Yeon Ja-yu (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The ...

: 연자유,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 淵子遊, ?-?) was the ''Magniji'' (Prime Minister) of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

during its waning days, and was the grandfather of

Yeon Gaesomun Yeon GaesomunSome Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yeongae () and personal name was Somun (), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name. (594–666) was a powerful militar ...

, who was ''Dae Magniji'' and dictator of Goguryeo before its fall. Yeon Ja-yu was the father of

Yeon Taejo Yeon Taejo (?-616?) (연태조, 淵太祚) was the ''Magniji'' (Prime Minister) of Goguryeo during the reigns of King Pyeongwon and King Yeongyang. He was the father of Yeon Gaesomun, and was known to have taken an aggressive stance against the ...

, the father of Yeon Gaesomun, and ''Magniji'' after Ja-yu. Historical records do not provide his life dates or his actions as ''Magniji''.

Background

Not much is known about Yeon Ja-yu's background except that his ancestor was said to have been "born in the water." Historians have tried to translate this text, and have established that the Yeon ancestor may have been born at sea or near a river. It is apparent that his family was a very powerful one in

, having led the Eastern province of Goguryeo kingdom for an unknown number of generations.

Legacy

After the death of Yeon Ja-yu, his eldest son Yeon Taejo succeeds him to the positions of ''Magniji'' and Daedaero of the Eastern province of Goguryeo kingdom. After the death of Yeon Taejo, his eldest son

was refused his rightful positions by the other nobles of Goguryeo, and had to stage a coup that overthrew the King Yeongnyu at the time. Gaesomun became the first ''Dae Magniji'' in the history of Goguryeo. After Yeon Gaesomun's death, his sons ravaged the kingdom apart with their struggles amongst themselves. With this,

eventually fell to the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

and the southern

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

n kingdom

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of ...

in 668. Yeon Ja-yu was later mentioned in on the Steles of his great-grandsons

Yeon Namsaeng Yeon Namsaeng (연남생, 淵男生) (634–679) was the eldest son of the Goguryeo '' Dae Magniji'' (대막리지, 大莫離支; highest ranking official or dictator; "prime minister") Yeon Gaesomun (603?-665). In 665, Yeon Namsaeng succeeded h ...

and

Yeon Namgeon Yeon Namgeon (淵男建, 연남건) (635 ~ ? 연개소문의 맏아들인 연남생이 634년에 탄생했고 막내아들인 연남산이 639년 출생했으므로 적어도 1년 이상 차이가 난다.) was the second son of the Goguryeo mil ...

Last Name

The Steles of

and

record Yeon Ja-yu's last name as "Cheon." This has been known to be the work of Tang historians who changed the last name "Yeon" to "Cheon" because

Tang Gaozu Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day ...

's name was Yuan, which had the same pronunciation as the last name "Yeon".

Background

Legacy

Last Name

See also