고구려후기 연개소문의 정변 번역(영어 번역본)The purpose of this study is to examine division and confrontation among the aristocrats of Koguryo, which has been pointed out as one of major causes of the fall of Koguryo, from a different perspective. Previous studies tend to describe the King Yongnyu’s enthronement and the processes leading to Yon Kaesomun’s ruling in rather simply. It is also the author’s opinion that the historical milestones have been set in wrong manner. Thus this paper will reconsider the enthronement of King Yongnyu, the Lanscape Destruction of 630’s, and the failure of Shilla Chiljungseong Attack, which have been set as the milestones in previous studies, and suggest a set of new milestones which are the enthronement of King Yongnyu, the death of Yeon Taejo, and the establishment of Dongi Gyowi (Eastern Bavarian Duke). Additionally, the regional basis of King Yongnyu and Yon Kaesomun shall be reconsidered also as the framework of explanation for such series of events.
Keonmu was a step brother of King Yongyang and succeeded to the throne. This case was highly unusual according to the trends shown in Samguksagi (The Chronicles of the Three States), which specifically said that there would be no heir unless the eldest son succeeded to the throne since primogeniture had been firmly established after the King Gogukcheon. Therefore, there must have been other reason for Keonmu to succeed to the throne. One reason could be Keonmu’s access to military force. During the Koguryo-Sui War, Keonmu defeated General Lai Huni of Sui Dynasty and his navy, who invaded Peyongyangseong, only with his royal army of 500 soldiers. The existence of this royal army represented military support for Keonmu and must become an important foundation for his enthronement as King Yongnyu. Additionally, “the Koguryo Sui War Expert”, an honorary nickname of Keomu acclaimed during the entire progress gave him a strong foundation for the people’s support.
King Yongnyu, upon his enthronement, visited the progenitor’s tomb in Jolbon to survey the moods of Yon Kaesomun’s family. During the survey, he learned that Yeon Taejo, the head of Yon Kaesomun’s family, had passed away, and repatriated the prisoners of Koguryo Sui War to the Tang Dynasty. Thi repatriation of the prisoners of war was detrimental to the Yon Kaesomun’s family, who had possessed a large number of prisoners of war. As a result, King Yongnyu and the Yon Kaesoumun’s family displayed a different political attitude and their position on foreign policies with the Tang Dynasty also grew differently. Therefore, the death of Yeon Taejo ought to be set as an important milestone
Notwithstanding King Yongnyu’s Pro-Tang Policy, however, the relationship of Koguryo and the Tang Dynasty eventually faces a huge turmoil. The turmoil was caused by the enthronement of Emperor Taizong, who pursued an unitary order with China in the central position, after the death of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, who pursued a hold-the-line policy with the relationship with Koguryo. Emperor Taizong of Tang reinstated Dongi Gyowi (Eastern Bavarian Duke) almost immediately after his enthronement, which was his way of publically denouncing the Koguryo’s autonomy in the region. Therefore, the reinstatement of Dongi Gyowi (Eastern Bavarian Duke) should also be set as an important milestone.
The Koguryo-Tang Dynasty diplomatic relationship cooled rapidly after the reinstatement of Dongi Gyowi (Eastern Bavarian Duke) by Emperor Taizong. It was obvious that the clash between the moderate faction, who supported King Yongnyu’s radical Pro-Tang Policy, and the hard-line faction, who supported Yon Kaesomun, was unavoidable. The clash between two factions eventually resulted an extreme ending of a political upheaval. The progress and backgrounds of this political upheaval, however, needs to be examined further. As for the backgrounds, the directions of policies presented by the two factions and their
Regional basis needs to be inquired into. Here, the moderate faction, including King yongnyu, is set as a group of people who sought utilitarian diplomacy through paying tributes, and the hard-line faction is set as a group of people who sought to regain the honor and power of Koguryo in the 5th century. In addition, the regional basis of King Yongnyu and Yon Kaesomun, distinctive leaders of the two factions, have been set as Pyeongyangseong and Gungnaesoeong, different than the previous studies.
As for the progresses, instead of the possibility of alliance between Yon Kaesomun and King Taeyang, which had been suggested in previous studies, the authors of this paper go a step further and suggest that there could have been a secret treaty between the two. The fact that the Crown Prince Hwankwon made a visit to the Tang Dynasty shows that there had been some sort of understanding made between the Tang Dynasty and the Koguryo’s moderate faction. Especially, the delayed construction of Cheollijangseong despite a hard efforts made by Koguryo can be understood as a factor which makes the political intent of King Yongnyu’s de facto power to eliminate Yon Kaesomun more obvious.
In the end, the supporters of King Yougnyu and Yon Kaesomun were in antagonistic relationship not only on foreign policies. Rather, their conflicts were results of an underlying confrontation on the direction of Koguryo’s future as well as interests and stakes in the power struggle between the two groups. The confrontation of the two groups of political factions resulted in an extreme result of Yon Kawomun’s Coup and the assassination of King Yongnyu, and ultimately led to a dictatorship of Yon Kaesomun, which in turn became an important cause of the collapse of Koguryo. |
