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Chinese Kingdoms Essay

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Around 7,000 years ago, people were found living on the Korean Peninsula. Many tribes appeared in the Liaoning region of Manchuria and northwestern Korea. Rulers ruled these tribes, the first being Dangun, the founder of these tribes and would begin the Gojoseon dynasty. Town states became tribal leagues and eventually became kingdoms. Three kingdoms were in existence at the time. The first kingdom was called Goguryeo (37 B.C. - AD 668) and was located central to the Yalu River. Goguryeo was able to obtain large amounts of land from Manchuria and the Korean peninsula thanks to Gwanggaeto the Great and King Jangsu. The second kingdom was Baekje (18 B.C. - AD 660) and was south of present day Seoul. Silla (57 B.C. - AD 935) was located in the southeast …show more content…

Silla’s society was built on Buddhists practices due to being the farthest from China and its influences. They developed a military of warriors called Hwarang. An alliance with the Tang Dynasty of China century Silla was able to conquer Goguryeo and Baekje in 668. During the mid 8-th century Silla was able to become a powerful nation and tried to make the nation a Buddhist country. In 698, refugees from Goguryeo established the Kingdom of Balhae in south-central Manchuria. Balhae created a government system modeled after the Goguryeo kingdom including its culture. Many Balhae were Goguryeo nobility and founded the Goryeo dynasty. The Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) was founded by Wang Geon, a general who had served under Gungye, a rebel prince of the Silla Kingdom. His goal was to reclaim lost territory in the Goguryeo kingdom. The name Korea came from the Goryeo dynasty. Wang Geon was unable to reclaim lost territory, but he did have a sophisticated culture with Buddhist traditions. In 1392, General Yi Seong-gye overthrew Goryeo and established a new dynasty called Joseon. They were able to replace Buddhist traditions to Confucian ideas. Rulers in the Joseon Dynast came up with a well

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