A Study on the Compilation of the Dongguksaryak and Kwongeun's Perception of Ancient History

This paper examines the compilation and format, content and it's characteristics of the Dongguksaryak, as well as Kwongeun's perception of ancient history. Haryun and Leecheom, Kwongeun compiled the Dongguksaryak in August 1403(Taejong 3) after receiving an order from King Taejong. Kwongeun mentioned that he hoped that Taejong and his readers would learn historical lessons from reading the Dongguksaryak. The compiler of the Dongguksaryak described the history before the Three Kingdoms by treating it as a Oegi(外紀), and wrote a history from the founding of Silla to the destruction of Silla, dividing it into 12 volumes in a chronological system. Kwongeun and others marked the years with Silla as the center, and made the Bongi of Samguksagi as the basic original text, and referred to the records delivered to the Yeoljeon and Jabji of Samguksagi, Samgukyusa, Cefuyuanchi, Suishu. They also wrote war-related articles or records with long sentences in Gangmok Style. When Kwongeun and others compiled the Dongguksaryak, some of the sentences were omitted from the records delivered to the Bongi and Yeoljeon of Samguksagi, etc, or some of the letters delivered to them were modified, and then quoted and described, which caused various problems. Kwongeun recognized that the ancient history of Korea was a continuation of Dangunjoseon-Gizajoseon-Wimanjoseon-Sagun(四郡)-Yibu(二府)-Samhan(三韓)-Three Kingdoms. He believed that the Joseon, founded in the year of Mujin(2333 BC) by the godman Dangun, who descended under a tree called Danmok, lasted for 1048 years before falling, and that the Gizajoseon, founded by Giza in the first year of King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC), lasted for 928 years before falling to Wiman in 195 BC. He understood that the Han Dynasty had established the Pyeongjudodokbu and Dongbudodokbu after Four Gun(四郡), and that King Jun, the 41st descendant of Giza, had moved to Geummagun and established a new country called Mahan. Kwongeun recognized Silla as the authentic among the three kingdoms and, like Kimbusik, praised Silla for serving the Chinese dynasty well. However, he strongly criticized the fact that Silla revered Buddhism and made a woman king. On the other hand, as for Goguryeo and Baekje, the country became dizzy due to the tyranny of Yeongaesomun and the misgovernment of King Euija, and in addition, they did not serve China well, so Kwongeun recognized that the two countries were eventually destroyed by the Tang Dynasty.