Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

after its conquest of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

in the Baekje–Tang War. Following the Goguryeo–Tang War and Silla–Tang War in the 7th century, Silla annexed the southern part of Goguryeo, unifying the central and southern regions of the

Korean peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. Unified Silla existed during the Northern and Southern States period at a time when

Balhae Balhae,, , ) also rendered as Bohai or Bohea, and called Jin (; ) early on, was a multiethnic kingdom established in 698 by Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong). It was originally known as the Kingdom of Jin (震, Zhen) until 713 when its name was changed ...

controlled the north of the peninsula. Unified Silla lasted for 267 years until it fell to

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

in 935 during the reign of King Gyeongsun.

Terminology

The people of the Unified Silla period considered themselves to be of a kingdom of unified Koreans, which they called "三韓一統", (Modern

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

: , ) meaning the unity of three kingdoms (the three kingdoms being Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje). The term was used by general Kim Yu-sin, credited with leading many of the military campaigns to unify the

under Silla, in a letter he wrote to King Munmu as he lay dying. King Munmu is considered to have been the first ruler of the Unified Silla period, and subsequent kings continued to hold the perception of a unified Silla, as evidenced by King Sinmun's installment of "nine counties" ( 九州) and "nine legions" ( 九書堂). In the ancient

Sinosphere The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...

, the number nine connoted great things, and ancient China was composed of nine counties as well, so the term "九州" was used as a synonym for the entirety of China, as well as for "all under heaven" ( 天下). In addition, Silla gave noble ranks to the nobles of Goguryeo and Baekje as a token of unification. North Korean historians criticize the idea of "Unified Silla" as from their perspective,

was the first state to unify the Korean people as Silla failed to conquer parts of Goguryeo and

in the northeast of the Korean peninsula. Because of this, North Korean historians use the term "Late Silla" () where South Korean historians would use "Unified Silla".

History

In 660, King Munmu ordered his armies to attack Baekje. General Kim Yu-sin, aided by Tang forces, defeated General Gyebaek and conquered Baekje. In 661, he moved on Goguryeo but was repelled. Silla then fought against the Tang dynasty for nearly a decade. During its heyday, the country contested with

, a Goguryeo–Mohe kingdom, to the north for supremacy in the region. Throughout its existence, Unified Silla was plagued by intrigue and political turmoil in its newly conquered northern territory, caused by the rebel groups and factions in Baekje and Goguryeo, which eventually led to the Later Three Kingdoms period in the late 9th century. Gyeongju remained the capital of Silla throughout the whole existence of the dynasty, which demonstrates the power of the governmental system employed in Silla. By using the “Bone Clan Class” system, a small group of powerful people (the 'bone clan') was able to rule over a large number of subjects. To maintain this rule over a large number of people for an extensive period of time, it was important for the government to keep the unity of the bone-rank system and hold the governed subjects in a low social status. Despite its political instability, Unified Silla was a prosperous country, and its metropolitan capital of Seorabeol (present-day Gyeongju) was the fourth-largest city in the world at the time. Through close ties maintained with the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

became the principal philosophical ideologies of the elite as well as the mainstays of the period's architecture and fine arts. Its last king, Gyeongsun, ruled over the state in name only and submitted to Wang Geon of the emerging

in 935, bringing the Silla dynasty to an end.

Government

Regional administration

Culture

Unified Silla carried on the maritime prowess of

, which acted like the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

of medieval

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea and Japan, most notably during the time of Jang Bogo; in addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on the Shandong Peninsula and the mouth of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

. Unified Silla was a golden age of art and culture, as evidenced by the Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram, and Emille Bell. Buddhism flourished during this time, and many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhists and contributed to Chinese Buddhism, including: Woncheuk, Wonhyo, Uisang, Musang, and Kim Gyo-gak, a Silla prince whose influence made Mount Jiuhua one of the Four

Sacred Mountains Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many reli ...

of Chinese Buddhism. Unified Silla and the Tang maintained close ties. This was evidenced by the continual importation of

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...

. Many Korean monks went to China to learn about

. The monk Hyecho went to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to study Buddhism and wrote an account of his travels. Different new sects of Buddhism were introduced by these traveling monks who had studied abroad such as Seon and

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...

. A small Muslim presence also existed during this time.Lee (1991) reviews the writings of more than 15 Arabic geographers on Silla, which most refer to as ''al-sila'' or ''al-shila''.Lee (1991, p. 26) cites the 10th-century chronicler Mas'udi. Unified Silla conducted a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of all towns' size and population, as well as

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s, cows and special products and recorded the data in ''Minjeongmunseo'' (민정문서). The reporting was done by the leader of each town. A national

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

college was established in 682 and around 750 it was renamed the National Confucian University. The university was restricted to the elite aristocracy. However, in Silla society, because the

bone-rank system The bone-rank system () was the system of aristocratic rank used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. It was used to segregate society, and particularly the layers of the aristocracy, on the basis of their hereditary proximity to the throne a ...

was used for the election of officials rather than the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

process that was used in Confucianism, the National Confucian University did not have great appeal to the nobility class of Silla. Silla was very scientifically and technologically advanced for the time. There was an emphasis put on astrology especially as it was closely tied to agriculture. This allowed them to accurately record events such as solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

Woodblock printing

Woodblock printing was used to disseminate Buddhist sutras and Confucian works. During a refurbishment of the "''Pagoda That Casts No Shadows''", an ancient print of a Buddhist sutra was discovered. The print is dated to 751 CE and is one of the oldest discovered printed material in the world.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Authority control 935 disestablishments Silla

Former countries in Korean history States and territories established in the 660s 668 establishments Former monarchies of East Asia