Everything about Unified Silla totally explained
Unified Silla (
668CE–
935CE) is the name often applied to the kingdom of
Silla, one of the
Three Kingdoms of Korea, when it conquered Baekje "Paekje" in 660 and Goguryeo "Koguryo" in 668. In 660, conquering
Baekje unified the southern portion of the
Korean peninsula and in 668 Goguryeo was conquered. Its last king, ruling over a state in name only, submitted to the emerging
Goryeo in 935, bringing the dynasty to an end.
Name
The name "Unified Silla" is a term that likely dates from after the
division of Korea in 1945, and to some degree reflects modern-day political longings. Because of this, some historians suggest the term
North-South States Period (
nambukguk sidae = 남북국 시대 = 南北國時代) to better reflect the fact that Silla didn't unify the Three Kingdoms' entire territory. Large parts of former Goguryeo territory remained outside Silla's realm and were part of the newly emerged
Balhae state.
Unification
In
660,
King Munmu the Great ordered his armies to attack Baekje. General
Kim Yu-shin, aided by
Tang forces, defeated General
Gyebaek and conquered Baekje. In
661, he moved on Goguryeo but was repelled. King Munmu was the first ruler ever to look upon the south of Korean Peninsula as a single political entity after the fall of Gojoseon. As such, the post-668 Silla kingdom is often referred to as Unified Silla. Unified Silla lasted for 267 years until, under
King Gyeongsun, it fell to
Goryeo in 935.
Culture
Buddhism
Unified Silla and Tang maintained close ties. This was evidenced by the continual importation of Chinese culture. Many Korean monks went to China to learn about Buddhism. The monk Hyech'o went to India to study Buddhism and wrote of accounts.
(External Link
). Different new sects of Buddhism were introduced by these traveling monks who had studied abroad such as Son and Pure Land Buddhism
(External Link).
Confucianism
A national confucian college was established in 682 and around 750 it was renamed the National Confucian University
(External Link). The university was restricted to the elite aristocracy.
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 the oldest discovered printed material in the world.
(External Link).
Economy
At first, Silla decreased agriculture output tax to 1/10 before unification and assigned tributary payment per town with special products.
Unified Silla conducted a census of all towns' size and population, as well as
horses,
cows and special products and recorded the data in
Minjeongmunseo(민정문서). The reporting was done by the leader of each town.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Unified Silla'.
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