Yŏn Chayu (, ? – ?) was the ''Mangniji'' (Prime Minister) of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

during its waning days. He was the grandfather of

Yŏn Kaesomun Yŏn KaesomunSome Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yŏngae () and personal name was Somun (), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name. (; 594–666) was a powerful milit ...

, who was ''Dae Mangniji'' and dictator of Goguryeo before its fall. Yŏn Chayu was the father of Yŏn T'aejo, the father of Yŏn Kaesomun, and ''Mangniji'' after Chayu . Historical records do not provide his life dates or his actions as ''Mangniji''.

Background

Not much is known about Yŏn Chayu's background except that his ancestor was said to have been "born in the water." Historians have tried to translate this text, and have established that the Yŏn ancestor may have been born at sea or near a river. It is apparent that his family was a very powerful one in

, having led the Eastern province of Goguryeo kingdom for an unknown number of generations.

Legacy

After the death of Yŏn Chayu, his eldest son Yŏn T'aejo succeeded him to the positions of ''Mangniji'' and Taedaero of the Eastern province of Goguryeo kingdom. After the death of Yŏn T'aejo, his eldest son

was refused his rightful positions by the other nobles of Goguryeo, and had to stage a coup that overthrew the King Yeongnyu at the time. Gaesomun became the first ''Dae Mangniji'' in the history of Goguryeo. After Yŏn Kaesomun's death, his sons ravaged the kingdom apart with their struggles amongst themselves. With this,

eventually fell to the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

and the southern

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n kingdom

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

in 668. Yŏn Chayu was later mentioned in on the Steles of his great-grandsons

Yŏn Namsaeng Yŏn Namsaeng (; 634–679) was the eldest son of the Goguryeo ' (대막리지, 大莫離支; highest-ranking official or dictator; "prime minister") Yŏn Kaesomun (603? – 665). In 665, Yŏn Namsaeng succeeded his father and became the 2nd Tae ...

and

Yŏn Namgŏn Yŏn Namgŏn (淵男建, 연남건) (635 ~ ?연개소문의 맏아들인 연남생이 634년에 탄생했고 막내아들인 연남산이 639년 출생했으므로 적어도 1년 이상 차이가 난다.) was the second son of the Goguryeo mili ...

Last Name

The Steles of

and

record Yŏn Chayu's last name as "Ch'ŏn." This has been known to be the work of Tang historians who changed the last name "Yŏn" to "Ch'ŏn" because

Tang Gaozu Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635), born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude, was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626 CE. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern- ...

's given name was Yuan, which had the same character as the last name "Yŏn".

Background

Legacy

Last Name

See also