Seong of Baekje

Seong of Baekje
Hangul	성왕, 명왕, 성명왕
Hanja	聖王, 明王, 聖明王
Revised Romanization	Seong-wang, Myeong-wang, Seongmyeong-wang
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏng-wang, Myŏng-wang, Sŏngmyŏng-wang
Birth name
Hangul	명농
Hanja	明襛
Revised Romanization	Myeongnong
McCune–Reischauer	Myŏngnong

Monarchs of Korea Baekje

Onjo 18 BCE–29 CE Daru 29–77 Giru 77–128 Gaeru 128–166 Chogo 166–214 Gusu 214–234 Saban 234 Goi 234–286 Chaekgye 286–298 Bunseo 298–304 Biryu 304–344 Gye 344–346 Geunchogo 346–375 Geungusu 375–384 Chimnyu 384–385 Jinsa 385–392 Asin 392–405 Jeonji 405–420 Guisin 420–427 Biyu 427–455 Gaero 455–475 Munju 475–477 Samgeun 477–479 Dongseong 479–501 Muryeong 501–523 Seong 523–554 Wideok 554–598 Hye 598–599 Beop 599–600 Mu 600–641 Uija 641–660

Seong of Baekje (also Holy King, died 554) (r. 523–554) was the 26th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was a son of Muryeong of Baekje and is best known for making Buddhism the state religion, moving the national capital to Sabi (present-day Buyeo County), and reclaiming the center of the Korean Peninsula. His demise eventually came at the hands of an ally who betrayed him. The name Seong translates as 'The Holy.'

Foreign relations and Buddhism

Seong was known as a great patron of Buddhism in Korea, and built many temples and welcomed priests bringing Buddhist texts directly from India. In 528, Baekje officially adopted Buddhism as its state religion. He maintained his country's diplomatic ties with Liang Dynasty China as well as Wa (Japan).

He sent missions to Liang in 534 and 541, on the second occasion requesting artisans as well as various Buddhist works and a teacher. According to Chinese records, all these requests were granted. A subsequent mission was sent in 549, only to find the Liang capital in the hands of the rebel Hou Jing, who threw them in prison for lamenting the fall of the capital.

He is credited with having sent a mission including Norisachigye (노리사치계, 怒利斯致契, ?-?) in 538 to Japan that brought an image of Shakyamuni and several sutras to the Japanese court. This has traditionally been considered the official introduction of Buddhism to Japan. An account of this is given in Gangōji Garan Engi.

Move of the capital

In 538, he moved the capital from Ungjin (present-day Gongju) further south to Sabi (present-day Buyeo County), on the Geum River. Unlike the earlier move of the capital from the present-day Seoul region to Ungjin, forced by the military pressure of Goguryeo, the move to Sabi was directed by the king to strengthen royal power, aided by the political support of the Sa clan based in Sabi.

He completely reorganized the administration of the country to strengthen central control, to counteract the political power of the noble clans. He changed the name of the country to Nambuyeo,^[1] to emphasize the ancient connection to Buyeo.

Guze Kannon is a statue made in the image of King Seong^[2] in the Korean style.^[3]

Battle among the Three Kingdoms

Baekje had maintained a century-long alliance with its neighbor Silla, to balance the threat of the northern kingdom Goguryeo. With the aid of Silla and the Gaya confederacy, Seong led a long campaign to regain the Han River valley, the former heartland of Baekje which had been lost to Goguryeo in 475. Baekje regained its original capital in 551. The campaign culminated in 553 with victories in a series of costly assaults on Goguryeo fortifications.

However, under a secret agreement with Goguryeo, Silla troops, arriving on the pretense of offering assistance, attacked the exhausted Baekje army and took possession of the entire Han River valley. Incensed by this betrayal, the following year Seong launched a retaliatory strike against Silla's western border. This attack was led by the crown prince (subsequent king Wideok) and joined by the Gaya confederacy. But Seong and 30,000 Baekje troops were killed in the disastrous battle. This defeat led to significant erosion of royal power.

Legacy

According to the Shogeishō(聖冏抄), a compilation of the ancient historical records and traditions about the Japanese Prince Regent Shotoku Taishi, Guze Kannon is a statue that is the representation of King Seong, which was carved under the order of the subsequent King Wideok of Baekje.^[2] It was written by a Japanese monk Shogei(1341-1420), the 7th Patriarchs of the Jodo sect. The statue which had originally come from Baekje^[4] to Japan and has been preserved at the Japanese temple Hōryū-ji. The American scholar of Asian cultures Ernest Fenollosa describes the Guze Kannon he uncovered at Hōryū-ji along with the Tamamushi Shrine as ”two great monuments of sixth-century Corean Art”.^[5] It is referred to by the authors of The Cambridge History of Japan as one of the "great works of Asuka art created by foreign priests and preserved as Japanese national treasures".^[6]

His third son, Imseongtaeja (琳聖太子), left for Japan, via Taiwan, after his father was killed. Imseongtaeja is credited for playing a key role in the formation of the early Japanese state.

See also

• History of Korea
• Korean Buddhism
• List of Korea-related topics

References

1. Il-yeon: Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea, translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 119. Silk Pagoda (2006). ISBN 1-59654-348-5
2. 聖冏抄 ... 故威德王恋慕父王状所造顕之尊像 即救世観音像是也
3. Evelyn McCune. The arts of Korea: an illustrated history. C. E. Tuttle Co., 1962
4. Asiatic Society of Japan. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. The Society, 1986
5. Fenollosa, Ernest F. Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art: An Outline History of East Asiatic Design. Heinemann, 1912
6. Brown, Delmer, ed. (1993). The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-521-22352-2.