Annals of Koguryŏ – Book 20

King Yŏng’yang (590-618)

King Yŏng’yang (also known as P’yŏng’yang[1]) had the surname of Wŏn (but also known as Tae Wŏn)[2]. He was the eldest son of King P’yŏng’wŏn. He was of unsurpassed charisma and he made it his undertaking to relieve the sufferings of the world and bring peace to the people. In the seventh year of the reign of King P’yŏng’wŏn he was named Crown Prince, and he assumed the throne when the king died in the thirty-second year of his reign. Thereupon, Sui Wendi[3] sent an envoy to name the king Commander Unequaled in Honor [Shang gaifu yitong sansi/Sanggaebu ŭidong samsa上開府儀同三司], and enfeoff him as Duke of the Liaodong Commandery [Liaodongjun gong/Yodonggun gong 遼東郡公], for which he duly received the vestments of office.

Year two (591), spring, first month, an envoy was dispatched to Sui to express gratitude for the emperor’s enfeoffing memorial and to request that he be enfeoffed as king [of Koguryŏ] as well, to which the emperor duly agreed. Third month, Sui Wendi enfeoffed Yŏng’yang as King of Koguryŏ and bequeathed him as well the vestments and carriage of office. Summer, fifth month, a mission was sent to Sui in an expression of gratitude.

Year three (592), spring, first month, a tribute mission was sent to Sui.

Year eight (597), summer, fifth month, a tribute mission was sent to Sui.

Year nine (598) [spring, second month],[4] at the head of an army of over ten thousand Malgal troops, the king attacked Western Liao, but was repulsed by the Commander-in-chief of the Ying Region [Yingzhou zongguan營州摠管] Wei Chong[5]. When Sui Wendi heard of this he was incensed by Koguryŏ’s action and ordered his Crown Prince to join forces with Liang [諒] the Prince of Han [漢王][6], and with combined land and sea forces of three-hundred thousand men they then attacked Koguryŏ.

Summer sixth month, an imperial rescript of Wendi rescinded all the official ranks and titles of the Koguryŏ king. Liang, Prince of Han, was marching his troops towards Linyuguan[7] when the seasonal rains halted the progress of provisions. As a result, his troops suffered from starvation and disease. Meanwhile, Zhou Luo Hou[8] launched his fleet from Donglai[9] and was heading for P’yŏngyang when high waves and strong winds scattered and sank many of the ships.

Autumn, ninth month, the Sui troops returned home with the dead numbering eighty or ninety percent. Yet the Koguryŏ king was still apprehensive and dispatched an envoy [to Sui] to relay an apology headed “Your humble servant in Liaodong beseeches you.” As a result, Sui Wendi withdrew his troops, returning affairs to their pre-war state. However, Paekche’s King Ch’ang[10] dispatched an envoy to Sui with the following message, “I can lead your troops [in their attack on Koguryŏ].” Wendi replied with his own envoy, “Koguryŏ has already professed its guilt and I have pardoned it, so I cannot now punish it.” The [Paekche] envoy was kindly treated and sent on his way. When the [Koguryŏ] king learned of this, however, he attacked Paekche’s border region.

Year eleven (600), spring, first month, a tribute mission was sent to Sui. The king ordered the scholar of the National Academy [T’aehak][11], Yi Mun-jin[12], to carefully compile and summarize the ancient histories, and the result was the five-volume work of history entitled the Sinjip.[13] In the early days of the kingdom, when writing [Chinese script] was first used, someone had compiled a hundred-volume record of events called the Yugi[14]; this was also now refined and abridged.[15]

Year fourteen (603) [Autumn, eighth month],[16] the king sent General Kosŭng[17] to attack Silla’s Pukhansan fortress.[18] The Silla general led his troops and crossed the Han River. At Sŏng’an were mixed the drum beats and war cries of these rivals. As the Silla troops far outnumbered our own, Kosŭng feared victory could not be won and retreated.

Year eighteen (607). At the time when Sui Yangdi[19] first called upon Qimin[20] at his tent, our Koguryŏ envoys were there with Qimin. Qimin was bold enough not to conceal our envoys but had them accompany him to greet Yangdi. At this point Pei Ju[21], the Gentleman Attendant of the Palace Gate [Huangmen shilang 黃門侍郞] [to Yangdi] said to the emperor, “Originally Gaojuli [Koguryŏ] was a country sealed off by Jizi[22], but then Han and Jin subjugated it, dividing it into administrative units of commanderies 郡 and districts 縣[23]. Now, however, it no longer maintains its role as a subject state, but as a foreign land has long since been attempting to subjugate Your Majesty.[24] While your brash son Yang Liang[25] mobilized a sizeable number of troops against it, he was not successful. How is it that Your Majesty does not act, thus allowing Gaojuli [Koguryŏ] to transform an upright border into a region of barbarians? But now the [Koguryŏ] envoys have witnessed firsthand how Qimin has subjected his country to you. You should take advantage of their [Koguryŏ] anxieties over such a state of affairs to compel their submission.” Following this advice, the emperor had his official Niu Hong[26] compose an imperial order as follows [to give to the Koguryŏ officials]: “In order to receive the sincere submission of Qimin, I visited his tent in friendship. Next year I will naturally be at Zhuojun.[27] On the day I return there go and tell your king to come in all haste and pay me a visit. Inform him that he has no cause for fear. It is only so that we might nurture proper ceremony just as I have done with Qimin. However, if he fails to appear for an imperial audience I will lead the forces of Qimin to make an imperial circuit of your lands.”[28] Because he had not prepared his ranking officials in the proper ceremonies, the [Koguryŏ] king feared an imperial invasion. Qimin was the kehan[29] of the Tujue.

Summer, fifth month, soldiers were dispatched to attack Paekche’s Songsan fortress.[30] It did not fall, however, and so the troops moved on to attack Sŏkdu fortress.[31] Here they took three thousand men and women captive and returned.

Year nineteen (608), spring, second month, a general was given orders to attack Silla’s northern border region, whereupon eight thousand [Silla] subjects were captured. Summer, fourth month, Silla’s U’myŏng mountain fortress was seized.[32]

Year twenty-two (611), spring, second month, an edict issued by Yangdi ordered the subjugation of Koguryŏ.

Summer, fourth month, the emperor [Yangdi] went to the Linshuo Palace at Zhuojun where the armies were soon summoned.

Year twenty-three (612). Spring, first month, Imo 壬午 year, the emperor issued an imperial rescript declaring, “Tribes within Gaojuli [Koguryŏ] are vulgar, petty, and blinded by foolishness and disrespect. Gathered between Pohai[33] and Jieshi[34] they now seek again to encroach upon the frontiers of the Liao and Hui Rivers. Although the Han and the Wei repeatedly occupied and disrupted their dens for short periods, obstructing them and creating much disorder, the tribes have again mustered and flourish in their places of refuge as before. Looking back we see how the lands of China were divided among various barbarians. Through time vice has accumulated upon vice, and now the way of heaven will bring calamity upon these licentious ones. Traces of their ruin have already appeared. Countless are the ways such upheaval has destroyed virtue. Days do not suffice to measure the ways in which vice has been concealed and depravity been embraced. Though strict imperial rescripts have made all this known, no interview has yet been received [from them] as before, and the court has received no customary tribute mission. The brazenness of these rebels knows no bounds and their numbers fill the borderlands, where they harass our fire signalers, offering no respite from the clanging of locks and the watchman’s rattle,[35] causing the common people to abandon their vocations. When we conquered these tribes before they were caught up in heaven’s snare, but then we set their prisoners free to never meet the executioner’s blow. Now, however, they fail to demonstrate any natural consideration for our former lenience, choosing rather to compound their evil ways. The Khitan bands gather and murder our maritime border guards and they take up the ways of the Malgal and attack Western Liao. Further, once one reaches the border of the Green Hills[36] the customary zhigong[37] is no longer presented and the new year’s calendar no longer received at the edge of the jade sea.[38] They have blocked the public roads, inflicting cruelties even upon the innocent, visiting misfortune upon the upright. Making their way to the Eastern Sea[39], the wagons of bannered envoys must cross many borders, but they block the roads and refuse to let the royal envoys pass. By demonstrating no duty to serve their sovereign how can they be called sincere subjects? If we endure this then what offenses will we not permit? What is more, harsh laws and complex and onerous taxation have allowed powerful ministers and clans to seize the reins of state, factional conspiracies have become the custom, bribes are offered and received like commodities at market. There is no respite from such vexations. Repeated calamities and bad harvests have brought famine to every door, there is no rest from war, and corvee duties drag on endlessly; the transport of military provisions has become so difficult that the dead fill the ditches and furrows of the land. Suffering such anxiety and anguish, to whom can the common people turn? Within the borders too the situation is grim and dreadful and the suffering unendurable. Casting our gaze within we see that everyone puts their own survival first, so that the young and elderly are left to sigh in lament. Looking at such behavior, we must both console those [who have suffered from Koguryŏ attacks] in Youzhou[40] and Shuozhou[41] and inquire into these crimes without delay. To such ends I will personally lead the six shi and administer the nine fa.[42] To deliver us from menace and serve heaven’s will I shall exterminate these renegade gangs and with skill reapply the lessons of our forebears. With accustomed military discipline we shall set forth. With ranks properly arranged we shall mobilize and fall upon Bohai [Parhae] like thunder and sweep through the lands of Fuyu [Puyŏ] like lightning. Let shields be arranged and armour prepared. Once mobilized our troops will be deployed, and once prepared for victory they shall be put into battle so that again we might rebuke [the tribes of Koguryŏ] and teach them a lesson. On the left shall be twelve armies [軍] designated as the Loufang 鏤方 [Nubang], Changcheng 長岑 [Changcham], Minghai 溟海 [Myŏnghae], Gai’ma 蓋馬 [Kaema], Jian’an 建安 [Kŏn’an], Nansu 南蘇 [Namso], Liaodong 遼東 [Yodong], Xuantu 玄 [Hyŏndo], Fuyu 夫餘 [Puyŏ], Chaoxian 朝鮮 [Chosŏn], Woju 沃沮 [Okchŏ], and Lolang 樂浪 [Nangnang] respectively, while on the right shall be twelve armies designated as the Ranchan □ 蟬 [Yŏmjae], Hanzi 含資 [Hamcha], Hunmi 渾彌 [Honmi], Lintun 臨屯 [Imdun], Houcheng 候城 [Husŏng], Tixi 堤奚 [Chehae], Tadun 踏頓 [Tapdon], Sushen 肅愼 [Suksin], Jieshi Kalsŏk [碣石], Dongyi 東 [Tong’i], Daifang 帶方 [Taebang], and Xiangma 襄馬 [Yangma] respectively. Taking care so as not to lose communication with one another let us set off to meet again in Pingyang 平壤 [P’yŏngyang].”[43]

Though it was said there were two million troops, in actuality they numbered all together 1,133,800, and instead of the customary wagons to transport provisions ships were used instead. To the south rites were offered to the god of the land [shi ji 社祭] on the banks of the Sanggan River[44], while to the south of the Linshuo Palace rites were offered to the heavenly emperor [shangdi 上帝], and to the north of Jicheng[45] rites were performed on behalf of Mazuxing.[46] The emperor himself ordered affairs, appointing Generalissimos [上將] and Generals [亞將] to each army, organizing forty companies of cavalry of a hundred soldiers each with every ten companies forming a division [tuan 團]. He formed eighty infantry companies, organizing these into four divisions and appointing a Division Commander [偏將] to each. Each division was then issued uniforms, helmets, ribbons, seals, and a banner of a different color. An army a day marched out, bivouacking after a march of forty li,[47] and in this way was the entire force put to the field over a span of forty days. To the beat of drums and trumpets it moved in one continuous line, its many banners extending 960 li. Further, to the Imperial Guard [Yuying 御營] were attached the Twelve Guards [wei 衛][48], Three Communicating Agencies [dai 臺], Five Departments [sheng省], and Nine Courts [si 寺].[49] Divided into six armies, namely the Inner, Outer, Front, Rear, Left, and Right [內外前後左右], the Imperial Guard then set out, its line extending 80 li. Never before had such an army been put to the field.[50]

Second month. With the emperor at its head the army arrived at the Liao River where it gathered and encamped. As our [Koguryŏ] troops had dammed the river the Sui troops were prevented from crossing. Thereupon the emperor issued an order to the Minister of Works [Gongpu shangsu 工部尙書], Yu Wen Kai[51], to create four floating bridges from a height on the west bank of the Liao River. Once completed and laid out, however, it fell just too short to reach the hill on the eastern side. At this point our troops approached in force, moving quickly and bravely upon the Sui troops and engaging in close battle at the water’s edge. As our troops attacked from a high position, the Sui troops were prevented from moving to higher ground and their dead were numerous. Dashing up the height, Mai Tie Zhang was killed in battle along with Qian Shi Xiong and Meng Cha.[52] At this point the Sui troops gathered and severed the bridge, retreating to the height on the western shore. Once again orders were issued, now to the Director of Imperial Manufacturies [Shaofujian 少府監], He Chou[53], to assemble a new bridge. This was completed over the course of two days, allowing the entire army to cross over and a large battle ensued on the heights of the eastern shore. Our troops suffered a severe defeat, the dead calculated at ten-thousand. Riding upon their victory, the Sui troops went on to besiege Liaodong [Yodong] fortress[54], which under the Han had been called Xiangping [Yangp’yŏng] fortress.[55] Arriving at the Liao River the emperor issued a proclamation granting amnesty to all under heaven, and ordered the Minister of the Bureau of Punishments [Xingpu shangshu 刑部尙書], Wei Mun Sheng[56] and others to bring relief to the common people to the east of the Liao River by exempting them from taxation for ten years and organizing the territory into counties and districts for administration.

Summer, fifth month, as early this month all the generals had arrived east of the Liao River the emperor made a precautionary statement, “Let the military campaign continue. If there are any halts in the offensive do not fail to inform me, and until you receive my reply do not proceed on your own initiative.”

As frequent campaigning by our [Koguryŏ] troops in Liaodong had now become disadvantageous, they secured themselves within the fortress and fastened secure the doors. The emperor gave his army orders to attack, while also instructing his generals, “In the event Gaojuli [Koguryŏ] capitulates, in order that we might perform the necessary pacification of the land, do not release any of your soldiers from service.” While Sui forces were besieging the Liaodong fortress the inhabitants suddenly offered their surrender. As all the commanders had received the imperial order [not to proceed on their initiative], they dared not act on the offer but sent an inquiry to the emperor. However, by the time a reply arrived the inhabitants of the fortress had prepared their defenses and therefore begun to resist [the Sui] instead. As this was repeated two or three times without the emperor realizing what was happening, and the fortress did not fall for a long time.

Sixth month, eleventh (ji wei/ki’mil 己未) day, the emperor paid a visit south of the Liaodong fortress and observing the present state of the fortress and moat he rebuked the military commanders, “Is it because you each hold high rank and believe yourself of high lineage that you dare treat me as feeble and foolish? When I was in the capital you all feared lest I come here and observe firsthand your failures. I come here now to observe your misconduct and mete out death. Yet though you fear death you do not make your utmost efforts, is it because you do not think me prepared to kill you?” At these words the commanders all trembled and blanched in fear. The emperor then withdrew several li to the west of Liaodong fortress to take up residence at the Liuhe [Yukhap] fortification[57], and our [Liaodong/Yodong] fortress continued to hold out for a long time.

Now the Great General of the Left Standby Guard [Zuoyiwei dajiangjun 左翊衛大將軍][58], Lai Hu Er[59], led over the naval troops of Jianghuai.[60] The line of troop ships extended several hundred li. They crossed the sea, landing at the P’ae River[61] and then sixty li from P’yŏngyang they encountered and engaged with our troops, whom they soundly destroyed. Riding upon his victory, Hu Er began charging forward to P’yŏngyang when the Assistant Area Commander-in-chief [Fuzongguan 副摠管], Zhou Fa Shang[62], stopped him, requesting that he stop and await the arrival of the rest of the Sui troops. Hu Er, however, did not heed his words but instead selected several tens of thousands of elite troops and soon advanced to beneath the [P’yŏngyang] fortress walls. Our commanders had concealed soldiers within the grounds of an empty temple outside the city walls. Meanwhile, other soldiers went out to engage the troops of Hu Er and then feigning defeat they fled. Having scattered these [Koguryŏ] troops, Hu Er then led his troops into the fortress, where they proceeded to plunder and soon lost all semblance of order and discipline. At this point the concealed [Koguryŏ] troops issued from their hiding place and Hu Er suffered a calamitous defeat, barely escaping death, and no more than a few thousand Sui foot soldiers escaped. Our troops pursued them as far as their boats, but as Zhou Fa Shang was encamped there and prepared for battle, our troops retreated. Hu Er led his soldiers back to the port where he halted and was not again so bold as to field his troops. The Great General of the Left Standby Guard [Zuoyiwei dajiangjun 左翊衛大將軍], Yu Wen Shu[63], took the road for Puyŏ [Fuyu]; the Great General of the Right Standby Guard [Youyiwei dajiangjun 右翊衛大將軍], Yu Zhong Wen[64], took the road for Nangnang [Lolang]; the Great General of the Left Courageous Guard [Zuoxiaowei dajiangjun 左驍衛大將軍][65], Jing Yuan Heng[66], took the road for Yodong [Liaodong]; the Great General of the Right Standby Guard [Youyiwei dajiangjun], Xue Shi Xiong[67], took the road for Okchŏ [Woju]; the General of the Right Encampment Guard [Youtunwei jiangjun 右屯衛將軍][68], Xin Shi Xiong[69], took the road for Hyŏndo [Xuantu]; the General of the Right Protective Guard [Youyouwei jiangjun 右禦衛將軍][70], Jiang Jin[71], took the road for Yangp’yŏng [Yangping][72]; the General of the Right Militant Reserve Guard [Youwuhouwei 右武候將軍], Zhao Xiao Cai[73], took the road to Kalsŏk [Jieshi]; the Acting General of the Left Militant Guard [Jianjiao zuowuwei jiangjun 檢校左武衛將軍][74], Cui Hong Sheng[75], took the road to Susŏng [Suicheng][76]; the Acting General of the Right Protective Guard and Gentleman Brave as a Tiger [Jianjiaoyou youwei huben langjiang 檢校右禦衛虎賁郞將][77], Wei Wen Sheng[78], took the road for Chŭngchi [Zengdi][79]; and they all met to the west of the Liao River. From the encampments at the Lu River[80] and at Huaiyuanzhen[81] Yu Wen Shu and the other commanders had every man and horse carry a hundred days worth of provisions as well as shield, armor, spear, cloth, weapons, and a “fire curtain” [huomu],[82] so that each man carried three stones [dan] of weight making movement very cumbersome.[83] A military order was issued declaring, “any man who discards his provisions will lose his head”, so the common soldiers all dug holes beneath their quarters to secretly bury some of their provisions. As a result, the army was barely halfway to their destination when provisions ran out.

The [Koguryŏ] king sent the high official Ŭlchi Mundŏk[84] to the [Sui] camp to act as if he wanted to surrender but actually to spy out the enemy’s true strength. Earlier, Yu Zhong Wen had received secret orders from the emperor stating, “If you come upon either the king or Ŭlchi Mundŏk then take them captive.” Yu Zhong Wen was therefore for confining him [Ŭlchi Mundŏk], but the Assistant Director of the Right of the Department of State Affairs [Shangshu youcheng 尙書右承], Liu Shi Long[85], acting as Commissioner of Pacification [Weifushi 慰撫使], strongly opposed this plan. Eventually Yu Zhong Wen acquiesced and allowed Mundŏk to return home. Later he regretted this decision and sent a messenger to trick Mundŏk with the message, “I wish to discuss some more matters with you so please return.” Mundŏk did not return but rather crossed back over the Yalu. Yu Zhong Wen, Yu Wen Shu, and others agonized over the fact that they had allowed Mundŏk to slip from their grasp. As provisions had run out Yu Wen Shu wished to retreat, but Yu Zhong Wen pointed out that they could still distinguish themselves if they gathered some crack troops and pursued and captured Mundŏk. When Yu Wen Shu strongly opposed this plan Yu Zhong Wen grew angry, “If a general with 100,000 men at his command cannot crush one little bandit how will you be able to face the emperor? Embarking on this campaign I never expected to win any prestige. Before, when a great commander in the field was able to win a victory it was due to the fact that questions of military strategy were decided by one man alone. Now, however, each of us has his own idea of what is best. Under these conditions how can we ever defeat the enemy?” These words indicate that the emperor had apparently considered Yu Zhong Wen as a man with a strategy, and had compelled all the other commanders to acquiesce to his orders and advice. As a result, Yu Wen Shu and the others were compelled to follow his plan, and together they crossed the Yalu to give chase to Mundŏk.

Mundŏk, observing the famished troops of Yu Wen Shu, and in order to deliberately fatigue them further, pursued a strategy of continuous attack and retreat. Everyday Yu Wen Shu would engage them seven times, winning every time. Yu Wen Shu believed now that he had scored a string of victories, and those with him were compelled to feel likewise. In this manner did the army move continuously eastward, crossing the Salsu to eventually encamp in a position with a mountain to their rear thirty li from P’yŏngyang fortress. Now Mundŏk sent a messenger to Yu Wen Shu again proffering his surrender, “If your troops will retreat I will personally accompany the king to an imperial audience.” Yu Wen Shu, observing his weak and fatigued troops and knowing they were no longer in a condition to fight, and observing as well that P’yŏngyang fortress was sturdy and formidable and would not fall easily, he submitted to [Mundŏk’s] deceptive offer. Yu Wen Shu and the other commanders’ troops set off, marching in square formations. Now our troops attacked them from all directions so that Yu’s army engaged in a fighting retreat.

Autumn, seventh month, the Sui army arrived at the Salsu River. Half the army had already crossed over when our troops attacked their rearmost troops and Xin Shi Xiong, General of the Right Encampment Guard, was killed in battle. In this way did the entire [Sui] army collapse, and commanders and common soldiers alike made a frenzied retreat to the Yalu River, a distance of 450 li, in the course of a single day and night. General Wang Ren Gong[86], a man of Tianshui[87], as part of the rear guard attacked our troops and drove them back. Hearing the defeat that Lai Hu Er, Yu Wen Shu and the others had suffered, he led his troops in retreat, and only the army of Wei Wen Sheng survived intact. Of the 305,000 men comprising the nine armies that had originally crossed the Liao River barely 2,700 of arrived back at Liaodong fortress. The losses were beyond calculation. The emperor was enraged and put Yu Wen Shu and the other generals in chains and on the kyemyo day[88] led the troops homeward.[89] Before these events had occurred the Paekche King Chang[90] had sent an emissary to Sui asking permission to attack Koguryŏ. The emperor had charged Paekche with keeping on eye on developments in our country [Koguryŏ], but instead he [Chang] secretly communicated with us [Koguryŏ]. When Sui gave orders to mobilize Chang sent his subject Kuk Chi-mo[91] to Sui asking that he be informed of the specific date of the deployment.[92] The emperor was greatly pleased by this and generously bestowed many rewards on Paekche while also sending the Director of the Ministry of Works of the Department of State Affairs [Shangshu qibulang 尙書起部郞], Xi Lu[93], to Paekche to inform it of the appointed mobilization time. Though it kept its word by arranging its troops on the [Koguryŏ] border at the time the Sui armies crossed the Liao River, Paekche was merely straddling the fence.

On this expedition Sui succeeded merely in crossing west of the Liao River, attacking our Muryŏra[94], and establishing the Liaodong administrative county [Liaodongjun] and the Tongding encampment [Tongdingzhen].[95]

Year twenty-four (613), spring, first month, an imperial decree ordered all the soldiers of the empire to answer the beating of the drummers and return to service, the gathering together of the common people to designate and organize xiaoguo[96], and the repairing of old fortresses in Liaodong, and the stockpiling of provisions.

Second month, the emperor gathered together his closest advisors and told them, “The petty barbarians of Gaojuli [Koguryŏ] show no proper deference to our country. Though they were to empty the sea and move mountains would they not still be barbarians?” He then argued for another military campaign against them. The Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness [Zuoguanglu dafu 左光祿大夫][97], Guo Rong[98], remonstrated, “It is Your subject’s duty to know when barbarians disregard propriety. But this would be a case of a thousand jun Sui generating a tempest to catch a tiny mouse.[99] How can the Son of Heaven disgrace his position by keeping company with a thief?” But the emperor did not listen.

Summer, fourth month, the emperor crossed the Liao River, sending Yu Wen Shu and Yang Yi Chen[100] onward towards P’yŏngyang. Wang Ren Gong arrived at Sin [Xin] fortress[101] fortress on his march towards Puyŏ [Fuyu]. There he engaged several tens of thousands of our troops. Ren Gong charged our troops with a thousand crack cavalrymen and scattered us. Our troops then retreated within the fortress, closing and securing fast its gates. The emperor then ordered all generals to attack Yodong [Liaodong] [fortress] and had things managed for the most expediency. The attack continued day and night on all sides [of the fortress] employing feilou 飛樓 [“flying towers”], tongju 車 [“log wagons”], yunti 雲梯 [“cloud ladders”], and jidao 地道 [“earthen roads”].[102] We [Koguryŏ] adapted to circumstances and held off the attack for over twenty days and did not capitulate, though the dead on both sides were great. Though the bamboo poles on the high ladders measured fifteen zhang[103], the xiaoguo Shen Gwang[104] climbed all the way to the very top and attempted to scale the fortress wall. Armed with a blade he had carried with him, he fought and grappled with our troops killing a score of them. Our troops continued to attack him causing him to fall. Before hitting the ground Shen Gwang was able to stop his fall by catching hold of one of the ladder’s ropes, and he then clambered back up. Observing this the emperor was in awe and at once appointed him [Shen Gwang] a Grand Master for Closing Court [Chaosan dafu 朝散大夫][105]. For a long time Liaodong fortress did not fall and so the emperor ordered hundreds of hemp sacks be made and filled with dirt and piled up like a yuliang dadao[106]. It was thirty paces wide and rose as high as the fortress walls so that the soldiers might climb up it to launch an assault. Eight-wheeled carriage-towers [louju][107] were also constructed. Towering higher than the fortress, along with the yuliang [da]dao it would be able to look down and fire into the fortress. As a date was being fixed to now attack the fortress [with these devises], a mood of extreme crisis prevailed in the fortress. Then word came of the revolt of Yang Xuan Gan[108] and the emperor grew very fearful. Further, many officials had families dwelling in the same area as Yang, so they also grew very anxious. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of War [Bingbu shilang 兵部侍郞], Hu Si Zheng[109], became very uneasy over the fact that he had originally been very close to Yang Xuan Gan and as a result he fled over to our [Koguryŏ] side. At night the emperor secretly summoned his commanders and then led the troops into retreat. The [Sui] military goods, equipment, and weaponry were piled high as mountains. Though from the scattered redoubts and tents nothing stirred the heart soldiers were fearful and trembling as once more they forgot their posts and scattered. Once our troops had realized this they still did not boldly venture forth from the fortress but simply pounded on the drums and let out a shout. Only the following day at the hour of the ox[110] did they slowly emerge from the fortress, still suspicious lest it was a Sui ruse. After two days had passed several thousand soldiers set forth to trail them [the Sui army]. As they still feared the great numbers of Sui troops they did not boldly attack but always maintained an eighty to ninety li distance between them. After arriving at the Liao River, only after the Imperial Guard had crossed over did the Koguryŏ soldiers attack the rear Sui troops. At this time even though the rear troops numbered in the tens of thousands, our soldiers attacked them and killed several thousand.[111]

Year twenty-five (614), spring, second month, the emperor issued a rescript to all of his subjects arguing for another campaign against Koguryŏ. For several days afterward none dare to offer a dissenting opinion. A rescript was then issued ordering all the soldiers of the empire to return into service and to deploy.

Autumn, seventh month, the emperor’s entourage went to Huaiyuanzhen [Hoewŏnjin].[112] At this time the empire was already in turmoil and many soldiers refused the orders to report for service, and our country [Koguryŏ] was likewise exhausted. Lai Hu Er arrived at the Beisha [Pisa] fortress[113] where he met and engaged our troops. He Er was victorious and marched on towards P’yŏngyang. The [Koguryŏ] king was afraid and sent an emissary offering his surrender. After this he handed Hu Shi Zheng back over [to Sui]. The emperor was highly pleased at this and sent credentialed envoys [to the Koguryŏ court] while also recalling Lai Hu Er.

Eighth month, the emperor led the troops back from Huaiyuanzhen.

Winter, tenth month, the emperor returned to the western capital[114] bringing with him our envoys and Hu Shi Zheng. He paid a visit to the ancestral shrine.[115] The Koguryŏ king was immediately summoned to make a court visit but the king never did this. The emperor then ordered his commanders to prepare their ranks and plan for a future campaign [against Koguryŏ], but in the end this was never put into action.[116]

Year twenty-nine (618), autumn, ninth month, the king died and he was granted the posthumous title of King Yŏng’yang.

King Yŏngnyu (618-642)

King Yŏngnyu’s surname was Kŏnmu[117] (though he was also known as Sŏng[118]) and he was the younger half-brother of King Yŏngyang. He assumed the throne when King Yŏngyang died in the twenty-ninth year of his reign.

Year two (619), spring, second month, a tribute mission was sent to Tang. Summer, fourth month, the king made a visit to the Shrine of the Ancestral Founder at Cholbon. In the fifth month the king returned from Cholbon.

Year four (621), fall, seventh month, a tribute mission was sent to Tang.

Year five (622), a tribute mission was sent to Tang. Tang’s Emperor Gaozu[119] expressed regret that many Sui soldiers had been captured and were being held in our country [Koguryŏ] and handed down an imperial mandate to the [Koguryŏ] king stating, “I have received the Mandate of Heaven and gained mastery over the land. Submitting to the will of the trinity of heaven, earth, and man, I have placated all countries, seeking to comfort and love them all equally and so bring peace wherever the light of the sun and moon does shine. Though you now occupy Liaodong and rule over it down the generations as a client state, I find it praiseworthy that you still accept the official calendar and though far away still dispatch envoys to cross rivers and mountains to offer me tribute. Now I have pacified all under heaven[120] and rule all between the four seas, would it not be something of wonder and beauty if through the offering of these jades and silks[121] the roads might become unblocked, harmony and peace attained, and friendly and cordial relations be established between our respective lands for a long time to come? However, if the war that marked the final years of Sui continues hardships will arise, we will both lose our people on the battlefields, our own flesh and blood will perish and our families will be torn asunder so that the passing of years will not be enough to relieve the bitterness in the hearts of widows and widowers. As our two countries have now through peaceful and cordial relations opened the way for righteousness, I have gathered here persons of Koguryŏ[122] to return them to you. If the king would do likewise by returning our captive countrymen and thus exert himself to cultivating peace, then we both might open up the way of benevolence and mercy.”

Accordingly the [captive] Chinese were assembled and returned, to the tune of some ten thousand men. Gaozu was greatly pleased by this.[123]

Year six (623), winter, twelfth month, a tribute mission was sent to Tang.

Year seven (624), spring second month, the king dispatched envoys to Tang to request the issue of the new calendar. The emperor sent the Minister of the Ministry of Justice [Xingpu shangshu 刑部尙書], Shen Shu An[124], to bequeath on the Koguryŏ king the title of Supreme Pillar of State and Duke of the Liaodong Commandery [Shangjüguo Liaodongjun gong/Sangjuguk Yodonggun gong 上柱國遼東郡公].[125] A Daoist priest [道士] was also ordered to bear images of the [Daoist] gods as well as the Daoist doctrine [道法] and to proceed to Koguryŏ, where he lectured on Laozi 老子 before the Koguryŏ king and subjects.[126]

Winter, twelfth month, a tribute mission was sent to Tang.

Year eight (625), the king sent some subjects to Tang that they might be instructed in the teachings of Daoism and Buddhism. To this the emperor assented.

Year nine (626), Silla and Paekche sent envoys to Tang to report, “Koguryŏ is blocking the roads and preventing us from undertaking our visits to your court. What’s more, that state continues to attack us.” The emperor dispatched the Gentleman Cavalier Attendant [Sanji shilang 散騎侍郞], Zhu Zishe[127], as a credentialed envoy to broker peace. The Koguryŏ king then issued a proclamation apologizing for his actions and formally requesting that peace and harmony be established between Koguryŏ and those two countries (Silla and Paekche).

Year eleven (628), autumn, ninth month, envoys were sent to Tang to congratulate Taizong[128] on the capture of the Tujue chieftain Illig Qaghan,[129] while also presenting the Pong’yŏkdo.[130]

Year twelve (629), autumn, eighth month, the Silla general Kim Yu-sin[131] attacked the eastern border region destroying Nangbi fortress.[132]

Ninth month, a tribute mission was sent to Tang.

Year fourteen (631), Tang sent the Adjutant of Guangzhou [Guangzhou sima 廣州司馬][133], Zhang Sunshi[134], to collect the bones of the Sui soldiers [killed in the previous war] and to perform the necessary rites on their behalf. At the same time the Jingguan [Kyŏnggwan][135] was razed.[136]

Spring, second month, the king assembled large numbers of his subjects in order to erect a great wall [長城]. When completed it stretched from Puyŏ fortress[137] in the northeast and extended southeastwardly all the way to the sea, a distance of some thousand li. Its construction took sixteen years to complete.

Year twenty-one (638), winter, tenth month, an attack was made [by Koguryŏ] on Ch’ilchung fortress[138] along Silla’s northern border. Due to the defense of the Silla general Alch’ŏn[139] in front of the Ch’ilchung fortress, however, our troops were checked.[140]

Year twenty-three (640), spring, second month, the Crown Prince Hwangwŏn[141] was sent on a tribute mission to Tang. Taizong presented him with especially precious gifts in appreciation. The king sent some of his royal offspring to Tang with the request they be allowed to matriculate at Tang’s National Academy [國學].[142]

Autumn, ninth month, the sun lost its brightness and continued in this way for three days before its light returned.

Year twenty-four (641). In appreciation of our [Koguryŏ] Crown Prince’s visit to the imperial court, the emperor sent the Director of the Bureau of Operations [Zhifang langzhong 職方郎中][143], Chen Dade[144], with gifts to reward us for our efforts. At each walled town he passed in the [Tang-Koguryŏ] border region [Chen] Dade presented gifts of fine silk to the local officials and said, “I am an admirer of fine scenery and as the landscape of this location is particularly beautiful I wish to enjoy it.” The officials willingly gave him [Chen Dade] leave to wander around at leisure so that there was no location he did not visit, and in this way was he able to become intimately familiar with the entire region. He came across many Chinese in the area who had been in hiding since their deployment as soldiers in the final years of Sui. Relating to them the deaths of their relations they were all moved to tears.

Wherever Chen Dade went men and women emerged to gaze upon him. The [Koguryŏ] king prepared a magnificent armed escort for him and greeted him as an envoy. [Chen] Dade took the opportunity of his greeting as an emissary to make observations on the present state of affairs in the country, though our country’s [Koguryŏ’s] people were ignorant of this. When [Chen] Dade returned he reported to the emperor, who was greatly pleased. [Chen] Dade said, “When this country [Koguryŏ] learned of the demise of Gaochang[145] it became terrified. Thereafter it has received guests with more courtesy than during normal times.”

The emperor spoke, “Originally Gaojuli [Koguryŏ] was a land of four districts [四郡]. If I were to raise an army of several tens of thousands and attack Liaodong that country [Koguryŏ] will certainly spare no effort to defend itself. However, if I mobilize and dispatch a naval force from Donglai[146] to descend on Pingyang [P’yŏngyang][147] to unite there with a land force, then seizing that country would not prove very difficult. The main thing is not to distress the peoples of Zhouxian[148] in Shandong by impoverishing them beyond recovery.”[149]

Year twenty-five (642), spring, first month, a tribute mission was sent to Tang. The king ordered the Chieftain [大人Daein] of the Western Sector [西部], Yŏn Kaesomun[150], to supervise the expansion of the great wall. In winter, tenth month, Kaesomun killed the king. In the eleventh month Taizong received news of the king’s death and had mourning rites performed on the Eastern Mountain, making three hundred dan in offerings. Credentialed envoys were also sent to offer condolences.[151]

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[1] 平陽.

[2] 元 or 大元.

[3]文帝. First emperor of Sui, reigned 581-604.

[4] Though the Samguk sagi provides no such specific date, we can be more precise about the date by consulting the “Record of Sui” 隋紀 in the Zizhi tongjian資治通鑑 (“Comprehensive mirror for aid in government”, one of the most important of Chinese histories and nearly contemporaneous with the Samguk sagi) (book 178/Kaihuang 18 [599]).

[5] 韋沖. Yingzhou 營州 referring to the area of what is now Chaoyang 朝陽 district, Liaoning 遼寧 province in northeast China.

[6] Title of Jie 傑, fifth son of Sui Wendi, who was appointed Prince of Han in 581 (though the character used here is “king” 王, this is more aptly translated as “prince” as a title often bestowed by emperors on their sons or close male relations). According to the Suishu, he died of sickness while leading troops against Koguryŏ in 598.

[7] 臨兪關. Located to the southwest of Sanhaiguan 山海關 in China’s northeast Hebei 河北 province.

[8] 周羅. Zhou Luo Hou had served the state of Chen 陳 before its fall and then went on to serve the Sui. Again, according to the Suishu, Zhou was put in command of naval forces for the attack on Koguryŏ in 598 but his fleet was scattered by a typhoon.

[9] 東萊. What is now Dengzhou 登州 on the northern coast of China’s Shandong 山東 province.

[10] King Widŏk 威德王 (reigned 554-598).

[11] 太學.

[12] 李文眞.

[13] 新集. “New Compendium”. This was a five-volume history of the Koguryŏ state, and apparently an abridged and simplified version of the Yugi 留記 which had appeared earlier. One may ask why at this point Koguryŏ felt compelled to compile a new history. Various theories have been proposed. Under the influence of Chinese Confucian learning and historiography Koguryŏ may have felt it appropriate to move away from more mythical history to a critical examination of past monarchs as a pedagogical tool for future scholars and leaders. A more immediate motivation, however, may have been recent power struggles surrounding the monarchy itself. There is evidence that King Anjang 安臧王 met a violent death in 531 as well as of a clan struggle surrounding the successor to King Anwŏn 安原王 in 545 (See Samguk sagi, book 19, “Annals of Koguryŏ”, notes 46 and 51). In this light, the compiling of a new history emphasizing the lineage of the royal house and the traditional mandate of kingly power may have been viewed as a practical means of responding to challenges to ruling authority.

[14]留記. This work was likely centered upon myth and royal genealogy rather than state history.

[15] Neither of these works is extant.

[16] The month does not appear in the original “Annals of Koguryŏ”, however the Samguk sagi, “Annals of Silla”, King Ch’inp’yŏng 眞平王, year twenty-five (603), gives the month of this attack.

[17] 高勝.

[18] 北漢山城. In what is now the northernmost portion of Chongno-gu in Seoul.

[19]煬帝. Emperor of Sui (reigned 605-616).

[20] 啓民. Qimin (? – 609) was the chieftain of the Tujue 突厥, and also known by the name of Rangan 染干. Here the Tujue refers specifically to the Eastern Turks or Eastern Turkish khanate. The Tujue had emerged as a nomadic tribal federation in Central Asia in the early centuries CE, steadily migrating east and south to eventually come into contact with the Chinese border regions by the sixth century and establishing their capital in what is modern Mongolia. The Tujue were a tribal people who delegated overall leadership to a tribal chieftain (the qaghan). In 581, with the death of the chieftain Tuobo 佗鉢 the Tujue splintered into eastern and western federations. The Eastern Turks maintained a precarious peace with Tang but eventually a Tang military campaign of 629 resulted in the capture of their leader Illig Qaghan 頡利可汗 (Chinese, Jieli Kehan) and the temporary dissolution of the Eastern Turk Khanate (see notes 127 and 128).

[21] 裵矩.

[22] 箕子 (Korean, Kija). Jizi, or Viscount Ji, is a quasi-legendary figure said to have been one of the foremost nobles under Zhou Xin 紂辛, the last emperor of the Yin殷. Under Zhou Xin he was thrown into prison for protesting his ruler’s misguided policies. Though Jizi was thereafter freed following the triumph of Wu Wang 武王, founder of the Zhou 周, Jizi considered Wu Wang a usurper and refused to serve him, Instead he chose to migrate eastward and form the state known as Jizi Chaoxian (Kija Chosŏn) on the Korean peninsula. Accounts of the Jizi legend are to be found in the Chinese histories Siji 史記, Sanguozhi 三國志, and the Houhanshu 後漢書. In the late 14^th century Chosŏn would be adopted by the newly established Korean Yi 李 dynasty as the name of their kingdom in a not so oblique reference to its deference to China and its ostensible Chinese roots.

[23] The dividing of territory thus dates back to the Zhou 周 dynasty, during which the unit of xian 縣 (district) was established, which covered an area of four hundred Chinese miles and was subdivided into jun 郡 (commandery or county). However, the first emperor of Qin 秦 upon unifying China in the third century BCE divided his territory into thirty-six jun, each subdivided into various xian. This became generally known as the “Jun-Xian System” 郡縣制度. Though larger land divisions would emerge during the Han period, and the system of local units in succeeding dynasties varied, to speak of dividing territory into jun and xian was to imply that territory’s amalgamation into the Chinese system.

[24] By “foreign land” (異域) is meant here a country that no longer views itself as member of the China-centered tributary system.

[25]楊諒. That is Liang, Prince of Han, fifth son of Sui Wendi. See note 6.

[26]牛弘. The name of a Sui officer who enjoyed the confidence of Yangdi. See his biography in the Suishu (book 49).

[27]涿郡. What is now the city of Zhuozhou 涿州 to the southwest of Beijing.

[28] i.e., make them a part of Sui.

[29] 可汗. A traditional term for a tribe chieftain among the Tujue and other steppe peoples.

[30] 松山城. Likely located in what is modern Kaesŏng 開城 (North Korea), but this is uncertain.

[31] 石頭城. Located in what is now Sangnyŏng-ri 朔寧里, Sangnyŏng-myŏn 朔寧面, Yŏnch’ŏn-gun 漣川郡, Kyŏnggi province 京畿道, North Korea.

[32] 牛鳴山城. Presumed to be to the east of what is now Anbyŏn-myŏn 安邊面, Anbyŏn-gun 安邊郡 in current Hamgyŏng province 咸鏡道, North Korea.

[33] 渤海 (Korean, Palhae). Here referring to the large inlet of water west of China’s Liaodong peninsula rather than the later kingdom of that name.

[34] 碣石 (Korean, Kalsŏk). The name of a mountain in what is now Hebei 河北 province, China.

[35] Here the incessant sound of fastening locks and the night watch’s rattle serve as metaphors for the insecurity of the border regions between China and Koguryŏ.

[36] 靑丘Qingqiu (Korean, Ch’ŏnggu). A traditional term for the lands east of China, harkening back to the Spring and Autumn Annals. In time it became a moniker for Korea in particular. Though Qingqiu was also a traditional Chinese term for Changzhou, an island in the South China Sea, in this case it clearly refers to the region of what is now Korea.

[37] 職貢. The customary feudatory tribute, taking its name from the Sui government’s Bureau of Operations (zhifang 職方), an agency under the Ministry of War charged with maintaining military maps of the border region, frontier fortifications, signal stations, etc.

[38] To receive the new year’s calendar held deeper symbolic meaning. As imperial China promulgated a calendar with each new lunar year, for a state to receive that calendar and employ it symbolized its submission to China.

[39] From the Chinese perspective, what is now the Yellow Sea.

[40] 幽州. An administrative region centered on what is now Beijing and including modern Hebei province.

[41] 朔州. What is now the city of Shuozhou in China’s Shanxi 山西 province.

[42] A metaphor for leading a punitive expedition. By the six shi 師 was meant the traditional six divisions of the army, in other words the entire army; the nine fa 伐 refers to the “nine punishments” meted out by kings to disobedient feudal lords in Chinese tradition.

[43] The Samguk sagi (quoting from the Suishu) states that these armies were to bound for these places: 左十二軍 出鏤方·長岑·溟海·蓋馬·建安·南蘇·遼東·玄·扶餘·朝鮮·沃沮·樂浪等道, etc. However, this should not be taken literally but rather as the designation of monikers for the different armies.

[44]桑乾水. What is now called the Sanggan River 桑干河, which originates south of the city of Shuozhou in Shanxi province, passing southwest of Beijing to empty into the Yongding River 永定河.

[45] 城. In what is now Beijing.

[46]馬祖星. The “heavenly horses constellation”.

[47] 里. One li being approximately .75 miles, or .5 kilometers.

[48] The Twelve Guards under Sui being a collective reference to the military units charged with guarding the dynastic capital, each wei being headed by a general. The twelve wei consisted of two Standby Guards (yi-wei 翊衛), two Courageou Cavalry Guards (xiao-ji wei 驍騎衛, or simply xiao-wei), two Militant Guards (wu-wei 武衛), two Encampment Guards (tun-wei 屯衛), two Protective Guards (you-wei 禦衛), and two Reserve Guards (hou-wei 候將), all split into Left and Right pairs.

[49] The Three Surveillance Agencies refers to the Censorate, Tribunal of Receptions, and Tribunal of Inspectors; the Five Departments is a collective reference to the major agencies in the central government (during Sui times the Department of State Affairs, Chancellery, Secretariat, Palace Library, and either the Palace Domestic Service or Palace Administration); the Nine Courts refers to the top echelon service agencies in the central government. Together these comprised the primary organs of the Sui government, to mean that an abbreviated form of the Sui ruling apparatus was attached to the Imperial Guard so that governance of the empire might continue during the wartime campaign.

[50] For the record of the Imo year (613), up until this point the Samguk sagi quotes largely verbatim from the Suishu.

[51]宇文愷. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 68).

[52]麥鐵杖, 錢士雄, 孟叉. All soldiers of Sui.

[53] 何稠. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 68).

[54] 遼東城. Presumed to have been located in what is now the city of Liaoyang 遼陽, Liaoyang district, eastern Liaoning (遼寧) province, in northeast China, though its precise location is uncertain. At this time Liaodong fortress constituted the first line of defense of the Koguryŏ kingdom.

[55] 襄平城.

[56] 衛文昇.

[57] 六合城. An imperial residence constructed of wood and built for the emperor when he visited the borderlands.

[58] One of the twelve guards (wei) composing the Imperial Guard.

[59] 來護兒. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 64).

[60] 江淮. Denoting the area between the Yangzi and Huai Rivers, i.e. modern Jiangsu 江蘇 and Anwei 安徽 provinces.

[61] 浿水. Theories vary as to the location of the P’ae River. The Chinese knew of such a river as early as Han times, based on the “Chaoxianfu” 朝鮮傳 (Monograph on Chaoxian [Chosŏn]) of the Hanshu 漢書. Theories have posited it as being the Amnok (or Yalu, 鴨綠) river on the current Sino-Korean border, as well as the Ch’ŏng River 淸川, which empties into the Yellow Sea near Anju 安州 in North Korea. A now widely maintained theory is that it refers to what is now the Yesŏng 禮成 river, which enters the Yellow Sea just west of Kaesŏng 開城 in North Korea.

[62] 周法尙. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 65).

[63] 宇文述. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 61).

[64] 于仲文. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 60).

[65] An imperial palace or bodyguard unit which comprised one of the twelve wei of the Imperial Guard.

[66] 荊元恒.

[67] 薛世雄. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 65).

[68] Another among the elite military units that comprised the twelve wei of the Imperial Guard.

[69] 辛世雄.

[70] Among the elite military units that comprised the twelve wei of the Imperial Guard.

[71] 張瑾.

[72] 襄平.

[73] 趙孝才.

[74] The Militant Guard again being one of the twelve wei of the Imperial Guard.

[75] 崔弘昇.

[76] 遂城.

[77] The special appellation “Brave as a Tiger” being a prefix to a military title associated with guarding the emperor in particular.

[78] 衛文昇.

[79] 增地.

[80] □河. On the lower course of the Xiaoling River 小凌河 in what is present day Jinzhou 錦州 in Liaoxi 遼西, China.

[81] 懷遠鎭. Currently to the south of present day Shishan township 石山鎭, North Zhen district 北鎭縣, Liaoning Province, China.

[82] 火幕. Perhaps a tent that could double as a devise to protect legs and shoulders from the heat.

[83] 石. A dan, or “stone”, being the equivalent of approximately 133 pounds (60.5 kilograms).

[84] 乙支文德. Ŭlchi Mundŏk was a military commander under King Yongyang of Koguryŏ. The date and place of his birth are unknown. He is also referred to in the Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑 (book 181), as Wichi Mundŏk 尉支文德 (Chinese, Yu Zhi Wen De). In Koguryŏ, ŭlchi 乙支, much like the term ut’ae 于台, could mean “senior” or “eldest son”, and so it has been conjectured that the name ŭlchi in this case may have been adopted in lieu of a family name. However, as his name also appears in Chinese records as Wichi Mundŏk (Yu Zhi Wen De), some scholars have posited that he may in fact have been a refugee to Koguryŏ from the Yu Chi 尉遲 clan (one of whose members helped establish the Tang dynasty). Debate over his origins aside, as the primary military architect of Sui’s catastrophic defeat in 612, Ŭlchi Mundŏk is one of the few men of Koguryŏ afforded a biography in the Samguk sagi – where Kim Pusik goes out of his way to offer rare praise – and retains a prominent place in the pantheon of Korean historical heroes.

[85] 劉士龍.

[86] 王仁恭. His biography in the Suishu (book 65) states he was a jun-jiang 軍將, i.e., commander in charge of a thousand men.

[87] 天水.

[88] 癸卯. The twenty-fifth.

[89] For a treatment of the battle at the Salsu River see, Gabriel, Richard A. and Donald W. Boose, “The Korean Way of War: Salsu River.” Richard A. Gabriel and Donald W. Boose, The Great Battles of Antiquity: A Strategic and Tactical Guide to Great Battles that Shaped the Development of War. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1994.

[90] King Mu 武王 (reigned 600-641).

[91] 國知牟.

[92] Ostensibly to coordinate their attacks on Koguryŏ.

[93] 蓆律.

[94] 武邏. Chinese, Wuliluo. To the south of what of the current North Zhen district 北鎭縣, Liaoning Province, China.

[95] 遼東郡. 通定鎭. Tondingzhen refers to the area around Gaotaishan 高台山, in Xinmin District 新民縣 west of the Liao River, Liaoning Province, China. Of further note, from the second month of the year 612 until this point the Samguk sagi again quotes from the Suishu.

[96] 驍果. Brave and skilled warriors.

[97] During Sui times a prestige title for civil officials of the highest rank.

[98] 郭榮. Biographical information unavailable.

[99] A jun 鈞 being a unit of weight equivalent to about 33 pounds (15 kilograms) .

[100] 楊義臣. Biographical information unavailable.

[101] 新城. Considered to be the same as Gaoershan fortress 高爾山城 on the northern shore of the Hun River渾河, in the city of Fushun 撫順, Liaoning province, China. See also, Samguk sagi, book 21, note 76.

[102] These all refer to specific military technologies. The feilou were high towers covered in cow hides and mounted from the back via ladders. From their height attackers could project arrows and other missiles into the enemy fortress. The tongju were a sort of battering ram consisting of large logs suspended by ropes on an frame that could rolled up to the fortress gates. The yunti were high bamboo ladders used in scaling walls, and jidao refers to tunnels dug under fortification walls into which explosives were planted.

[103] 丈. A zhang being approximately ten feet (three meters).

[104] 沈光. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 64).

[105] In Sui times a prestige title for officials of middling rank.

[106] 魚梁大道. A yuliang was a variety of fish trap made my blocking an area of water with rocks or earth but leaving a small exit where the trap would be laid. In this case it refers to a high wall of earth-filled sacks from which the Sui soldiers could fire upon the fortress.

[107] 樓車. Wheeled towers.

[108] 楊玄感. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 70).

[109] 斛斯政. His biography appears in the Suishu (book 70).

[110] Around 2 a.m.

[111] For the year 613 the Samguk sagi quotes from the Suishu and the Zizhi tongjian.

[112] 懷遠鎭. See note 79.

[113] 卑奢城. Some scholars have posited this as the Dahei (Taehŭk) mountain fortress 大黑山城 located northeast of the city of Dalian 大蓮 in the Jinzhou ward 金州區, Liaoning province, China. See also Samguk sagi, “Annals of Koguryŏ”, book 21, note 130. See Wang Mianhou 王綿厚, et. al., Dongbei gudai jiaotong 東北古代交通 [Transport in ancient northeast China] (Shenyang chubanshe, 1990), p. 156.

[114] That is Chang’an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安). Hu Shi Zheng would bear the personal brunt of Sui’s failed expedition and Yangdi’s concomitant fury. The Sui emperor had him drawn and quartered, his carcass boiled, his bones cremated and the remnant ashes cast to the wind.

[115] 大廟.

[116] For the year 614 the Samguk sagi quotes from the Suishu and the Zizhi tongjian. In 618 the Sui dynasty fell, to be superceded by the Tang 唐, an event that goes unmentioned in the Samguk sagi’s “Annals of Koguryŏ” though in fact the Sui’s unsuccessful and costly campaign against Koguryŏ was an instrumental factor in its demise. See Arthur F. Wright, The Sui Dynasty (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978).

[117] 建武.

[118] 成.

[119] 高祖. Founder and first emperor of Tang (reigned 618-626).

[120] Or literally the “six points” (六合) – north, south, east, west, the zenith and the nadir.

[121] 玉帛. These were the traditional tributary offerings of feudal lords to the Chinese emperor, so that the “offering of jade and silk” became a methaphor for submission to tributary status.

[122] That is, Koguryŏ captives taken during that country’s conflict with Sui and being held in China.

[123] For the record of the year 622 the Samguk sagi quotes nearly verbatim from the Jiutangshu 舊唐書, book 199, pt. 1, “Gao[ju]li [Koguryŏ] Monograph” 高麗傳.

[124] 沈叔安.

[125] “Supreme Pillar of State” (Shangjüguo 上柱國) being an honorific title of great prestige dating back to the reign of Emperor Wu 武帝 (reigned 561-578) of the Northern Zhou 北周 (CE 557-581). Its usage was stopped under Sui’s emperor Yangdi 煬帝 but subsequently revived under Emperor Gaozu 高祖 of Tang, who in 624 bestowed it in on twelve officials as a merit title. In China it was traditionally awarded to officials of rank 2a.

[126] Or more specifically, the Daodejing 道德經 attributed to him.

[127] 朱子奢.

[128] 太宗. Second emperor of Tang (reigned 626-649).

[129] 頡利可汗 (Chinese, Jieli Kehan) (?-634). Also known as Duobi 咄苾. Though the Tang and Tujue had come to peace terms in 626, this covenant soon fell apart and relations again worsened. Finally, in 630 a Tang campaign against the Tujue resulted in the defeat of Illig Qaghan and the dissolution of the Eastern Turk Khanate. Following Illig’s death in 634 Tang conferred upon him the title of King Guiyi歸義王 (“Returning to Righteousness”), with the posthumous name of Huang 荒. See the Xintangshu 新唐書 (New History of Tang), book 215, part 1, “Monograph on the Tujue” 突厥傳, part 1 “Biography of Jieli” 頡利傳. See also note 20 above.

[130] 封域圖 (Chinese Fengyutu). Apparently a map of Koguryŏ of some sort. The record in the “Annals of Koguryŏ” of the Samguk sagi for the year 628 is gleaned from the Jiutangshu, book 199, part 1, “Gao[ju]li (Koguryŏ) Monograph”, as well as in the Xintangshu, book 220, “Gao[ju]li Monograph”. However, in the Jiutangshu it records for the year 628 that, “Jieli Kehan [Illig Qaghan] was crushed. Jian Wu 建武 [King Yŏngnyu] sent envoys to offer congratulations and at the same time present the Fengyutu” 破突厥利可汗 建武遣使奉賀 幷上封域圖, with no specific reference to the capture of Jieli Kehan. On the other hand, with no specific reference to a date, the Xintangshu states for 628 that, “Taizong had already captured Jieli [Kehan] and the envoys sent by Jian Wu offered their congratulations while presenting the Fengyutu” 太宗已禽突厥利 建武遣使者賀 幷上封域圖. However, considering the “Monograph on the Tujue” (see note above) as well as the Xintangshu (book 2/Zhenguan 4 [630]/month 3), which states, “Li Jing took Jieli Kehan [Illig Qaghan] captive and presented him [to the emperor]” 李靖□突厥利可汗以獻, it would appear that the year of Illig Qaghan’s capture was 630 (the fourth year of the Zhenguan era of Taizong), and thus all other dates regarding his capture are mistaken.

[131] 金庾信. Kim Yu-sin (595-673) was the most famed of the Silla’s generals and remains one of the most preeminent figures of the Korean Three Kingdoms period as well as Korean history in general. His biography in the Samguk sagi, covering three volumes, is far and away the longest biography in that work.

Richard D. McBride II, “Hidden Agendas in the Life Writings of Kim Yusin.” Acta Koreana 1 (August 1998), 101-142.

[132] 娘臂城. A fortress of the same name is mentioned elsewhere in the Samguk sagi (book 37, “Treatise on the Geography of Koguryŏ and Paekche”), as being located in what is now Ch’ŏngju city, North Ch’ungch’ŏng province. However, as that record has Nangbi fortress located in the Han River basin, which by this time was already well under Silla control, it would seem the Nangbi fortress mentioned here refers to another location, likely in what is now Hamgyŏng province. See, Yi Pyŏng-do 李丙燾, Kukyŏk Samguk sagi 國譯 三國史記 (History of the Three Kingdoms translated into modern Korean), p. 319. More particulars on this military encounter can be found in the Samguk sagi, book 4 (“Annals of Silla”, fifty-first year of King Chinp’yŏng 眞平王) and book 41 (“Biography of Kim Yu-sin” 金庾信傳).

[133] Guangzhou being present day Guangdong province 廣東省, China. The office of adjutant (司馬) was a sort of advisor and private secretary attached to dukedoms (公府) and military garrisons (軍府).

[134] 長孫師. Biographical information unavailable.

[135] 京觀. Known also as a jingqiu 京丘. This was a large mound created by covering earth over the assembled corpses of those killed in battle to serve as a sort of memorial. The jing/kyŏng 京 in this case carries the sense of “high hill or mound”, while guan/gwan 觀 carries the sense of “shape of a royal palace”. In other words, the memorial mound that included the interred corpses of Sui soldiers was exhumed to afford them the proper burial rituals.

[136] For the entry for the year 631 the Samguk sagi quotes from Jiutangshu, book 199, part. 1, “Gao[ju]li (Koguryŏ) Monograph” and the Xintangshu (book 220, “Gao[ju]li Monograph”).

[137] 扶餘城. Located in what is now Nong’an district 農安縣, Jilin province, China.

[138] 七重城. Located in P’aju 坡州 county, Kyŏnggi province, Korea.

[139] 閼川. Alch’ŏn was also a general of Silla. Under the reign of Silla’s Queen Chindŏk 眞德女王 (reigned 647-654), Alch’ŏn, holding Silla’s highest rank of sangdaedŭng 上大等 (“extraordinary rank one”), presided over that country’s Council of Nobles. The Samguk yusa 三國遺事 (“Memorablia of the Three Kingdoms”) makes reference to Alch’ŏn’s fierce bravery, once dashing out the brains of a tiger that assaulted a meeting of nobles in the Silla capital of Kyŏngju. Following the death of Queen Chindŏk, Alch’ŏn had aspirations to kingship but in consultation with General Kim Yu-sin he ultimately gave way to the elevation of the “true bone” (chingol 眞骨) Kim Ch’un-ch’u 金春秋 to the Silla throne (reigned as King Muyŏl 武烈王 [654-661]), an act which put an effective end to Silla’s “hallowed bone” (sŏnggol聖骨) lineage.

[140] The record in the “Annals of Koguryŏ” for the year 638 is a repetition of what first appears in the Samguk sagi, book 5, “Annals of Silla” (seventh year, tenth and eleventh months of the reign of Queen Sŏndŏk 善德女王).

[141] 桓權.

[142] For the year 640 up to this point the Samguk sagi quotes from the Xintangshu, book 220, “Gao[ju]li [Koguryŏ] Monograph”.

[143] The Bureau of Operations (zhifang) was a top-echelon agency in the Ministry of War. See Note 35. The title of Zhifang langzhong itself was first established by Tang Gaozu in 620.

[144] 陳大德.

[145] 高昌. A state that existed in what is now the region of Turfan (Tulufan吐魯番) in China’s Xinjiang 新疆 province, and also referred to as the kingdom of Turfan. Established in the mid-fifth century, it maintained relations with all the various Chinese Han kingdoms. It was a vassal state of the Tang until its conclusion of an alliance with the Turks, which facilitated a Tang military campaign in 640 that destroyed it. Tang proceeded to establish in Gaochang’s former territories the imperial province of Xizhou 西州.

[146]東萊. What is now Dengzhou 登州 in China’s Shandong 山東 province. It is from here as well that Sui launched its failed naval assault on Koguryŏ in 598.

[147] 平壤. From 427 it was the capital of Koguryŏ.

[148] 州縣.

[149] For year 641 in the “Annals of Koguryŏ” the Samguk sagi quotes from the Zizhi tongjian, “Record of Tang” 唐紀, fifteenth year of the Zhenguan 貞觀 era of Taizong 太宗.

[150]淵蓋蘇文. Yŏn Kaesomun (?-666). His surname was Yŏn, though his biography in the Samguk sagi (book 49), quoting Chinese sources, gives his surname as Ch’ŏn 泉 (Chinese Quan). This divergence is likely a result of Yŏn (Chinese, Yuan) being the given name of Tang Gaozu (Li Yuan 李淵), founder and first emperor of Tang, and thus taboo to apply to another by Chinese tradition. Kaesomun’s biography in the Samguk sagi, in turn taken in large part from the Jiutangshu and Xintangshu, depicts a man of intemperate cruelty and arrogance. His familial origins are obscure but under King Yŏngnyu he did become commander of the western district (西部). It is related that various chieftains plotted secretly with King Yŏngnyu to have Kaesomun killed but their plans were leaked out. As a result, in 642 Kaesomun arranged a lavish banquet, summoning the major ministers of state, while also ordering the soldiers under his command to proceed their for an official review. Once arrived his soldiers kill the high state officials before proceeding to the palace to murder King Yŏngnyu. After placing Pojang 寶藏王 (reigned 642-668), nephew of Yŏngnyu, on the Koguryŏ throne Kaesomun appointed himself Mangniji 莫離支 (an obscure office of Tang times but carrying with it the notion of commander of military affairs; see Samguk sagi, book 21, note 26), and in this role went on to control Koguryŏ affairs of state until his death in 666. His arrogance was so described that he would have men prostrate themselves so that he might use there backs to mount or dismount his horse and none dared meet his gaze. His role in the murder of the Koguryŏ king was taken as the primary pretext for the failed Tang invasion of 645. Kaesomun is also noted for his support of Daoism. Kaesomun is portrayed by Kim Pu-sik in the Samguk sagi as the stereotypical cruel minister who led the state away from the path of righteousness and harkened its fall, a historiographical precedent that was carried on by later Korean historians of Confucian training. See Yi Hong-jik 李弘稙, “Yŏn Kaesomun e taehan yakgan ŭi chonŭi [Several problem regarding Yŏn Kaesomun]. Hanguk kodaesa yŏngu [Studies on ancient Korean history], 1956.

[151] For the record of the tenth month of the year 642 the Samguk sagi quotes from the Jiutangshu, book 199, part one, “Gao[ju]li [Koguryŏ] Monograph”.