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158-519: In 108 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty conquered the area under King Ugeo , a grandson of King Wiman . The Emperor set up Lelang, Lintun , Xuantu and Zhenfan , known as the Four Commanderies of Han in the northern Korean peninsula and Liaodong peninsula . The Book of Han records Lelang belonged to Youzhou , located in northwestern Gojoseon consisted of 25 prefectures , 62,812 houses, and

316-468: A 2,000-man force led by Han Qianqiu (韩千秋) and Queen Dowager Jiu's brother Jiu Le (樛乐) to try to assist the king and the queen dowager, Lü staged a coup d'état and had the king and the queen dowager killed. Lü then made another son of Zhao Yingqi, Zhao Jiande , king and went on to annihilate the Han forces under Han and Jiu. Several months later, Emperor Wu commissioned a five-pronged attack against Nanyue. In 111 BC,

474-468: A Chinese woman whom Zhao Xing's father Zhao Yingqi had married while he served as an ambassador to Han – were both in favor of becoming incorporated into Han. This was opposed by the senior prime minister, Lü Jia (吕嘉), who wanted to maintain the kingdom's independence. Queen Dowager Jiu tried to goad the Chinese ambassadors into killing Lü, but the Chinese ambassadors were hesitant to do so. When Emperor Wu sent

632-584: A Goguryeo relief force at the Battle of Mount Jupil . Goguryeo's defeat at Mount Jupil had significant consequences, as Tang forces killed over 20,000 Goguryeo soldiers and captured another 36,800, which crippled Goguryeo's manpower reserves for the rest of the conflict. However, the capable defense put up by Ansi's commanding general (whose name is controversial but traditionally is believed to be Yang Manchun ) stymied Tang forces and, in late fall, with winter fast approaching and his supplies running low, Tang forces under

790-659: A basis to deny the Korean characteristics of the artifacts". The North Koreans also say that there were two Lelangs, and that the Han actually administered a Lelang on the Liao River on the Liaodong peninsula , while Pyongyang was an "independent Korean state" of Lelang, which existed between the 2nd century BCE until the 3rd century CE. The traditional view of Lelang, according to them, was expanded by Chinese chauvinists and Japanese imperialists. These hypotheses are considered authoritative in

948-671: A blend of people from Buyeo and Yemaek, as leadership from Buyeo may have fled their kingdom and integrated with existing Yemaek chiefdoms. The Records of the Three Kingdoms , in the section titled "Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians", implied that Buyeo and the Yemaek people were ethnically related and spoke a similar language. Chinese people were also in Gorguyeo. Book 28 of Samguk sagi stated that "many people of China fled [to] East of

1106-574: A burgeoning metropolitan capital, which led Goguryeo to achieve a high level of cultural and economic prosperity. Jangsu, like his father, continued Goguryeo's territorial expansion into Manchuria and reached the Songhua River to the north. He invaded the Khitans, and then attacked the Didouyu , located in eastern Mongolia, with his Rouran allies. Like his father, Jangsu also achieved a loose unification of

1264-443: A century earlier, a Chinese General named Wiman had taken the throne of Gojoseon and had established Wiman Joseon at Wanggeom-seong , (modern Pyongyang ), which became a nominal Han vassal. When Wiman's grandson King Ugeo refused to permit Jin 's ambassadors to reach China through his territories, Emperor Wei sent an ambassador She He (涉何) to Wanggeom to negotiate a right of passage with King Ugeo, but King Ugeo refused and had

1422-407: A circle of young loyal supporters from ordinary backgrounds and promoted them to middle-level positions in order to infiltrate executive ranks in the government. These newly established officials, known as the "insider court" (内朝), took orders and reported directly to Emperor Wu. They had real influence over the operation of government affairs though lower in rank. They became a powerful counter against

1580-635: A combination of Guryeo and the prefix Go ( Korean :  고 ; Hanja :  高 ; lit.  high, big). The name came from Goguryeo- hyeon , a subdivision that was established by the Xuantu Commandery . As Han influence over Korea declined, Goguryeo-hyeon became the center of the early Goguryeo union. From the mid-5th century, Goguryeo was shortened to the calque of Goryeo ( Korean :  고려 ; Hanja :  高麗 ; Korean pronunciation: [ko.ɾjʌ] ; Middle Korean : 고ᇢ롕〮, Kwòwlyéy ), which by itself had

1738-522: A crucial political alliance with Princess Guantao. Princess Guantao's daughter Chen Jiao , also known by the milk name A'Jiao (阿嬌), was of marriageable age (which was legally marked at the time by menarche ), making her at least eight years older than the young prince. Due to this age difference, Emperor Jing initially did not approve of this union. According to the Wei-Jin era fable Hanwu Stories (漢武故事 / 汉武故事 also called Stories of Han Wudi ), during

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1896-532: A daughter from that marriage. However, her mother Zang Er (臧儿) (a granddaughter of the one-time Prince of Yan, Zang Tu , under Emperor Gao ) was told by a soothsayer that both Wang Zhi and her younger sister would one day become extremely honoured. She then got the idea to offer her daughters to the then crown prince Liu Qi, and forcibly divorced Wang Zhi from her husband at the time. After being offered to Liu Qi, Wang Zhi bore him three daughters – Princess Yangxin , Princess Nangong (南宫公主), and Princess Longlü. On

2054-528: A failed plan to trick a force of 30,000 Xiongnu into an ambush of 300,000 Han soldiers. While neither side suffered any casualties, the Xiongnu retaliated by increasing their border attacks, leading many in the Han court to abandon the hope for peace with the Xiongnu. The failure of the Mayi operation prompted Emperor Wu to switch the Han army's doctrine from the traditionally more defensive chariot – infantry warfare to

2212-575: A formal alliance with Wei to destroy the Liaodong commandery . When Liaodong was finally conquered by Wei, cooperation between Wei and Goguryeo fell apart and Goguryeo attacked the western edges of Liaodong, which incited a Wei counterattack in 244. Thus, Goguryeo initiated the Goguryeo–Wei War in 242, trying to cut off Chinese access to its territories in Korea by attempting to take a Chinese fort. However,

2370-453: A general escort She back to Han territory. When they got close to Han borders, She assassinated the general and claimed to Emperor Wu that he had defeated Joseon in battle. Emperor Wu, unaware of his deception, made him the military commander of the Commandery of Liaodong (modern central Liaoning ). King Ugeo, offended, made a raid on Liaodong and killed She. In response, Emperor Wu commissioned

2528-559: A great crisis. Turning to domestic stability and the unification of various conquered tribes, Sosurim proclaimed new laws, embraced Buddhism as the state religion in 372, and established a national educational institute called the Taehak ( Korean :  태학 ; Hanja :  太學 ). Due to the defeats that Goguryeo had suffered at the hands of the Xianbei and Baekje , Sosurim instituted military reforms aimed at preventing such defeats in

2686-547: A great strain on the national treasury and caused difficulties on the locales that he visited, twice causing the governors of commanderies to commit suicide after they were unable to supply the emperor's entire train. In 112 BC, a crisis in the Kingdom of Nanyue (modern Guangdong , Guangxi, and northern Vietnam ) erupted, leading to military intervention. At that time, the King Zhao Xing and his mother Queen Dowager Jiu (樛太后) –

2844-609: A group label associated with Yemaek tribes is a reference in the Han Shu that discusses a Goguryeo revolt in 12 AD, during which they broke away from the influence of the Xuantu Commandery. According to Book 37 of the Samguk sagi , Goguryeo originated north of ancient China , then gradually moved east to the side of Taedong River. At its founding, the Goguryeo people are believed to be

3002-466: A highly mobile and offensive cavalry-against-cavalry warfare. At the same time, he expanded and trained officers from his royal guards. After a series of defeats by Wei Qing (the half-brother of Emperor Wu's favourite concubine) and Wei's nephew, Huo Qubing between 127 and 119 BC, the Xiongnu were expelled from the Ordos Desert and Qilian Mountains . As a result of these territorial acquisitions,

3160-750: A length of fortified wall along the border of the Hexi Corridor, colonizing the area with 700,000 Chinese soldier-settlers. The Battle of Mobei (119 BC) saw Han forces invade the northern regions of the Gobi Desert . The two generals led the campaign to the Khangai Mountains where they forced the Chanyu to flee north of the Gobi Desert, and then out of the Gobi Desert. The Xiongnu, destabilized and worried about further Han attacks, retreated further north into

3318-442: A major campaign against Goguryeo. In 645, Emperor Taizong , who had a personal ambition to defeat Goguryeo and was determined to succeed where Emperor Yang had failed, personally led an attack on Goguryeo. The Tang army captured a number of Goguryeo fortresses, including the important Yodong/Liaodong Fortress (遼東城, in modern Liaoyang , Liaoning ). During his first campaign against Goguryeo, Taizong famously showed generously to

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3476-675: A major impact on the development of Korean culture. Until the North Korean challenge, it was universally accepted that Lelang was a commandery established by Emperor Wu of Han after he defeated Gojoseon in 108 BCE. To deal with the Han dynasty tombs, North Korean scholars have reinterpreted them as the remains of Gojoseon or Goguryeo. For those artifacts that bear undeniable similarities to those found in Han China, they propose that they were introduced through trade and international contact, or were forgeries, and "should not by any means be construed as

3634-652: A mediator in seeking the Emperor's reconciliation with his powerful grandmother. Princess Guantao took every opportunity to influence the Grand Empress and also constantly made demands on behalf of her nephew / son-in-law. Emperor Wu, already unhappy with his lack of an heir and Empress Chen's spoiled behavior, was further enraged by her mother Princess Liu Piao's greed, that she took a lot from him in everything she did for him. However, Emperor Wu's mother, Empress Dowager Wang, convinced him to tolerate Empress Chen and Liu Piao for

3792-469: A particular divinity in the historical Chinese religious pantheon existing at that time. Combined, "Wu" plus "di" makes the name "Wudi", the emperor's posthumous name used for historical and religious purposes, such as offering him posthumous honours at his tomb. The emperor's temple tablet name is Shizong (世宗) One of Han Wudi's innovations was the practice of changing reign names after a number of years, as deemed auspicious or to commemorate some event. Thus,

3950-436: A plan that many dynasties would repeat later: creating national monopolies for salt and iron . The national treasury would further purchase other consumer goods when the prices were low and sell them when the prices were high at profit, thus replenishing the treasury while at the same time making sure the price fluctuation would not be too great. In 109 BC, Emperor Wu started yet another territorial expansion campaign . Nearly

4108-520: A prince from the Buyeo kingdom named Jumong fled after a power struggle with other princes of the court and founded Goguryeo in 37 BC in a region called Jolbon Buyeo , usually thought to be located in the middle Amnok/Yalu and Hun River basin. In 75 BC, a group of Yemaek who may have originated from Goguryeo made an incursion into China's Xuantu Commandery west of the Yalu. The first mention of Goguryeo as

4266-510: A record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later – and remains the record for ethnic Han emperors. His reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization , and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies, economical reorganization and promotion of a hybrid Legalist – Confucian doctrine. In

4424-518: A royal relative and the Prince of Huainan. Minyue nobles, fearful of the massive Chinese force, assassinated their king Luo Ying (骆郢) and sought peace. Emperor Wu then imposed a dual-monarchy system on Minyue by creating kings out of Luo Ying's brother Luo Yushan (雒余善) and nobleman Zou Chou (驺丑), thus ensuring internal discord in Minyue . Although initially launched as a punitive expedition by Emperor Wu against

4582-538: A second and shorter captivity by Xiongnu. After the Prince of Hunxie surrendered the Gansu region, the path to Xiyu became clear and regular embassies between Han and the Xiyu kingdoms commenced. Another expansion plan, this one aimed at the south-west, was aimed at the eventual conquest of Nanyue, which was viewed as an unreliable vassal. The plan was to first obtain submission of the south-western tribal kingdoms—the largest of which

4740-571: A small group of his followers from his native country. A traditional account from the "Annals of Baekje" section in the Samguk sagi says that Soseono was the daughter of Yeon Tabal, a wealthy influential figure in Jolbon and married to Jumong. However, the same source officially states that the king of Jolbon gave his daughter to Jumong, who had escaped with his followers from Eastern Buyeo, in marriage. She gave her husband, Jumong, financial support in founding

4898-432: A subsequent royal gathering, Princess Guantao held the 5-year-old Liu Che in her arms and asked the nephew whether he wanted to marry his first cousin A'Jiao. The young prince boasted that he would "build a golden house for her" if they were married. Princess Guantao then used the boy's response as a divine sign to convince Emperor Jing to finally agree to the arranged marriage between Liu Che and Chen Jiao. This inspired

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5056-880: A two-pronged attack (one by land and one by sea) against Joseon. Initially, Joseon offered to become a vassal, but peace negotiations broke down by the Chinese forces' refusal to let a Joseon force escort its crown prince to Chang'an to pay tribute to Emperor Wu. Han took over the Joseon lands in 108 BC and established four commanderies. Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) ( Korean :  고구려 ; Hanja :  高句麗 ; RR :  Goguryeo ; lit.  high castle; Korean pronunciation: [ko̞.ɡu.ɾjʌ̹] ; Old Korean : Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo ( Korean :  고려 ; Hanja :  高麗 ; RR :  Goryeo ; lit.  high and beautiful; Korean pronunciation: [ko.ɾjʌ] ; Middle Korean : 고ᇢ롕〮, kwòwlyéy ),

5214-479: Is in the 4th-century Gwanggaeto Stele . Jumong is the modern Korean transcription of the hanja 朱蒙 Jumong , 鄒牟 Chumo , or 仲牟 Jungmo . The Stele states that Jumong was the first king and ancestor of Goguryeo and that he was the son of the prince of Buyeo and daughter of Habaek ( Korean :  하백 ; Hanja :  河伯 ), the god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation,

5372-921: Is now northeastern Korea as well as the Dongye and other tribes in Southeastern Manchuria and Northern Korea. From the increase of resources and manpower that these subjugated tribes gave him, Taejodae led Goguryeo in attacking the Han Commanderies of Lelang and Xuantu on the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas, becoming fully independent from them. Generally, Taejodae allowed the conquered tribes to retain their chieftains, but required them to report to governors who were related to Goguryeo's royal line; tribes under Goguryeo's jurisdiction were expected to provide heavy tribute. Taejodae and his successors channeled these increased resources to continuing Goguryeo's expansion to

5530-465: Is recorded to have conquered the tribal states of Biryu ( Korean :  비류국 ; Hanja :  沸流國 ) in 36 BC, Haeng-in ( Korean :  행인국 ; Hanja :  荇人國 ) in 33 BC, and Northern Okjeo in 28 BC. Goguryeo developed from a league of various Yemaek tribes to an early state and rapidly expanded its power from their original basin of control in the Hun River drainage. In

5688-610: Is sometimes called "Greater Lelang commandery". Since Lelang became too large, the Defender of the Southern Section (南部都尉) was set up to rule the seven prefectures which formerly belonged to Zhenfan. Before that, the Defender of the Eastern Section (東部都尉) was set up to rule former Lintun's seven prefectures. Immigrants mainly from Yan and Qi settled in the former Gojoseon lands and brought with them Chinese culture . Among them,

5846-531: The Chinese idiom "putting Jiao in a golden house" (金屋藏嬌). Now sealed in the marriage alliance with Consort Wang, Princess Guantao began incessantly criticising Lady Li in front of Emperor Jing. Over time, Emperor Jing started to believe his sister's words, so he decided to test out Lady Li. One day he asked Lady Li whether she would happily foster-care the rest of his children if he were to pass away, only to have her rudely refuse to comply. This made Emperor Jing angry and worried that if Liu Rong were to inherit

6004-544: The Daifang Commandery by separating the southern half from the Lelang commandery. Balgi, a brother of King Sansang of Goguryeo , defected to Kang and asked for Kang's aid to help him take the throne of Goguryeo. Although Goguryeo defeated the first invasion and killed Balgi, in 209, Kang invaded Goguryeo again, seized some of its territory and weakened Goguryeo. Pressure from Liaodong forced Goguryeo to move their capital in

6162-584: The Han conquest of Gojoseon in what is now present-day North Korea and Manchuria . Han Chinese colonists in the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies of northern Korea would later fight against frequent raids by the Goguryeo and Buyeo kingdoms. However, they would engage in mostly peaceful trade relations with surrounding Korean peoples over the centuries, the latter of whom became gradually and significantly influenced by Chinese culture . The exploration into Xiyu

6320-573: The Han forces captured the Nanyue capital Panyu (番禺, modern Guangzhou ) and annexed the entire Nanyue territory into Han, establishing ten commanderies. That same year, one of the co-kings of Minyue (modern Fujian ), Luo Yushan, was fearful that Han would attack his kingdom next and made a pre-emptive attack against Han, capturing a number of towns in former Nanyue and in the other border commanderies. In 110 BC, under Han military pressure, Luo Yushan's co-king Luo Jugu (骆居古) assassinated him and surrendered

6478-487: The Siberian regions where they suffered starvation due to livestock loss from harsh climates. The battle was however also costly for the Han forces, which lost almost 80% of their warhorses. The cost of the war led the central Han government to introduce new levies, increasing the burden on average peasants, and the population census of the empire showed a significant drop from famines and people fleeing to avoid having to pay

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6636-607: The Three Kingdoms of Korea . He defeated Baekje and Silla and gained large amounts of territory from both. In addition, Jangsu's long reign saw the perfecting of Goguryeo's political, economic and other institutional arrangements. Jangsu ruled Goguryeo for 79 years until the age of 98, the longest reign in East Asian history. During the reign of Munja , Goguryeo completely annexed Buyeo, signifying Goguryeo's furthest-ever expansion north, while continuing its strong influence over

6794-617: The Tributary system of China . However, Goguryeo continued insistence on an equal relationship with Sui, its reinstatement of the imperial title "Taewang" (Emperor in Korean) of the East and its continued raids into Sui territory greatly angered the Sui Court. Furthermore, Silla and Baekje, both under threat from Goguryeo, requested Sui assistance against Goguryeo as all three Korean kingdoms had desired to seize

6952-513: The Yellow Sea , opening up direct trade and diplomatic access to the Chinese dynasties and accelerating Silla's adoption of Chinese culture . Thus, Silla could rely less on Goguryeo for elements of civilization and could get culture and technology directly from China . This increasing tilt of Silla to China would result in an alliance that would prove disastrous for Goguryeo in the late 7th century. The Sui dynasty 's reunification of China for

7110-445: The political child marriage officially became Empress Chen . The Han dynasty up to this point was run according to a Taoist wu wei ideology, championing economic freedom and government decentralization . With regard to foreign policy-wise, periodic heqin was used to maintain a de jure "peace" with the powerful Xiongnu confederacy to the north. These policies were important in stimulating economic recovery following

7268-567: The post-Qin dynasty civil war , but had their drawbacks. The non-interventionist policies resulted in loss of monetary regulation and political control by the central government, allowing the feudal vassal states to become powerful and unruly, culminating in the Rebellion of the Seven States during Emperor Jing's reign. Nepotism among the ruling class also stagnated social mobility and encouraged nobles' rampant disregard of laws, leading to

7426-455: The "outsider court" (外朝) made up of the Three Lords and Nine Ministers that, at the time, were mostly composed of anti-reformists. Furthermore, Emperor Wu sent out nationwide edicts appealing to grassroots scholars such as Gongsun Hong to enrol in government services in an attempt to break the stranglehold that the older-generation noble class had on the nation's levers of power. In 138 BC,

7584-545: The 5th century, and is the origin of the English name "Korea". The kingdom was originally called Guryeo ( Old Korean : 句麗, Yale : Kwulye , /ɡuɾ.jʌ̹/ ) or something similar to kaukuri ( /ko̞ːkɯ̟ᵝɾʲi/ )), Both words were derived from "忽" ( *kuru or *kolo ) which meant castle or fortress. The word was possibly a Wanderwort like the Middle Mongolian qoto-n . Several possible cognates for 忽 exist as well, which

7742-569: The 7th century, territorial control of the peninsula would be contested primarily by the Three Kingdoms of Korea . Goguryeo met major setbacks and defeats during the reign of Gogukwon in the 4th century. In the early 4th century, the nomadic proto-Mongol Xianbei people occupied northern China; during the winter of 342, the Xianbei of Former Yan , ruled by the Murong clan, attacked and destroyed Goguryeo's capital, Hwando, capturing 50,000 Goguryeo men and women to use as slave labor in addition to taking

7900-529: The Chinese northeast and instead ordered households who wished to return to coastal and central China to do so, evacuating the region of Chinese settlers. The Jin Shu records the number of households in the Korean commanderies of Lelang and Daifeng as 8,600 households, less than a sixth of the figures given in the Hou Han Shu for Lelang (which included Daifeng). Liaodong would be out of Chinese hands for centuries due to

8058-578: The Chinese records on the Han commandries. However, Bak Jiwon (born 1737) , a Silhak scholar who visited Qing dynasty in 1780, claimed that the location of commandries were in Liaodong area in his The Jehol Diary . Ri Ji Rin (Lee Ji Rin), a North Korean historian who obtained his Ph.D. in history from Peking University in China, suggests in Research on Ancient Korea that based on the initial records of Chinese texts and archaeological findings in Liaodong area,

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8216-781: The Empire's borders spanned from the Fergana Valley in the west, to northern Korea in the east, and to northern Vietnam in the south. Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China, and dispatched his envoy Zhang Qian into the Western Regions in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Greater Yuezhi and Kangju , which resulted in further diplomatic missions to Central Asia. Although historical records do not describe him as being aware of Buddhism , emphasizing rather his interest in shamanism ,

8374-684: The Goguryeo-Baekje alliance. Since the early 7th century, Silla had been forced on the defensive by both Baekje and Goguryeo, which had not yet formally allied but had both desired to erode Sillan power in the Han Valley. During the reign of King Jinpyeong of Silla , numerous fortresses were lost to both Goguryeo and the continuous attacks took a toll on Silla and its people. During Jinpyeong's reign, Silla made repeated requests beseeching Sui China to attack Goguryeo. Although these invasions were ultimately unsuccessful, in 643, once again under pressure from

8532-464: The Goguryeo–Baekje alliance, Jinpyeong's successor, Queen Seondeok of Silla , requested military aid from Tang. Although Taizong had initially dismissed Silla's offers to pay tribute and its requests for an alliance on account of Seondeok being a woman, he later accepted the offer due to Goguryeo's growing belligerence and hostile policy towards both Silla and Tang. In 644, Tang began preparations for

8690-498: The Great (r. 391–412) was a highly energetic emperor who is remembered for his rapid military expansion of the realm. He instituted the era name of Yeongnak or Eternal Rejoicing , affirming that Goguryeo was on equal standing with the dynasties in the Chinese mainland. Gwanggaeto conquered 64 walled cities and 1,400 villages during his campaigns. To the west, he destroyed neighboring Khitan tribes and invaded Later Yan , conquering

8848-554: The Han Commanderies were located in Liaodong Peninsula . South Korea Historian Yoon, Nae-Hyun also suggests that the Han commanderies were not in Korean peninsula, claiming that there is no archaeological evidence. Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87   BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong , was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years –

9006-500: The Han River valley, an important strategic area close to the center of the peninsula and a very rich agricultural region. After Baekje exhausted themselves with a series of costly assaults on Goguryeo fortifications, Silla troops, arriving on the pretense of offering assistance, attacked and took possession of the entire Han River valley in 553. Incensed by this betrayal, Seong launched a retaliatory strike against Silla's western border in

9164-411: The Han court. Emperor Wu dispatched an amphibious expedition force led by Wang Hui (王恢) and Han Anguo (韩安国) to address the Minyue threat. Again fearing the Han intervention, Luo Yushan (雒余善), the younger brother of Minyue's King Ying, orchestrated a coup with other Minyue nobles, killed his brother with a spear, decapitated the corpse and sent the severed head to Wang. Following the campaign, Minyue

9322-469: The Han dynasty successfully opened up the Northern Silk Road , allowing direct access to trade with Central Asia. This also provided a new supply of high-quality horse breeds from Central Asia, including the famed Ferghana horse (ancestors of the modern Akhal-Teke ), further strengthening the Han army. Emperor Wu then reinforced this strategic asset by establishing five commanderies and constructing

9480-407: The Han forces. The two states of Minyue and Dongyue were then completely annexed under the Han rule. In 135 BC, when Minyue attacked Nanyue , Nanyue also sought assistance from Han even though it probably had enough strength to defend itself. Emperor Wu was greatly pleased by this gesture, and he dispatched an expedition force to attack Minyue, over the objection of one of his key advisors, Liu An ,

9638-536: The Han. Enraged, Emperor Wu sent a combined army led by generals Han Yue (韩说), Yang Pu, Wang Wenshu (王温舒) and two marquesses of Yue ancestry. The Han army crushed the rebellion, and the Dongyue kingdom began to fragment after King Yushan stubbornly refused to surrender. Elements of the Dongyue army defected and turned against their ruler. Eventually, the king of the other Minyue state, Zou Jugu (驺居股), conspired with other Dongyue nobles to kill King Yushan before surrendering to

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9796-546: The Hun River valley to the Yalu River valley near Hwando . In the chaos following the fall of the Han dynasty , the former Han commanderies had broken free of control and were ruled by various independent warlords. Surrounded by these commanderies, who were governed by aggressive warlords, Goguryeo moved to improve relations with the newly created dynasty of Cao Wei in China and sent tribute in 220. In 238, Goguryeo entered into

9954-486: The Korean Peninsula, and achieved undisputed control of most of Manchuria and over two thirds of the Korean Peninsula. Gwanggaeto's exploits were recorded on a huge memorial stele erected by his son Jangsu, located in present-day Ji'an on the border between China and North Korea. Jangsu (r. 413–491) ascended to the throne in 413 and moved the capital in 427 to Pyongyang , a more suitable region to grow into

10112-460: The Korean peninsula by conquering Lelang in 313. After Lelang's fall, some commandery residents may have fled south to the indigenous Han polities there, bringing with them their culture that spread to the southern part of the Korean peninsula. With the collapse of the commanderies after four centuries of Chinese rule, Goguryeo and the native polities in the south that became Baekje and Silla began to grow and develop rapidly, heavily influenced by

10270-556: The Korean peninsula, and the Mohe people in Manchuria , who would later become the Jurchens . Goguryeo experienced a golden age under Gwanggaeto the Great and his son Jangsu . During this period, Goguryeo territories included three fourths of the Korean Peninsula , including what is now Seoul , almost all of Manchuria, and parts of Inner Mongolia . There is archaeological evidence that Goguryeo's maximum extent lay even further west in now Mongolia , based on discoveries of Goguryeo fortress ruins in Mongolia. Gwanggaeto

10428-431: The Lelang Commandery actually existed outside of the Korean Peninsula, and place them somewhere on the Liaodong Peninsula instead. The characterization of Japanese historical and archaeological findings in Korea as imperialist forgeries owes in part to those scholars' discovery of the Lelang Commandery—by which the Han dynasty administered territory near Pyongyang—and insistence that this Chinese commandery had

10586-428: The Liaodong, Lelang and Xuantu commanderies. As Goguryeo extended its reach into the Liaodong Peninsula , the last Chinese commandery at Lelang was conquered and absorbed by Micheon in 313, bringing the remaining northern part of the Korean peninsula into the fold. This conquest resulted in the end of Chinese rule over territory in the northern Korean peninsula, which had spanned 400 years. From that point on, until

10744-421: The North Korean academic community, which is supported by some historians in South Korea, but this theory is not recognized at all in the academic circles of the United States , China and Japan . The majority of Korean scholars from the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties considered the location of Lelang county somewhere around today's Pyongyang area based on the Korean history record Samguk sagi which referred to

10902-399: The Old Japanese one for castle 城 ki , considered a borrowing from Baekje 己 *kuy , in turn a borrowing from Goguryeo 忽 *kolo . Middle Korean 골〯 kwǒl [ko̞ɭ] and ᄀᆞ옳 kòwòlh [kʌ̀.òl] ("district") are likely descended from *kolo . The name Goguryeo ( Korean :  고구려 ; Hanja :  高句麗 ; Korean pronunciation: [ko̞ɡuɾjʌ̹] ), which means "high castle", is

11060-509: The Prince of Huainan (a previously trusted adviser of Emperor Wu, and closely enough related to have imperial pretensions) and his brother Liu Ci (刘赐), the Prince of Hengshan, were accused of plotting treason. They committed suicide; their families and many alleged co-conspirators were executed. Similar action was taken against the other vassal Princes, and by the end of the reign, all the vassal kingdoms had been political and militarily disabled. A famous wrongful execution happened in 117 BC, when

11218-406: The Queen Dowager and Queen prisoner, and forced Gogukwon to flee for a while. The Xianbei also devastated Buyeo in 346, accelerating Buyeo migration to the Korean peninsula. In 371, Geunchogo of Baekje killed Gogukwon in the Battle of Chiyang and sacked Pyongyang , one of Goguryeo's largest cities. Sosurim , who succeeded the slain Gogukwon, reshaped the nation's institutions to save it from

11376-644: The Sea due to the chaos of war by Qin and Han". Later Han dynasty established the Four Commanderies, and in 12 AD Goguryeo made its first attack on the Xuantu Commandery. The population of Xuantu Commandery was about 221,845 in 2 AD, and they lived in the commandery's three counties of Gaogouli, Shangyintai, and Xigaima. Later on, Goguryeo gradually annexed all the Four Commanderies of Han during its expansion. Both Goguryeo and Baekje shared founding myths and originated from Buyeo . The earliest mention of Jumong

11534-470: The Wang clan, whose ancestor is said to have fled there from Qi in the 2nd century BC, became powerful. While the Han dynasty was taken over by Wang Mang , Wang Tiao (王調) started a rebellion and tried to secede from China. In 30 AD, the rebellion was stopped by Wang Zun (王遵), whom Emperor Guangwu appointed as governor. The Han dynasty reasserted its authority over Lelang in the late 1st and 2nd centuries. However,

11692-598: The Wei state responded by invading and defeated Goguryeo. The capital at Hwando was destroyed by Wei forces in 244. It is said that Dongcheon , with his army destroyed, fled for a while to the Okjeo state in the east. Wei invaded again in 259 but was defeated at Yangmaenggok; according to the Samguk sagi , Jungcheon assembled 5,000 elite cavalry and defeated the invading Wei troops, beheading 8,000 enemies. In only 70 years, Goguryeo rebuilt its capital Hwando and again began to raid

11850-451: The advice of General Yang Pu (杨仆), Emperor Wu rejected a military solution, and the Han forces arrived home without attacking Dongyue, though border garrisons were told to prepare for any military conflicts. After King Yushan was informed of this, he became overly confident and proud and responded by revolting against the Han, proclaiming himself emperor and assigned his "Han-devouring generals" (吞汉将军) to invade neighbouring regions controlled by

12008-515: The alternative proposal that the Guguryeo people were first located in or around Liaoxi (western Liaoning and parts of Inner Mongolia ) and later migrated eastward, pointing to another account in the Book of Han . The early Goguryeo tribes from whom the administrative name is derived were located close to or within the area of control of the Xuantu Commandery. Its tribal leaders also appeared to have held

12166-472: The autonomous kingdom of Nanyue , the entire Nanyue territory (which includes modern Guangdong , Guangxi , and North Vietnam ) had been conquered by the Emperor's military forces and annexed into the Han Empire by 111 BC. Military tension had long existed between China and the northern " barbarians ", mainly because the fertile lands of the prosperous agricultural civilization presented attractive targets for

12324-525: The case of Emperor Yingzong of Ming ). In 104 BCE (1st year of the Tai'chu (太初) era), a new calendar was put into effect: the Tai'chu calendar (太初历). This calendar came about due to the observations of three officials (Gongsun Qing (公孙卿), Hu Sui (壶遂) and Sima Qian (author of Shiji ) that the calendar then in use was in need of reform. Among other reforms, the Taichu calendar made the zheng month (正月, also known as

12482-539: The city. In 427 Goguryeo moved its capital to Pyongyang from its former capital of Ji'an as the new political center of the kingdom in order to administer its territories more effectively. In the North Korean academic community and some parts of the South Korean academic community, the Han dynasty 's rule in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula have been denied. Proponents of this revisionist theory claim that

12640-473: The command Prince Li Daozong attempted to build a rampart to seize the city in a last ditch effort, but was foiled when Goguryeo troops managed to seize control of it. Afterwards, Taizong decided to withdraw in the face of incoming Goguryeo reinforcements, deteriorating weather conditions and the difficult supply situation. The campaign was unsuccessful for the Tang Chinese, failing to capture Ansi Fortress after

12798-546: The commanderies, initially nearby Chang'an , but later extending to much farther places, worshipping the various gods on the way, perhaps again in search of immortality . He also had a succession of magicians whom he honoured with great things. In one case, he even made one a marquess and married his daughter, the Eldest Princess Wei, to him; that magician, Luan Da , was later exposed as a fraud and executed. Emperor Wu's expenditures on these tours and magical adventures put

12956-524: The concubine of Geumwa . Jumong was well known for his exceptional archery skills. Eventually, Geumwa's sons became jealous of him, and Jumong was forced to leave Eastern Buyeo . The Stele and later Korean sources disagree as to which Buyeo Jumong came from. The Stele says he came from Buyeo and the Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi say he came from Eastern Buyeo. Jumong eventually made it to Jolbon , where he married Soseono , daughter of its ruler. He subsequently became king himself, founding Goguryeo with

13114-399: The crown prince to the Prince of Linjiang (臨江王) and exiling him from the capital city Chang'an in 150 BC. Lady Li was stripped of her titles and placed under house arrest ; she died of depression not long after. Liu Rong was arrested two years later for illegal seizure of imperial shrine lands and committed suicide while in custody. As Empress Bo had been deposed one year earlier in 151 BC,

13272-470: The cultural exchanges that occurred as a consequence of these embassies suggest that he received Buddhist statues from Central Asia, as depicted in the murals found in the Mogao Caves . Emperor Wu is considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history due to his strong leadership and effective governance, which made the Han dynasty one of the most powerful nations in the world. Michael Loewe called

13430-420: The culture of the Four Commanderies of Han . Goguryeo absorbed much of what was left of Lelang through its infrastructure, economy, local inhabitants, and advanced culture. Unable to govern the region directly and form a new political center immediately, Goguryeo began to consolidate authority by replacing previous government administrators with its own appointed officials, mostly refugees and exiles from China,

13588-466: The day of Liu Qi's accession to the throne as Emperor Jing of Han (upon the death of his father Emperor Wen in 156 BC), Wang Zhi gave birth to Liu Che and was promoted to a consort for giving birth to a royal prince. While she was pregnant, she claimed that she dreamed of a sun falling into her womb. Emperor Jing was ecstatic over the divine implication, and made the young Liu Che the Prince of Jiaodong (胶东王) on 16 May 153 BC. An intelligent boy, Liu Che

13746-505: The defeated inhabitants of numerous Goguryeo fortresses, refusing to permit his troops to loot downs and enslave inhabitants and when faced with protest from his commanders and soldiers, rewarded them with his own money. Ansi City (in modern Haicheng , Liaoning), which was the last fortress that would clear the Liaodong Peninsula of significant defensive works and was promptly put under siege. Initially, Taizong and his forces achieve great progress, when his numerically inferior force smashed

13904-404: The desert, but was able to escape around 129 BC and eventually made it to Yuezhi, which by then had relocated to Samarkand . While Yuezhi refused to return, it and several other kingdoms in the area, including Dayuan ( Kokand ) and Kangju , established diplomatic relations with Han. Zhang was able to deliver his report to Emperor Wu when he arrived back in the capital Chang'an in 126 BC after

14062-517: The dwindling local population of remaining Han Chinese residents. The Zizhi Tongjian states that Zhang Tong (張統) of Liaodong, Wang Zun (王遵) of Lelang and over one thousand households decided to break away from Jin and submit to the Xianbei warlord of Former Yan Murong Hui . Murong Hui relocated the remnants of the commandery to the west within Liaodong. Goguryeo annexed the former territory of Lelang in 313. Goguryeo ended Chinese rule over any part of

14220-500: The emperor even went so far as to construct a "House of Life" ( shou gong ) chapel at his Ganquan palace complex (in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi) specifically for this purpose, in 118 BC. One of the religious rituals that Emperor Wu organized was the Suburban Sacrifice, and the nineteen hymns entitled Hymns for Use in the Suburban Sacrifice were written in connection with these religious rites and published during Wu's reign. It

14378-510: The end of her life. But now with the military firmly in his control, Emperor Wu's political survival was assured, and his grandmother or anyone else could no longer threaten to dethrone him as directly, easily and quickly as before. In the same year, Emperor Wu's newly favoured concubine Wei Zifu became pregnant with his first child, effectively clearing his name and silencing any political enemies who had schemed to use his alleged infertility as an excuse to have him removed. When this news reached

14536-505: The entire Liaodong Peninsula ; to the north and east, he annexed much of Buyeo and conquered the Sushen , who were Tungusic ancestors of the Jurchens and Manchus ; and to the south, he defeated and subjugated Baekje , contributed to the dissolution of Gaya , and vassalized Silla after defending it from a coalition of Baekje, Gaya, and Wa. Gwanggaeto brought about a loose unification of

14694-524: The field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly increased, directly and indirectly. During his reign as Emperor, he led the Han dynasty through its greatest territorial expansion. At its height,

14852-415: The final step to defeat Lady Li — she persuaded a minister to officially advise Emperor Jing that he make Lady Li empress, as Liu Rong was already the crown prince. Emperor Jing, already firm in his view that Lady Li must not be made empress, was enraged and believed that Lady Li had conspired with government officials. He executed the clan of the minister who had made that proposal, and deposed Liu Rong from

15010-501: The first month) the beginning of a new year, rather than the tenth month in the Zhuanxu calendar. From then on, the Chinese calendar had retained the property of having the first month as the beginning of the year. Liu Che was the 11th son of Liu Qi , the oldest living son from Emperor Wen of Han . His mother Wang Zhi (王娡) was initially married to a commoner named Jin Wangsun (金王孫) and had

15168-536: The first time in centuries was met with alarm in Goguryeo, and Pyeongwon of Goguryeo began preparations for a future war by augmenting military provisions and training more troops. Although Sui was far larger and stronger than Goguryeo, the Baekje-Silla Alliance that had driven Goguryeo from the Han Valley had fallen apart, and thus Goguryeo's southern border was secure. Initially, Goguryeo tried to appease Sui by offering tribute as Korean kingdoms had done under

15326-472: The following year but was captured and killed. The war, along the middle of the Korean peninsula , had very important consequences. It effectively made Baekje the weakest player on the Korean Peninsula and gave Silla an important resource and population rich area as a base for expansion. Conversely, it denied Goguryeo the use of the area, which weakened the kingdom. It also gave Silla direct access to

15484-470: The former state of Jin (in the area of the modern province of Shanxi ) as official religious functionaries of his new empire. Emperor Wu worshiped the divinity Tai Yi (or, Dong Huang Tai Yi), a deity to whom he was introduced by his shaman advisers, who were able to provide him with the experience of having this god (and other spiritual entities, such as the Master of Fate, Si Ming ) summoned into his presence;

15642-467: The future. Sosurim's internal arrangements laid the groundwork for Gwanggaeto's expansion. His successor and the father of Gwanggaeto the Great , Gogukyang , invaded Later Yan , the successor state of Former Yan, in 385 and Baekje in 386. Goguryeo used its military to protect and exploit semi-nomadic peoples, who served as vassals, foot soldiers, or slaves, such as the Okjeo people in the northeast end of

15800-455: The gods of heaven and earth to seek immortality. He then decreed that he would return to Mount Tai every five years to repeat the ceremony, but only did so once in 98 BC. Many palaces were built for him and the princes to accommodate the anticipated cycles of the ceremony. It was around this time that, in reaction to the large expenditures by Emperor Wu that had exhausted the national treasury, his agricultural minister Sang Hongyang conceived of

15958-445: The government. While his mother, Empress Dowager Wang, and his uncle Tian Fen were still heavily influential, they also benefited from the death of the old woman, especially the mother of Emperor Wu, but they lacked the ability to restrain the Emperor's actions. Emperor Wu began military campaigns focused on territorial expansion. This decision nearly destroyed his empire in its early stages. Reacting to border incursions by sending out

16116-503: The great nobles of Goguryeo, and plotted with other officials to kill him. However, Yeon Gaesomun caught news of the plot and killed Yeongnyu and 100 officials, initiating a coup d'état . He proceeded to enthrone Yeongnyu's nephew, Go Jang, as King Bojang while wielding de facto control of Goguryeo himself as the Dae Magniji ( 대막리지 ; 大莫離支 ; a position equivalent to a modern era dual office of prime minister and generalissimo ). At

16274-541: The interests of the nobles and were swiftly defeated by his powerful grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Dou , who held real political power in the Han court and supported the conservative factions. Most of the reformists were punished: Emperor Wu's two noble supporters Dou Ying (窦婴) and Tian Fen (田蚡, Empress Dowager Wang's half-brother and Emperor's uncle) lost their positions, and his two mentors Wang Zang (王臧) and Zhao Wan (赵绾) were impeached, arrested and forced to commit suicide in prison. Emperor Wu, deprived of any allies,

16432-509: The kingdom to Han. However, Emperor Wu did not establish commanderies in Minyue's former territory; instead, he moved its people to the region between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. Later that year, Emperor Wu, at great expense, carried out the ancient ceremony of the Feng and Shan sacrifices fengshan (封禅) at Mount Tai ; this involved the worship of heaven and earth and presumably a secret petition to

16590-409: The kingdoms of Silla and Baekje, and the tribes of Wuji and Khitan. Goguryeo reached its zenith in the 6th century. After this, however, it began a steady decline. Anjang was assassinated, and succeeded by his brother Anwon , during whose reign aristocratic factionalism increased. A political schism deepened as two factions advocated different princes for succession, until the eight-year-old Yang-won

16748-540: The lack of Chinese presence there as a result of the policies the Wei court adopted for the commanderies after the fall of the Gongsun family. Lelang was then inherited by the Jin dynasty. Due to bitter civil wars, Jin was unable to control its holdings within the northern section of the Korean peninsula at the beginning of the 4th century and was no longer able to dispatch officials to the frontier commanderies, which were maintained by

16906-528: The local garrison. However the tiger tally , which was needed to authorize any use of armed forces, was in Grand Empress Dowager Dou's possession at the time. Yan Zhu, as the appointed imperial ambassador, circumvented this problem by executing a local army commander who refused to obey any order without seeing the tiger tally and coerced the governor of Kuaiji to mobilize a large naval fleet to Dong'ou's rescue . Seeing that superior Han forces were on

17064-497: The meaning of "high and beautiful". The earliest record of the name of Goguryeo can be traced to geographic monographs in the Book of Han and is first attested as the name of one of the subdivisions of the Xuantu Commandery , established along the trade routes within the Amnok river basin following the destruction of Gojoseon in 113 BC. The American historian Christopher Beckwith offers

17222-507: The minister of agriculture Yan Yi (颜异), was falsely accused of committing a crime, though he was actually targeted because he had previously offended the emperor by opposing a plan to effectively extort double tributes out of princes and marquesses. Yan was executed for "internal defamation" of the emperor, and this caused the officials to be fearful and willing to flatter the emperor. Starting about 113 BC, Emperor Wu began to display further signs of abusing his power. He began to incessantly tour

17380-447: The most famous being Dong Shou (冬壽) who was entombed at Anak Tomb No. 3 , overtly retaining the previous administrative system of Lelang. In 334 Goguryeo established the fortress and city of Pyongyang-song within the center of the former commandery. Towards the end of the 4th century, in order to focus on the growing threat of Baekje and having checked the power of Former Yan in Liaodong, Goguryeo began to actively strengthen and govern

17538-438: The nation to "rest and recover" (休养生息). Despite the periodic humiliation of appeasement and providing gifts, the Han borders were still frequented by Xiongnu raids for the next seven decades. Following the death of his powerful grandmother, Emperor Wu decided that Han China had sufficiently recovered enough to support a full-scale war. He first ended the official policy of peace with the Battle of Mayi in 133 BC, which involved

17696-548: The necessity of important policy reforms, but neither Emperor Wen nor Emperor Jing was willing to risk implementing such changes. Unlike the emperors before him, the young and vigorous Emperor Wu was unwilling to put up with the status quo . Only a year into his reign in late 141 BC, Emperor Wu took the advice of Confucian scholars and launched an ambitious reform, known in history as the Jianyuan Reforms (建元新政). The reforms included: However, Emperor Wu's reforms threatened

17854-544: The new statelet, Goguryeo. After Yuri , son of Jumong and his first wife, Lady Ye, came from Dongbuyeo and succeeded Jumong, she left Goguryeo, taking her two sons Biryu and Onjo south to found their own kingdoms, one of which was Baekje . Jumong's given surname was "Hae" ( Korean :  해 ; Hanja :  解 ), the name of the Buyeo rulers. According to the Samguk yusa , Jumong changed his surname to "Go" ( Korean :  고 ; Hanja :  高 ) in conscious reflection of his divine parentage. Jumong

18012-468: The north and west. New laws regulated peasants and the aristocracy, as tribal leaders continued to be absorbed into the central aristocracy. Royal succession changed from fraternal to patrilineal, stabilizing the royal court. The expanding Goguryeo kingdom soon entered into direct military contact with the Liaodong Commandery to its west. Around this time, Chinese warlord Gongsun Kang established

18170-471: The opportunity for Consort Wang and the young Liu Che to gain the emperor's favour. When Emperor Jing's older sister, Eldest Princess Guantao (馆陶长公主) Liu Piao (刘嫖), offered to marry her daughter with Chen Wu  [ zh ; ko ] ( 陳午 ), the Marquess of Tangyi, to Liu Rong, Lady Li rudely rejected the proposal out of her dislike of Princess Guantao, who often procured new concubines for Emperor Jing and

18328-603: The original 305,000 soldiers of Sui's nine division armies, it is said that only 2,700 escaped to Sui China. The 613 and 614 campaigns were aborted after launch—the 613 campaign was terminated when the Sui general Yang Xuangan rebelled against Emperor Yang , while the 614 campaign was terminated after Goguryeo offered a truce and returned Husi Zheng (斛斯政), a defecting Sui general who had fled to Goguryeo, Emperor Yang later had Husi executed. Emperor Yang planned another attack on Goguryeo in 615, but due to Sui's deteroriating internal state he

18486-507: The others' territories to rule the peninsula, and attempted to curry Sui's favor to achieve these goals. Goguryeo's expansion and its attempts to equalize the relationship conflicted with Sui China and increased tensions. In 598, Goguryeo made a preemptive attack on Liaoxi which led to the Battle of Linyuguan , but was beaten back by Sui forces. This caused Emperor Wen to launch a counterattack by land and sea that ended in disaster for Sui. Sui's most disastrous campaign against Goguryeo

18644-756: The outset of his rule, Yeon Gaesomun took a brief conciliatory stance toward Tang China. For instance, he supported Taoism at the expense of Buddhism , and to this effect in 643, sent emissaries to the Tang court requesting Taoist sages, eight of whom were brought to Goguryeo. This gesture is considered by some historians as an effort to pacify Tang and buy time to prepare for the Tang invasion Yeon thought inevitable given his ambitions to annex Silla. However, Yeon Gaesomun took an increasingly provocative stance against Silla Korea and Tang China . Soon, Goguryeo formed an alliance with Baekje and invaded Silla, Daeya-song (modern Hapchon) and around 40 border fortresses were conquered by

18802-582: The poorer but more militaristic horseback nomads . The threat posed to the Xiongnu by the northward expansion of the Qin Empire ultimately led to the consolidation of the many tribes into a confederacy. Following the end of the Chu-Han Contention , Emperor Gao of Han realized that the nation was not yet strong enough to confront the Xiongnu. He therefore resorted to the so-called "marriage alliance", or heqin , in order to ease hostility and buy time for

18960-407: The population was 406,748. Its capital, then the prefecture of Joseon (朝鮮縣, 조선현), was located at modern P'yŏngyang . ( Rakrang 樂浪/락랑, a district in central P'yŏngyang today, is named after Lelang.) After Emperor Wu's death, Zhenfan and Lintun were abolished and Xuantu was moved to Liaodong . Some prefectures of the abolished commanderies were incorporated into Lelang. Lelang after the consolidation

19118-512: The position of empress was left open and Emperor Jing made Consort Wang empress four months later. The seven-year-old Liu Che, now legally the oldest son of the Empress, was made crown prince in 149 BC. In 141 BC, Emperor Jing died and Crown Prince Liu Che ascended to the throne as Emperor Wu at the age of 15. His grandmother Empress Dowager Dou became the grand empress dowager , and his mother became Empress Dowager Wang . His cousin-wife A'Jiao from

19276-461: The practice for dating years during the reign of Wudi was represented by the n year of the [Reign Year Name] (where n stands for an ordinal integer) and "Reign Year Name" for the specific name of that regnal year. This practice was continued by later emperors until the Ming and Qing eras, whereby the emperors of the two dynasties used only one reign name for their entire reign (unless interrupted, as in

19434-399: The region to feed its population and thus, following historical pastoralist tendencies, would have sought to raid and exploit neighboring societies for their land and resources. Aggressive military activities may have also aided expansion, allowing Goguryeo to exact tribute from their tribal neighbors and dominate them politically and economically. Taejo conquered the Okjeo tribes of what

19592-427: The reign of Emperor Wu the "high point" of "Modernist" (classically justified Legalist) policies, looking back to "adapt ideas from the pre-Han period." Especially later in his life, some of his most trusted advisers were proponents of Shang Yang , but did not necessarily support Shang Yang's harsh punishments. Despite establishing an autocratic, centralised state, Emperor Wu adopted the principles of Confucianism as

19750-442: The rise of local despots who bullied and oppressed the population. The heqin policy also failed to protect the Han borders against nomadic raids, with Xiongnu cavalries invading as close as 300 li (100 miles, 160 km) from the capital during Emperor Wen's reign, and over 10,000 border residents abducted or enslaved during Emperor Jing's reign. Prominent politicians like Jia Yi and Chao Cuo had both previously advised on

19908-467: The ruler title of "marquis" over said nominal Gaogouli/Goguryeo county . The collapse of the first Xuantu Commandery in 75 BC is generally attributed to the military actions of the Goguryeo natives. In the Old Book of Tang (945), it is recorded that Emperor Taizong refers to Goguryeo's history as being some 900 years old. According to the 12th-century Samguk sagi and the 13th-century Samguk yusa ,

20066-528: The shortage of human resources caused by the turmoil resulted in the abolishment of the seven eastern prefectures. The administration was left to the Dongye natives, whose chiefs were conferred as marquises. At the end of the Eastern Han dynasty , Gongsun Du , appointed as the Governor of Liaodong in 184, extended his semi-independent domain to the Lelang and Xuantu commanderies. His son Gongsun Kang separated

20224-475: The south in 551. In the late 6th and early 7th centuries, Goguryeo was often in military conflict with the Sui and Tang dynasties of China. Its relations with Baekje and Silla were complex and alternated between alliances and enmity. A neighbor in the northwest were the Eastern Türks which was a nominal ally of Goguryeo. In 551 AD, Baekje and Silla entered into an alliance to attack Goguryeo and conquer

20382-564: The southern autonomous state of Minyue (in modern-day Fujian ) invaded the weaker neighbouring state of Dong'ou (in modern-day Zhejiang ). After their king Zuo Zhenfu (驺贞复) died on the battlefield, the battered Dong'ou desperately sought help from the Han court. After a heated court debate over whether to offer military intervention for such a distant vassal state, Emperor Wu dispatched a newly promoted official Yan Zhu (严助) to Kuaiji (then still located in Suzhou , rather than Shaoxing ) to mobilize

20540-453: The southern half from the Lelang commandery and established the Daifang commandery sometime between 204 and 220. As a result, the Lelang commandery reverted to its original size. In 236, under the order of Emperor Ming of Cao Wei , Sima Yi crushed the Gongsun family and annexed Liaodong, Lelang and Daifang to Wei. Sima Yi did not encourage frontier settlers to continue their livelihoods in

20698-448: The state of Huainan, Liu An , who was hoping the young Emperor Wu's infertility would allow him to ascend to the throne, went into a state of denial and rewarded anyone who told him that Emperor Wu was still childless. In 135 BC, Grand Empress Dowager Dou died, removing the last major obstacle against Emperor Wu's ambition for reform. After the death of Grand Empress Dowager Dou in 135 BC, Emperor Wu had full and unrivaled control of

20856-471: The state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics . These reforms had an enduring effect throughout the existence of imperial China and an enormous influence on neighbouring civilizations. The personal name of Emperor Wu was Liu Che (劉徹). The use of "Han" ( 漢 ) in referring to emperor Wu is a reference to the Han dynasty of which he

21014-545: The sun god Haebak ( Korean :  해밝 ). The Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa paint additional detail and names Jumong's mother as Yuhwa ( Korean :  유화 ; Hanja :  柳花 ). Jumong's biological father was said to be a man named Haemosu who is described as a "strong man" and "a heavenly prince." The river god chased Yuhwa away to the Ubal River ( Korean :  우발수 ; Hanja :  優渤水 ) due to her pregnancy, where she met and became

21172-491: The taxes. Emperor Wu carried out an invasion of the northern Korean Peninsula and established the Commandery of Canghai , but abandoned it in 126 BC. Some of the military colonies established at that time survived into the 4th century, leaving behind various particularly well-preserved funerary artefacts. After the conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC, Emperor Wu launched a second invasion of the Korean peninsula and by 108 BC completed

21330-405: The throne and Lady Li to become empress dowager , many of his concubines might suffer the tragic fate of Consort Qi in the hands of Empress Lü . Princess Guantao then began to openly praise her son-in-law-to-be to her royal brother, further convincing Emperor Jing that Liu Che was a far better choice for heir apparent than Liu Rong. Taking advantage of the situation, Consort Wang put in place

21488-463: The time being, as his aging grandmother was declining physically and would soon die. He spent the next few years pretending to have given up any political ambition, playing the part of a docile hedonist , often sneaking out of the capital Chang'an to engage in hunting and sightseeing and posing as an ordinary nobleman. Knowing that the conservative noble classes occupied every level of the Han court, Emperor Wu changed his strategy. He secretly recruited

21646-470: The time of Taejodae in 53 AD, five local tribes were reorganized into five centrally ruled districts. Foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Early expansion might be best explained by ecology; Goguryeo controlled territory in what is currently central and southern Manchuria and northern Korea , which are both very mountainous and lacking in arable land. Upon centralizing, Goguryeo might have been unable to harness enough resources from

21804-419: The troops, Emperor Wu sent his armies in all directions but the sea. Following the successful manoeuvre against Minyue in 138 BC, Emperor Wu resettled the people of Dang'an into the region between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. In 135 BC, Minyue saw an opportunity to take advantage of the new and inexperienced king of Nanyue , Zhao Mo . Minyue invaded its south-western neighbour and Zhao Mo sought help from

21962-452: The way, Minyue forces became fearful and retreated. This was a huge political victory for Emperor Wu and set the precedent of using the Emperor's decrees to bypass the tiger tally, removing the need for cooperation from his grandmother; Of course, this did not mean that Grand Empress Dowager Dou's influence and intervention would disappear, she was a serious and insurmountable obstacle and competing authority in administration for Emperor Wu until

22120-409: The western region, part of his report indicated that embassies could more easily reach Shendu (India) and Anxi ( Parthia ) by going through the south-western kingdoms. Encouraged by the report, Emperor Wu sent ambassadors in 122 BC to try to persuade Yelang and Dian (modern eastern Yunnan ) into submission again. Han Gaozu , founder of the Han dynasty, had installed shaman cultists from the area of

22278-475: Was Yelang (modern Zunyi , Guizhou)—so that a route for a potential back-stabbing attack on Nanyue could be made. The Han ambassador Tang Meng (唐蒙) was able to secure the submission of these tribal kingdoms by giving their kings gifts; Emperor Wu established the Commandery of Jianwei (犍为, headquarters in modern Yibin , Sichuan) to govern over the tribes, but eventually abandoned it after being unable to cope with local revolts. Later, after Zhang Qian returned from

22436-418: Was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of modern-day Northeast China ( Manchuria ). At its peak of power, Goguryeo encompassed most of the Korean Peninsula and large parts of Manchuria , along with parts of eastern Mongolia , Inner Mongolia , and modern-day Russia . Along with Baekje and Silla , Goguryeo

22594-403: Was a part. His family name is "Liu"; the ruling family or clan of the Han dynasty shared the family name of "Liu", the family name of Liu Bang , the founding father of the Han dynasty. The character "Di" ( 帝 ) is a title: this is the Chinese word which in imperial history of China means "emperor". The character "Wu" ( 武 ) literally means "martial" or "warlike", but is also related to the concept of

22752-577: Was a serious matter. These enemies of Emperor Wu wished to replace him with his uncle Liu An , the King of Huainan , who was renowned for his expertise in Taoist ideology. Even Emperor Wu's own maternal uncle Tian Fen switched camps and sought Liu An's favor, as he predicted the young emperor would not be in power for long. Emperor Wu's political survival now relied heavily on the lobbying of his influential aunt / mother-in-law, Princess Guantao (Liu Piao), who served as

22910-422: Was able to defeat the Sui navy, thus when the Sui's nine division armies finally reached Pyongyang, they didn't have the supplies for a lengthy siege. Sui troops retreated, but General Eulji Mundeok led the Goguryeo troops to victory by luring the Sui into an ambush outside of Pyongyang. At the Battle of Salsu , Goguryeo soldiers released water from a dam, which split the Sui army and cut off their escape route. Of

23068-608: Was also during this time that Emperor Wu began to show a fascination with immortality . He began to associate with magicians who claimed to be able to, if they could find the proper ingredients, create divine pills that would confer immortality. However, he himself punished others' use of magic severely. In 130 BC, for example, when the witch Chu Fu tried to approach Empress Chen to teach her sorcery and love spells to curse Consort Wei and regain Emperor Wu's affections, he dispatched Zhang Tang to execute Chu Fu for witchcraft, which

23226-537: Was considered to be Emperor Jing's favourite son from a very young age. Emperor Jing's formal wife, Empress Bo , was childless. As a result, Emperor Jing's oldest son Liu Rong , born to Lady Lì (栗姬, Emperor Jing's favorite concubine and mother of three of his first four sons), was made crown prince in 153 BC. Lady Li, feeling certain that her son would become the future emperor, grew arrogant and intolerant, and frequently threw tantrums at Emperor Jing out of jealousy over him bedding other women. Her lack of tact provided

23384-431: Was diffusing the favor received by Lady Li. Insulted by the rejection, Princess Guantao then approached the next favorite of Emperor Jing's concubines – none other than Consort Wang, who had been observing these developments quietly from the sidelines. Guantao offered to marry her daughter to the consort's young son, Liu Che, then aged only 5. Seizing the opportunity, Consort Wang accepted the offer with open arms, securing

23542-565: Was finally crowned. But the power struggle was never resolved definitively, as renegade magistrates with private armies appointed themselves de facto rulers of their areas of control. Taking advantage of Goguryeo's internal struggle, a nomadic group called the Tuchueh attacked Goguryeo's northern castles in the 550s and conquered some of Goguryeo's northern lands. Weakening Goguryeo even more, as civil war continued among feudal lords over royal succession, Baekje and Silla allied to attack Goguryeo from

23700-417: Was first started in 139 BC, when Emperor Wu commissioned Zhang Qian to seek out the Kingdom of Yuezhi , which had been expelled by Xiongnu from the modern Gansu region. Zhang was to entice the kingdom to return to its ancestral lands with promises of Han military assistance, with the intention that Yuezhi forces would fight against the Xiongnu. Zhang was immediately captured by Xiongnu once he ventured into

23858-613: Was illegal at the time. Around the same time, perhaps as a sign of what would come to be, Emperor Wu began to trust governing officials who were harsh in their punishment, believing that such harshness would be the most effective method to maintain social order and so placing these officials in power. For example, one such official, Yi Zong (义纵), became the governor of the Commandery of Dingxiang (part of modern Hohhot , Inner Mongolia) and executed 200 prisoners, even though they had not committed capital crimes; he then executed their friends who happened to have been visiting. In 122 BC, Liu An ,

24016-487: Was in 612, in which Sui, according to the History of the Sui dynasty, mobilized 30 division armies, about 1,133,800 combat troops. Pinned along Goguryeo's line of fortifications on the Liao River , a detachment of nine division armies, about 305,000 troops, bypassed the main defensive lines and headed towards the Goguryeo capital of Pyongyang to link up with Sui naval forces, who had reinforcements and supplies. However, Goguryeo

24174-435: Was never able to launch it. Sui was weakened due to rebellions against Emperor Yang's rule and his failed attempts to conquer Goguryeo. They could not attack further because the provinces in the Sui heartland would not send logistical support. Emperor Yang's disastrous defeats in Korea greatly contributed to the collapse of the Sui dynasty. In the winter of 642, King Yeongnyu was apprehensive about Yeon Gaesomun , one of

24332-409: Was now the subject of conspiracies designed to have him removed from the throne. For example, his first wife Empress Chen Jiao was unable to become pregnant. In an attempt to remain his first love, she had prohibited him from having other concubines. Emperor Wu's political enemies used his childlessness as an argument to seek to depose him, as the inability of an emperor to propagate a royal bloodline

24490-457: Was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea . It was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan . The Samguk sagi , a 12th-century text from Goryeo , indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by Jumong , a prince from Buyeo , who was enthroned as Dongmyeong . Goguryeo

24648-506: Was one of the great powers in East Asia until its defeat by a Silla–Tang alliance in 668 after prolonged exhaustion and internal strife following the death of Yeon Gaesomun . After its fall, its territory was divided between the Tang dynasty , Later Silla and Balhae . The name "Goryeo" (alternatively spelled "Koryŏ"), a shortened form of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ), was adopted as the official name in

24806-514: Was split into a dual monarchy: Minyue was controlled by a Han proxy ruler, Zou Chou (驺丑), and Dongyue (东越) was ruled by Luo Yushan. As Han troops returned from the Han–Nanyue War in 111 BC, the Han government debated military action against Dongyue. Dongyue, under King Lou Yushan, had agreed to assist the Han campaign against Nanyue, but the Dongyue army never reached there, blaming the weather while secretly relaying intelligence to Nanyue. Against

24964-483: Was used at a later stage as an administrative subdivision with the spelling of hwol [hʌ̹ɭ] , as in 買忽 mwoyhwol/michwuhwol [mit͡ɕʰuhʌ̹ɭ] , alongside the likely cognate of 骨 kwol [ko̞ɭ] . Nam Pung-hyun presents it also as a Baekje term, probably a cognate with the Goguryeo word with the same meaning and spelling. The iteration of 徐羅伐 Syerapel as 徐羅城 *SyeraKUY equated the Old Korean word for village, 伐 pel with

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