved in the succession struggle, see Chong Inji et al., Koryŏ sa (Seoul, 1955) [hereafter KS], 2:23b 24b; 92:12a-b, 13, 14–15, 16; 93:6–7; 127:3–4b.
2 The inconsistencies and gaps in the traditional Confucian account were first pointed out by two Japanese historians in their respective studies of the succession struggle of 945: Hiroshi, Ikeuchi, “Kōrai Taiso no kōgo ni okeru ōi keishō-jō no ichi higeki,” Shirin, III, 2 (1918), pp. 70–75Google Scholar; and Bayū, Seno, “Kōrai Keisō-chō no nairan,” Shigaku zasshi, XXXVII, 10 (1926), pp. 65–78.Google Scholar
3 There are three studies by modern historians on the subject: the two Japanese studies cited in n. 2 above; the third, a more recent study which follows a power-motivation thesis similar to the one expounded by Ikeuchi, is Ha , Hyōn'gang, “Koryŏ Hyejong ûi chōngbyōn,” Sahak yōn'gu, 20 (1968), PP. 193–208.Google Scholar
4 For a more recent exposition of this view, see Pyŏngdo, Yi (Chindan Hakhoe), Han'guk sa: chungse-p'yōn (Seoul, 1962), PP. 87–94;Google Scholar and Sanggi, Kim, Koryō sidae sa (Seoul, 1961), PP. 47f.Google Scholar
5 Mu's social identification with his maternal family was due to Wang Kǒn's practice of duolocal marital residence, then prevalent in Korea; under this system, the children were raised by the mother at the residence of the maternal family. Masaaki, Ehara, “Kōrai ōzoku no seiritsu,” Chōsen Shi Kenkyū Kai ronbun shū (Tokyo), II (1966), PP. 72–74Google Scholar; Makoto, Hiraki, “Jūshichi-hasseiki ni okeru do ryōsai shosei no kizoku ni tsuite,” Chōsen gakuhō [hereafter CG] 61 (1971), PP. 66–67Google Scholar. Furthermore, the Koryŏ inheritance practice provided the daughters and the sons with equal shares of the nobi (slave) holdings of the deceased parents. Mu's identification with his maternal family thus carried a special significance because of the family's obvious economic affluence (see n. 10 below). Slaves of this period evidently constituted an important labor force as well as a readily convertible military reserve for the owner. Takashi, Hatada, “Kōrai jidai ni okeru tochi no chaku-chōshi sōzoku to dohi no shijo kinbun sōzoku,” To'yo' bunka, 22 (1957), PP. 18–19, 24–41Google Scholar; Chōngguk, Kim, “Kōrai ōchō seiritsu katei no Kenkyū,” Risshō shigaku, 25 (1961), PP. 28–30.Google Scholar
6 In one of his early royal proclamations, Wang Kǒn himself acknowledged his low origin (KS 1:12b). Kol, literally meaning “bone,” was the formal designation for the highest aristocratic stratum in Silla. For a perceptive study of the kolp'um (bone-rank) system under Silla, see Yukio, Takeda, “Shiragi no koppin daisei shakai,” Rekishi gaku kenkyū, 299 (1965), PP. 1–13.Google Scholar
7 The maritime socio-economic background of the Wang clan has been the subject of several recent studies: Hansōl, Pak, “Wang Kōn segye ūi muyōk hwaltong,” Sach'ong, 10 (1965), PP. 255–87;Google ScholarYongjung, Yi, Hu samguk ūi ch'ulhyōn kwa Koryŏe ǘihan kǘ ūi t'ongil (P'yǒngyang, 1963), PP. 124–31Google Scholar; Kaizaburō, Hino, “Ra-matsu san-koku no teiritsu to tai-dairiku kaijō kōtsū bōeki,” CG, 20 (1961), PP. 111–15Google Scholar; and Ch'ōlchun, Kim, “Hu samguk sidai ūi chibae seryōk ūi sǒngkyǒk e taehayǒ,” Yi Sangbaek paksa hoegap kinyōm nonch'ong (Seoul, 1964), PP. 261–62Google Scholar.
In contrast to the above studies, which all recognize maritime success as the underlying strength of the Wang clan, Ha Hyōn'gang, inconclusively disputing such assertions as groundless, attributes Wang Kŏn's rise to his personal politico-military success under , Kungye; “Koryŏ T'aejo wa Kaesŏng,” Yi Hongjikpaksa hoegap kinyōm Han'guk sahak nonch'ong (Seoul, 1969), PP. 127—41Google Scholar. Foragen-eral discussion of Korean domination of the East Asian maritime trade in this period, see Reischauer, Edwin O., Ennin's Travels in Tang China (New York, 1955), PP. 272–94Google Scholar.
8 KS 88:1–8; Ehara (n. 5 above), PP. 60–69; Kim (n. 5 above), PP. 28–30.
9 KS 88:1b-8.
10 The high social status implied by official titles of the fathers of the three queens was apparently acquired through their advancement under Koryŏ. Under Silla, their clans had held a relatively low status—indicated in the case of the Yu clan by Yu Chōn'gung's title of Changja (Local Chief), and in the case of the O clan by Taryōn-gun's marriage to the daughter of a certain local chieftain named Yonwi. As for their economic affluence, the KS specifically refers to the great wealth possessed by the Yu clan, whereas in the case of the O clan this i s suggested by the given name of the grandfather of Mu's mother, Pudon, which literally means “the rich” (pu- means “wealth” and -don, when used in idu writing, carries the same phonetic value as the archaic Korean word for a personal name suffix); KS 88:1 b, 3, 6. Moreover, the O clan's genealogical record relates that the progenitor of the clan was a successful Chinese merchant who came to Silla accompanying overseas traders; Yongdae, Pak et al., Chûngbo munbǒn pigo (Seoul, 1959) [hereaf ter CMP], 49:20bGoogle Scholar.
11 The maritime involvement of the Yu clan is surmised from the fact that Yu Ch'ǒn'gung was a wealthy local tycoon in Chōng-ju, where Wang Kōn made preparations for major naval expeditions against the Na-ju area (KS 1:2b, 5; 88:1b). Chōng-ju, which according to tradition sank into the sea sometime after the tenth century, was located approximately midway along the western coast of the Korean peninsula, directly facing the northern shore of Kanghwa Island; No Sasin et al., Sinjūng Tongguk yōjī sūngnam, rev. and enl. by Yi Haengetal. (Seoul, 1958) [hereafter STYS], 13:8Google Scholar. This would be the area where the Han, Imjin, and Yesong Rivers converge into the Yellow Sea, making the place a natural center of coastal shipping.
The O clan's maritime background is alluded to by its reputed progenitor, an immigrant Chinese merchant (see n. 10 above), and also by its long settlement at Mok-p'o, an important port and gateway to Na-ju. The maritime importance of Mok-p'o is evident in that the naval battles between T'aebong-Koryŏ and Hu Paekche for control of the southwestern seaboard were staged in this general area (KSC 1:2–4, 36a-b). For a detailed study of the significance of overseas trade, as well as the involvement of Chōng-ju and Mok-p'o in the naval struggle of the Later Three Kingdoms period, see Hino (n. 7 above), CG, 16 (1960), PP. 1—60; 17 (1960), PP. 87–116; 19 (1961), PP. 105–37; 20 (1961), PP. 75–6.
12 Wang Kōn's first matrimonial tie with the Yu clan took place during a stopover in Chōng-ju, where he and his troops were sumptuously feasted by his future queen's rich family. Similarly, his marriage to Mu's mother took place sometime during his celebrated Na-ju campaign (KS 88:1b-2, 3). Conspicuous absence of any military or political distinction on the part of these two clans, in contrast to that enjoyed by Wang Kōn at this time, leads us to suspect that their wealth and maritime interests were the main motives behind these marriages.
13 KS 1:9b, 11. In the Later Three Kingdoms period, only the Silla aristocrats and successful upstarts normally had surnames. The upstarts, however, seldom if ever assumed well-established Silla aristocratic surnames such as Kim, Pak, Ch'oe, etc.
Those having such surnames therefore are, as a rule, treated as belonging to the old aristocracy, Masaaki, Ehara, “Shiragimatsu Kōrai shoki no gōzoku,” Rekisbi gaku Kenkyū, 287 (1964), p. 2.Google Scholar
14 KSC 1:13b; KS 1:13a-b.
15 Such an alternative to Mu possibly did exist at this time in Prince T'ae, elder brother of Princes Yo and So. Although the birth year of Prince T'ae is unknown, it may be surmised from those of Yo and So (923 and 925 respectively), and from the presence of a sister, Princess Nangnang, who by 935 was old enough to be married to Kim Pu, the lastSilla king. The Silla-aristocratic affinity of their maternal family, the Yu clan of Ch'ung-ju, is beyond doubt, as will be discussed later in this paper. It is quite possible therefore that the opposition in 918 preferred T'ae over Mu, unless it wished to postpone altogether the selection of Wang Kōn's successor until a better Chōice became available (KS 88:3b; 90:2; 91:19b, 20b; 2:24b, 26b).
16 Pak Surhui possessed certain personality characteristics complementing his assigned role. He was by nature a man of unconventional and daring spirit. At age 18, Surhui joined a roaming rebel band as the guardsman of its leader, Kim Kungye, whom he later abandoned in favor of the usurper Wang Kŏn. Surhǘi also proved to be worthy of Wang Kǒn's trust. Once assuming the role of the chief protector of the young heir apparent, he dutifully carried out his responsibilities to the end. In the showdown between the Koryŏ and Hu Paekche forces in 936, it was Surhui who accompanied the prince in leading an initial dispatch of troops to the front (KS 2:10). Later, the founder on his deathbed entrusted to the custody of Surhui the Ten Article Injunction (Hunyo sipChō) and the perilous task of effecting a smooth transfer of the scepter—a task that ultimately claimed Surhūi's own life in 945 (KS 2:14b; 92:12a-b).
17 Hyesōng (present Myōnch'ōn in Ch'ungch'ōng Namdo) was located in close proximity to Tae-jin, a major port for overseas traffic to China (CMP 33:14b-15). Of Hyesōng's distinction as a dominant maritime center in Silla there can be no doubt. The existence of government granaries, accommodations for both Chinese and Sillan emissaries, and facilities for the commercial transactions of Chinese merchants who regularly accompanied the official embassies from China are all indications of this reputed stature. It was also at Hyesŏng that a certain Tang sChōlar named Pok is known to have helped the local residents rid the area of pirates (STYS 19:22b). And his descendant (a son?), Pok Chigyōm, emerged in later years as a loyal follower of Wang Kōn playing a key role—together with three other generals—in actuating the coup d'etat in 918 (KS 92:1-3b, 1:7b-8). The presence of P.ak Surhui and Pok Chigyōm among Wang Kōn's intimates and chief collaborators implies the significant involvement of this locality in Wang Kōn's maritime political alliances.
18 Inasmuch as both Hyesŏng and Na-ju were significantly involved in maritime activities and also were faced at this time with possible military incursion from Hu Paekche, it is not surprising to find that Pak Surhui and Mu's maternal family were politically drawn together under the tacit approval of Wang Kōn. Certainly such an interlocking affinity is inferable from the unusual manner in which Wang Kŏn deftly drew Pak Surhui in to the scheme of supporting Mu's heir apparency. In preparation for Mu's investiture in 921, Wang Kǒn stealthily imparted his secret wish to Mu's mother using an adroitly concealed, symbolistic message. On discovering the message, she prompty l sought the counsel of none other than Surhui, who at once comprehended the founder's secret resolution and accordingly made public a formal request for the appointment of Mu as heir apparent (KSC 1:17b-18;W 88:3a-b, 92:12). That this couched communication was virtually a request intended for Surhui, not directly but through the mediumof Mu's mother, speaks as much for the close relationship between these two intimates of Wang Kōn as it points to deeper reasons for Wang Kōn's designation of Surhūi as the principal supporter of the heir apparent-to-be.
19 KS 1:16b; KSC 1:18b. The presence of Kim Haengp'a along with Pak Chiryōng as the known leaders of the resettled nobles in P'yǒngyang in 922 also renders support to this possibility. Kim Haengp'a was a gifted general from Tong-ju who gave two daughters to Wang Kōn in marriage (KS 88:7a-b). His Silla-aristocratic connection can be traced first to his native Tong-ju, which formerly, as Ogwan-gun, was part of the chain of Silla fortifications linking her northwestern frontier, At the headquarters of this chain, P'aegang-jin, Silla maintained high-ranking nobles officially overseeing the military establishments of the region. Pusik, Kim et al., Samguk sagi (Tokyo, 1964) [hereafter SS] 40:17a-bGoogle Scholar; Ryōsaku, Fujita, Chōsen gaku ronkō (Nara, 1963) [hereafter CGR], PP. 358–64 (also in CG, 5 [1953], PP. 87–125)Google Scholar; Hideo, Inoue, “Shragi gunsei kō,” CG, 11 (1957), pp. 125, 148, n. 3, and CG, 12 (1958), PP. 143–44Google Scholar. Moreover, even after the region was politically separated from Silla, it maintained its regional unity acting in concert, for example, in surrendering to Kungye's camp in 904 (SS 12:2). In view of this background, it would seem most natural for the Tong-ju leader Kim Haengp'a to have sided with the ex-aristocratic opposition to Mu, as did the Pak clan of P'yong-ju, another leading clan in the chain, when the political alignment was formed over the selection of the heir apparent in Koryŏ. The Silla royal surname Kim, granted to Haengp'a by the Koryŏ founder, also suggests his Silla-aristocratic ties. Since the grant of a prominent surname almost always carried significant socio-political implications for the grantee, Wang Kōn's Chōice of Kim rather than his own surname Wang—which he normally granted on such occasions—suggests a pointed recognition of Haengp'a's status among the former nobility.
20 Ha gang, Hyōn, “Koryŏ so-gyōng ko,” Yǒksa hakpo, 35–36 (1967), PP. 142—49Google Scholar and his “Koryō so-gyǒng ui haengjōing kujo,” Han'guk sa yon'gu, 5 (1970), PP. 48ff;Google ScholarPyǒngdo, Yi, Koryŏ sidae ǘi yōn'gu (Seoul, 1948), PP. 82–84;Google ScholarKS 1:15b, 16a-b, 74:24–25, 77:38a-b; KSC 1:18b.
21 'KS 2:2.
22 KS 88:8; 1:10. The fact that Im Hǘi's official rank, P'ajinch'an, was a grade higher than the Hanch'an rank held by the Chief Councillors Kim Haengdo and Pak Chiryong in 918 indicates the importance of the post he occupied (KS 1:9b—10, 11). Furthermore, his stronghold, Chin-ju (present Chinch'ǒn in Ch'ungch'ōng Pukto), was strategically juxtaposed between Ch'ung-ju (the stronghold of the maternal clan of Princes Yo and So) and Ch'6ng-ju (a hotbed of dissension under both T'aebong and Koryŏ). Also, in 918, when Wang Kōn sensed a revolt brewing in the restless former Silla minor-capital Ch'ong-ju (Sǒwǒn-gyǒng of Silla), he dispatched royal troops to Chin-ju to deter the feared revolt (KS 92:2a-b; 1:14b). In view of Im Hui's probable non-Silla-aristocratic origin, as suggested by his surname, all this points to the political and military import underscored by the marriage.
23 In the case of Kim Kungyul, his surname and domicile indicate a Silla-aristocratic background, whereas clues concerning Taegan Yōnye are found n his Silla rank and his domicile. Yonye's surnamei unfortunately is not mentioned in the sources, as is frequently the case with records of this period. Interestingly, however, his daughter Aeiju, though mother to a son as well as a daughter of Mu, had only the title Kungin (Courtesan) whereas either Wanghu (Queen) or Puin (Lady) was conferred upon Hyejong's other consorts (KS 88:8a—b).
24 KS 93:6. Among Prince Mu's teachers and subordinates were, of course, many former nobles. A case in point was Ch'oe Ōnwi (868–944), who served as the official tutor to the heir apparent. Ōnwi—like his better-known contemporary, Ch'oe Ch'iwōn—earned the chin-shih degree in T'ang China, where he studied and spent a good part of his adult life. On returning to Korea, he served in the Silla government, and after Silla's submission he became one of the most valued intellectuals in the new Koryŏ government (KS 92:9b-10b).
25 , Iryǒn, Samguk yusa (Tokyo, 1964) 3:23b; KS 93:2–22b. KS 93:10a—b.Google Scholar
26 KS 2:2–3.
27 KS 93:101—b.
28 KS 2:17b; KSC 1:49b. He had two of his daughters married to Wang Kōn, the dynastic founder, and another t o Hyejong, Wang Kōn's suecessor to the throne (KS 88:6b-7, 8b; 127:3b; also Ehara [n. 5 above], PP. 60—69).
29 KS 2:13; KSC 1:43. In 937 he was dispatched as the head of Koryŏ's official congratulatory mission to Hou-Chin (936–947) in China on the founding of that dynasty.
30 His biography in the KS (127:3b) identifies him as a man from Kwang-ju, but no clan surnamed Wang appears under Kwang-ju proper in any of the historical gazetteers. The STYS (8:9; 6:5), however, lists a certain Ham Kyu under Yanggun-gun, the western boundary of which runs contiguously twenty-five li east of Kwang-ju across the Han River. Ham Kyu, who is named in the KS (99:26) as well as in a stone inscription, undoubtedly is none other than Wang Kyu, the difference in surname being explained by a royal bestowal of the Wang surname—an hono r frequently employed by Wang Kōn to distinguish subjects having rendered important political and military services to the dynasty; Chōsen Sotoku Fu (comp.), Chōsen kinseki soran, vol. Chō (Keijo, 1919), p. 412Google Scholar. Evidence in support of such an identification is fairly conclusive. First, both Wang Kyu and Ham Kyu served under Wang Kōn and had an identical given name. Second, the position s probably held by Wang Kyu as the father of royal consorts and a state councillor (chaesin) correspond respectively to Ham Kyu's titles, Meritorious Subject (Kongsin) and Deputy Councillor in the central government (Kwangp'yōng sirang). Nearly all Wang Kōn's fathers-in-law were titled Meritorious Subjects, and Wang Kyu could not have been an exception. The Kwangp'yōng sirang was one of th e chaesin, a collective term denoting all the officials holding the functional positions of the firstand second-grade ranks in the central government. Third, both Wang Kyu and Ham Kyu came from the same general area (under Koryŏ, Yanggǘn was placed under Kwang-ju's jurisdiction; STYS 8:6a-b). In short, the two Kyu came from the same region and served contemporaneously under Wang Kōn, holding the same positions. These facts leave little doubt that the two names as they appear in the sources actually refer to the same person.
31 The following facts are the circumstantial evidence for the conclusions drawn on Kyu's rise: (1) Wang Kōn's first direct contact with the Kwang-ju area was made when he brought the area (then Han-ju) under Kungye's control as a result of his successful military expedition through the Han River valley in 900. This expedition, undertaken at Kungye's order, was Wang Kōn's first plunge into the scramble for military alignment with local strongmen, providing him with opportunities to build a personal power base. Since the Han River most certainly provided the passageway for the expeditionary forces, it seems safe to assume that Pinyang (Yanggun) also fell to Wang K6n during this campaign (SS 12:1b, 50:3; KS 1:2). (2) In “early Koryǒ,” Pinyang was formally reinstated to both its former Koguryō name (Yanggūn) and local administrative status (kun). KS 56:19b; STYS 8:6a-b; Yun Hoe et al., Sejong sillok chiri chi, ed. by Chōsen Sōtoku Fu (Keijo, 1938) [hereafter SSCC], p. 14. This reinstatement meant a local government status elevation for Yanggun from its former sok-hyōn (of KiChōn-gun) status under Silla, presumably in recognition of the military contribution the leading clan of the area had made toward Wang Kōn's victorious campaign against the nearby Han-ju in 900. The reinstatement also suggests probable Koguryo origin of its leading clan, since Wang Kōn ordinarily designated a new place name rather than revive the old Koguryo name. Thus, in retrospect, the special exception for Yanggun suggests distinctive political deference to the Ham clan as Wang K6n's principal non-Silla-aristocratic ally in the area. [The clan appears as the first of Yanggūn's four t'osong (old clans of local prominence) in the sources (SSCC, p. 15 STYS 8:7).] For reference to Wang Kōn's practice of elevating local government status in recognition of important military assistance rendered him by a local strongman, see Takashi, Hatada, “Kōrai ōChō seiritsu no fu to gōzoku,” Hōsei shi Kenkyū, 10 (1959), PP. 1–39.Google Scholar
32 KS 88:3b.
33 CMP 52:18b. The sources unfortunately offer no direct information regarding the social status of the Yu clan under Silla.
34 SS 4:8b; STYS 14:3. References to the political and cultural importance of Chungwon-gyong (or Kugwon—both the Silla names of Ch'ung-ju) in the old kingdom are found in SS 46:1–3; 48:5a-b; 6:12; STYS 14:10a-b, 13.
35 For example, when a revolt broke out in Kyong-ju, calling for a Silla restoration as late as 1202, the rebels felt sufficient affinity with the people of Ch'ung-ju to dispatch messages there agitatingfor a similar revolt. Of the three other places that received the same messages, significantly, two of them (Ch'ōng-ju and Wōn-ju) were former Silla minor-capitals and the third (Sang-ju), though not a minor-capital, was one of the militarily important nine Silla chu (KSC I4:17a-b; KS 57:2b).
36 KS 88:8b-9. Two of Yo's three consorts were the daughters of Pak Yōnggyu, who, though himself married into the royal family of Hu Paekche, was descended from the Silla royal Pak clan (CMP 48:4b); the third was the daughter of Kim Kūngyul, whose background, as stated earlier, was Silla aristocratic.
Prince So's (Kwangjong) matrimonial pattern, though in a manner contrasting with that of his brother, is still indicative of a Silla-aristocratic preference. That is, neither of So's consorts were of known Silla-aristocratic descent, yet both were of the same patrilineal line as the prince himself, making his marriages consistently endogamous in accordance with the traditional marriage practice of Silla royalty (KS 88:9a-b). The central significance of his marriages, then, lay not in the maternal lineages of the consorts but in the endogamous Chōice that prefaced each marriage. Revealing also is the fact that when his mother died he was adopted by another ex-aristocratic consort of Wang Kōn, Lady Kang of Sin-ju. The Kang clan's ex-aristocratic background is evident in its domicile, Sin-ju, which was formerly part of the P'aegang-jin chain, and in Kang Kiju's (the father of Lady Kang) Silla rank, Ach'an. Among Wang Kōn's twenty-seven fathers-in-law (one unidentifiable), only Kang Kiju and Kim Ōngnyōm (uncle of the last Silla king) bore Silla rather than Koryō rank-titles attesting to their former noble status (KS 88:7b, 5b; 55 12:12b; Fujita, CGR, pp. 358—64).
Conspicuous absence of Prince T'ae, Yo's elder brother, is still indicative of a Silla-aristocratic preference. That is, neither of So's consorts were of known Silla-aristocratic descent, yet both were of that he was without an heir, though married to one of his half-sisters. The sources also make no mention of Pak Chiryong and Kim Haengp'a (or Kim Haengdo) in connection with the furor in 945. However, even assuming that these contemporaries of Wang Kōn were still alive then, their advanced ages must have rendered active participation infeasible.
37 KS 92:150–16; Chōsen Sōtoku Fu (n. 30 above), PP. 303, 372; Nanyōng, Yi (comp.), Han'guk kūmsŏk mun ch'ubo (Seoul, 1968), p. 143; Fujita, CGR, pp. 410–12.Google Scholar
38 Among Wang Kōn's consorts were a daughter, a sister, and a niece of Pak Sugyōng (KS 88:7b-8). Although the career of Sugyǒng's father, Chiyun, is shrouded, both Sugyōng and his brother Sumuni rose high in the Koryŏ official ladder. Sumun, less known than his famous brother, was among the three highest councillors of state to whom the dying Wang Kŏn entrusted the pending matters of the dynasty (KS 2:17b; 92:15b, 16).
39 Of the six t'osōng of P'yōng-ju, the Pak clan appears first, presumably reflecting the preeminent position it held there (SSCC, p. 247).
40 KS 1:14a-b; 58:30; 92:14— KSC 1:14b;Fujita, CGR, pp. 358–64.
41 KS 92:14. Following the destruction of P'o-hai, the Khitan mounted steadily increasing pressure against Koryŏ, culminating in a series of invasions of Koryŏ in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. SS 50:11; KSC 2:4b; KS 92:10b; Hino (n. 11 above), 19, PP. 109–19; Yi (n. 4 above), PP. 172–206; Kim (n. 4 above), PP. 72–126.
42 KS2:25b. In contrast to Hyejong, whose brief reign (943–945) shows no visible activity to strengthen Koryŏ's northern defense, Chōngjong (r. 945–949), upon ascending to the throne, lost no time in fortifying the northern frontiers. Significantly, he assigned this task to Pak Sumun and Pak Sugyong. He also mobilized a 300,000-man army in 947 in preparation for the reported Khitan invasion plan (KS 82:28b; KSC 2:4b-sb).
43 KS 92:12b-13b; KSC 2:39b.
44 For a discussion of Yōngam's involvement in Wang Kōn's Na-ju campaign, see Hino (n. 11 above), 16, PP. 54f, 57. The Ch'oe clan was the first of t'osōng there (SSCC, p. 191). For other pertinent information, see SS 50:9; SSCC, pp. 192f; STYS 35:28b, 31b, 33b; KSC 5:8.
45 KSC 2:39b; KS 92:13.
46 It should be recalled that Silla had acquired direct access to China through an overseas route onl y after she gained the control of the lower Han River basin in the sixth century, and that Kwang-ju (then Han-ju) became Silla's military bastion to retain the control of the area (Yi [n. 4 above], pp. 456–58).