Unified Silla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Silla. (Discuss)

Unified Silla
Anapji pavilion
Korean name
Hangul 통일 신라 Hanja 統一新羅 Revised Romanization Tong(-)il Silla McCune-Reischauer T'ongil Silla

Unified Silla (668 CE - 935 CE) is the name often applied to the kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, when it conquered Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668. In 660, conquering Baekje unified the southern portion of the Korean peninsula and in 668 Goguryeo was conquered. Its last king, ruling over a state in name only, submitted to the emerging Goryeo in 935, bringing the dynasty to an end.

Contents 1 Name 2 Unification 3 Culture 3.1 Buddhism 3.2 Confucianism 3.3 Woodblock printing 4 Economy 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Name

History of Korea
Prehistory  Jeulmun period  Mumun period Gojoseon 2333-108 BC  Jin state Proto-Three Kingdoms: 108-57 BC  Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye  Samhan: Ma, Byeon, Jin Three Kingdoms: 57 BC - 668 AD  Goguryeo 37 BC - 668 AD   Sui wars  Baekje 18 BC - 660 AD  Silla 57 BC - 935 AD  Gaya 42-562 North-South States: 698-935  Unified Silla 668-935  Balhae 698-926 Later Three Kingdoms 892-935 Goryeo 918-1392  Khitan wars  Mongol invasions Joseon 1392-1897  Japanese invasions 1592-1598  Manchu invasions Korean Empire 1897–1910 Japanese rule 1910–1945  Provisional Gov't 1919-1948 Division of Korea 1945–1948 North, South Korea 1948–present  Korean War 1950–1953
List of monarchs Timeline Military history Naval history Science and technology in Korea
Korea Portal This box: view • talk • edit

The name "Unified Silla" is a term that likely dates from after the division of Korea in 1945, and to some degree reflects modern-day political longings. Because of this, some historians suggest the term North-South States Period (남북국 시대, 南北國時代) to better reflect the fact that Silla did not unify the Three Kingdoms' entire territory. Large parts of former Goguryeo territory remained outside Silla's realm and were part of the newly emerged Balhae state.

[edit] Unification

Main article: Silla

In 660, King Munmu the Great ordered his armies to attack Baekje. General Kim Yu-shin, aided by Tang forces, defeated General Gyebaek and conquered Baekje. In 661, he moved on Goguryeo but was repelled. King Munmu was the first ruler ever to look upon the south of Korean Peninsula as a single political entity after the fall of Gojoseon. As such, the post-668 Silla kingdom is often referred to as Unified Silla. Unified Silla lasted for 267 years until, under King Gyeongsun, it fell to Goryeo in 935.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Buddhism

Unified Silla and Tang maintained close ties. This was evidenced by the continual importation of Chinese culture. Many Korean monks went to China to learn about Buddhism. The monk Hyech'o went to India to study Buddhism and wrote of accounts. [1]. Different new sects of Buddhism were introduced by these traveling monks who had studied abroad such as Son and Pure Land Buddhism [2].

[edit] Confucianism

A national confucian college was established in 682 and around 750 it was renamed the National Confucian University [3]. The university was restricted to the elite aristocracy.

[edit] Woodblock printing

Woodblock printing was used to disseminate Buddhist sutras and Confucian works. During a refurbishment of the Pagoda That Casts No Shadows, an ancient print of a Buddhist sutra was discovered. The print is dated to 751 CE and is the oldest discovered printed material in the world. [4].

[edit] Economy

At first, Silla decreased agriculture output tax to 1/10 before unification and assigned tributary payment per town with special products.

Unified Silla conducted a census of all towns' size and population, as well as horses, cows and special products and recorded the data in Minjeongmunseo (민정문서). The reporting was done by the leader of each town. ^[1]

[edit] See also

• Three Kingdoms of Korea
• List of Korea-related topics
• History of Korea

[edit] References