by Ilyon
Finishing his speech the youth, trailing his staff, climbed up T'oham Mountain, followed by his two servants. On reaching the top he built a stone cave with a dome over it to live in while he looked over the city below (Kyongju, the Silla capital) to find a suitable habitation. After seven days he spotted a half-moon-shaped hill with a fine house on it which he found to be the residence of P'ogong, a nobleman.
The youth decided to play a clever trick. He ordered his servants to bury pieces of iron and some charcoal dust by the doorstep of the nobleman's house. Early the next morning he called on the master of the house and said it was the residence of his forefathers. P'ogong denied this, and after a long quarrel a suit was brought in court. Judge: Look here, boy, how can you prove it is your house? Youth: My grandfather was a blacksmith. One day he and his family went on a visit to a relative in the neighboring village over the hill. During his absence this man (pointing to P'ogong) illegally occupied the house and has lived there ever since. Let the ground be dug up and evidence will be found. The judge ordered the court servants to dig in the ground at the doorstep of the house, and, of course, they found the pieces of iron and the charcoal dust. In this way the youth gained possession of the house and took up residence in it.
King Namhae was pleased with the wisdom of the youth and gave him his daughter in marriage. This was the lady Ani. One day he asked his wife to bring him a drink of cool water. She dipped the water from a well on the eastern hill and put the gourd to her mouth in order to taste the water herself first, but it stuck to her mouth as if a half-moon gourd were growing from her lips. The young husband gently chided his wife for having tasted the water first. She promised she would never do it again, whereupon the gourd dropped from her lips. This well still exists on the eastern hill. People now call it Yonae-jong.
Following the death of King Norye in the sixth month of the sixth year of Chungyuan of Kuangwu-ti of Hou Han (56 A.D.), T'alhae succeeded to the throne as the first king from the Sok clan. Tradition says he devised his family name by adopting the Chinese character for “old" (pronounced “sok” by Koreans) because he regained his lost house of old. Another explanation is that he adopted the Chinese character for “magpie” (also pronounced “sok") minus the bird radical because the magpies sang and danced to attract the attention of the fisherwoman. His given name, T'alhae, means “throw off the shell,” alluding to the fact that he came out of an egg.
After ruling twenty-three years, the king died in the fourth j>ear of Kiench'u of Chang-ti of Hou Han (79 A.D.). His head was found to be three feet two inches in circumference and his body nine feet seven inches tall; his teeth were close-set and even in his mouth like two rows of pearl-white seeds in a half-open pomegranate: and his bones were all joined closely like one mass of jade—all bespeaking a peerless Hercules.
They buried his body on the hill of Soch'on. Soon there came a voice from heaven, saying “Remove my bones carefully.”
His courtiers broke his skeleton and preserved it in a plaster cast in the palace. But again there came a voice from heaven, saying “Bury my bones on the Eastern Hill.” The courtiers complied with the command.
Some say that many years after Talhae's death, during the reign of King Munmu (661-681), a majestic, white-bearded old man appeared to the king in a dream and said “I am T'alhae, a lonely spirit. Dig out my bones from the hill of Soch'on, embalmed them in a plaster image and bury it on T'oham Mountain.” So his jade-like bones were interred on that hill to repose forever. From that time until today, annual memorial services and sacrifices have been held before T'allhae's tomb, and he is “the god of the eastern hill.”
21. Kim Alji
(This is the foundation legend of the Kim clan of Kyongju, which, as noted above, eventually became the Silla royal family).
On the fourth day of the eighth moon of the third year of Ying-p'ing of Ming-ti of Hou Han (60 A.D.), P'ogong was traveling to Moon Castle at night when he saw a bright light illuminating Sirim forest, while purple clouds came down from heaven to earth. Investigating, he discovered that a golden box was hanging from a branch of a tree and the light was radiating from the box. Under the tree a white cock was crowing.
P'ogong reported this wonderful sight to the King (T'alhae), who went immediately to the forest and opened the golden box. Out came a beautiful boy, just as Hyokkose had done long before. The King named him Alji, meaning infant child in the Silla dialect. He carried the wonderful child in his arms to the palace, while birds and beasts followed him, singing and dancing for joy.
The King chose an auspicious day and formally named the boy his own son and crown prince. But when the King died Alji yielded the throne to P'asa (of the Pak clan) as having a more legitimate claim to it. He was given the family name Kim because this is written with the same character as Kum (gold) and he had been found in a golden box.
Alji begat Yolhan, Yulhan begat Ado, Ado begat Suryu, Suryu begat Ukpu, Ukpu begat Kudo, and Kudo begat Mich'u, who became the first Silla ruler of the Kim clan (262). Thus the royal Kim family of Silla is descended from Kim Alji.
22. Yonorang and Syeonyo14
(In commenting on this story, Ilyon points out that Japanese records contain no mention of a person from Silla becoming king. He speculates that perhaps Yonorang became a daimyo, a Japanese nobleman, on the coast of Japan facing Korea.)
In the fourth year of the reign of King Adala, the eighth Silla sovereign, even in the year Chong-yu (157), there lived on the eastern seacoast a married couple named Yonorang and Syeonyo.
One day Yonorang was diving in the ocean to collect seaweed. Suddenly a monstrous rock (some say a big fish) rose beneath him and carried him off to Japan. The people there thought him quite an uncommon person and made him their king.
Syeonyo, meanwhile, was wondering why her husband did not come back. As she was searching for him along the shore, she saw a pair of straw shoes lying on a big rock at the edge of the water. Recognizing them as her husband's, she jumped onto the rock and looked about for him. The rock immediately shook gently to and fro for a moment and then drifted merrily off to Japan as before.
The Japanese in great wonderment took her from the rock and presented her to their king. Thus the couple was reunited and Syeono became a queen. The people respected the royal couple and worshiped them like sun and moon.
Just at this time, the sun and moon ceased to shine in Silla. The King was astonished, and sent for the official astrologer. This official informed His Majesty that the spirits of the sun and moon had formerly resided in Silla, but some months before had bid farewell to this land and departed for Japan in the east.
The King immediately sent a royal messenger to the eastern islands to find Yonorang and Syeono and bring them back. But Yonorang, when found, shook his head and said, “We drifted to this land by the command of Heaven. How can we return to our native country? Look! Here is a roll of fine silk cloth, handspun by my wife the queen. I will give it to you as a gift. If you take it home and offer it as a sacrifice to heaven, you will see an astonishing result.”
The disappointed messenger accepted the gift and returned to Silla, where he reported the whole story to the court. The king thereupon offered the silk cloth as a sacrifice to heaven, praying for the return of the sun and moon in a solemn ceremony. Hardly had he finished when the dark, overhanging clouds dispersed and the sun and moon shone brightly in the sky.
The King worshiped the silk cloth as a national treasure, and kept it in a special building called Kwibi-ko (the queen's warehouse). He named the place where he had offered it to Heaven in Yongil-hyon (the county of welcome sun) or Togiya (the field of prayer).
23. King Mich'u and the Bamboo-leaf Army
(The events of three different reigns are recorded here, and King Mich'u seems to be present because he was the first ruler from the Kim clan. The general whose resentful ghost is described was Kim Yu-sin, a member of the royal clan whose military leadership was important in establishing Silla as the ruler of the whole Kor
ean peninsula. It is known that a high official named Kim Yung was executed in 771, during the reign of King Hyegong, through the machinations of political enemies, but his relationship to Kim Yu-sin is not known. This whole account is somewhat at variance with that given in the Samguk Sagi.)
Mich'u Nijilgum (otherwise called Micho or Miko, 262-284), the thirteenth Silla sovereign, belonged to the seventh generation of the descendants of Kim Alji. His ancestors had all occupied distinguished posts in the government. He was a noble and virtuous king and was much loved by his people. He succeeded King Chomhae (247-262) to the throne as the first Silla sovereign of the Kim clan. People nowadays call his tomb the “ancestor's shrine” because all the Silla kings of the Kim clan (which occupied the throne exclusively after 356) were descended from him. He died after a reign of twenty-three years and his tomb is to be found east of the Hungnyun temple.
During the reign of King Yurye, the fourteenth sovereign (284-298), the men of Isoguk attacked the Silla fortress of Kumsong. The Silla troops fought bravely, but they were outnumbered and defeat seemed inevitable. Then suddenly a host of odd-looking soldiers with bamboo leaves in their ears appeared on the battlefield, reinforced the Silla army and routed the enemy. When the invaders scattered and disappeared, it was found that the mysterious allies were also gone, leaving only a pile of bamboo leaves in front of the tomb of King Mich'u. For this reason the Silla troops worshipped the spirit of King Mich'u as a protector of the kingdom. To this day his tomb is known as Chukhyon-nung, the Tomb of Bamboo.
During the reign of King Hyegong, the thirty-sixth sovereign (765-780), even in the fourth moon of the fourteenth year of Tali of T'ang Tai-tsung (779), suddenly a great wind arose from Kim Yu-sin's tomb, and amidst the tumultuous sound a dignified general mounted on a steed and followed by forty honor guards clad in steel armor flew through the sky on the wings of the wind and entered the Bamboo Tomb. The following dialogue was then heard from inside.
General's Voice: I, Your Majesty's humble subject, in life assisted the throne as a soldier by destroying enemies and enhancing the royal power and after death became a protective spirit guarding the kingdom against catastrophe. Nevertheless, in the year of Kyongsul (771) my guiltless descendant was shamefully put to death. It is evident that both the present king and his court have forgotten my patriotic deeds. I would like to move to another place and cease caring for these ungrateful creatures. Now I pause for a reply in the hope that Your Majesty will grant my request. King's Voice: If you and I do not guard this country with our immortal strength, what will become of our poor people? I command you to continue to display your patriotic spirit with loyal mind for the welfare of the state. Thrice the King's spirit spoke persuasively and thrice the angry general's ghost grumbled and complained. Then the wind arose once more and he was gone.
King Hyegong was astonished when he heard of this. He sent the grand vizier Kim Kyong-sin to the tomb of Kim Yu-sin to apologize to his spirit. In addition, he donated a tract of royal land to Ch'uson Temple so that the income might be used for sacrifices to appease the general's wrath and pray for the repose of his soul. This temple had been erected in honor of Kim Yu-sin's triumphant return from P'yongyang after a great victory over Koguryo.
Had it not been for the persuasion of the virtuous spirit of King Mich'u. Kim Yu-sin's anger could not have been appeased. In this way the great king protected Silla even after his death. For this reason his countrymen remembered his august virtue and offered sacrifices to his spirit with the same piety with which they worshipped the three sacred mountains. Moreover they elevated his tomb to the highest rank, even above that of the founder of the kingdom.
24. King Naemul and Pak Che-sang15
(King Naemul reigned from 356 to 402, so that his thirty-sixth year would be 391. Japan at this time was not yet unified and historical data on the period are extremely sketchy. The oldest Japanese records do mention a Korean who may possibly be identified with Mihae. Which of the Japanese islands Mihae was sent to is not specified, but Kyushu seems the most likely. Throughout this story Ilyon consistently refers to the Japanese with the contemptuous term wai (dwarfs), probably an indication of his own attitude rather than that of the people whom he describes.)
In the thirty-sixth year of King Naemul (391), the seventeenth Silla King, a Japanese ruler sent an envoy to Kyongju to pay homage to the King. The envoy denounced Paekje for her attacks on Silla (there was more or less constant war among the three kingdoms throughout their history) and conveyed his lord's request that a prince of Silla be sent to return the courtesy. (All this amounts to an offer of alliance.) So King Naemul sent his third son Mihae,16 who was then ten years old, with an elderly courtier named Pak Sa-ram to take care of him. But the Japanese ruler did not respect his status as an envoy and held him hostage. He did not return to his homeland until he was forty years old.
In the third year of King Nulji (419; King Nulji reigned from 417 to 458), the nineteenth sovereign of Silla, King Changsu of Koguryo sent an envoy with the request that Pohae (in Samguk Sagi, Pohae is represented as Pokhae), King Nulji's younger brother, be sent to his court for a friendly visit. The King made peace with Koguryo and sent Pohae to P'yongyang with Kim Mu-al, an old courtier, to attend him. But King Changsu, like the Japanese ruler, held the young prince hostage and would not release him.
(There is some chronological confusion in what follows. Between King Naemul and King Nulji another sovereign, King Silsong, is recorded to have ruled from 402 to 417. A possible explanation is that King Silsong was King Naemul's brother rather than his son, since passing on the throne to a brother was a common practice in East Asian monarchies.)
In the tenth year of King Nulji, even in the year of Ulch'uk (426), the King invited his courtiers and military leaders to attend a court entertainment. Amid the flowing of the wine and the singing and dancing the King suddenly burst into tears and spoke as follows:
“My father (King Naemul, evidently) sent his beloved son to Japan and died without the joy of seeing him again. Since I ascended the throne my strong neighbor (i.e. Koguryo) has warred against me and attacked our frontier time and again. Believing that the king of Koguryo wanted peace with me, I sent my own younger brother to his court. But now he holds my brother hostage and will not let him return. Though I am rich and noble, tears flow from my eyes day and night. If only I could see my two brothers again and we could apologize before the shrine of my father, I would be most happy. Who can bring the two princes back to my palace?”
“Your Majesty,” the courtiers replied, “this is not an easy matter. None but a wise and brave man can perform such a great mission. We recommend Pak Che-sang, the magistrate of Sapna county.”
Pak Che-sang was accordingly brought before the King and charged with the mission of returning the two princes. In accepting it he replied. “When the King is grieved his subjects are disgraced. If the King is in disgrace his subjects must die. If the subjects do only what is easy and will not undertake what is most difficult, they are disloyal, and if they consider only saving their own lives they are cowards. Though I am an unworthy subject I will faithfully execute this mission, given me by royal command.”
The King was choked with emotion. He drank with Pak Che-sang from the same cup and bid him a fond farewell, holding him by the hand. Pak took leave of the court and immediately journeyed northward in disguise. In Koguryo he gained access to the place where Pohae was being held. After explaining his plan of escape and setting a time and place to meet, he hastened away to the rendezvous on the seacoast at Kosong.
In order to disarm suspicion Pohae feigned illness and did not appear at the king's morning audience for several days. Then on the appointed evening he fled secretly to Kosong.
When the king of Koguryo was informed of Pohae's flight he ordered out a score of soldiers to pursue and bring him back. But the Prince of Silla was so loved by Koguryo people for his deeds of kindness that the soldiers shot at him with headless arrows and thus he escaped and arri
ved safely at the royal palace of Silla.
When the King saw Pohae he embraced him with the tenderest affection, shedding tears of both joy and sorrow, saying “I have regained one arm of my body, one eye of my face, but I am still sad without the other.”
“Your Majesty,” Pak Che-sang replied, “only command and I will bring back Prince Mihae17 also.” He prostrated himself before the throne, striking his head twice on the floor, and took leave of the King. Without even visiting his home he journeyed to the seacoast at Yulp'o.
His wife pursued him on a white horse, but when she arrived at the port he had already embarked and was sailing far over the blue sea. She wept and called to him to return for a last farewell, but her loyal husband only waved his hand and sailed straight on.
Pak soon reached the Japanese island where Mihae was being held, and was received in audience by the king. “Who are you and what has brought you here?” the king asked.
“I am a nobleman of Kerim (another name for Silla)” Pak replied. “The king of Kerim killed my father and brothers without legitimate reason, so I escaped and drifted to your shores seeking asylum.”
“The king of Shiragi (Silla) is not good,” responded the Japanese ruler. “I will give you a comfortable house to live in.”
Pak Che-sang soon made contact with Prince Mihae and the two began to go fishing on the seashore every morning. They made a practice of presenting their catch regularly to the king, who was highly pleased and suspected nothing. Finally their opportunity came, a day when thick fog covered the island. As they put out to sea in their fishing boat, Pak said, “Prince, today you must escape. It is now or never.”