''Balhaego'' is a history book about the
Balhae
Balhae ( ko, 발해, zh, c=渤海, p=Bóhǎi, russian: Бохай, translit=Bokhay, ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It wa ...
civilization, written by
Yu Deuk-gong
Yu Deuk-gong (; 1749–1807) was a Korean scholar during the Joseon Dynasty. He is remembered today for his work in recovering the history of Balhae, which had not generally been considered part of Korean history before his time.
See also
*Histo ...
, who was a
Silhak
Silhak was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in late Joseon Dynasty. ''Sil'' means "actual" or "practical", and ''hak'' means "studies" or "learning". It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism ( ...
(practical studies) scholar during the
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
.
It describes the king of Balhae, the vassals of Balhae, geography and geology, government system, foods and clothing, etc. It is an early book that argued that Balhae should be included as part of Korean history. ''Balhaego'' is notable for referring to Balhae and
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 K ...
as the northern and southern kingdoms, within a unified account of Korean history.
The first modern edition was published by the
Chōsen Kosho Kankōkai in 1910.
Purpose
The author criticizes that they did not systematically describe the history of the invention during the Goryeo Dynasty. The front of the book argues that Balhae's history should be accepted into the Korean history system. He made it clear that Balhae was the heir of Goguryeo, and brought it into the category of Korean folk history, and argued that the period of war with Silla should be regarded as the era of the Republic of South Korea.
He also claimed that because Goryeo did not publish the history of the project, he could not claim the territorial rights of Jurchen and Khitan, which occupied Goguryeo and Balhae. In this regard, Balhaego's historical location is very important.
Contents
The Balhaego consists of nine parts, including a preface. The monarch part is a kind of a forecastle, documenting the king. The vassal part is written about Balhae's military, scholars, and diplomats. The clothing part deals with the clothing according to the business world, and the market part with the local products. The Korean part contains titles in Balhae, and the national document part consists of the letters from Balhae to Japan. The dependency part states that Balhae was a subordinate state.
A preface to Bak Jega
Park Je-ga, a practical scholar of Bukhakpa during the reign of King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty, wrote about his friend, Ryu Deukgong, saying, "This book is in line with his previous reviews."
References
Joseon dynasty works
History books about Korea
{{Korea-hist-book-stub