Goguryeo–Wei Wars
Encyclopedia
The Goguryeo–Wei Wars were a series of invasions of the Chinese state of Cao Wei
against the proto-Korean kingdom of Goguryeo
from 244 to 245. The invasions, a retaliation of a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts. By the time Goguryeo reappeared in Chinese annals, the state had evolved into a much more powerful political entity, thus the Wei invasion was identified by historians as a watershed moment in Goguryeo history that divided the different stages of Goguryeo's growth. In addition, the second campaign of the war included the furthest expedition into Manchuria
by a Chinese army up to that time and was instrumental in providing the earliest descriptions of the peoples who lived there.
and the Korean Peninsula
during the 1st and 2nd century BC as the Chinese Han Dynasty
extended its control to Northeast Asia, creating the Four Commanderies of Han
. As it grew and centralized, Goguryeo increasingly contacted and conflicted with China. When the power of the Han Dynasty declined to internal turmoils in the 2nd century AD, the warlord Gongsun Du
came to control the commanderies of Liaodong (遼東) and Xuantu
, directly adjacent to Goguryeo. Gongsun Du's faction often quarreled with Goguryeo despite initial cooperation, and the conflict culminated in the Goguryeo succession feud of 204, which Gongsun Du's successor Gongsun Kang
exploited. Though the candidate supported by Gongsun Kang was eventually defeated, the victor Sansang of Goguryeo
was compelled to move his capital southeast from Jolbon
(present-day Huanren Town, Liaoning
) on the Hun River
to Hwando (present-day Ji'an
, Jilin
) on the Yalu River
, which offered better protection. Gongsun Kang moved in and restored order to the Lelang Commandery
and established the new Daifang Commandery
by splitting the southern part of Lelang.
Compared to the agriculturally rich Jolbon area, Hwando was situated in a mountainous region with little arable land. To sustain the economy after the move, Hwando had to constantly extract resources from the peoples in the countryside, which included the tribal communities of Okjeo
and Ye
. The Okjeo were said to have worked as virtual slaves to the Goguryeo king, hauling provisions (such as cloth, fish, salt and other sea products) from the peninsula's northeast to the Yalu basin, reflecting the arrangement that Goguryeo had to adopt after the entry of Gongsun Kang. By the 230s, Goguryeo had regathered their strength from these tributary relations and regained their presence in the Jolbon region. In 234, the Han Dynasty's successor state Cao Wei
established friendly contact with Goguryeo, and in 238 an alliance between Wei and Goguryeo destroyed their common enemy Gongsun Yuan
, the last of the Gongsun warlords (See Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
). Wei took over all of Gongsun Yuan's territories, including Lelang and Daifang — now Wei's influence was extended into the Korean Peninsula, adjacent to Goguryeo.
The alliance broke down in 242, when King Dongcheon of Goguryeo
plundered the Liaodong district of Xi'anping (西安平; near present-day Dandong
, Liaoning) at the mouth of the Yalu River. The motive for the raid, though not exactly clear, was suggested to be either a search for new agricultural land or competition for the control of the "Small River Maek" (小水貊) people nearby, a branch of the Goguryeo people known for their excellent bows. In any case, since a Goguryeo presence there would cut off the land routes between the Chinese heartland and the peninsular commanderies, the Wei court reacted most strongly to this apparent threat to their control of Lelang and Daifang.
, set out from Xuantu Commandery into Goguryeo with seven legions — amounting to 10,000 infantry and cavalry in total — in 244. From the seat of government in Xuantu (near present-day Shenyang
, Liaoning
), Guanqiu Jian's army went up the valley of the Suzi River (蘇子河), a tributary of the Hun River, to present-day Xingjing (興京), and from there crossed the watershed to the east and entered the Tongjia River (佟家江) valley. King Dongcheon marched with 20,000 infantry and cavalry out from his capital Hwando to meet the advancing army. The king's army traveled through several river valleys and met Guanqiu Jian's army at the junction of the Fu'er River (富爾江) and the Tongjia River, a place known as Liangkou (梁口; present-day Fu'erjiangkou 富尔江口). Liangkou was to become the site of the first battles between Guanqiu Jian and King Dongcheon.
Sources differ on how the battles played out. The later Korean source Samguk Sagi
state that Guanqiu Jian's army invaded in the eighth lunar month
of the year, but was twice defeated before winning the crucial battle that sent the king back to the capital. The first battle, according to Samguk Sagi, pitted King Dongcheon's 20,000 foot and horse soldiers against Guanqiu Jian's 10,000-man-strong army on the Tongjia River (also known as the Biryu River 沸流水), which Goguryeo won and beheaded 3,000 Wei soldiers. The second engagement was described to have happened in a "Dale of Liangmo" (梁貊之谷), where Goguryeo again bested and captured and killed 3,000 more soldiers. The two victories seemed to have got into the king's head as he remarked to his generals: "The Wei army, so enormous, cannot match a small force of ours, Guanqiu Jian is a great general of Wei, and today his life is in my hands!" He then led 5,000 ironclad horsemen to lead the charge against Guanqiu Jian, who put his troops in square formation and fought desperately. In the end, 18,000 Goguryeo men were killed in this last battle, and the defeated king fled to the Plain of Yalu (鴨綠原) with a little more than a thousand horsemen.
In contrast, the near-contemporary "Biography of Guanqiu Jian" in volume 28 of Records of Three Kingdoms
, containing the Chinese account of this battle, state that King Dongcheon was repeatedly defeated in the tremendous fight at Liangkou and was forced to flee. Japanese researcher Hiroshi Ikeuchi points out that the Korean account was transformed from Guanqiu Jian's biography, reversing the results of the battles before Liangkou in order to save Goguryeo's "face
". The same researcher also suggests that the aforementioned "Dale of Liangmo" place was fabricated by the biased historian sympathetic to Goguryeo. Nonetheless, both Chinese and Korean sources agree on the fact that King Dongcheon ultimately lost the battle of Liangkou and headed back to Hwando.
, Guanqiu Jian reached Chengxian (赬峴), determined to be the present-day mountain pass Xiaobancha Ridge (小板岔嶺), also called Banshi Ridge (板石嶺). Since the mountainous region rendered the cavalry ineffective, the Wei army fastened the horses and chariots there and climbed up to mountain city of Hwando. Guanqiu Jian first struck the stronghold guarding the main city and then descended upon the capital, where the Wei army wrought much destruction, slaughtering and capturing over thousands of people. Guanqiu Jian specifically spared the tomb and family of Deukrae (得來), a Goguryeo minister who frequently remonstrated against aggression toward Wei and starved himself to death in protest when his advices went unheeded. The king and his family fled the capital.
With the Goguryeo capital subjugated, Guanqiu Jian returned to You Province with his army in around June 245. On the way back, he had a tablet erected in Chengxian commemorating his victory, explaining the course of events, and listing the generals who participated in the campaign. A fragment of the monument was discovered in 1905, near the end of the Qing Dynasty
, bearing the following mutilated inscription:
The chase from Hwando to South Okjeo took the two parties across the Yalu River into North Korea
. The precise route of the chase may have passed by present-day Kanggye
, from where there are two possibilities: one heading east through the Rangrim Mountains then south to present-day Changjin
; the other following the Changja River
south then turning east to reach Changjin. From Changjin, the pursuer and the pursued followed the Changjin River (長津江) south until they reached the vast and fertile Hamhung
plains, where the river flowed into the East Korea Bay
. It was here in Hamhung that the South Okjeo people thrived, and thus King Dongcheon came here for refuge. When Wang Qi's army arrived, however, the Okjeo tribes were all defeated, with 3,000 tribesmen killed or captured. The king fled again, and the Wei army turned toward North Okjeo.
The Samguk Sagi relates to an event that purported to have happened in South Okjeo: Yu Yu (紐由), another man of the Eastern Department, feigned the surrender of King Dongcheon to stop the Wei pursuit. Bearing food and gifts, Yu Yu was allowed into the camp of an unnamed Wei general. When the general received him, Yu Yu pulled out a hidden dagger from under the plates and fatally stabbed the Wei general. He was likewise killed by the attendants at the next moment, but the damage had been done — the Wei army, having lost their commander, was thrown into confusion. King Dongcheon took this opportunity to gather his forces and struck his enemy in three columns. The Wei armies, unable to recover from the confusion, "at last retired from Lelang". This passage was not paralleled in Chinese records, and Hiroshi Ikeuchi points out its errors: the author of this passage in Samguk Sagi regarded the region of South Okjeo and Lelang as identical, while in fact they are on opposite sides of the peninsula; also, the references to the "Eastern Department" for Yu Yu and Mil U are anachronistic
, since Goguryeo did not divide the country into departments until the middle of the Goguryeo dynasty — that is, after Dongcheon's reign. As such, Ikeuchi considered the Samguk Sagi stories of the Wei invasion unreliable.
Traveling along the coast of the Sea of Japan
, Wang Qi's army made its way to the lands of the North Okjeo, assumed to be around the Jiandao area today. Despite records suggesting that the king came to the North Okjeo settlement of Maegu (買溝, also named Chiguru 置溝婁; in present-day Yanji
), there is no telling what became of the king in North Okjeo, and Wang Qi's army continued further north inland. Turning northwest at the border of Okjeo and the Sushen
, they traversed the Mudan River basin (either by way of Ning'an
or Dunhua
), home of the Yilou
(挹婁) people, and crossed the Zhangguangcai Mountains (張廣才嶺) into the plains on the other side. Finally, their trek northwest brought them to the Buyeo kingdom
on the Ashi River (阿什河), near present-day Harbin
. Buyeo's regent Wigeo (位居), acting on behalf of the nominal King Maryeo (麻余王), formally received the Wei army outside their capital in present-day Acheng District and replenished their supplies. Having overextended their reach and lost sight of their target, Wang Qi's army turned southwest from Buyeo to return to Xuantu Commandery, passing by the present-day areas of Nong'an County
and Kaiyuan
. Upon their return, they had completed a circular trip traversing Liaodong, North Korea, and Manchuria.
of eastern Korea since they were allied with Goguryeo. The force, led by the grand administrators of Lelang and Daifang, Liu Mao (劉茂) and Gong Zun (弓遵) respectively, started from South Okjeo and went south through the whole length of the region known as the Seven Counties of Lingdong (嶺東七縣). Six out of the seven counties — Dongyi (東暆), Bunai (不耐; also named Bu'er 不而), Chantai (蠶台), Huali (華麗), Yatoumei (邪頭昧), Qianmo (前莫) — submitted to Liu Mao and Gong Zun, while the remaining Wozu county (夭租縣), being identical with Okjeo, had already been subjugated by Wang Qi. In particular, the Marquis of Bunai, the preeminent county of the seven, was specified to have come surrendering with all his tribesmen. Liu Mao and Gong Zun's march along the eastern coast of Korea may have brought them as far south as Uljin, where the local elders informed them of an inhabited island to the east, possibly Ulleungdo
. Another inscription was erected at Bunai, supposedly to commemorate the feats of Wang Qi, Liu Mao, and Gong Zun during the second campaign; however, unlike the tablet attributable to Guanqiu Jian, this inscription has not been found.
When King Dongcheon returned to Hwando, he found the city to be too ravaged by war and too close to the border to be a suitable capital, and thus relocated his capital to a "walled town in the plain" (平壤城, Pyeongyangseong) in 247, moving his people and sacred shrines while leaving Hwando to ruin. From this new capital, Goguryeo underwent significant reorganization, particularly in regards to its economic base, to recover from the devastation by the hands of Wei. Since the resources of Okjeo and Ye were deprived, Goguryeo had to rely on the production of the old capital region of Jolbon while looking for new agricultural lands in other directions. The history of Goguryeo in the latter half of the 3rd century was characterized by Goguryeo's attempts to consolidate nearby regions and restore stability as it dealt with rebellions and foreign invaders, purportedly including Wei again in 259 and the Sushen in 280 (although Ikeuchi would question the authenticity of the Wei invasion record: The Wei commander was recorded in Samguk Sagi as Yuchi Kai (尉遲楷), but the Yuchi surname
did not come into being until after the year 386, hence making the record anachronistic). Goguyeo's fortunes rose again during King Micheon
's rule (300-331), when the king took advantage of the weakness in Wei's successor Jin Dynasty and wrestled the commanderies of Lelang and Daifang from central Chinese control. By this time, Goguryeo completed seventy years of recovery and was transformed "from a Chinese border state, existing mainly by the plunder of the Chinese outposts in the north-east, to a kingdom centred in Korea proper, in which the formerly independent tribal communities of the Okjeo and others had been merged."
In terms of historiography
, the expeditions of the second campaign are significant for providing detailed information on the various peoples of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, such as Goguryeo, Buyeo, Okjeo, Ye, and Yilou. The expedition, unprecedented in scale in those regions, brought first-hand knowledge about the topography, climate, population, language, manners, and customs of these areas to Chinese cognizance, and was duly recorded into the Weilüe
by the contemporary historian Yu Huan
. Though the original Weilüe is now lost, its contents were preserved in the Records of Three Kingdoms, where the reports from the Goguryeo expedition are included in the "Chapter on Eastern Barbarians" (東夷傳, Dongyi
Zhuan) — considered the most important single source of information for the culture and society of early Korean states and peoples.
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
against the proto-Korean kingdom of Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
from 244 to 245. The invasions, a retaliation of a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts. By the time Goguryeo reappeared in Chinese annals, the state had evolved into a much more powerful political entity, thus the Wei invasion was identified by historians as a watershed moment in Goguryeo history that divided the different stages of Goguryeo's growth. In addition, the second campaign of the war included the furthest expedition into Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
by a Chinese army up to that time and was instrumental in providing the earliest descriptions of the peoples who lived there.
Background
The polity of Goguryeo developed among the peoples of ManchuriaManchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
and the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
during the 1st and 2nd century BC as the Chinese Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
extended its control to Northeast Asia, creating the Four Commanderies of Han
Four Commanderies of Han
The Four Commanderies of Han are Lelang, Lintun, Xuantu and Zhenfan commanderies in northern Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula. set up by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in early 2nd century BC after his conquest of Wiman Joseon...
. As it grew and centralized, Goguryeo increasingly contacted and conflicted with China. When the power of the Han Dynasty declined to internal turmoils in the 2nd century AD, the warlord Gongsun Du
Gongsun Du
Gongsun Du was a military general and warlord of the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He did not get the opportunity to really get into battle until Dong Zhuo seized power from Emperor Shao. Dong Zhuo, hoping to expand the empire, gave Gongsun Du the command to attack present-day Korea...
came to control the commanderies of Liaodong (遼東) and Xuantu
Xuantu Commandery
Xuantu Commandery was a commandery established beyond the far eastern pale of Han China. It was one of Four Commanderies of Han, established in 107 BCE, after the Han Dynasty invaded Wiman Joseon of Korea. Goguryeo rose in this area in competition with the Chinese over the region...
, directly adjacent to Goguryeo. Gongsun Du's faction often quarreled with Goguryeo despite initial cooperation, and the conflict culminated in the Goguryeo succession feud of 204, which Gongsun Du's successor Gongsun Kang
Gongsun Kang
Gongsun Kang was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He became a vassal of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
exploited. Though the candidate supported by Gongsun Kang was eventually defeated, the victor Sansang of Goguryeo
Sansang of Goguryeo
King Sansang of Goguryeo was the 10th ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the third son of the eighth king Sindae and the younger brother of the ninth king Gogukcheon, who died without an heir....
was compelled to move his capital southeast from Jolbon
Jolbon
Jolbon was a small, Korean tribal state which arose in the northern Korean peninsula from perhaps 1st century BCE.In 37 BCE, Jumong had fled from Dongbuyeo to avoid death at the hands of Dongbuyeo's Crown Prince Daeso, who presented great jealousy towards Jumong...
(present-day Huanren Town, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
) on the Hun River
Hun River
The Hun He is a river in Liaoning Province, China, and one of the tributaries of the Liao River. The Hun river was formerly known as Shen River . Several major cities are located on the Hun He , including the provincial capital Shenyang and Fushun....
to Hwando (present-day Ji'an
Ji'an, Jilin
Ji'an is a county-level city in southwestern Jilin province, Northeast China. It belongs to the prefecture-level city of Tonghua. Ji'an has an area of and a population of approximately 230,000. The city was established as a city in 1988....
, Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
) on the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
, which offered better protection. Gongsun Kang moved in and restored order to the Lelang Commandery
Lelang Commandery
Lelang was one of the Chinese commanderies which was established after the fall of Gojoseon in 108 BC until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. Lelang Commandery was located in the northern Korean peninsula with the administrative center near modern P'yongyang....
and established the new Daifang Commandery
Daifang Commandery
Daifang Commandery was one of the remnants of the Four Commanderies of Han in the Korean peninsula.-History:Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery and established the Daifang commandery in 204 to make administration more efficient...
by splitting the southern part of Lelang.
Compared to the agriculturally rich Jolbon area, Hwando was situated in a mountainous region with little arable land. To sustain the economy after the move, Hwando had to constantly extract resources from the peoples in the countryside, which included the tribal communities of Okjeo
Okjeo
Okjeo was Korean tribal state which arose in the northern Korean peninsula from perhaps 2nd century BCE to 5th century CE.Dong-okjeo occupied roughly the area of the Hamgyŏng provinces of North Korea, and Buk-okjeo occupied the Duman River region.Dong-okjeo was often simply called Okjeo, while...
and Ye
Dongye
Dongye, which means the Eastern Ye, was a Korean chiefdom which occupied portions of the northeastern Korean peninsula from roughly 3rd-century BCE to around early 5th-century. It bordered Goguryeo and Okjeo to the north, Jinhan to the south, and China's Lelang Commandery to the west...
. The Okjeo were said to have worked as virtual slaves to the Goguryeo king, hauling provisions (such as cloth, fish, salt and other sea products) from the peninsula's northeast to the Yalu basin, reflecting the arrangement that Goguryeo had to adopt after the entry of Gongsun Kang. By the 230s, Goguryeo had regathered their strength from these tributary relations and regained their presence in the Jolbon region. In 234, the Han Dynasty's successor state Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
established friendly contact with Goguryeo, and in 238 an alliance between Wei and Goguryeo destroyed their common enemy Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan , style name Wenyi , was a warlord and vassal of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
, the last of the Gongsun warlords (See Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign occurred in 238 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Sima Yi, a general of the state of Cao Wei, led a force of 40,000 troops to attack the warlord Gongsun Yuan, whose clan had ruled independently from the central government for three generations in the...
). Wei took over all of Gongsun Yuan's territories, including Lelang and Daifang — now Wei's influence was extended into the Korean Peninsula, adjacent to Goguryeo.
The alliance broke down in 242, when King Dongcheon of Goguryeo
Dongcheon of Goguryeo
King Dongcheon of Goguryeo was the 11th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.-Background:...
plundered the Liaodong district of Xi'anping (西安平; near present-day Dandong
Dandong
Dandong , previously known as Andong and Antung, is a city in Liaoning Province, Northeast China. It lies on the border between China and North Korea, which is marked by the Yalu River, and is the largest border city in China. Also, to the southwest of the city, the river flows into Korea Bay...
, Liaoning) at the mouth of the Yalu River. The motive for the raid, though not exactly clear, was suggested to be either a search for new agricultural land or competition for the control of the "Small River Maek" (小水貊) people nearby, a branch of the Goguryeo people known for their excellent bows. In any case, since a Goguryeo presence there would cut off the land routes between the Chinese heartland and the peninsular commanderies, the Wei court reacted most strongly to this apparent threat to their control of Lelang and Daifang.
The Battle of Liangkou
In response to Goguryeo's aggression, the Inspector of You Province (幽州刺史), Guanqiu JianGuanqiu Jian
Guanqiu Jian , style name Zhonggong , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
, set out from Xuantu Commandery into Goguryeo with seven legions — amounting to 10,000 infantry and cavalry in total — in 244. From the seat of government in Xuantu (near present-day Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
), Guanqiu Jian's army went up the valley of the Suzi River (蘇子河), a tributary of the Hun River, to present-day Xingjing (興京), and from there crossed the watershed to the east and entered the Tongjia River (佟家江) valley. King Dongcheon marched with 20,000 infantry and cavalry out from his capital Hwando to meet the advancing army. The king's army traveled through several river valleys and met Guanqiu Jian's army at the junction of the Fu'er River (富爾江) and the Tongjia River, a place known as Liangkou (梁口; present-day Fu'erjiangkou 富尔江口). Liangkou was to become the site of the first battles between Guanqiu Jian and King Dongcheon.
Sources differ on how the battles played out. The later Korean source Samguk Sagi
Samguk Sagi
Samguk Sagi is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The Samguk Sagi is written in Classical Chinese and its compilation was ordered by Goryeo's King Injong Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of...
state that Guanqiu Jian's army invaded in the eighth lunar month
Lunar month
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two identical syzygies . There are many variations. In Middle-Eastern and European traditions, the month starts when the young crescent moon becomes first visible at evening after conjunction with the Sun one or two days before that evening...
of the year, but was twice defeated before winning the crucial battle that sent the king back to the capital. The first battle, according to Samguk Sagi, pitted King Dongcheon's 20,000 foot and horse soldiers against Guanqiu Jian's 10,000-man-strong army on the Tongjia River (also known as the Biryu River 沸流水), which Goguryeo won and beheaded 3,000 Wei soldiers. The second engagement was described to have happened in a "Dale of Liangmo" (梁貊之谷), where Goguryeo again bested and captured and killed 3,000 more soldiers. The two victories seemed to have got into the king's head as he remarked to his generals: "The Wei army, so enormous, cannot match a small force of ours, Guanqiu Jian is a great general of Wei, and today his life is in my hands!" He then led 5,000 ironclad horsemen to lead the charge against Guanqiu Jian, who put his troops in square formation and fought desperately. In the end, 18,000 Goguryeo men were killed in this last battle, and the defeated king fled to the Plain of Yalu (鴨綠原) with a little more than a thousand horsemen.
In contrast, the near-contemporary "Biography of Guanqiu Jian" in volume 28 of Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms , is regarded as the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history covering the years 184-280 CE. Written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century, the work combines the smaller histories of the rival states of Cao Wei , Shu Han and...
, containing the Chinese account of this battle, state that King Dongcheon was repeatedly defeated in the tremendous fight at Liangkou and was forced to flee. Japanese researcher Hiroshi Ikeuchi points out that the Korean account was transformed from Guanqiu Jian's biography, reversing the results of the battles before Liangkou in order to save Goguryeo's "face
Face (sociological concept)
Face, idiomatically meaning dignity/prestige, is a fundamental concept in the fields of sociology, sociolinguistics, semantics, politeness theory, psychology, political science, communication, and Face Negotiation Theory.-Definitions:...
". The same researcher also suggests that the aforementioned "Dale of Liangmo" place was fabricated by the biased historian sympathetic to Goguryeo. Nonetheless, both Chinese and Korean sources agree on the fact that King Dongcheon ultimately lost the battle of Liangkou and headed back to Hwando.
The capture of Hwando
The Wei army gave chase to the routed Goguyeo army after the battle of Liangkou. According to the Chinese source History of Northern DynastiesHistory of Northern Dynasties
The History of Northern Dynasties is one of the official Chinese historical works in the Twenty-Four Histories canon. It contain 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Sui Dynasty...
, Guanqiu Jian reached Chengxian (赬峴), determined to be the present-day mountain pass Xiaobancha Ridge (小板岔嶺), also called Banshi Ridge (板石嶺). Since the mountainous region rendered the cavalry ineffective, the Wei army fastened the horses and chariots there and climbed up to mountain city of Hwando. Guanqiu Jian first struck the stronghold guarding the main city and then descended upon the capital, where the Wei army wrought much destruction, slaughtering and capturing over thousands of people. Guanqiu Jian specifically spared the tomb and family of Deukrae (得來), a Goguryeo minister who frequently remonstrated against aggression toward Wei and starved himself to death in protest when his advices went unheeded. The king and his family fled the capital.
With the Goguryeo capital subjugated, Guanqiu Jian returned to You Province with his army in around June 245. On the way back, he had a tablet erected in Chengxian commemorating his victory, explaining the course of events, and listing the generals who participated in the campaign. A fragment of the monument was discovered in 1905, near the end of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, bearing the following mutilated inscription:
| In the 3rd year of Zhengshi the Goguryeo [?invaded]... | 正始三年高句驪[?寇] |
| ...commanded the seven legions, and attacked the Goguryeo. In the 5th [?year]... | 督七牙門討句驪五[?年] |
| ...again the remaining enemies. In the 6th year, the 5th month, he led back [?his army]... | 復遣寇六年五月旋[?師] |
| General Who Exterminates Invaders, Wuwan Wuhuan The Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia.... Chanyu Chanyu Chanyu , was the title used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Middle and Central Asia for 8 centuries, starting... of Wei... |
討寇將軍魏烏丸單于 |
| General Who Intimidates Invaders, Chief Village Marquis... | 威寇將軍都亭侯 |
| Expeditionary Major-General possessing... | 行裨將軍領 |
| ...Major-General... | 裨將軍 |
- a. Corresponds to year 242.
- b. Corresponds to year 244.
- c. Corresponds to around June 245.
- d. Identified as Kouloudun 寇婁敦, Wuhuan Chanyu of Youbeiping
Wang Qi's pursuit of King Dongcheon
King Dongcheon had returned to the abandoned capital of Hwando after the Wei army retreated homeward, but in the same year Guanqiu Jian sent the Grand Administrator of Xuantu, Wang Qi (王頎), in pursuit of the king. Since the capital had been so ravaged and rendered defenseless by the previous campaign, the king had to flee again with his nobles of several ranks to South Okjeo (also known as Dongokjeo, "East Okjeo"). According to the Samguk Sagi, the king's escape was aided by Mil U (密友), a man of the Eastern Department (東部), when the king's troops had all but scattered to the last handful at Jukryeong Pass (竹嶺). Mil U said to the king, "I will go back and hold the enemy at bay while you make good your escape," and held the narrow pass with three or four soldiers while the king made his way to regroup with a band of friendly troops. The king offered a reward to anyone who could bring Mil U back to safety, and a Yu Ok-gu (劉屋句) found Mil U lying on the ground with grievous injuries. The king was so delighted to recover his faithful retainer that he personally nursed Mil U back to life.The chase from Hwando to South Okjeo took the two parties across the Yalu River into North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. The precise route of the chase may have passed by present-day Kanggye
Kanggye
Kanggye is the provincial capital of Chagang, North Korea and has a population of 209,000. Because of its strategic importance, derived from its topography, it has been of military interest from the time of the Joseon Dynasty .-Geography:...
, from where there are two possibilities: one heading east through the Rangrim Mountains then south to present-day Changjin
Changjin
Changjin is a mountainous county in South Hamgyong province, North Korea.Changjin lies on the Rangrim and Pujonryong ranges, and most of the county sits atop the Kaema Plateau. Due to this location, Changjin has a particularly cold climate. The highest point is Ryonhwasan . The chief stream is...
; the other following the Changja River
Changja River
The Changja River is a river of North Korea. The Changja River flows through the north of the county and flows through the city of Kanggye....
south then turning east to reach Changjin. From Changjin, the pursuer and the pursued followed the Changjin River (長津江) south until they reached the vast and fertile Hamhung
Hamhung
Hamhŭng is North Korea's second largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. In late 2005, nearby Hŭngnam was made a ward within Hamhŭng-si. It has a population of 768,551 as of 2008.-Geography:...
plains, where the river flowed into the East Korea Bay
East Korea Bay
East Korea Bay is a bay in North Korea and an extension of the Sea of Japan . It is located between the provinces of Hamnam and Kangwon.-See also:*Korean Peninsula*Korea Bay...
. It was here in Hamhung that the South Okjeo people thrived, and thus King Dongcheon came here for refuge. When Wang Qi's army arrived, however, the Okjeo tribes were all defeated, with 3,000 tribesmen killed or captured. The king fled again, and the Wei army turned toward North Okjeo.
The Samguk Sagi relates to an event that purported to have happened in South Okjeo: Yu Yu (紐由), another man of the Eastern Department, feigned the surrender of King Dongcheon to stop the Wei pursuit. Bearing food and gifts, Yu Yu was allowed into the camp of an unnamed Wei general. When the general received him, Yu Yu pulled out a hidden dagger from under the plates and fatally stabbed the Wei general. He was likewise killed by the attendants at the next moment, but the damage had been done — the Wei army, having lost their commander, was thrown into confusion. King Dongcheon took this opportunity to gather his forces and struck his enemy in three columns. The Wei armies, unable to recover from the confusion, "at last retired from Lelang". This passage was not paralleled in Chinese records, and Hiroshi Ikeuchi points out its errors: the author of this passage in Samguk Sagi regarded the region of South Okjeo and Lelang as identical, while in fact they are on opposite sides of the peninsula; also, the references to the "Eastern Department" for Yu Yu and Mil U are anachronistic
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
, since Goguryeo did not divide the country into departments until the middle of the Goguryeo dynasty — that is, after Dongcheon's reign. As such, Ikeuchi considered the Samguk Sagi stories of the Wei invasion unreliable.
Traveling along the coast of the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
, Wang Qi's army made its way to the lands of the North Okjeo, assumed to be around the Jiandao area today. Despite records suggesting that the king came to the North Okjeo settlement of Maegu (買溝, also named Chiguru 置溝婁; in present-day Yanji
Yanji
Yanji , also known as Yeon'gil from its Korean name , is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, eastern Jilin province, Northeast China. Its population is approximately 400,000 of which a large section is ethnic Korean...
), there is no telling what became of the king in North Okjeo, and Wang Qi's army continued further north inland. Turning northwest at the border of Okjeo and the Sushen
Sushen
Sushen was an ancient ethnic group or people who dwelt in the northeastern part of China and the Russian Maritime Province, in the area of modern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. They were active during the Zhou Dynasty period...
, they traversed the Mudan River basin (either by way of Ning'an
Ning'an
Ning’an is a city located approximately 20 km southwest of Mudanjiang, in Heilongjiang province of China. It is located on the Mudanjiang River , which flows north, eventually falling into the Sungari River near Sanxing.Administratively, Ning'an is now a county-level city, and a constituent...
or Dunhua
Dunhua
Dunhua is a city in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Jilin province, Northeast China. It has more than 480,000 inhabitants and was the capital of Balhae between 742–756, known at the time as "Junggyeong"...
), home of the Yilou
Sushen
Sushen was an ancient ethnic group or people who dwelt in the northeastern part of China and the Russian Maritime Province, in the area of modern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. They were active during the Zhou Dynasty period...
(挹婁) people, and crossed the Zhangguangcai Mountains (張廣才嶺) into the plains on the other side. Finally, their trek northwest brought them to the Buyeo kingdom
Buyeo kingdom
Buyeo or Puyŏ , Fuyu in Chinese, was an ancient Korean kingdom located from today's Manchuria to northern North Korea, from around the 2nd century BC to 494. Its remnants were absorbed by the neighboring and brotherhood kingdom of Goguryeo in 494...
on the Ashi River (阿什河), near present-day Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
. Buyeo's regent Wigeo (位居), acting on behalf of the nominal King Maryeo (麻余王), formally received the Wei army outside their capital in present-day Acheng District and replenished their supplies. Having overextended their reach and lost sight of their target, Wang Qi's army turned southwest from Buyeo to return to Xuantu Commandery, passing by the present-day areas of Nong'an County
Nong'an County
Nong'an County is a county of Jilin, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Changchun, the provincial capital.-Administrative Divisions:There are 10 towns and 11 townships.Towns:...
and Kaiyuan
Kaiyuan, Liaoning
Kaiyuan is a county-level city in the northeast of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. It is under the administration of Tieling City, which lies to the southwest....
. Upon their return, they had completed a circular trip traversing Liaodong, North Korea, and Manchuria.
The subjugation of the Ye by Gong Zun and Liu Mao
Concurrently, Wang Qi sent a detached force to attack the YeDongye
Dongye, which means the Eastern Ye, was a Korean chiefdom which occupied portions of the northeastern Korean peninsula from roughly 3rd-century BCE to around early 5th-century. It bordered Goguryeo and Okjeo to the north, Jinhan to the south, and China's Lelang Commandery to the west...
of eastern Korea since they were allied with Goguryeo. The force, led by the grand administrators of Lelang and Daifang, Liu Mao (劉茂) and Gong Zun (弓遵) respectively, started from South Okjeo and went south through the whole length of the region known as the Seven Counties of Lingdong (嶺東七縣). Six out of the seven counties — Dongyi (東暆), Bunai (不耐; also named Bu'er 不而), Chantai (蠶台), Huali (華麗), Yatoumei (邪頭昧), Qianmo (前莫) — submitted to Liu Mao and Gong Zun, while the remaining Wozu county (夭租縣), being identical with Okjeo, had already been subjugated by Wang Qi. In particular, the Marquis of Bunai, the preeminent county of the seven, was specified to have come surrendering with all his tribesmen. Liu Mao and Gong Zun's march along the eastern coast of Korea may have brought them as far south as Uljin, where the local elders informed them of an inhabited island to the east, possibly Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo is a South Korean island in the Sea of Japan . Formerly known as Dagelet to the Europeans, Ulleungdo is about 120 km east of the Korean Peninsula...
. Another inscription was erected at Bunai, supposedly to commemorate the feats of Wang Qi, Liu Mao, and Gong Zun during the second campaign; however, unlike the tablet attributable to Guanqiu Jian, this inscription has not been found.
Aftermath and legacy
Although the king evaded capture, the Wei campaigns accomplished much to weaken the Goguryeo kingdom. Firstly, several thousands of the Goguryeo people were deported and resettled in China. Secondly, and more importantly, the intrusions into Okjeo and Ye separated these Goguryeo tributaries from its central ruling structure and brought them back under the influence of the commanderies of Lelang and Daifang. In doing so, Wang Qi and his generals removed a substantial part of the Goguryeo economy and dealt Goguryeo a blow more severe than Gongsun Kang did forty years ago. The Ye under the Marquis of Bunai became expected to provide provisions and transportation whenever Lelang and Daifang went off to war, and the marquis himself was elevated to Ye King of Bunai (不耐濊王) by the Wei court in 247. In addition, Wang Qi's incursion into Buyeo's territory and the subsequent welcome by the hosts reconfirmed the friendly relations between Wei and Buyeo, and tributes from Buyeo to Wei would continue annually.When King Dongcheon returned to Hwando, he found the city to be too ravaged by war and too close to the border to be a suitable capital, and thus relocated his capital to a "walled town in the plain" (平壤城, Pyeongyangseong) in 247, moving his people and sacred shrines while leaving Hwando to ruin. From this new capital, Goguryeo underwent significant reorganization, particularly in regards to its economic base, to recover from the devastation by the hands of Wei. Since the resources of Okjeo and Ye were deprived, Goguryeo had to rely on the production of the old capital region of Jolbon while looking for new agricultural lands in other directions. The history of Goguryeo in the latter half of the 3rd century was characterized by Goguryeo's attempts to consolidate nearby regions and restore stability as it dealt with rebellions and foreign invaders, purportedly including Wei again in 259 and the Sushen in 280 (although Ikeuchi would question the authenticity of the Wei invasion record: The Wei commander was recorded in Samguk Sagi as Yuchi Kai (尉遲楷), but the Yuchi surname
Yuchi (surname)
Yuchi is a Chinese compound surname which oringinated from a Xianbei trible. The emperial family of Kingdom of Khotan was named Yuchi. The well known military general Yuchi Gong also was descented from this family....
did not come into being until after the year 386, hence making the record anachronistic). Goguyeo's fortunes rose again during King Micheon
Micheon of Goguryeo
King Micheon of Goguryeo was the 15th ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.- Background and Rise to the throne :...
's rule (300-331), when the king took advantage of the weakness in Wei's successor Jin Dynasty and wrestled the commanderies of Lelang and Daifang from central Chinese control. By this time, Goguryeo completed seventy years of recovery and was transformed "from a Chinese border state, existing mainly by the plunder of the Chinese outposts in the north-east, to a kingdom centred in Korea proper, in which the formerly independent tribal communities of the Okjeo and others had been merged."
In terms of historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, the expeditions of the second campaign are significant for providing detailed information on the various peoples of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, such as Goguryeo, Buyeo, Okjeo, Ye, and Yilou. The expedition, unprecedented in scale in those regions, brought first-hand knowledge about the topography, climate, population, language, manners, and customs of these areas to Chinese cognizance, and was duly recorded into the Weilüe
Weilüe
The Weilüe written by Yu Huan between CE 239, the end of Emperor Ming’s reign, and 265 CE, the end of the Cao Wei . Although not an "official historian," Yu Huan has always been held in high regard amongst Chinese scholars....
by the contemporary historian Yu Huan
Yu Huan
Yu Huan was a scholar and writer of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Works:Yu was a native of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi, and most notable for two works of his, the Weilue , and Dianlue, which are listed in the Book of Sui as volumes 33 and 89 respectively...
. Though the original Weilüe is now lost, its contents were preserved in the Records of Three Kingdoms, where the reports from the Goguryeo expedition are included in the "Chapter on Eastern Barbarians" (東夷傳, Dongyi
Dongyi
Dongyi was a collective term for people in eastern China and in lands located to the east of ancient China. People referred to as Dongyi vary across the ages.The early Dongyi culture was one of earliest neolithic cultures in China....
Zhuan) — considered the most important single source of information for the culture and society of early Korean states and peoples.