Overview
Balhae was a state founded in 698 at Dongmo Mountain (in present-day Dunhua City, Jilin Province, China, in eastern Manchuria) by Dae Joyeong, a person of Goguryeo descent, who led Goguryeo refugees and Malgal people. Its initial name was Jin (震), and the name Balhae came into use after 713, when the Tang enfeoffed Dae Joyeong as Prince of Balhae. The decisive catalyst for the founding was the Battle of Cheonmun Ridge, in which the pursuing Tang army was defeated. Afterward, Balhae formed the Northern and Southern States period together with Silla in the south for about 230 years, until it was destroyed by the Khitan in 926.
Background
Migration of Goguryeo Refugees
After the Fall of Goguryeo in 668, the Tang forcibly relocated more than 28,000 households of Goguryeo residents to inner China in 669 to prevent resistance. The people who were taken were scattered across Yingzhou in western Liaoning (present-day Chaoyang, Liaoning Province), the Huaihe River basin, the Gansu Corridor, and other areas. The Dae Joyeong group was relocated to Yingzhou and collectively subordinated in the form of a jimi (羈縻) prefecture; New History of Korea holds that, because of this, they were able to retain their own organization and cohesion to a considerable degree. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture explains that they belonged to the seongbang (城傍), a system in which the Tang organized foreign peoples into military units that did not form part of the regular army.
Power Vacuum in Eastern Manchuria
After its defeat in the Silla–Tang War in 676, the Tang pulled back the Protectorate-General to Liaodong and afterward did not again pursue large-scale eastern campaigns. Silla concentrated on governing the area south of the Daedong River and did not advance further north, and the resurgent Göktürks were fighting the Tang around the Great Wall, so their power did not extend to eastern Manchuria. New History of Korea evaluates eastern Manchuria at the end of the 7th century as a kind of power vacuum zone that was not reached by the forces of the Tang, Silla, or the Göktürks.
Development
Escape from Yingzhou (696)
In May 696, Li Jinzhong, a Khitan chieftain, rose in rebellion with the backing of the Göktürks, attacked Yingzhou, and declared himself Wushang Khagan. Amid the chaos, the Tang attempted to move the jimi prefectures in the Yingzhou area south of the Great Wall, but the Dae Joyeong group and the group of Malgal chieftain Geolsabiu did not comply and fled eastward. Because the Khitan army concentrated on attacks toward Hebei in the south and the Tang were hard pressed to block them, their movement was relatively smooth.
Tang Appeasement and Punitive Campaign (697–698)
After Li Jinzhong died in September 696, Sun Wanrong led the forces, but the Khitan rebellion was suppressed in June 697 through a pincer attack by the Tang and the Göktürks. Around this time, Khitan commanders including Li Haigu surrendered to the Tang. The Tang tried to win over Dae Joyeong's father, Geolgeol Jungsang, by enfeoffing him as Duke of Jin, and Geolsabiu as Duke of Heo, but they did not accept. The Tang then sent a punitive force with Li Haigu as commander. The Geolsabiu group, which engaged first, was badly defeated, and Geolsabiu was killed in battle. Geolgeol Jungsang also died around this time, and Dae Joyeong became the leader of the group.
Battle of Cheonmun Ridge
Dae Joyeong evaded the vanguard of the Tang army and withdrew eastward, gathering the Malgal people who had scattered from the command of Geolsabiu. When the Tang army continued to pursue, Dae Joyeong met it at Cheonmun Ridge, the watershed between the Huifa River and the Hun River, and defeated it decisively. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture entry "Battle of Cheonmun Ridge" explains that the cooperation and military support of Goguryeo people and Malgal people living near Cheonmun Ridge infused new life into the Dae Joyeong group, which was on the verge of annihilation. It is recorded that Li Haigu barely extricated himself and returned. Afterward, as the Khitan and Hae submitted to the Göktürks and the overland route toward Yingzhou was blocked, the Tang could no longer pursue.
Founding at Dongmo Mountain (698)
Dae Joyeong continued moving eastward and built a fortress at Dongmo Mountain in the upstream area of the Mudan River, in the former land of Eureup, and used it as his base. The Balhae section of the New Book of Tang records that he built a fortress along the Orha River here and defended himself. As Goguryeo refugees and Malgal people continued to gather, Dae Joyeong founded a state and called himself King of Jin. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture entry "King Go (Dae Joyeong)," the state name was Jin (震) and the era name was Cheontong.
After the Founding
Dae Joyeong soon established relations with the Göktürks of the Mongolian Plateau, who were opposed to the Tang, and also engaged with Silla. During the reign of Tang Emperor Zhongzong, he formally established relations with the Tang as well, and in 713, when the Tang invested Dae Joyeong as Prince of Balhae with the title Grand General of the Left Guard Deputy, the name Balhae took hold. In 719, after Dae Joyeong died, his son Dae Muye (King Mu) succeeded him.
Disputes and Alternative Views
- Year of founding: The Old Book of Tang states that the state was founded during the Shengli era (698–700), while the Japanese Ruijū kokushi, compiled during the Balhae period, specifies 698. New History of Korea regards the 698 record as the official view of the Balhae court, but points out that Li Haigu returned from the campaign in June 700, suggesting that the Battle of Cheonmun Ridge occurred slightly earlier, that 698 was the year Dae Joyeong became commander of the group, and that actual state building may have come later. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture entry "Battle of Cheonmun Ridge" dates the battle to 696 and the founding to 697, showing that chronological estimates differ among scholars.
- Location of Cheonmun Ridge: Its exact location is unknown. The prevailing view identifies it with Hadaling, the watershed between the Huifa River and the Hun River, while the Qing-period Manzhou Yuanliu Kao placed it at the western boundary of Chengde County.
- First capital: Dongmo Mountain is identified with the Seongsanja Fortress in Hyeonyu Township, Dunhua City. The lowland capital "Guguk" was long identified with Odong Fortress in Dunhua, but a view has been raised that, based on the fortress's structure and excavated artifacts, the Yeongseung site in the upstream area of the Mudan River is most likely.
- Origins of Dae Joyeong: The Old Book of Tang describes Dae Joyeong as a different branch of Goguryeo, while the New Book of Tang describes him as a Sumo Malgal person, so the records conflict. The Wudai Huiyao also recorded Geolgeol Jungsang as a different branch of Goryeo. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture judges that the view of Goguryeo descent is correct.
Significance
With the founding of Balhae, the Goguryeo refugees and the various Malgal tribes, who had been scattered after the fall of Goguryeo, were reunited under a single state. Balhae also stated in its diplomatic letter to Japan that it had succeeded Goryeo (Goguryeo), and in Korean history the period in which Silla and Balhae coexisted is called the Northern and Southern States period.
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