Lady Saso () is said to be the mother of Hyeokgeose of Silla. Also known as the ''Sacred Mother of Mt. Seondo'' (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

:선도산), legends say she was a princess from the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

royal family. Having coming from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and settling upon the Jinhan Confederacy, she gave birth to Hyeokgeose of Silla. Later, she was honored as great king (

queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reignin ...

) by

King Gyeongmyeong Gyeongmyeong of Silla (died 924) (r. 917–924) was the 54th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the eldest son of King Sindeok and Princess Uiseong. He ruled during the Later Three Kingdoms period, when much of his country's former ...

. Nonetheless, Korean historians have long questioned her origins noting the case of

Kim Bu-sik Kim Bu-sik, or Gim Busik (; 1075–1151) was a statesman, general, Confucian scholar and writer during Korea's Goryeo period. He was a scion of the Silla royalty and a member of the Gyeongju Kim clan. Later he was the supreme chancellor from 1136 ...

, the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

bureaucrat whom authored the

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

, having been clueless about these "tales and rumors" as he puts it. The Chinese guide Wang Fu (Traditional Chinese: 王黼) of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

explained to Kim Bu-sik who saw the statue of a woman in Wuxingwan (Traditional Chinese: 佑神館) as someone who was "the goddess of your country who was a daughter of an old Chinese Emperor that fled East after being suspected of being pregnant without her husband." Kim Bu-sik thought these descriptions strange enough he nor the Korean people back then ever heard of such tales. There is also criticism that these tales are no different from old deifications related to Sinocentrism, claiming false Chinese or unidentified individuals as supposed ancestors as the practice were frequent back then. On the other hand, under the pretext that she is in fact a long lost Chinese princess, some suspect her to be from either one of the dynasties during the Warring State Period;

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

, and Wei being likely candidates. Others presume she was the princess of the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

due to the passage in the

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

quoting, " Qin(秦)'s old immigrants fled to

Jinhan Jinhan () was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD in the southern Korean Peninsula, to the east of the Nakdong River valley, Gyeongsang Province. Jinhan was one of the Samhan (or "T ...

to avoid harsh labor." When

Il-yeon Il-yeon (or Iryeon; 1206–1289) was a Buddhist monk and All-Enlightened National Preceptor () during the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. His birth name was either Kim Gyeong-myeong () or Jeon Gyeon-myeong (), and his courtesy name was Hoe-yeon (). He ...

built

Samguk yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

in the future, he wrote a legendary addition to the story of Lady Saso, paying attention to Kim Bu-sik's story.三國遺事 > 卷第五 > 感通第七 > 仙桃聖母隨喜佛事 > 神母夲中國帝室之女. 名娑蘇, 早得神仙之術歸止海東乆而不還. 父皇寄書繫足云. “随鳶所止爲家.” 蘇得書放鳶飛到此山而止. 遂来宅爲地仙. 故名西鳶山. 神母久㩀兹山鎮祐邦國霊異甚多, 有國已来常爲三祀之一, 秩在群望之上. 第五十四景明王好使鷹, 甞登此放鷹而失之. 禱於神母曰, “若得鷹當封爵.” 俄而鷹飛来止机上, 因封爵大王焉. 其始到辰韓也生聖子爲東國始君, 盖赫居·閼英二聖之所自也. 故稱雞龍·雞林·白馬等雞属西故也. 甞使諸天仙織羅緋染作朝衣贈其夫, 國人因此始知神驗. 又國史史臣曰. 軾政和中甞奉使人宋, 詣佑神舘有一堂設女仙像. 舘伴學士王黼曰, “此是貴國之神, 公知之乎.” 遂言曰, “古有中國帝室之女泛海抵辰韓, 生子爲海東始祖, 女爲地仙長在仙桃山, 此其像也. 又大宋國使王襄到我朝祭東神聖母女, 有娠賢肇邦之句.” 今能施金奉佛爲含生開香火作津梁, 豈徒學長生而囿於溟濛者哉.

Outline

The following description is from the ''

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

'' (Memorabilia of the three Kingdoms), volume 5, clause 7.

Criticism

This is presumed to be the propaganda of Chinese Sinocentrism, such as the claim that Japan was descended from

Xu Fu Xu Fu (Hsu Fu; ) was a Chinese alchemist and explorer. He was born in 255 BC in Qi, an ancient Chinese state, and disappeared at sea in 210 BC. He served as a court sorcerer in Qin Dynasty China. Later, he was sent by Qin Shi Huang to the eas ...

(徐福), who went to save the elixir(不老草) under

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

(秦始皇)'s direction. The

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

was descended from Lü-Gui(履癸王), the last king of

Xia Xia (Hsia in Wade–Giles) may refer to: Chinese history * Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC), the first orthodox dynasty in Chinese history * Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms) (407–431), a Xiongnu-led dynasty * Xia (617–621), a state founded by Dou Ji ...

(夏).

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

claims they are descendants of ancient Xia. And that the case 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 ...

(朝鮮) and

Gouwu Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the ...

(句吳). Absorbing through this kind of propaganda has long been China's way. According to Samguk Yusa, they are called Gye-Nong (Hangul:계농), Gye-Rim (Hangul:계림), Baek-Ma (Hangul:백마). However, the first mention of "Gye-Rim (Hangul:계림), Gye (Hangul:계)" is mentioned for the first time in the

Kim Al-ji Gim Alji(Kim Alti) (, 金閼智; 65–?) was a historical figure in Korean history. His descendants formed the Gyeongju Gim, Gim royal clan of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His legendary birth is said to have occurred during the reign ...

legend. Not in Hyeokgeose legend. It's an error by the Chinese historian who lacked an understanding of early Korean history.

Family

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saso, Lady Silla people Korean people of Chinese descent Korean folk religion Mountain goddesses