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Imparator Taejo (]31 Ocak 877 - 4 Temmuz 943), Kore'de 10. ve 14. yüzyillar arasinda hüküm süren Goryeo Hanedanligi'nin kurucusudur.
GEÇMISI
877 yilinda Songdo'da dogan Taejo Wang Geon, Yeseong Nehri ticaretini kontrol altinda tutan bir aileden gelmekteydi. Babasi Wang Yung, Çin'le yaptigi ticaretten çok büyük kazançlar sagladi. Atalarinin eski Goguryeo sinirlarinda yasadigi bilinir ve böylece Wang Geon da Goguryeolu olmustur.
IKTIDARA YÜKSELIS
Taejo, kariyerine düzensiz bir Üç Krallik Dönemi'nden sonra baslamistir. Shilla'nin daha sonraki yillarinda birçok yerel lider ve haydut, Kraliçe Jinsung'a karsi, halkin gelismesini saglayacak politika izlemedigi ve güçlü liderlik vasfi tasimadigi için baskaldirdi. Asilerden, kuzeybati bölgesinden Gung Ye ve güneybati bölgesinden Gyeon Hwon daha da güçlendiler. Diger birçok isyanci grubu bozguna ugratip kendi grubuna katarak yerel Shilla memurlarina ve haydutlara karsi kullandi. 895 yilinda Gung Ye'nin liderlik ettigi kuvvetler Songdo sehrinin bulundugu Shilla'nin kuzeybati bölümüne dogru hareket ettiler. Wang Yung, birçok diger yerel boylarla birlikte Gung Ye'ye teslim oldular. Wang Geon, Taebong'un gelecekteki lider olacak Gung Ye'ye hizmet eden babasinin izinden giderek Gungye'nin emri altinda hizmet etmeye basladi.
Wang Geon'un askeri alanda sahip oldugu yetenekleri, Gung Ye kisa sürede fark ederek generallige terfi ettirdi ve hatta erkek kardesi olarak kabul etti. 900 yilinda yerel boylara ve Chungju bölgesinde sonraki Baekje'nin (Hubaekje) ordusuna karsi basarili bir sefer yürüterek daha fazla ün kazandi. 903 yilinda, Gyeon Hwon Shilla'ya karsi savasirken, Hubaekje'nin güneybati sahilinde ünlü donanma seferini yürüttü. Birçok askeri seferi yürütmesinin yaninda Shilla'nin egemenligi altinda yasayan yoksul halka yardim etti. Halk, cömertligi ve liderligi sayesinde onun yaninda yer aldi.
913 yilinda Taebong'a basbakan olarak atandi. Krali Gung Ye, onun liderligi sayesinde kralligini kurdu; ancak kendisi Buddha olmak istemesinden sonra, dinsel düsüncelerine karsi gelen halka zulmetmeye basladi. Birçok kesisi idam etti daha sonra esi, iki oglu ve halk ona sirt çevirmeye, ondan uzaklasmaya basladi. Pahaliya mal olan adetleri ve zalimce yönetimi daha çok karsitliga sebep oldu.
TAHTA ÇIKIS VE GORYEO'NUN KURULUSU
918'de Taebong'un dört yüksek rütbeli generallerinden Hong Yu, Ba Hyeongyeong, Shin Sung-gyeom ve Bok Jigyeom gizlice bir araya gelerek ve Gungye'nin yönetimini yikarak veliaht Wang Kon'un yeni kral olmasina karar verdi. Wang, ilk basta bu fikre karsi çiksa da onlarin planini kabul etti. Ayni yil Gung Ye yönetimden devrilmis ve baskent Cheorwon yakinlarinda öldürülmüstür. Gung Ye'ye 918'de suikast yapildiginda generaller onu geçici kral olmasi için seçmislerdi. Wang kralligini ilan ettiginde kralligin adini Goryeo olarak degistirdi ve böylece Goryeo Hanedanligi dönemi basladi. Sonraki yil dogdugu yer olan baskent Songak'a geri döndü.
Budizm'i ulusal din olarak ilan etti ve Balhae hakimiyetinde olan Mançurya ve Kore'nin kuzey bölümünün fethini istedi. Balhae'nin yönettigi Mançurya'nin genis topraklari ve Sibirya'nin bir bölümü Khitan istilasi sonucu 926'da yilinda yikildi ve Balhae'nin son Veliaht Prensi Dae Gwang-hyeon'un ikna etmesiyle halkin büyük bir çogunlugu Goryeo'ya mülteci olarak geldi. Balhae ve Goryeo, Goguryeo'nun soyundan geldigi için Taejo, mültecilerin hepsini vatandasi olarak kabul etti ve köklü aileleri esir alarak Goguryeo'nun baskenti Pyõngyang'i terk etti. Ayni zamanda fethetmek ve boyunduruk altina almak yerine yerel boylarla anlasmayi ve ittifak kurmayi öngörüyordu.
ÜÇ KRALLIK DÖNEMI SAVASLARI
927 yilinda Hubaekje'nin lideri Gyeon Hwon, kuvvetleriyle beraber Shilla'nin baskenti Gyeongju'yu fethederek Kral Gyeongae'yi idam etti. Ordusunu Goryeo'ya karsi çevirmeden önce Kral Gyeongsun'u kukla hükümdar olarak basa getirdi. Taejo, bu haberleri duydugu anda Gyeon'un askerleri eve dönüs yolundayken Daegu yakinlarinda Gongsan'da baskin yapti. Karsilastigi Hubaekje kuvvetleriyle giristigi savas, feci bir yenilgiyle sonuçlandi. Birçok askerinin yanisira kendisini kral yapan en iyi savasçisi Shin Sunggyeom'u da kaybetti. Her seye ragmen Goryeo yenilgiden sonra çabucak toparlanip, Hubaekje akinlarina karsi basarili bir savunma yapti.
935'te Shilla'nin son krali, Kral Gyeongsun kralligini kurtaracak hiçbir yolun olmadigini ve tüm topraklariyla Taejon'a teslim olmasi gerektigini hissetti. Taejo bunu memnuniyetle karsilayarak ona prens ünvanini verdi ve kizini eslerinden birisi olarak kabul etti (Wang'in alti tane kraliçesi ve her bir yerel liderin kiziyla evlendigi için birçok karisi vardi). Bu durum Gyeon Hwon'un tiksinmesine sebep olmustu. Sangju bölgesi üzerinde hakki olan Gyeon'un babasi, ülkeyi terkederek Goryeo'ya teslim olmus ve imparatorun babasi olarak kabul edilmisti.
Ayni yil içinde, Gyeon Hwon'un en büyük oglu Shingeom, tahtin halefi olarak üvey kardesinden gördügü destekle babasina darbe yapti. Gyeon Hwon bir Budist tapinagina sürülerek hapsedildi; ancak Goryeo'ya kaçarak, teslimiyetinden önce ölen babasi gibi muamele gördü.
GORYEO ZAFERI VE BIRLESME
936 yilinda Wang, Shingeom'a karsi son seferini yürüttü. Shinggeom, Taejo'ya karsi savasti; ancak birçok dezavantaja sahip olmasi ve iç çatismalardan dolayi, Taejo'ya teslim oldu. Wang, böylece Hubaekje'yi resmen isgal etmis oldu. Gojoseon'dan beri ulusu birlestirerek 943 yilina kadar yönetti ve hastaliktan öldü.
Taejo, güçlü bir koalisyon olusturmak için düsmanlarini bile getiriyordu. Hükümdarlara ve asilzadelere birçok ünvanin yanisira, yenilgiye ugrattigi ülkelerin (Son Baekje, Shilla ve Balhae) topraklarini dagitarak vermis oluyordu. Böylece Shilla'nin ilerleyen yillarindaki kayiptan sonra denge kurmayi ve birlesmeyi amaçlamistir.
MIRASI
936'daki Üç Krallik Dönemi'nden sonraki birlesme Kore tarihi için çok önemlidir. Goguryeo'nun yeniden canlanmasi ve kuzey bölümünün Balhae egemenligine ait olmasindan beri 668'de Shilla, sadece ülkenin yarisi birlesmeyi tamamlamisti. Yine de Wang'in 936 yilinda tüm Kore halkinin anlasmasiyla sagladigi birlesme, tam ölçekli bir birlesmeydi ve Kore'nin Kuzey - Güney olarak ayrildigi 1948 yilina kadar tek ülke olarak kaldi. Birçok modern Koreli, tarihte bölünmüs olarak yasayan ulusu birlestiren tek kisi olan Wang'in liderligine bakarak günümüzdeki durumu mukayese etmektedirler.
Çeviri: Wando
Efsane / A Legend: Wanggeon's Wife and Son / Wanggeon’un Esi ve Oglu
English
Taejo of Goryeo
Taejo of Goryeo (January 31, 877-July 4, 943, r. 918-943), was the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century.
BACKGROUND
Taejo Wang Geon (태조 왕건) was born in 877 and was a descendant of a merchant family at Songdo (present-day Kaesŏng), who controlled trade on the Yeseong River. His father, Wang Yung, gained much wealth from trade with China. His ancestors were known to have lived within ancient Goguryeo boundaries, thus making Wang Geon a man of Goguryeo by descent.
RISE TO POWER
Taejo began his career in the turbulent Later Three Kingdoms period (후삼국 시대; 後三國時代; Husamguk Sidae). In the later years of Silla, many local leaders and bandits rebelled against the rule of Queen Jinsung, who did not have strong leadership or policy to improve the condition of the people. Among those rebels, Gung Ye (궁예; 弓裔; Kung Ye) of northwestern region and Gyeon Hwon (견훤; 甄萱; Kyŏn Hwŏn) of southwest gained more power. They defeated and absorbed much of the other rebellion group as their troops marched against local Silla officials and bandits. In 895, Gung Ye led his forces into the far northwestern part of Silla, where Songdo was located. Wang Yung, along with many other local clans, quickly surrendered to Gung Ye. Wang Geon followed his father into service under Gung Ye, the future leader of Taebong, and he began his service under Gungye's command.
Wang Geon's ability as a military commander was soon recognized by Gung Ye, who promoted him to general and even regarded him as his brother. In 900, he led a successful campaign against local clans and army of Later Baekje in Chungju area, gaining more fame and recognition from the king. In 903, he led a famous naval campaign against the southwestern coastline of Hubaekje, while Gyeon Hwon was at war against Silla. He led several more military campaigns, and also helped conquered people who lived in poverty under Silla rule. Public favored him due to his leadership and generosity.
In 913, he was appointed as prime minister of the newly renamed Taebong. Its king, Gung Ye, whose leadership helped foundation of the kingdom but began to refer himself as the Buddha, began to persecute people who expressed their opposition against his religious arguments. He executed many monks, then later even his own wife and two sons, and the public began to turn away from him. His costly rituals and harsh rule caused even more opposition.
RISE TO THRONE AND FOUNDING OF GORYEO
In 918, four top-ranked generals of Taebong—Hong Yu (홍유; 洪儒), Bae Hyeongyeong (배현경; 裵玄慶; Pae Hyŏn-gyŏng), Shin Sung-gyeom (신숭겸; 申崇謙; S(h)in Sung-gyŏm) and Bok Jigyeom (복지겸; 卜智謙; Pok Chi-gyŏm)—met secretly and agreed to overthrow Gungye's rule and crown Wang Kon as their new king. Wang first opposed the idea but later agreed to their plan. At the same year Gung Ye was overthrown and killed near his capital, Cheorwon. When Gung Ye was assassinated in 918, the generals selected him to be the new king of this short-lived state. Wang was crowned king and renamed the kingdom Goryeo, thus beginning Goryeo Dynasty. The next year he moved the capital back to his hometown, Songak.
He promoted Buddhism as national religion, and called for the reconquest of northern part of Korea and Manchuria, which was controlled by Balhae. Balhae's rule over vast region of Manchuria and parts of Siberia was overthrowned by Khitan invasion in 926, and the majority of its people came to Goryeo as refugees led by Balhae's last Crown Prince Dae Gwang-hyeon. Taejo accepted them as his citizens, since Balhae and Goryeo came from common ancestry of Goguryeo, and captured the old, then abandoned capital city of Goguryeo, P'yŏngyang. He also sought for alliance and cooperation with local clans rather than trying to conquer and bring them under his direct control.
THE WAR OF THE LATER THREE KINGDOMS
In 927, Gyeon Hwon of Hubaekje led forces into Silla's capital, Gyeongju, capturing and executing its king, King Gyeongae. Then he established King Gyeongsun as his puppet monarch before he turned his army toward Goryeo. Taejo, hearing of the news, planned to strike with 5000 cavalrymen Gyeon's troops on the way back home at Gongsan near Daegu. He met Hubaekje forces and suffered disastrous defeat, losing most of his army including his generals Kim Nak and Shin Sunggyeom, the very same man who crowned Wang as a king. However, Goryeo quickly recovered from defeat and successfully defended Hubaekje attack on its front.
In 935, the last king of Silla, King Gyeongsun, felt there was no way to revive his kingdom and surrendered his entire land to Taejo. Taejo gladly accepted his surrender and gave him the title of prince, and accepted his daughter as one of his wives (Wang had six queens, and many more wives as he married daughters of every single local leader). It caused much disgust to Gyeon Hwon. Gyeon's father, who held his own claim of Sangju region, also defected and surrendered to Goryeo and was received as the father of an emperor.
In the same year, Gyeon Hwon's oldest son, Singeom (신검; 神劍; S(h)in-gŏm)), led a coup against his father, who favored his half-brother as his successor to the throne. Gyeon Hwon was sent into exile and imprisoned in a Buddhist temple, but escaped to Goryeo and was treated like his father, who died just before his surrender.
GORYEO VICTORY AND UNIFICATION
In 936, Wang led his final campaign against Singeom of Later Baekje. Singeom fought against Taejo, but facing much disadvantage and inner conflict, he surrendered to Taejo. Wang finally occupied Hubaekje formally, and unified the nation for the first time since Gojoseon; he ruled until 943, and died from disease.
Taejo sought to bring even his enemies into his ruling coalition. He gave titles and land to rulers and nobles from the various countries he had defeated: Later Baekje, Silla, and also Balhae, which disintegrated around the same time. Thus he sought to secure stability and unity for his kingdom which had been lacking in the later years of Silla.
LEGACY
The unification of the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 was very important in Korean history; the unification of 668 by Silla was completed in only half of the nation, since the northern part was ruled by Balhae, the revival of Goguryeo. However, Wang's unification in 936 was a full-scale unification, with the agreement of all Korean people—and the nation remained as single, unified country until 1948, when Korea was divided into North and South. Many modern Koreans look on his legacy—the only one who unified the divided nation in its whole history—to find hope in his leadership and comparisons with the current situation.
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