Korea -- History; Korea -- Social life and customs
Taking advantage of its weakness, the king of Yen began boldly and
openly to seize upon Chō-sen territory, annexing thousands of square
miles to his own domain. By a spasmodic effort, the successors of Ki
Tsze again became ascendant, reannexing a large part of the territory
of Yen, and receiving great numbers of her people, who had fled from
civil war in China, within the borders of Chō-sen for safety and peace.
Thus the spoiler was spoiled, but, later on, the kingdom of Yen was
again set up, and the rival states fixed their boundaries and made
peace. The Han dynasty in B.C. 206 claimed the imperial power, and sent
a summons to the king of Yen to become vassal. On his refusing, the
Chinese emperor despatched an army against him, defeated his forces in
battle, extinguished his dynasty, and annexed his kingdom.
One of the survivors of this revolt, named Wei-man, with one thousand
of his followers, fled to the east. Dressing themselves like wild
savages they entered Chō-sen, pretending, with Gibeonitish craft, that
they had come from the far west, and begged to be received as subjects.
Kijun, the king, like another Joshua, believing their professions,
welcomed them and made their leader a vassal of high rank, with the
title of ‘Guardian of the Western Frontier.’ He also set apart a large
tract of land for his salary and support.
In his post at the west, Wei-man played the traitor, and collecting a
number of his former countrymen from the Yen province, suddenly sent to
Kijun a messenger, informing him that a large Chinese army of the
conquering Han was about to invade Chō-sen. At the same time, he
suggested that he should be called to the royal side and be made
Protector of the Capital. His desire being granted, he hastened with
his forces and suddenly appearing before the royal castle, attacked it.
Kijun was beaten, and fled by sea, escaping in a boat to the southern
end of the peninsula.
Wei-man then proclaimed himself King of Chō-sen, 194 B.C. He set out on
a career of conquest and seized several of the neighboring provinces,
and Chō-sen again expanded her boundaries to cover an immense area.
Wei-man built a city somewhere east of the Ta-tong River. It was named
Wang-hien.
Two provinces of modern Corea were thus included within Chō-sen at this
date. The new kingdom grew in wealth, power, and intelligence. Many
thousands of the Chinese gentry, fleeing before the conquering arms of
the Han “usurpers,” settled within the limits of Chō-sen, adding
greatly to its prosperity.
During the reign of Yukio (Chinese, Yow Jin), the grandson of Wei-man,
he received a summons to become vassal to the Chinese emperor, who
sublimely declared that henceforward the eastern frontier of China
should be the Ta-tong River—thus virtually wiping out Chō-sen with a
proclamation. In B.C. 109, a Chinese ambassador sailed over from China,
entered the Ta-tong River, and visited Yukio in his castle. He plead in
vain with Yukio to render homage to his master.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account