Commandery and later the Nangnang Commandery. Since the first century AD Kogury ŏ brought Okch ŏ under its dominion and levied tributes from the small state. It is said that the Okch ŏ people carried salt, fish, “Maek cloth,” and other local products on their backs to Kogury ŏ over a distance of “1,000
li,
” or 200 to 300 miles. In the early fifth century Okch ŏ was completely under the command of the Kogury ŏ king Kwanggaet’o.
In Okch ŏ young girls were often taken into other families as future daughters-in-law. When people died in Okch ŏ , they were temporarily buried and their bones were later laid in wooden coffins with the bones of other family members. An entire family, in other words, was buried together in a single large coffin.
Tongye, located in today’s northern Kangw ŏ n province, had more than 20,000 households. Though bigger than Okch ŏ , it also never evolved into a confederated kingdom. Like Okch ŏ , Tongye had also been controlled by Old Chos ŏ n and Chinese Han commanderies, later to be annexed to Kogury ŏ .
Geographical isolation virtually relieved Tongye of outside interference and influence. Thus its hereditary customs were long maintained, handed down through the successive clan societies. Each clan was required to remain within its own territory, where it engaged in such economic activities as hunting, fishing, and farming. Should this prohibition be violated, slaves, oxen, and horses had to be given in compensation. This custom was known as
ch’aekhwa,
or responsibility for damages. The Tongye people worshiped the tiger as a deity.
Tongye possessed fertile farmland and was rich in marine products. It produced fine silk and hemp cloth, horses called
kwahama,
and seal furs. A thanksgiving service to heaven known as
much’ ŏ n,
or a dance to heaven, was also performed there in the tenth lunar month of the year. Because the Tongye people’s livelihood depended on agriculture and fishery, the national thanksgiving event functioned as a festival to celebrate both a good harvest and a large catch. Failing to become confederated kingdoms because of their geography and their more powerful neighbors, Okch ŏ and Tongye ultimately disappeared from the landscape of history.
The State of Chin and the Three Han Federations
About the time when the confederated kingdoms of Old Chos ŏ n, Puy ŏ , and Kogury ŏ were established by the Yemaek people, a culturally homogeneous political entity had also taken shape at the hands of the Han people in the region south of the Han River. Nation building progressed more quickly in the western part of the region, in the basins of the Han, K ŭ m, and Y ŏ ngsan rivers, than in the eastern part, the Naktong River basin. Because of easy access to China, vast fertile farmland, and abundant products, people in the western region, later called Mahan, enjoyed a superior lifestyle to people in the east. Therefore, after the fall of Old Chos ŏ n, refugees from the north settled in this region.
MAP 1.2. Confederated Kingdoms
Around the eighth century BC the Han people, a branch of the dongyi who had migrated from northeastern China, already used high-level mandolin-shaped bronze daggers and refined polished stone daggers, and constructed gigantic board-style dolmen tombs. Presumably, from early times on, a large number of walled-town states had already been established in this southern region, as evidenced by the use of finely wrought bronze daggers since the fourth century BC . A Chinese historical record from the third century AD notes that as many as 70 to 80 states had belonged to the
Sam-han,
or three Han, federations. These “states,” the larger ones controlling more than 10,000 households and the smaller ones just 600 to 700 households, were all walled-town states.
Chin, a loosely organized union of “states,” was established in the late fifth century BC and was centered on the southwest coastal areas of the Korean peninsula. Since the
li,
” or 200 to 300 miles. In the early fifth century Okch ŏ was completely under the command of the Kogury ŏ king Kwanggaet’o.
In Okch ŏ young girls were often taken into other families as future daughters-in-law. When people died in Okch ŏ , they were temporarily buried and their bones were later laid in wooden coffins with the bones of other family members. An entire family, in other words, was buried together in a single large coffin.
Tongye, located in today’s northern Kangw ŏ n province, had more than 20,000 households. Though bigger than Okch ŏ , it also never evolved into a confederated kingdom. Like Okch ŏ , Tongye had also been controlled by Old Chos ŏ n and Chinese Han commanderies, later to be annexed to Kogury ŏ .
Geographical isolation virtually relieved Tongye of outside interference and influence. Thus its hereditary customs were long maintained, handed down through the successive clan societies. Each clan was required to remain within its own territory, where it engaged in such economic activities as hunting, fishing, and farming. Should this prohibition be violated, slaves, oxen, and horses had to be given in compensation. This custom was known as
ch’aekhwa,
or responsibility for damages. The Tongye people worshiped the tiger as a deity.
Tongye possessed fertile farmland and was rich in marine products. It produced fine silk and hemp cloth, horses called
kwahama,
and seal furs. A thanksgiving service to heaven known as
much’ ŏ n,
or a dance to heaven, was also performed there in the tenth lunar month of the year. Because the Tongye people’s livelihood depended on agriculture and fishery, the national thanksgiving event functioned as a festival to celebrate both a good harvest and a large catch. Failing to become confederated kingdoms because of their geography and their more powerful neighbors, Okch ŏ and Tongye ultimately disappeared from the landscape of history.
The State of Chin and the Three Han Federations
About the time when the confederated kingdoms of Old Chos ŏ n, Puy ŏ , and Kogury ŏ were established by the Yemaek people, a culturally homogeneous political entity had also taken shape at the hands of the Han people in the region south of the Han River. Nation building progressed more quickly in the western part of the region, in the basins of the Han, K ŭ m, and Y ŏ ngsan rivers, than in the eastern part, the Naktong River basin. Because of easy access to China, vast fertile farmland, and abundant products, people in the western region, later called Mahan, enjoyed a superior lifestyle to people in the east. Therefore, after the fall of Old Chos ŏ n, refugees from the north settled in this region.
MAP 1.2. Confederated Kingdoms
Around the eighth century BC the Han people, a branch of the dongyi who had migrated from northeastern China, already used high-level mandolin-shaped bronze daggers and refined polished stone daggers, and constructed gigantic board-style dolmen tombs. Presumably, from early times on, a large number of walled-town states had already been established in this southern region, as evidenced by the use of finely wrought bronze daggers since the fourth century BC . A Chinese historical record from the third century AD notes that as many as 70 to 80 states had belonged to the
Sam-han,
or three Han, federations. These “states,” the larger ones controlling more than 10,000 households and the smaller ones just 600 to 700 households, were all walled-town states.
Chin, a loosely organized union of “states,” was established in the late fifth century BC and was centered on the southwest coastal areas of the Korean peninsula. Since the
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