Little Goguryeo (; ; alternatively Lesser Goguryeo) is the name of a state thought to have existed on the

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

, proposed by the Japanese scholar Kaizaburo Hino ( :ja:日野開三郎). The existence of the state is debated among scholars. The state was mentioned in historical records, with its leaders recorded as Governors-General subject to 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 ...

in the documents of the Tang government. It was supposedly established by the refugees 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 ...

after its defeat by the Tang dynasty. Following Goguryeo's defeat by the Tang–

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 ...

alliance, the Liaodong Peninsula was administered by the Tang dynasty. The theory is that the Tang dynasty eventually lost effective control of the region due to rebellions staged by Goguryeo refugees, and Liaodong became a

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

between the Tang dynasty and

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 ...

(Bohai). Although Lesser Goguryeo declared itself an independent kingdom, it was soon absorbed into Balhae.

Establishment

In 699, the Tang government sent former Goguryeo prince Go Deokmu, the third son of Goguryeo's last ruler, King Bojang, to

, naming him "King of Chaoxian" and Governor of the Yodong Commandery of the

Protectorate General to Pacify the East The Protectorate-General to Pacify the East () was an administrative division of the Chinese Tang dynasty in Manchuria and the northern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula. It was established after the Tang dynasty defeated Goguryeo and annexed ...

. Like his father, Go Deokmu had plans to rebel against the Tang, to revive Goguryeo and to provide a kingdom for the Goguryeo people. The Tang Empire at the time was undergoing several crises, especially the

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan rebellion was a civil war in China that lasted from 755 to 763, at the approximate midpoint of the Tang dynasty (618–907). It began as a commandery rebellion attempting to overthrow and replace the Tang government with the rogue ...

. Along with these major events was also the pressure given by the Empire of

. These and many other pressures allowed Go Deokmu to take full control of the

and allegedly to establish a kingdom. The Lesser Goguryeo kingdom was established during that year with Go Deokmu as its first king. Very little is known about how the neighboring kingdoms reacted to the establishment of Lesser Goguryeo. It is known that Balhae was on good terms with Lesser Goguryeo with respect to the similar purposes that the two kingdoms possessed.

Fall

At around 820, after two generations of ruling the Liaodong Peninsula and other former regions of Goguryeo, Lesser Goguryeo was absorbed into Balhae during the reign King Seon of Balhae.

References

{{Reflist Goguryeo History of Manchuria History of Korea Former countries in Chinese history Former countries in Korean history Former countries in East Asia Former monarchies of East Asia 699 establishments

Establishment

Fall

See also

References