Ye Sik-jin (禰寔進, 615–672) was a man who, while Baekje and the Silla-Tang allied forces were fighting fierce battles, led King Uija into captivity and brought about the fall of Baekje. He then crossed over to the Tang dynasty and held the high office of Grand General of the Left Guard (左威衞大將軍). In 2006 his epitaph stone appeared in a market in Luoyang, and in 2007 it was first introduced to the world in the bimonthly historical journal <Dongbei Shidi> (東北史地) published in Jilin, together with the epitaphs of other Baekje refugees.1
Overview
When the epitaph stone was first discovered, it was only known that it had been excavated in Xi'an (西安, the capital during the Tang period), and nothing is known about the exact time and location of the excavation. The epitaph stone is divided into a capping stone (蓋石), measuring 57 cm in width and length and 15 cm in thickness, and a inscribed stone (志石), measuring 58.5 cm in width and length and 13 cm in thickness. On the front of the capping stone is the title "大唐故左威衞大將軍禰公墓誌之銘" carved in four lines, and on the inscribed stone, lines were drawn vertically and horizontally like squared manuscript paper, and 289 characters in 18 lines were carved in regular script (楷書). At each corner, animals representing the twelve zodiac signs are carved in intaglio.
The epitaph records that Ye Sik-jin, a Baekje refugee, held the office of Grand General of the Left Guard at the Tang court, and that he died at the age of 58 in Huangxian County (黃縣) of Laizhou (來州) on the 25th day of the 5th month of the 3rd year of Xianheng (咸亨, 672), twelve years after entering Tang. His remains were transported to Chang'an on the 21st day of the 11th month of the same year and buried on Gaoyang Plain (高陽原), where high-ranking officials were interred.
Epitaph
Original Text
The original text of the epitaph is as follows.
大唐故左威衞大將軍來遠縣開國子柱國禰
公墓誌銘幷序
公諱寔進百濟熊川人也
祖佐平譽多父佐平思善竝蕃官正一品雄穀
爲姿忠厚成性馳聲滄海效節靑丘公器宇深
沉幹略宏遠虛弦落雁挻劍飛猨夙禀貞規早
標義節占風異域就日長安式奉文棍爰陪武
帳腰鞬玤鶡紆紫懷黃駈十影於香街翊九旗
於綺禁豈與夫日磾之輩由餘之儔議其誠績
較其優劣者矣方承休寵荷日用於百年遽促
浮生奄塵飄於一瞬以咸亨三年五月卄五日
因行薨於來州黃縣春秋五十有八
恩加 詔葬禮洽䬾終以其年十日月卄
一日葬於高陽原爰命典司爲其銘曰
溟海之東遠截 皇風飧和飮化抱義志承
榮簪紎接采鵷鴻星搖寶劍月滿雕弓
恩光屢洽寵服方隆逝川遽遠非曲俄窮烟含
古樹霜落寒叢唯天地兮長久與蘭菊兮無終
Studies of the Epitaph
The Origin of the Ye Family and Its Entry into the Central Government
The Origins of the Ye Surname
In the historical record, the only known use of the surname Ye is by Mi Heng (禰衡) of the Eastern Han. On this basis, it was long the prevailing view that Ye Sik-jin's ancestors were Chinese, and that they were incorporated into Baekje in the course of Baekje's confrontation with Goguryeo over the former territory of the Daifang Commandery. However, there is also an argument that, given that the Ye surname cannot be found after the Later Han period, and that the Epitaph of Ye Sik-jin does not relate his ancestral origins to China, it cannot be simply concluded that this is a Chinese surname. Regarding the origin and ancestry of the Ye family, the epitaph mentions only his grandfather Ye Da, and this contrasts with Chinese epitaphs related to Korea, such as the Epitaph of Heuk Chi-sang and the Epitaph of Yeon Nam-saeng, which mention the subject's great-grandfather. Some interpret this as showing that the Ye family did not hold much influence in the Baekje court.
The Ye Family and Ungjin
Meanwhile, since his grandfather, father, and Ye Sik-jin himself are all recorded as people of Ungcheon, the family can be regarded as having a regional connection with Ungjin (Ungcheon). Noting that the character 禰 (ye) includes the meaning "ancestral shrine" (親墓), that is, a shrine enshrining the spirit tablet of one's father, some analyses suggest that the family may have been entrusted with ritual duties, such as managing the tombs of earlier kings buried at Ungjin. In this connection, there is an argument that the Ye family came to use the Ye surname after the capital was moved to Sabi Fortress (泗沘城).2
It is generally assumed that the Ye family rose to become a major force in the Baekje court during the reign of Mu. According to the Samguk Sagi, from the 7th month of the 28th year of his reign (627), Mu stayed at Ungjin Fortress in order to recover the Han River basin, which had been "invaded by Silla," and mobilized large forces, but ultimately failed. He also showed interest in Ungjin, such as staying there while the palace of the capital Sabi Fortress was being repaired. In addition, during the reign of Mu, families of Chinese origin such as Wang Hyo-rin, as well as old clans such as the Hae clan and Baek clan, which had been pushed to the political margins during the Ungjin period, were widely employed.3 In this process, the Ye family of Ungjin Fortress, which had not shown any particular prominence until then, appears to have been connected in some form with the father and grandfather of Ye Sik-jin.
The Fall of Baekje and the Ye Family
The Surrender of Uija and Ye Sik (Ye Sik-jin)
The Chinese records Old Book of Tang (舊唐書) and New Book of Tang (新唐書) state that in 660 CE, when the Silla (羅)-Tang (唐) allied forces invaded Baekje, Ye Sik (祢植), the Grand General of Baekje, surrendered together with King Uija.4 Along with the analysis that Ye Sik in these records is the same person as Ye Sik-jin, these records of the New and Old Book of Tang have drawn renewed attention. In line with the record that Ye Sik surrendered together with Uija, and with the phrase "占風異域 就日長安" in the epitaph, it has been argued that the records of the New and Old Book of Tang originate precisely from Ye Sik-jin's own coup against King Uija. According to this view, King Uija, who had been surrounded by the Silla-Tang allied attack at Sabi Fortress, fled to Ungjin Fortress and was preparing a counterattack, but Ye Sik (Ye Sik-jin), the Military Governor of Ungjin, betrayed the king, captured him, and surrendered to the Tang army, and that for this achievement Ye Sik-jin was able to receive a remarkably rapid promotion even among Baekje refugees. Furthermore, the entry in the "Silla Annals" of the Samguk Sagi concerning the Military Governor of Ungjin (熊津方領) who surrendered together with Uija5 is said to refer precisely to Ye Sik (Ye Sik-jin).
In fact, the claim that Uija did not surrender voluntarily was already raised by Shin Chae-ho, and the claim that Ye Sik captured Uija and forced his surrender had already been put forward several times by established scholars.6 However, the discovery of the Epitaph of Ye Sik-jin was received as providing one more objective basis for the "internal betrayal theory," which until then had been recognized only as a speculation or hypothesis. Riding on the atmosphere of re-examining Uija, who had long been regarded as the symbol of "debauchery and cruelty" and the source of the fall, it was also used as the basis for a sympathetic view that it is too unjust to place all responsibility for the fall of Baekje on Uija alone. Based on this, KBS broadcast an episode of its historical documentary "History Tracking" (역사추적) that introduced the aftermath of Uija's surrender along with theories on Ye Sik-jin's surrender.
However, no direct expression that Ye Sik-jin rebelled against or betrayed King Uija can be found anywhere in the epitaph, and there are also differing views on whether the Chinese expression "與" or "將" in the epitaph should be interpreted as "captured and offered." The Samguk Sagi does not record that Uija was captured in an internal rebellion. The Nihon Shoki uses the character 捉, meaning "to seize" or "to arrest," in recording that Uija and his ministers were captured by the Tang army, whereas the New and Old Book of Tang do not use 捉 in the part where Ye Sik surrenders together with Uija, but are written as "又將義慈來降" or "與義慈降." This argument holds that "與" cannot simply be read as "together with," and that "將" has as many as 21 meanings besides "to take along," so in this record interpretations such as "to carry out (行)," "to support (扶持)," "to succeed (承)," or "to accompany (伴也)" are more appropriate than "to take along." Another view holds that the decision to surrender may have been a rational one, made by Ye Sik (Ye Sik-jin), the official in charge of defending Ungjin Fortress during the war, after comprehensively judging the mood of the people in the fortress, the morale of the soldiers, Uija's will to resist, the state of supplies, and the persuasion of the Silla-Tang allied forces that surrounded the city. Yet it is not easily accepted that the military commander responsible for defending the capital would make a final decision to surrender against the king's will while the king was still present. Judging from the remaining records of the New and Old Book of Tang and the Epitaph of Ye Sik-jin, however much Ye Sik-jin's responsibility may be lightened, it cannot be ignored that he played a leading role in the surrender in negotiations between the Baekje court and the Tang army. Also, since there is no special achievement or record of merit that would justify his rise to such a position in Tang, and yet he attained the high rank of Left Guard in Tang, it is believed that Ye Sik (Ye Sik-jin) arrested the king or carried out an act of rebellion equivalent to this in some form at the point when Baekje was about to fall.
Discovery of the Epitaph of Ye In-su
In 2010, the epitaphs of Ye Sik-jin's son Ye So-sa (禰素士) and Ye So-sa's eldest son Ye In-su (禰仁秀) were excavated. In the epitaph of Ye In-su, the following passage was confirmed: "Ye Sik-jin, son of Ye Seon, inherited office generation after generation and followed the virtue of his ancestors. When the Tang received the mandate of Heaven and sought to subjugate the lawless (Baekje) in the east, he led its king and submitted to Emperor Gaozong (高宗皇帝, Li Zhi). Thereby he was appointed Grand General of the Left Guard and enfeoffed as Duke Kaiguo of Laiyuan Commandery (來遠郡開國公)." (洎子寔進, 世官象賢也. 有唐受命, 東討不庭, 卽引其王, 歸義于高宗皇帝. 由是拜左威衛大將軍, 封來遠郡開國公.) Through this, it was concretely proven that Ye Sik (祢植) appearing in the New and Old Book of Tang is indeed Ye Sik-jin.7
Family
- Great-grandfather = Ye Bok (禰福)
- Grandfather = Ye Yeda (禰譽多, or Ye Ye 禰譽), Left Minister of Southern Buyeo (佐平)
- Father = Ye Sa-seon (禰思善, or Ye Seon 禰善), Left Minister of Southern Buyeo (佐平)
- Elder brother = Ye Gun (禰軍, 613–678), Right Guard of the Tang (右威衛)
- Son = Ye So-sa (禰素士)
- Grandson = Ye In-su (禰仁秀)8
- Grandson = Ye In-hwi (禰仁徽)8
- Grandson = Ye In-geol (禰仁傑)8
- Grandson = Ye In-eon (禰仁彦)8
- Grandson = Ye In-jun (禰仁俊)8
References and Links
Footnotes