The Government of Baekje, was the court system of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

(百濟), one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

which lasted from 18 BCE–660 CE. The establishment of a centralized state in Baekje is usually traced to the reign of King Goi, who may have first established patrilineal succession. Like most

monarchies A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), ...

, a great deal of power was held by the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

. King Seong, for example, strengthened royal power, but after he was slain in a disastrous campaign against Silla, the nobles took much of that power away from his son. The

Hae clan The was a powerful noble clan of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Origins The Hae clan was probably the royal house before the Buyeo clan replaced them, and both clans appear descended from the lineage of Buyeo kingdom, Buyeo and Gog ...

and the

Jin clan The was a powerful noble clan of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Baekje They were one of the " Great Eight Families" (''Daeseongpaljok'', 大姓八族) of Baekje: (Sa (沙氏), Yeon (燕氏), Hyeop (劦氏), Hae (解氏), Jin (眞氏 ...

were the representative royal houses who had considerable power from the early period of Baekje, and they produced many queens over several generations. The

was probably the royal house before the Buyeo clan (扶餘氏) replaced them, and both clans appear descended from the lineage of

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ ( Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korea ...

and

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

. The "

Great Eight Families The Great Eight Families (, ) were eight noble families of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. They were the most powerful of the noble families and had been comrades in arms with the founding monarch Onjo of Baekje. They reached the pi ...

" (Sa, Yeon, Hyeop, Hae, Jin, Guk, Mok, and Baek) were powerful nobles in the Sabi era, recorded in Chinese records such as

Tongdian The ''Tongdian'' () is a Chinese institutional history and encyclopedia text. It covers a panoply of topics from high antiquity through the year 756, whereas a quarter of the book focuses on the Tang Dynasty. The book was written by Du You from 766 ...

Royal Family

The Buyeo clan (扶餘氏) was the royal family of Baekje. The King used the title of "''Eoraha''" (於羅瑕), "Ha" meaning "rulers" and "Eora" meaning "the largest". The common people called the king "''Geon’gilji''" (鞬吉支). The queen was called "''Eoryuk''" (於陸). Also the title Taeja (

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 l ...

: 태자,

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 太子) was given to sons of emperor not like other east Asian countries. In other countries, this title meant

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

. ''Wang'' (

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 l ...

: 왕;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 王), or king, was a Chinese royal style used in many states rising from the dissolution 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 P ...

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 o ...

and

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 ...

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 unificat ...

18 BCE-260 CE

After the kingdom was founded by Onjo of Baekje, there were the two ranks: Jwabo (左輔) and Ubo (右輔). These two ranks existed for more than 200 years in the early days of Baekje. The "bo" (輔) type officials are found in

and

as well as in Chinese history. In China, Jwabo were one of the Sarin (四隣) who assisted a King and were advisors for the Crown Prince. Moreover, there were Jwabo, Ubo and Gyeongbo (京輔) during the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

whose job it was to administer and defend the capital. In Goguryeo there were the positions Jwabo, Ubo and Daebo (大輔). The Daebo was a symbolic position but both the Jwabo and Ubo were similar to Prime Ministers who took part in politics and national defense. In Silla there was only a Daebo who were advisers of the king; The first to hold the position: Talhae (脫解), Hogong (瓠公) and Algi (閼智) were all foreigners who settled in Silla. In Baekje, records of the Jwabo and Ubo are found five times during the reign of the founding monarch, Onjo of Baekje and his son and successor

Daru of Baekje Daru of Baekje (?–77, r. 28–77) was the second king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Background He was the eldest son of the founding monarch Onjo and became the heir of throne in the year 10. He became king upon Onjo's d ...

. After a 200-year gap, during the reign of the 8th king,

Goi of Baekje Goi of Baekje (died 286, r. 234–286) was the eighth king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Background He is recorded as the second son of the 4th king Gaeru and younger brother of the 5th king Chogo. Upon the death of the 6th k ...

they were mentioned two times. He appointed Euleum (乙音) as Ubo and assistant to the king. After Goi the Ubo were charged with national security and military affairs. We can also find people who were given positions like Dongbu (東部) and Bukbu (北部) that were written in front of their name in historical materials. They were placed in the surrounding of the capital to defend it from the North and East, battling with the Nangnang (樂浪) and Malgal (靺鞨). This was similar to the Sambo (三輔) of the

who were installed around a capital in charge of defense. During this time the Jwabo and Ubo in Goguryeo had similar jobs as the ones in Baekje. When King Goi of Baekje made political reforms in 260 the positions of Jwabo and Ubo were replaced by the new ministers called jwa'pyeong, and after handing over their roles disappeared.

Reform of 260-262

In 260 King

reformed the political structure of Baekje and started the 16 rank system and the six ministers (''jwa’pyeong''). In 262 he made the Yull'yeong Law Code and promulgated rules for color-coded official garments. The king proclaimed that the first six ranks should don purple outerware, and hang silver flowers from their crown. Those above the eleventh rank would wear crimson, and those of sixteenth or higher blue. The 16 Rank System: * 1st Rank: Sahe or jwa’pyeong (佐平) consisted of six ministers (''jwa'pyeong'') charged with different roles of government. According to 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 ...

'',

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 ...

: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea'', translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 121. Silk Pagoda (2006). during the Sabi period, the chief minister (''Sang-jwa'pyeong'') of Baekje was chosen by a unique system. The names of several candidates were placed under a rock (Cheonjeongdae) near Hoamsa temple. After a few days, the rock was moved and the candidate whose name had a certain mark was chosen as the new chief minister. Whether this was a form of selection by lot or a covert selection by the elite is not clear. ** Sang-jwa'pyeong (上佐平) – Chief Minister (Prime Minister). *** Byeong'gwan-jwa'pyeong (兵官佐平) – Minister of Defense (Military Affairs). *** Naesin-jwa’pyeong (内臣佐平, 內臣佐平) – Minister of the Interior (Internal Affairs and Communication of Royal Edicts). *** Naedu-jwa’pyeong (內頭佐平) – Minister of Finance. *** Naebeop-jwa’pyeong (內法佐平) – Minister of Rituals. *** Wisa-jwa’pyeong (衛士佐平) – Minister of the Royal Guards. *** Jojeong-jwa’pyeong (朝廷佐平) – Minister of Justice. * 2nd-6th Ranks: Sol (率) ** 2nd Rank: Dalsol (達率) ** 3rd Rank: Eunsol (恩率) ** 4th Rank: Deoksol (德率) ** 5th Rank: Hansol (扜率) ** 6th Rank: Nasol (奈率) * 7th-11th Ranks: Deok (德) ** 7th Rank: Jangdeok (將德) ** 8th Rank: Sideok (施德) ** 9th Rank: Godeok (固德) ** 10th Rank: Gyedeok (季德) ** 11th Rank: Daedeok (對德) * 12th-16th Ranks: ** 12th Rank: Mundok (文督) ** 13th Rank: Mudok (武督) ** 14th Rank: Jwagun (佐軍) ** 15th Rank: Jinmu (振武) ** 16th Rank: Geuke (克虞)

Notes

References

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Doosan Encyclopedia

Royal Family

18 BCE-260 CE

Reform of 260-262

Notes

References

See also