The reunification of Korea
In the Three Kingdoms period, CE in South Korea extended from BC 1 century to the end of the 7th century, involving four political entities: Baekje, Koguryo, Silla and Kaya Union. In different periods, China also took an active interest in this field, especially in the Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the 1960s, with the military assistance of the Tang Dynasty, they were eager to weaken these troubled southern kingdoms, and Silla Kingdom was able to defeat their old enemies. This still made the Tang Dynasty a dangerous participant in Korean affairs, but when they were preoccupied with the rise of * * * *, the Silla Army defeated the remaining China Army in the battles of Mayisong (AD 675) and Kipolpo (AD 676).
Consolidate prosperity
This new country is called East Silla, which is different from its smaller predecessor, Gaoxin Silla-'Old Silla', and controls the whole of Korea until the north of Datong River. Their northern neighbor is the unfriendly Bohai Kingdom of Manchuria, which consists of exiles from the old Koguryo Kingdom and semi-nomadic Margars.
There was no war for a long time during the unification of Silla Kingdom, which meant unprecedented prosperity of art and science.
King Silla is now ruled by the Kim family, and only a few kings come from other noble families. In order to help unify the country, the political ruling nobles from the fallen kingdom were forced to move to places where they were unlikely to incite rebellion but were given the same status as Silla nobles. In order to further ensure their loyalty, some members of these aristocratic families were asked to regularly launch their own Jincheng (also known as Seoul as Gyeongju today), which is still a capital city. Those who are considered too dangerous to the country and prisoners of war are enslaved to work in aristocratic estates, manufacturing workshops or * * * construction projects. The records of some nobles with as many as 3000 slave workers show the overall size of the slave population.
The whole country is now divided into nine provinces (three in the old three countries) and five secondary capitals. Each province (Chu) is managed by a general commander whose title is Chongguan. In the 9th century, the title was changed to todok (Governor). Each province has 1 17 counties (Kun), and each county is divided into 293 counties (Xiao). Each county consists of different villages (chon) and settlements (hyang, so and pugok), which are specially set up for unwelcome people. )。 Each level has its own chief administrative officer, who is regularly supervised by the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman's office. Another measure to ensure the loyalty of local people is to force village heads to send their eldest son to the administrative department or the army in the capital, a process known as (sangsuri).
Gyeongju became more brilliant during this period. In Yu Sa's classic works, it is described as having an amazing 35 palaces, 55 streets, 1360 areas and 178936 houses. This will allow a population of about 900,000. One palace is built on the bank of an artificial lake, and the other palace has a waterway running through it, allowing floating wine glasses to float for guests. There are even palaces and gardens specially designed for the four seasons, which contain exotic animals and plants. A large number of temples have been built, rebuilt and expanded, such as a large number of Buddhist temples (Buddhist soil of temples) rising in Lotus Lake.
The wider kingdom prospered because of its prosperous agriculture, and increased its productivity through extensive irrigation projects and trade throughout the East China Sea. The absence of war for a long time also means that art and science have flourished in an unprecedented way. Architecture, sculpture, metalworking, mathematics and astronomy are outstanding special fields. History became an important research, and it was at this time that woodcut printing was improved.
Relations with China
Although Silla Kingdom refused to become another province of China, its relations with China did not deteriorate. In fact, young North Korea became a loyal ally. The influence of China culture continues to be significant, just like the previous Three Kingdoms period. Confucianism and Buddhism are still important components of Silla's education system, while the latter is still the official religion of the country and is implemented at all levels of society. The most famous scholar-bureaucrat in Buddhism belongs to this period-Wonyho, who popularized his beliefs in the 7th century. If there is any kind of Confucianism that has become more powerful in the unification of Silla, it is the establishment of the National Confucian Institute in 682 AD and the introduction of the national administrative examination in 788 AD.
There are two kinds of healthy trade between China and luxury goods: silk, books, tea and artworks, while South Korea exports metals (especially imported gold and silver), ginseng, hemp products, finished products and horses, and sends students and scholars to China. There is even a Silla-controlled trade zone in China. Relations with southern Japan have also been maintained, especially in Nara and Heian periods. Merchants who bring spices, carpets and jewelry are another point of contact with the wider world. Finally, the discovery of glass in Korea, including ships from Rome, Sassanian and Syria, proved the prosperity of the trade network in the whole period.
Silla art
Metal products are still a fine Silla art, which is most obvious in the golden crowns of various tombs. However, in the period of unification, a new art form appeared, that is, making a large bronze bell (pomjong) in a Buddhist temple to announce its service. The biggest example comes from Fengde Temple, also known as Amir Bell, which was cast in 77 1 year to commemorate King Shengde. It is 3.3 meters high and more than 2.2 meters in diameter. It is decorated with lotus and heaven, and the hanging ring is dragon-shaped. The clock weighs nearly 19 tons and is now on display in Gyeongju National Museum. Another popular art form is bronze sculpture, especially the gilded and polished Buddha statue. Immortal statues are also made of cast iron, and the parts are made separately, and then assembled and painted or plastered. Another use of bronze is to make complex boxes for storing cultural relics and important characters. These are called relics and can take the form of pagodas and trees.
Unifying Silla pottery shows the remarkable influence of Buddhism. Cremation requires the manufacture of urns. Buddhist patterns are popular in seal decoration, such as lotus flowers and clouds, and lotus buds are usually used as covers and handles. Daily pottery is not decorated, but special pieces show greater decorative density than before, and have the initial gray glaze, which later developed into celadon in the late Korean era. Pottery figures and models, including servants, soldiers and animals, were also found in the tombs.
Other surviving examples of unified Silla art include stone lanterns, ceramic tiles with ferocious faces to ward off evil spirits, floor tiles decorated with lotus petals (from the previous 6-8 standard to 16 or 32), and the calligraphy of great men such as Jin Sheng (unfortunately, no patterns survived) (no works today), all of which are found in the Huayan Classic stone carvings of Huayan Temple in Jeollanam-do.
Xinluo construction
We know from the description that the palace in Gyeongju has its own gardens and lakes, but unfortunately, only decorative floor tiles survive in the building itself. The existing famous buildings in the capital include two stone pagodas-Dabotapu and Sektapu-both of which can be traced back to the 8th century, and are traditionally 75 1 year. Stone pagodas are unique Korean contributions to Buddhist architecture (Japanese wood, China brick). This pair of pagodas was originally a part of the magnificent Buddhist temple in the 8th century A.D. Now it has been restored, but it is only a small part of its original size.
The cave temple in the east of Gyeongju is one of the most outstanding stone buildings in the period of unified Silla. It was built between 75 1 year and 774, and contains a circular dome with a giant Buddha sitting 3.45 meters high. The wall is decorated with 4 1 statues of disciples of Buddha and Bodhisattva.
Since the 7th century, Silla Tomb has become more like the early Koguryo and Baekje Tombs, with a horizontal entrance and a small mound at the top, then facing the slate. Stone tablets are often decorated with reliefs of the Chinese zodiac. Each character carries a weapon, thus symbolically protecting the tomb. The two best examples are Jin Yuxin in Bongdeoksa (7th century AD) and General Cemetery in Jin Yuancheng (8th century AD). The stupa has also been built, and the large dome building is built to commemorate the particularly famous Buddhist monk. The most famous stupa was built by Tuoyun, the founder of Shajia Mountain Sect in Heshun Shuangfeng Temple, and the oldest one was built in 790 AD to commemorate the monk Yomgo.
descend
The country began to decline slowly from the 8th century, mainly due to the rigid class structure. This is based on the bone rank system, that is, the strict social classification that determines rights and obligations by birth continues to operate like the old Silla kingdom, completely dominating the operation of nobles and state administrative agencies. The lack of opportunities to surpass the birth class not only led to the stagnation of thought and innovation, but also the nobles began to hate the power of the king. At the other end of the social ladder, farmers are increasingly dissatisfied with the taxes they are constantly being charged. Most importantly, since Gyeongju, the local land aristocracy (Songzhou) has become more and more difficult to control. The country is falling apart from within.
Two people will bring special trouble to King Silla. In 892 AD, the peasant leader Quan Xian took advantage of the political turmoil to establish the revived old Baekje Kingdom in the southwest of the peninsula. At the same time, Ye Gong, the leader of nobles and Buddhist monks, announced the establishment of a new Koguryo country in the north in 90 1 year, which was called post-Koguryo. Then there was a chaotic power struggle for control of the peninsula, just like in the Three Kingdoms period. In 927 AD, Qingyuan attacked Gyeongju, and Miyano's unpopular fanatical tyranny caused him to die at the hands of his own people. His first minister, the able Wang Jian, succeeded to the throne. After the attack of Baekje in 9 18, it is now plagued by infighting in the leadership, and then Silla. Finally, King Qingsun of Silla surrendered to 935 CE and the left unified the country, but with a new name, the Koryo Dynasty, which will rule Korea from 9 18 CE to 1392 CE.