The Dongguk Tonggam (''Comprehensive Mirror of the eastern state'') is a chronicle of the early

history of Korea The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago. Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825. The earlies ...

compiled by Seo Geo-jeong (1420–1488) and other scholars in the 15th century. Originally commissioned by

King Sejo Sejo of Joseon (2 November 1417 – 23 September 1468), personal name Yi Yu (Korean: 이유; Hanja: 李瑈), sometimes known as Grand Prince Suyang (Korean: 수양대군; Hanja: 首陽大君), was the seventh ruler of the Joseon dynasty of K ...

in 1446, it was completed under the reign of

Seongjong of Joseon Seongjong of Joseon (19 August 1457 – 20 January 1495), personal name Yi Hyeol (Korean: ; Hanja: ), was the ninth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Before succeeding his uncle, King Yejong, he was known as Grand Prince Jalsan (Korean: ...

, in 1485. The official

Choe Bu Choe Bu (, 1454–1504) was a Korean official during the early Joseon Dynasty. He is most well known for the account of his shipwrecked travels in China from February to July 1488, during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). He was eventually banis ...

was one of the scholars who helped compile and edit the work. The earlier works on which it may have been based have not survived. The ''Dongguk Tonggam'' is the earliest extant record to list the names of the rulers of

Gojoseon Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Pen ...

after

Dangun Dangun (; ) or Dangun Wanggeom (; ) was the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning province in Northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "gran ...

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''Dongguk Tonggam'' uses an

annal Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between anna ...

form. ''Dongguk Tonggam'' is organised into 382 passages, of which 178 were selected from existing documents. The rest was written by the authors. In particular, Choi Bu authored 118 of them. Dongguk Tonggam is a valuable source of historical information and descriptions from

Tangun Dangun (; ) or Dangun Wanggeom (; ) was the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning province in Northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "gra ...

to the later years of the Joseon Dynasty.

Feature

In this book, the historical positions of Gija-Chosun, Mahan, and Silla, their successors, are elevated, and the positions of Dangun Chosun, Goguryeo, Baekje, Balhae and Goryeo are relatively lowered. The book was first compiled by King Sejo in his attempt to reconstruct Korean history by accepting romantic and mythical historical descriptions rather than being bound by Confucian causes. However, it was not completed due to the uncooperative efforts of the Yushin groups to protect Confucian causes. is part of the , which was revised under the Confucian justification, and was still part of the romantic atmosphere during King Sejo's reign.

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External links

朝鮮群書大系. 続第3輯
15th-century history books Early Korean history Joseon dynasty 1485 books History books about Korea Chinese-language literature of Korea {{korea-hist-stub

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References

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