Byeonhan confederacy
Byeonhan confederacy 변한 ( | |||||||||
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194 BC–42 CE | |||||||||
Common languages | Han | ||||||||
Religion | Shamanism | ||||||||
Government | Confederacy | ||||||||
Historical era | Ancient | ||||||||
• Establishment | 194 BC | ||||||||
• Transition to the Gaya confederacy. | 42 CE | ||||||||
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Today part of | South Korea |
Byeonhan confederacy | |
Hangul | |
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Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Byeonhan or Byeonjin |
McCune–Reischauer | Pyŏnhan or Pyŏnjin |
History of Korea |
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Timeline |
Korea portal |
Byeonhan (Korean: 변한; Hanja:
Etymology
[edit]"Byeonhan (
As part of the Samhan, Jinhan meant "Big Nation of the East" and Mahan meant "Big Nation of the South".[4]
History
[edit]This early part of the Three Kingdoms period is sometimes called the Proto–Three Kingdoms period. Byeonhan, like the other Samhan confederacies, appears to be descended from the Jin state of southern Korea.
Archaeological evidence indicates an increase in military activity and weapons production among the Byeonhan in the 3rd century, especially an increase in iron arrowheads and cuirasses (Barnes 2000).[2] This may be associated with the decline of Byeonhan and the rise of the more centralized Gaya Confederacy, which most Byeonhan states joined. Gaya was subsequently annexed by Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
Various cultural aspects supposedly unique to Byeonhan overlap with Jinhan, but are not universal in Byeonhan. One notable tradition was tattooing, which was done by both men and women.[5] Another tradition was the burying of feathers and pottery[6] in graves alongside the dead body as it was believed that the feathers helped the afterlife souls fly into the sky.[5]
Byeonhan as a political grouping was also sometimes referred to by a calque of Byeon (
There are also two hypotheses about the Byeonhan constituting a separate ethnicity distinct from the Jinhan:
- The Wa people of the Japanese archipelago, described in early Chinese records as present on the southern coasts of the peninsula.[7]
- Any ethnic who traveled through ancient southern trade routes seen through the distribution of dolmens culture. According to recent studies that excavated Kofuns in South Jeolla Province, analysis of the components of glass beads there suggests that the raw material production area is Thailand.[8]
However, there is no distinct evidence that indicates an ethnic separation of Byeonhan and Jinhan as the two shared essentially the same culture, with varying religious customs, and apparently were not separated by a clear boundary according to the contemporary Chinese chronicle San Guo Zhi.
Culture and language
[edit]The Dongyi ("Eastern Barbarian") in the Wei Shu section of the Chinese Sanguo Zhi states that the culture of Byeonhan was similar to that of Jinhan (
The fifth century Hou Han Shu however notes on differences in their language and customs as “languages and customs have differences” (
Furthermore, the Wei shu states that “Chinhan men and women are close to Wa (
The linguist John Whitman summarizes the situation as such:
In fact, the texts indicate a more complex (and plausible) interrelationship between language, ethnicity, and protopolitical grouping. [...] The Chinhan population lives intermixed with Pyŏnhan; the Chinese reporters struggle to describe the resultant demographic complexity. Their languages may be similar, or different; some resemble the Wa, some tattoo their bodies. While Wa-like toponyms are more frequent in the Pyŏnhan grouping, one such toponym is identified with Chinhan. This is exactly the kind of complexity we might expect to be associated with the situation described by Ahn, where a population associated with Mumun wet rice growing culture lives alongside more recently arrived members of the Korean-style bronze dagger culture.[9]
Politics and trade
[edit]Byeonhan may have simply been a political description for decentralized polities south and west of the Nakdong River valley that were not formal members of the Jinhan confederacy.[10]
Byeonhan was internationally known for its production of iron,[11] which was also its main export good to the Lelang Commandery to the northwest, the Japanese archipelago,[11][12] and the rest of the Korean peninsula.[13][14] It was also a center of stoneware manufacture.
Member statelets
[edit]According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Byeonhan consisted of 12 statelets:
- Mirimidong (미리미동국/
彌 離 彌 凍 國 ), present-day Miryang. - Jeopdo (접도국/
接 塗 國 ), present-day Haman. - Gojamidong (고자미동국/
古 資 彌 凍 國 ), present-day Goseong. - Gosunsi (고순시국/
古 淳 是 國 ), present-day Jinju, Sacheon or Goseong. - Ballo (반로국/
半 路 國 ), present-day Seongju. - Nangno (낙노국/
樂 奴 國 ), present-day Hadong or Namhae. - Gunmi (군미국/
軍 彌 國 ), present-day Sacheon. - Mioyama (미오야마국/
彌 烏 邪 馬 國 ), present-day Changwon. - Gamno (감로국/
甘 路 國 ), present-day Gimcheon. - Guya (구야국/
狗 邪 國 ), present-day Gimhae. - Jujoma (주조마국/
走 漕 馬 國 ), present-day Gimcheon. - Anya (안야국/
安 邪 國 ), present-day Haman. - Dongno (독로국/瀆盧
國 ), present-day Dongnae.
References
[edit]- Barnes, G.L. (2000). "Archeological armor in Korea and Japan: Styles, technology and social setting". Journal of East Asian Archeology 2 (3–4), 61–96. (Electronic Version).
- ^ Huiyi, Yi; Songsu, Park; Naehyon, Yun (2005). New history of Korea. Seoul: Jimundang. p. 136. ISBN 8988095855.
- ^ a b Ebrey, Patricia; Walthall, Anne (2013-01-01). Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learning. p. 101. ISBN 978-1133606512.
- ^ Lu Guo-Ping.
在 韓國 使用 的 漢字 語 文化 上 的 程 [A Historical Study on the Culture in Chinese Characters in Korea] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. - ^ Lu Guo-Ping.
在 韓國 使用 的 漢字 語 文化 上 的 程 [A Historical Study on the Culture in Chinese Characters in Korea] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. - ^ a b 박, 은봉; 김, 용란 (2004). 한국사 1. Seoul, South Korea: 교원 All Story. p. 32. ISBN 89-21-42395-8.
- ^ 이, 소영 (2019). "
弁 韓 西部 地域 瓦 質 土器 文化 硏究 " [A study on the Culture of Wijil Pottery of the western ByeonHan (弁 韓 ) Areas]. 사학과 고고학. 8. Jinju, South Korea: vi - 97 – via Riss. - ^ Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Anne Walthall (2013). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Cengage Learning. p. 101. ISBN 9781285528670.
- ^ "about Sinduck Kofun article". The Dong-a Ilbo. 10 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d Whitman, John (December 2011). "Northeast Asian Linguistic Ecology and the Advent of Rice Agriculture in Korea and Japan". Rice. 4 (3): 149–158. doi:10.1007/s12284-011-9080-0. ISSN 1939-8433. S2CID 18459463.
- ^ Yi, Kwang-kyu (2003). Korean studies series (Korean Studies series 25 ed.). Seoul: Jipmundang. pp. 24–27. ISBN 8988095499.
- ^ a b Lee, Injae; Miller, Owen; Park, Inhoon (2014). Korean History in Maps. Cambridge University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1107098466.
- ^ Kyong-hee, Won Yu han ; translated by Lee (2006). Money traditional Korean society. Seoul, Korea: Ewha Womans University Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN 8973006746.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mong-nyong, Choi (2006). 최근 의 고고학 자료 로 본 한국 고고학, 고대사 의 신 연구(Recent research on archaeology and ancient deities. Seoul: Juryusung. p. 41. ISBN 9788987096650.
- ^ 이, 양수 (2011). "
弁 韓 의對外 交易 " [Foreign trade of Byeonhan in the Samhan period (4C B.C-3C A.D)]. 부산고고학회. 8: 27–63 – via RISS.