Ancient Koguryŏ’s heritage around Ji’an: past and current interpretations

ABSTRACT

The Kingdom of Koguryŏ was one of the so-called Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 1st millennium AD. According to the Samguk Sagi (Historical Records of the Three States), it was founded on what is now North Korea and northeastern China. Not only are the archaeological remains a cultural asset that should not be underestimated, they are powerful enough to be claimed for political purposes today. Overland connections from the Chinese mainland east to Japan and Korea are long recognised. These empires were extremely rich and powerful at the time of the Tang (617/18–907 AD) – Nara in Japan, as well as Koguryŏ, Silla and Paekche on the Korean Peninsula. This paper considers the impressive remains of the Koguryŏ culture, not least in China’s Jilin Province along the North Korean border and explores the historical and archaeological legacy and power of the Koguryŏ Empire.

KEYWORDS:

• Koguryŏ
• Silla
• Paekche
• Wandu
• Korea
• China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. About South Korea’s approach to archaeological legacy (Pai 1999b).

2. For discussion on equating those names see Logie (2019), 59–60.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rainer Feldbacher

Rainer Feldbacher is Distinguished Associate Professor for Oriental Studies at the School of History at Capital Normal University (100089) in Beijing (China). His research focuses on Oriental Archaeology and Semitic Philology, mainly of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Middle East. In recent years he has also been entrusted with ethnological, historical, and economical research along the Silk Road. Accordingly, his collaborations expanded to include Central Asian and the Far Eastern countries.