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The System of Local Administration in Parhae Kim Tong-Woo (Ch’unch’onˇ National Museum)

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THE ORGANIZATION OF PARHAE’S LOCAL ADMINISTRATION

AFTER TAE CHOY ONGˇ (r. 698–719) established Parhae at Tongmosan (Chengshanzi mountain fortress in modern Dunhua, Jilin Province) in 698, 30 years after the demise of Kogury o,ˇ the kingdom greatly expanded its power to the extent that it was known in the Tang as the “fl ourishing kingdom of the east.” Its territory included the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, China’s three northeastern provinces (Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang), and the Maritime Province of Russia. The Xin Tangshu (New History of the Tang) describes Parhae’s territory as “over 5,000 li in all four directions,” and the Jiu Tangshu (Old History of the Tang) describes Parhae’s territory as “3,120 li from east to west and 2,000 li from north to south,” while recording Silla’s territory as “1,000 li from east to west and 2,000 li from north to south.” Even a simple compari- son of these records suggests that Parhae controlled territory twice that of Kogury oˇ and four or fi ve times that of Silla, making it the largest territorial state in Korean history. Within that large terri- tory resided both Kogury oˇ remnants and various groups of Malgal. This situation must have compelled Parhae to develop a system of local administration early on in order to maintain its control over such a large area populated by such disparate elements. The Xin Tangshu tells us that Parhae’s local administration was made up of fi ve capitals, fi fteen provinces, and sixty-two districts. Under the 40 A NEW HISTORY OF PARHAE districts were some one hundred plus counties; thus Parhae had a three-tiered system of local governance: provinces, districts, and counties. The fi ve capitals, the Northern Capital, the Central Capital, the Eastern Capital, the Southern Capital, and the Western Capital, were situated in important locales as political, economic, and mili- tary centers through which the kingdom sought to rule its lands and people effectively. There are several hypotheses about the exact locations of the fi ve capitals, but generally speaking most scholars think that the Northern Capital was located in modern- day Ningan, Heilongjiang Province; the Central Capital in Helong, Jilin Province; the Eastern Capital in Hunchun, Jilin Province; the Southern Capital in Pukch’ ongˇ (Bukcheong), Hamgy ongˇ ( Hamgyeong) Province; and the Western Capital in Linjiang, Jilin Province. Parhae had fi ve major communication routes that linked the kingdom with the outside world: the tribute and the Yingzhou routes to the Tang; the Silla route; the Japan route; and the Qidan route. The tribute route went by land from the Northern Capital to the Western Capital, from where it went by water on the Amnok

Table 4.1: Organization of Parhae’s Local Administration Capital Province(s) Districts Region Upper Yongch’on ˇ Yong, Ho, Pal Old Suksin Territory Central Hyond ˇ ok ˇ No, Hyon, ˇ Ch’ol, ˇ T’ang, Yong, ˇ Huˇ ng Eastern Yongwon ˇ Kyong, ˇ Yong, ˇ Old Yemaek Territory Mok, Ha Southern Namhae Ok, Chong, ˇ Ch’o Old Okcho ˇ Territory WesternAmnok Sin, Hwan, P’ung, Old Koguryo ˇ Territory Chong ˇ Changnyong ˇ Ha, Ha Puyo ˇ Pu, Son ˇ Old Puyo ˇ Territory Makhil Mak, Ko Chongni ˇ Chong, ˇ Pan Old Uˇ mnu Territory Anbyon ˇ An, Kyong ˇ Solbin Hwa, Ik, Kon ˇ Old Solbin Territory Tongp’yong ˇ I, Mong, T’a, Huˇ k, Pi Old Puryol ˇ Territory Cholli ˇ Kwang, Pun, P’o, Old Cholli ˇ Territory Hae, Uˇ i, Kwi Hoewon ˇ Tal, Wol, ˇ Hoe, Ki, Old Worhoe ˇ Territory Pu, Mi, Pok, Sa, Chi Anwon ˇ Yong, ˇ Mi, Mo, Sang

* There were three districts, Yong, ˇ Tong, and Sok, that were not subordinate to provinces and reported directly to the center. * The Xin Tangshu said that Parhae had 62 districts but gave the names of only 60.