A History Of The Early Korean Kingdom Of Paekche Together With An Annotated Translation Of The Paekche Annals Of The Samguk Sagi

"This volume presents two histories of the early Korean kingdom of Paekche (trad. 18 BCE–660 CE). The first, written by Jonathan Best, is based largely on primary sources, both written and archaeological. This initial history of Paekche serves, in part, to introduce the second, an extensively annotated translation of the oldest history of the kingdom, the Paekche Annals (Paekche pon’gi). Written in the chronicle format standard for the traditional official histories of East Asia, the Paekche Annals constitutes one section of the Histories of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk sagi), a comprehensive account of early Korean history compiled under the editorial direction of Kim Pusik (1075–1151). Although these two representations of Paekche history differ markedly, the underlying problem faced by both the twelfth-century and the twenty-first-century historian is essentially the same: fashioning a responsible, encompassing, and reasonably coherent history of the kingdom from meager, and often disparate and fragmentary, evidence. Included in the volume are 22 appendixes on problems in Paekche history; a concordance of proper names, official titles, omens, and weights and measures; a glossary of geographical names; and six historical maps of the kingdom showing its changing boundaries."

The University of Washington-Korea Studies Program, in collaboration with Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, is proud to publish the Journal of Korean Studies.

A Study of Korean Pagodas, a monumental work of research in which Korean pagodas are described by focusing on their stylistic history, is considered as the archetype of this field. In Buddhist art history this work is a classic that set the stylistic standard for studying stone pagodas, the periods of classification, and the basic framework of analysis. The theories first presented in this book have exerted a great influence to the present day. The author Go Yuseop 高裕燮 (1905–1944), a representative scholar in the field of Korean art history, studied at Gyeongseong Jedae 京城帝大, the only university during the colonial period, and served as director of Gaeseong Museum and professor at Yeonhui Professional School and Ewha Womans Professional School. His research was based on the direct exploration of scenic spots, historical remains, and Buddhist temples. In addition to A Study of Korean Pagodas, Go Yuseop left Songdo gojeok 松都古蹟 (Historical Remains at Songdo), Joseon misulsa nonchong 朝鮮美術史論叢 (A Collection of Studies on History of Korean Art), and other writings. A Study of Korean Pagodas explains that Korean pagodas originated from wooden and brick pagodas of the Three Kingdoms period; their size was reduced during the early period of the Unified Silla dynasty, in which the typical style was established; during the middle to the end of the Unified Silla dynasty, the atypical pagoda appeared. Go Yuseop explains the arrangement of buildings in temples in the Three Kingdoms period and its variations on the basis of the relationship between the main hall, Geumdang金堂, and pagodas. Although criticism and alternative theories have been advanced, his explanation is still valid to understand the emergence of the monastery arrangement with twin pagodas. The base text for this translation is the published edition by Eulyoo Munhwasa (1948), but references are made to other editions, including those of Donghwa Chulpan (1975), Tongmungwan (1993), and Yeolhwadang (2010).

An expansive and accessible introduction to the history of Korea during the first millennium CE. Korea’s Three Kingdoms period is a genuine “lost civilization,” during which ancient realms vied for supremacy during the first millennium CE. Nobles from this period’s feuding states adopted and adapted Buddhism and Confucianism through interactions with early medieval Chinese dynasties. It was not until the mid-seventh century that the aristocratic Silla state, with the assistance of the mighty Chinese Tang empire, unified the Three Kingdoms of Korea by conquering the kingdoms of Koguryo and Paekche. Weaving together legends of ancient kings with the true histories of monks, scholars, and laypeople, this book sheds new light on a foundational period that continues to shape Korean identity today.

Dynamic and meticulously researched, A History of Korea continues to be one of the leading introductory textbooks on Korean history. Assuming no prior knowledge, Hwang guides readers from early state formation and the dynastic eras to the modern experience in both North and South Korea. Structured around episodic accounts, each chapter begins by discussing a defining moment in Korean history in context, with an extensive examination of how the events and themes under consideration have been viewed up to the present day. By engaging with recurring themes such as collective identity, external influence, social hierarchy, family and gender, the author introduces the major historical events, patterns and debates that have shaped both North and South Korea over the past 1500 years. This textbook is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Korean or Asian history. The first half of the book covers pre-20th century history, and the second half the modern era, making it ideal for survey courses.

In commemoration of Lothar von Falkenhausens 60th birthday, this volume assembles eighteen scholarly essays that explore the intersection between art, economy, and ritual in ancient East Asia. The contributions are clustered into four themes: Ritual Economy, Ritual and Sacrifice, Technology, Community, Interaction, and Objects and Meaning, which collectively reflect the theoretical, methodological, and historical questions that Falkenhausen has been examining via his scholarship, research, and teaching throughout his career. Most of the chapters work with archaeological and textual data from China, but there are also studies of materials from Mongolia, Korea, Southeast Asia and even Egypt, showing the global impact of Falkenhausens work. The chronological range of studies extends from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age in China, into the early imperial, medieval, and early modern periods. The authors discuss art, economy, ritual, interaction, and technology in the broad context of East Asian archaeology and its connection to the world beyond.

"In the sixth month of 736, a Japanese diplomatic mission set out for the kingdom of Silla, on the Korean peninsula. The envoys undertook the mission during a period of strained relations with the country of their destination, met with adverse winds and disease during the voyage, and returned empty-handed. The futile journey proved fruitful in one respect: its literary representation—a collection of 145 Japanese poems and their Sino-Japanese (kanbun) headnotes and footnotes—made its way into the eighth-century poetic anthology Man’yōshū, becoming the longest poetic sequence in the collection and one of the earliest Japanese literary travel narratives. Featuring deft translations and incisive analysis, this study investigates the poetics and thematics of the Silla sequence, uncovering what is known about the actual historical event and the assumptions and concerns that guided its re-creation as a literary artifact and then helped shape its reception among contemporary readers. H. Mack Horton provides an opportunity for literary archaeology of some of the most exciting dialectics in early Japanese literary history."

Mark E. Byington explores the formation, history, and legacy of the ancient state of Puyŏ, which existed in central Manchuria from the third century BCE until the late fifth century CE. As the earliest archaeologically attested state to arise in northeastern Asia, Puyŏ occupies an important place in the history of that region. Nevertheless, until now its history and culture have been rarely touched upon in scholarly works in any language. The present volume, utilizing recently discovered archaeological materials from Northeast China as well as a wide variety of historical records, explores the social and political processes associated with the formation and development of the Puyŏ state, and discusses how the historical legacy of Puyŏ—its historical memory—contributed to modes of statecraft of later northeast Asian states and provided a basis for a developing historiographical tradition on the Korean peninsula. Byington focuses on two major aspects of state formation: as a social process leading to the formation of a state-level polity called Puyŏ, and as a political process associated with a variety of devices intended to assure the stability and perpetuation of the inegalitarian social structures of several early states in the Korea–Manchuria region.