Koguryŏ's Puyŏ-Sŏng
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Appendix B Koguryŏ’s Puyŏ-sŏng urviving written sources do not state precisely when Koguryŏ occupied the Puyŏ core Sregion, but this most likely occurred shortly after 346 and certainly before about 390. Records describing events of later centuries reveal the presence of a Koguryŏ fortress called Puyŏ-sŏng, which is usually understood to indicate a Koguryŏ fortification in the old Puyŏ core region. Such a fortress may have been constructed in the early years of the Koguryŏ occupation of the area, but surviving records do not indicate its existence prior to the end of the sixth century. The earliest mention of Puyŏ-sŏng is in fact to be found in the records concerning Koguryŏ’s reoccupation of the Puyŏ territory and the expul- sion of Tudiji and his followers, and it is possible that such a fortress was not built until this time. It is also possible that the term “Puyŏ-sŏng” more broadly indicated the forti- fied lands around and including the ruins of the old Puyŏ capital, but this will not be assumed in the present study. In this appendix I will outline and evaluate current promi- nent hypotheses regarding Koguryŏ’s Puyŏ-sŏng and will propose that Longtanshan in Jilin is by far the most likely site for this northernmost of Koguryŏ fortifications.1 Sources Records describing three specific events are all that survive to provide clues to the loca- tion of Puyŏ-sŏng. The first, as noted above, concerns Koguryŏ’s expulsion of certain Sumo Mohe groups from the Puyŏ region. The original text was included in the now-lost Beifan fengsu ji, portions of which are cited in various other works, including the Taiping huanyu ji. That text notes that when overcome by Koguryŏ pressure, the Sumo leader 1. For a survey of earlier hypotheses, see Wada 1955, 22–54. Koguryŏ’s Puyŏ-sŏng 337 Tudiji “led forth the villages from the northwest of Puyŏ-sŏng” and put in with Sui.2 After this event, which took place in the mid-590s, Koguryŏ maintained its hold on Puyŏ territories until just before the collapse of the state in 668. From this passage is gained the knowledge that Tudiji’s Sumo settlements were located to the northwest of Puyŏ-sŏng and probably not very distant. The next account relating to Puyŏ-sŏng appears in the Jiu Tangshu and the Xin Tangshu and concerns the building of Koguryŏ’s long wall. With the Tang defeat of Koguryŏ’s Tujue allies in 628, Tang began to apply increasing pressures on Koguryŏ. In 631 Emperor Taizong dispatched an official to disassemble a Koguryŏ war memorial constructed from the corpses of defeated troops from the many Sui campaigns against Koguryŏ. After the Chinese remains had been removed for burial in Tang, the Koguryŏ king Kŏnmu 建武 (Yŏngnyu 榮留王, r. 618–42) became apprehensive and feared an impending Tang attack on his state. He therefore ordered the building of a long wall along his western border and assigned the future usurper Yŏn Kaesomun 淵蓋蘇文 (603–66) the task of overseeing its construction. The building of the wall took sixteen years (631–47), and when complete it stretched over one thousand li from Puyŏ-sŏng in the northeast to the sea in the southwest.3 This is generally understood to indicate a continuous defensive embankment running from Koguryŏ’s northernmost territories to the mouth of the Liao River near modern Yingkou. The third and final account concerning Puyŏ-sŏng involves the Tang defeat of Koguryŏ’s northern defenses in 667 and 668, which culminated in the capitulation of P’yŏngyang and the destruction of the Koguryŏ state. The details of the defeat of Puyŏ- sŏng are spread throughout many different sources, which are not always in agreement. The sequence of events, however, is not difficult to reconstruct. When the usurper Yŏn Kaesomun died in 666, his eldest son Namsaeng 男生 (634–79) succeeded to his father’s position, but a series of plots involving Namsaeng’s brothers left the younger brother Namgŏn 男建 in power at P’yŏngyang and a disaffected Namsaeng entrenched at the former capital of Kungnae on the Yalu. Namsaeng made common cause with Tang at this time, which gave the emperor Gaozong an excuse to send in troops. On October 6, 667 the Tang commander Li Shiji 李世勣 (594–669) took Sin-sŏng 新城 (Fushun) on Koguryŏ’s western border and set up a garrison camp. Yŏn Namgŏn then sent an army to attack the Tang camp at Sin-sŏng, but as they were making headway the Tang commander Xue Rengui 薛仁貴 (614–83) countered and defeated the Koguryŏ force. The commander Gao Kan 高侃 then advanced from Sin-sŏng to Kŭmsan (Ch. Jinshan 金山), where he fought a losing battle with the Koguryŏ forces. But once again Xue Rengui struck the Koguryŏ army laterally and defeated them. He then seized three fortresses on the present Suzi River and opened up a route to Kungnae (modern Ji’an), which allowed him to join forces with Namsaeng. Encouraged by these victories, Xue Rengui directed his forces against 2. Taiping huanyu ji 71:12A–12B (Yanzhou): 開皇中, 粟末靺鞨與高麗戰不勝, 有突稽部渠長突地稽 者, . 率 . 八 部 勝 兵 數 千人 , 自扶餘城西北舉部落向關內附. 3. Jiu Tangshu 199a:5321 (Account of Koguryŏ); Xin Tangshu 220:6187 (Account of Koguryŏ); Samguk sagi 20:188 (Koguryŏ Annals, Yŏngnyu 14/2)..