In the era of agricultural civilization, China in East Asia can be described as the absolute main body, after a long expansion, almost all the areas suitable for agricultural development in East Asia were included by the Central Plains Dynasty, in ancient times, look around the Chinese Empire, the east is the sea, the west and north are desolate deserts or cold lands, and the southern tropical mountains and forests are difficult to overcome. It can be said that the expansion has reached its limit, and it is no wonder that the Chinese in the ancient period had a feeling of being in the "heavens and the earth".
However, this "limit" still has two bugs, there are two areas of ancient China that have not been successfully digested, one is the Red River Delta, that is, the northern region of Vietnam, which has been a county of the Central Plains Dynasty since the Qin Conquest, but because the local area is too remote and the indigenous forces are strong, so in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms chaos, it broke away, and the subsequent Central Plains Dynasty, although it had efforts to recover, did not succeed.
The Western Han Dynasty territory map, in the eastern core area, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and northern Vietnam belonged to the territory directly administered by the Han Dynasty
And there is the Korean Peninsula, why hasn't this place been taken down? From the geographical point of view, it is simply said: mainly the climate and geography, therefore, this place is already very northern, the climate is cold, the cost of domination is high, and the peninsula has a peculiar terrain, the north is mountainous and the south has several plains suitable for development, this topographic structure makes the mainland effectively resist the invasion of northern forces, so in the long history, the Central Plains Dynasty did not completely swallow this seemingly close Korean Peninsula.
The terrain of the Korean Peninsula is not easy to enter from the north
According to historical records, in 109 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked Korea and established four counties after destroying Korea: Lelang, Zhenfan, Lintun and Xuanju, which is the famous "Han Four Counties" in Korean history, and these four counties are headed by Lelang.
However, which Korea did Emperor Wu of Han destroy? And where did these counties go from here? To explain these issues, we must first understand the history of the Korean Peninsula.
The ancient history of Joseon appeared very late, or in 194 BC, and the "Records of History" recorded that in this year, the Yan king Lu Xuan, who was appointed by Han Gaozu, fled from the Xiongnu, and his general Wei Man led his old troops across the Yalu River, overthrew the ancient Joseon and established the "Wei Manchu Korea". The authenticity of "Wei Manchu Korea" is generally recognized by korean and Chinese historians, and there is archaeological evidence, so it is said to be a "history of faith", but some Korean scholars believe that Wei Manchu may be an ancient Korean rather than a Yan. The main basis for this is that when Wei Manchu entered ancient Korea, he did not wear Hanfu but "Tujie Barbarian Costume", and after taking power, he did not change the name of the country but continued to use the name of Korea.
By the way, the name "Joseon" was originally first seen in the ancient Chinese book "Classic of Mountains and Seas": "Within the East Sea, in the corner of the North Sea, there is the name of the country, North Korea." The Shoshu Daibiography explains its meaning as "asahi is distinct". However, the Classic of Mountains and Seas is certainly not a strict history book, so the Korean state mentioned here is estimated to be only a geographical conjecture of the ancients. But north Korea later took it as the name of the country.
So what was North Korea like before that? This is an interesting question.
Prior to this, Korea was known as "Ancient Korea", and this ancient Korea actually had two theories, the traditional saying was "Jizi Joseon", according to the "History", "Shangshu Dabi", "Book of Han" and other historical books, it was a country established on the Korean Peninsula by the Shang Dynasty Patriarch Jizi who did not want to obey the Zhou Dynasty and the central plains immigrants on the Korean Peninsula along with the local indigenous people.
This statement is respected by ancient Koreans, you may also know that there was a strong "Muhua" ideology in ancient Korea, especially after the Ming and Qing dynasties, if the Korean Peninsula is the history of the Shang Dynasty immigrants, it is naturally impossible to ask for, indicating that it is the same species as The Chinese language, so the rulers of the Korean Peninsula have greatly respected the "Mizi Joseon", in 1102, the Goryeo Dynasty Sujong accepted the proposal of the Ministry of Rites to erect the Mizi Tomb under the Peony Peak (Peony Peak according to the place where the Mizi was buried according to the mizi they examined), Monarchs of the Later Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties performed regular sacrifices to the Tomb of Miko.
Traditionally, the Yan people Wei Man controlled the "Mizi Joseon"
But there is also a "native" theory - Danjun Joseon, which was originally a myth and legend, the earliest written record comes from the Goryeo Guoshi Yiran's "Relics of the Three Kingdoms", according to which it is recorded that Tanjun, a descendant of the gods and bear girls, took the throne fifty years after Yao ascended the throne, with Pyongyang as the capital and Korea as the name. This myth has a strong national color of forest fishing and hunting, which is more consistent with the characteristics of the Korean nation, but in ancient times, the Korean rulers basically did not take this seriously: your strange legend does not prevent me from admiring China.
But what about after modern times? Due to the rise in nationalist sentiment, North Koreans began to respect Danjun Korea, and due to the contradictions in the literature of Theoko Joseon and the lack of archaeological findings, The Miko Korea has been denied by the Korean mainstream. Some people even think that Mizi Joseon was made up by han chinese during the Han Dynasty or later Muhua people, in October 1993, North Korea excavated the Tomb of Tanjun, and even said that the remains were found, more than 5,000 years ago, and even claimed that Tanjun was a real historical figure rather than a myth, and officially listed it as the founding father of the first country in Korean history, Ancient Korea. In February 2007, South Korea also began to include Danjun Korea as the first dynasty in history to be written into history textbooks.
The Tanjun myth, which is similar to what "Nuwa made man" or something like that, is purely a legend
This is a bit absurd to tell the truth, in fact, the history of Korea before the "Wei Manchu Joseon" is still a confused account, but this place has indigenous people is certain, because according to archaeological results, as early as the ancient period of the Korean Peninsula has been inhabited, "Wei Manchu Korea" ruler is who is first, the main population of this place must be the Korean natives and not the Han (but the ruling class of Wei Manchu Korea may be the Central Plains immigrants), however, the territory controlled by wei Manchu Korea is also limited to the north. There are many small tribes living in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and these tribes are widely referred to as "Han" in Chinese historical sources.
In the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, there are three tribal alliances, known as the "Three Koreas", which is the main body of the Korean nation today
What was destroyed for Emperor Wu of Han was this Wei Manchu Korea.
Why did Emperor Wu of Han attack Korea? In fact, it was only the Han Dynasty that looked at it unfavorably, and Wei Manchu Korea actively expanded abroad and imported Central Plains culture, making the country stronger and stronger. At the beginning, the Western Han Dynasty made him a foreign vassal and ruled over the barbarians outside the Country. Later, it was found that it did not seem to be very peaceful, and it refused to pay tribute to the Western Han Dynasty, and blocked the way for neighboring small countries to pay tribute to the Western Han Dynasty, so Emperor Wu of Han sent an army to attack Korea in 109 BC (the second year of the Yuan Dynasty). In 108 BC, King Wei of Joseon was killed by his subordinates and surrendered to the Western Han Dynasty, and Wei Manchu Korea was destroyed.
Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up Lelang County in the ancient Korean homeland, Zhenfan County in the hometown of Zhenfanguo, Lintun County in the Eastern Qinqi area, and Xuanju County in the land of Wo depressed, collectively known as the "Four Counties of Han". What are the real fans, the dirty things, and the depressions in this? These were some of the fishing and hunting tribes distributed in northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula at that time, which were adjacent to ancient Korea but did not belong to the Korean territory, and the "History" often used Korea and Zhenfan at the same time, such as: "Dongxuan, Joseon, and Zhenfanzhili." "However, after the establishment of Wei Manchu Korea, these tribes honored the Joseon Dynasty, similar to the Central Plains Dynasty of some vassal states.
The establishment of "Hansi County" is definitely a very important milestone for the development of the Korean Peninsula, the Central Plains Dynasty directly ruled the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, and the advanced culture of the Central Plains moved into Korea with Han officials and immigrants, which greatly accelerated the development of the Korean Peninsula, but after the establishment of the "HanSi County", the local natives still continued to resist the han dynasty rule, this place is remote, and the imperial court is a bit out of reach. Therefore, the coexistence of four counties has only existed for more than twenty years. In 82 BC, the two counties of Zhenfan and Lintun collapsed, and together with the eastern part of Xuanyu County, they were merged into Lelang County, which was governed by the Eastern Governor and the Southern Governor respectively, and the administration of Xuanfan County was moved to Goguryeo County (around Xinbin, Liaoning), and the name was extinct.
During the Tianhan Dynasty (100 BC – 97 BC), the political map of Liaodong, the first county of Lelang County, Korea County, was probably located in present-day Pyongyang.
There is only one "Lelang" left in the "HanSi County", and some people think that this is not a change in administrative divisions? The place is still so big, in fact, it is not the same, the ancient rule is not the same as now, the place is how you want to set up, many remote areas in ancient times, the county is the ruling stronghold of the imperial court, the imperial court can only control the nearby place, the county is abolished, indicating that this area is basically unable to effectively rule.
"In the third year of the Yuan Dynasty, korea was destroyed, and the four parts of Lelang, Lintun, Xuanyu, and Zhenfan were divided. In the fifth year of the first year of the Zhao Emperor, He rebelled against Lintun and Zhenfan, and together with Lelang and Xuanyu. Xuan Suo fu migrated to Juridah. Since the single collar has been east, Wo Depressed and Yu Yu belong to Lelang. Later, with a vast territory, it was divided into seven counties in the east and the eastern capital of Lelang. - Book of the Later Han Dynasty
At this time, it was the heyday of "Lelang County", according to the "Book of Han", at this time, Lelang County had a total of 25 counties, 62812 households, and 406748 people. At this time, Lelang County became a large county in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, and with the Han Dynasty people calling the county a border between the southeast, southwest, and northwest, Lelang County became the representative of the extreme east of the Han Dynasty.
“...... East to Lelang, west to Dunhuang, among thousands of miles, competing for use" - "The Theory of The Hidden Husband"
This state of Lelang County lasted for a long time, until the sixth year of Jianwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty (30 years), when emperor Guangwu quelled the rebellion of the king, abolished the eastern and southern capitals, abandoned the seven counties of Lingdong, and replaced it with the autonomy of the Tao people, but at this time Lelang still had jurisdiction over eighteen counties. It is also quite strong, but at this time, another geopolitical force in the northeast region has risen, which is Goguryeo!
After the 2nd century, Goguryeo, Fuyu, etc. gradually prospered, from time to time invading xuanju, liaodong, Lelang and other counties, Xuanju county was forced to move inland again (for the third Xuanju county), this time directly moved to the Great Wall, probably in the area of present-day Shenyang and Fushun, and Lelang became the front line of the Central Plains Dynasty against Goguryeo. Since the establishment of the four counties of Lelang, it has been greatly threatened by the indigenous people, and the territory has been continuously encroached upon, and now the remaining three counties have all been wiped out, leaving only Lelang County, and the belt is also in turmoil.
Note: Goguryeo, an ancient ethnic group distributed on the northeastern frontier of China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, began to flourish in the 2nd century and was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty in 668 AD
According to statistics, in the fifth year of Emperor Yonghe of Shun (140), when Lelang had 61,492 households, 257,050 mouths, and a population of 150,000 fewer than the Western Han Dynasty, of course, there were reasons for abandoning the seven counties of Lingdong, but the fierceness of the war was also generally seen. In fact, the places that Lelang County could actually control were getting smaller and smaller, and Goguryeo was encroaching more and more.
In the middle of the Central Plains, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the warlords divided the territory, Gongsun Kang occupied Liaodong, and he counterattacked the natives of the Korean Peninsula who invaded the north, regained control of the southern part of Lelang County, and divided the wasteland south of Tun you County into Belt Fang County, and the county rule was in Belt Fang County. After Cao Wei sent troops to pacify Gongsun Yuan, he followed Gongsun Yuan's position and established Pingzhou with the counties of Liaodong, Lelang, Daifang, and Xuanyu, located in Pingzhou, which once again became the far eastern county of Cao Wei and the subsequent Western Jin Dynasty.
Political map of the Korean Peninsula in the third century AD
However, the Western Jin Dynasty was not a powerful dynasty, so what was the situation with Lelang on the border of the empire? In the second year of Xianning (276), the Western Jin Dynasty restored Pingzhou, taking the five counties of Changli, Liaodong, Xuanju, Daifang, and Lelang. Lelang County only administers six counties, 3700 households, Daifang County has jurisdiction over seven counties, 4900 households, 19 At this time, the sum of the number of households in the two counties is only equivalent to 1/7 of the Eastern Han Dynasty, almost on the verge of being destroyed. After that, the Western Jin Dynasty crossed south, and the north was in chaos.
In 311, Goguryeo invaded the south, capturing Xi'an Ping County (located on the north bank of present-day Yalu River Estuary), cutting off the connection between Lelang and The two counties of Lelang and Daifang and Liaodong, and in early 313, Zhang Tong (zhang Liao's grandson, who was the actual controller of the Lelang region at that time) who had led more than a thousand families to liaoxi because of the long-term lone army fighting against Goguryeo and Baekje, led more than a thousand families to liaoxi to join Murong Liao (a Xianbei who submitted to the Central Plains Dynasty, who occupied Liao at that time). Goguryeo attacked Lelang, and Lelang County was actually destroyed, of course, Murong Hui later established Lelang County for him in western Liaoning, but this county was only nominal.
However, this is not the end of the matter, according to archaeological findings (Jin tombstones and brick inscriptions with Jin dynasty era numbers and official titles found in lelang's hometown in the 4th and early 5th centuries) show that after 313 AD and until the beginning of the 5th century, a certain number of Jin people lived in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and continued to serve the Jin Dynasty Zhengshuo, and were not subjugated by goguryeo and other local authorities.
The Chinese regime did not completely abandon its efforts, and in the winter of 342 AD, Murong Hao destroyed the capital of Goguryeo and severely damaged Goguryeo, making it unable to use troops for 30 years, so the Former Yan Murong clan was the last local Chinese government to give Goguryeo a huge hit. However, this did not restore China's previous control over the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, and Former Yan had to accept the submission of Goguryeo. However, under the pressure of Former Yan, Goguryeo also moved its capital to Pyongyang.
"Send his brother to the court of Yu Yan, and pay tribute to the treasures of the thousands" - Zizhi Tongjian
From 108 BC, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established Lelang Commandery (樂浪郡), to the de facto demise of Lelang Commandery (樂浪郡) in 313, the establishment of this far eastern part of the Central Plains Dynasty lasted for more than 400 years, after which Goguryeo occupied the lelang homeland became a fait accompli and was also recognized by the Chinese regime, and in the seventh year of Northern Qi Tianbao (556), a large-scale province was merged into Prefecture County, and Qiao Lelang County was also incorporated into Changli County at this time. Even the expatriate lelang county was abolished, and this place name has completely become a historical place name
However, after 400 years of rule, the existence of the Central Plains in Lelang still leaves a lot of heritage, such as the famous Han Le Fu poem "Zhen Zhen Yin", which is the folk song of Lelang County, and from 1935 to 1937, in the Lelang area of Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the ruins of Lelang County and about 2,000 ancient tombs of the Han Dynasty were discovered. The lacquerware excavated in the ruins is very exquisite, and it is known as "Lelang lacquerware" in history. From today's perspective, we would usually say that this is a concrete testimony to the strong influence of Han culture in northern Korea. But in fact, at that time, the northern part of the peninsula was originally a territory of the Han Dynasty.
The establishment of Lelang Commandery was the first attempt of the Central Plains Dynasty to control the Korean Peninsula in the classical period, but it ended in failure; the second attempt was to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the unprecedentedly powerful Tang Dynasty destroyed Baekje, and after Ping goguryeo tried to directly administer this place, but a conflict broke out with the ground snake Silla, which was ultimately unsuccessful (but the Tang Dynasty successfully seized half of Goguryeo's territory); during the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongol invasion of Goryeo was the third attempt, although the Mongols did not completely conquer Goryeo, but forced Goryeo to become their vassal, the Ming and Qing dynasties, The DPRK pursued the "big thing doctrine" and was close to China, and china's geopolitical relations with the Korean Peninsula stabilized, and it was not until the Sino-Japanese War that the matter was broken.
Author: Yun Fan