The History of Korea (vol. 1 of 2)Hulbert, Homer B. (Homer Bezaleel)
History
The History of Korea (vol. 1 of 2)
Hulbert, Homer B. (Homer Bezaleel)
Korea -- History
But it was too late to save the dynasty. Pal, the son of Mun-wang, a
feudal baron, at the head of an army, was already thundering at the
gates, and in a few days, a new dynasty assumed the yellow and Pal,
under the title Mu-wang, became its first emperor.
Pi-gan and Mi-ja had both perished and Ki-ja, the sole survivor of the
great trio of statesmen, had saved his life only by feigning madness. He
was now in prison, but Mu-wang came to his door and besought him to
assume the office of Prime Minister. Loyalty to the fallen dynasty
compelled him to refuse. He secured the Emperor’s consent to his plan of
emigrating to Cho-sŭn or “Morning Freshness,” but before setting out he
presented the Emperor with that great work, the Hong-bŭm or “Great-Law,”
which had been found inscribed upon the back of the fabled tortoise
which came up out of the waters of the Nak River in the days of Ha-u-si
over a thousand years before, but which no one had been able to decipher
till Ki-ja took it in hand. Then with his five thousand followers he
passed eastward into the peninsula of Korea.
Whether he came to Korea by boat or by land cannot be certainly
determined. It is improbable that he brought such a large company by
water and yet one tradition says that he came first to Su-wŭn, which is
somewhat south of Chemulpo. This would argue an approach by sea. The
theory which has been broached that the Shantung promontory at one time
joined the projection of Whang-hă Province on the Korean coast cannot be
true, for the formation of the Yellow Sea must have been too far back in
the past to help us to solve this question. It is said that from Su-wŭn
he went northward to the island Ch’ŭl-do, off Whang-hă Province, where
today they point out a “Ki-ja Well.” From there he went to P‘yŭng-yang.
His going to an island off Whang-hă Province argues against the theory
of the connection between Korea and the Shantung promontory.
[Illustration: _A TABLET TO KI-JA._]
In whatever way he came, he finally settled at the town of P‘yŭng-yang
which had already been the capital of the Tan-gun dynasty. Seven cities
claimed the honor of being Homer’s birth place and about as many claim
to be the burial spot of Ki-ja. The various authorities differ so widely
as to the boundaries of his kingdom, the site of his capital and the
place of his interment that some doubt is cast even upon the existence
of this remarkable man; but the consensus of opinion points clearly to
P‘yŭng-yang as being the scene of his labors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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