Samhan
From Freepedia
| Samhan | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: | 삼한 |
| Hanja: | 三韓 |
| Revised Romanization: | Samhan |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Samhan |
During the Samhan period, the three confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan dominated the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. Sam means "three", and Han was transliterated into Chinese characters 韓, 幹, or 刊, but is unrelated with the Chinese people and states also called Han. The name of this period is reflected in the current name of South Korea, Daehan Minguk (literally, "Great Han People's Nation"). See Names of Korea.
The Samhan period is usually reckoned to begin around the time of the fall of Wiman Joseon in 108 BC, coinciding with the decline of the Jin state, and to continue through the third century CE, around which time the Three Kingdoms period begins. This period is sometimes referred to as the Proto-Three-Kingdoms period.
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Three Hans
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Gojoseon
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The Samhan are generally considered confederated kingdoms composed of walled-town states. Each appears to have had a ruling elite, whose power was a mix of politics and shamanism. Although each state appears to have had its own ruler, there is no evidence of systematic succession.
The name of the poorly understood Jin state continued to be used in the name of the Jinhan confederacy and in the name "Byeonjin," an alternate term for Byeonhan. In addition, for some time the leader of Mahan continued to call himself the King of Jin, asserting nominal overlordship over all of the Samhan confederations.
Byeonhan included 12 minor states, which later gave rise to the Gaya confederacy, subsequently absorbed by Silla. It is usually considered to have been located in the Nakdong River valley.
Jinhan included 12 minor states, one of which would later become Silla. It is usually considered to have been located along the Sea of Japan (East Sea) coast.
Mahan was the largest of the three confederacies. It was reckoned to include 54 minor states, one of which was the precursor of Baekje. Mahan is usually considered to have been located in the southwest of the peninsula, covering Jeolla, Chungcheong, and portions of Gyeonggi.
Geography
The exact locations occupied by the different Samhan confederations are disputed. It is also quite likely that their boundaries changed over time. Samguk Sagi indicates that Mahan was located in the northern region later occupied by Goguryeo, Jinhan in the region later occupied by Silla, and Byeonhan in the southwestern region later occupied by Baekje. However, the earlier Chinese San guo zhi places Mahan in the southwest, Jinhan in the southeast, and Byeonhan between them.
Villages were usually constructed deep in high mountain valleys, where they were relatively secure from attack. Mountain fortresses were also often constructed as places of refuge during war. The minor states which made up the federations are usually considered to have covered about as much land as a modern-day myeon, or township.
Based on historical and archeological records, river and sea routes appear to have been the primary means of long-distance transportation and trade (Yi, 2001, p. 246). It is thus not surprising that Jinhan and Byeonhan, with their coastal and river locations, became particularly prominent in international trade during this time.
Technology
The Samhan saw the systematic introduction of iron into the southern Korean peninsula. This was taken up with particular intensity by the Byeonhan states of the Nakdong River valley, which manufactured and exported iron armor and weapons throughout Northeast Asia.
The introduction of iron technology also facilitated growth in agriculture, as iron tools made the clearing and cultivation of land much easier. It appears that at this time the modern-day Jeolla area emerged as a center of rice production (Kim, 1974).
Relations
Until the rise of Goguryeo, the external relations of Samhan were largely limited to the Chinese commanderies located in the northern part of the peninsula. The longest standing of these, the Lelang commandery, appear to have maintained separate diplomatic relations with each individual state rather than with the heads of the confederacies as such.
In the beginning, the relationship was tributary: a political trading system in which "tribute" was exchanged for titles or prestige gifts. Official seals identified each tribal leader's authority to trade with the commandery. However, after the fall of the Kingdom of Wei in the third century, San guo zhi reports that the Lelang commandery handed out official seals freely to local commoners, no longer symbolizing political authority (Yi, 2001, p. 245).
The Chinese commanderies also supplied luxury goods and consumed local products. Han dynasty coins and beads are found throughout the Korean peninsula. These were exchanged for local iron or raw silk. After the second century CE, as Chinese influence waned, iron ingots came into use as currency for the trade based around Jinhan and Byeonhan.
Trade relations also existed with the emergent states of Japan at this time, most commonly involving the exchange of ornamental Japanese bronzeware for Korean iron. These trade relations shifted in the third century, when the Yamatai federation of Kyushu gained monopolistic control over Japanese trade with Byeonhan.
See also
References
- Kim, J.-B. (1974). Characteristics of Mahan in ancient Korean society. Korea Journal 14(6), 4-10. [1]
- Lee, K.-b. (1984). A new history of Korea. Tr. by E.W. Wagner & E.J. Schulz, based on 1979 rev. ed. Seoul: Ilchogak. ISBN 89-337-0204-0
- Yi, H.-h. (2001). International trade system in East Asia from the first to the fourth century. Korea Journal 41(4), 239-268. [2]
