Jinhan (Korean진한; Korean pronunciation: [tɕin.ɦan]) was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD in the southern Korean Peninsula, to the east of the Nakdong River valley, Gyeongsang Province. Jinhan was one of the Samhan (or "Three Hans"), along with Byeonhan and Mahan. Apparently descending from the Jin state of southern Korea, Jinhan was absorbed by the later Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

Jinhan confederacy
진한 (辰韓)
194 BC–4th Century CE
Jinhan is on the far right.
Jinhan is on the far right.
Common languagesHan
Religion
Shamanism
GovernmentConfederacy
Historical eraAncient
• Establishment
194 BC
• Submission to Silla
4th Century CE
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Jin (Korean state)
Silla
Today part ofSouth Korea
Jinhan confederacy
Hangul
진한
Hanja
辰韓
Revised RomanizationJinhan
McCune–ReischauerChinhan

Etymology edit

"Jinhan (辰韓)" is believed to be a combination of Old Korean words. "Jin (진)" in native Korean meant "East" while "Han (한)" meant "big",[1] giving the meaning of Jinhan, the "Big Nation of the East".

As part of the Samhan, Mahan meant "Big Nation of the South" and Byeonhan meant "Big Nation of Shimmer".[2]

History edit

Jinhan, much like the other Samhan confederacies, succeeded its predecessor, the Jin state after the fall of Wiman Joseon up north with the latter being replaced by the Four Commanderies of Han following the Han conquest of Gojoseon in 108 BC.

Before the 3rd century, it was presumed that there was no distinction between the Jinhan (辰韓) and Byeonhan/Byeonjin (弁韓 or 弁辰). The people of Jinhan and Byeonhan intermingled and immigrated quite frequently (雜居), ultimately making it difficult to differentiate the two states culturally and ethnically.

A claim found in the Chinese annals, San Guo Zhi and the History of the Northern Dynasties states that refugees from the Lelang area found Jinhan after political turmoil of the Qin dynasty at the end of the 3rd century BCE and carried over the name "Qin/秦".[3] The first ever mention of Qin-Jinhan claim is found in the San Guo Zhi.

辰韓耆老自言秦之亡人避苦役適韓國馬韓割東界地與之。
Jinhan, according to an old man, is a land Mahan shared to the refugees of the Lelang area.

辰韓在馬韓之東、其耆老傳世、自言古之亡人避秦役來適韓國、馬韓割其東界地與之。
Jinhan is located in the east of Mahan. According to an old man, Mahan shared parts of its land to the refugees or the Lelang area which became Jinhan.

However, due to the dates overlapping with the Jin state (4th~2nd century BCE)[4] and no Korean historical documents backing this claim,[5] it is criticized by modern historians as the Samhan kingdoms (including Jinhan) specifically claimed successorship over Jin (辰國) and not the Qin Dynasty (秦朝).[4] The claim found in the annals is also questioned for its validity as both sources allude to an elderly man of no social importance and is mostly regarded as a false rumor used for Sinocentric propaganda.[6] In addition, the Qin dynasty story is only found in Chinese records and not in any of the surviving and/or lost Korean texts. It should also be noted that the History of the Northern Dynasties, being written after the San Guo Zhi, repeats much of the same claims (Qin-Jinhan refugee theory, Mahan sharing its lands, referencing an old man, etc) which puts the claims under scrutiny as they're repeated statements of the San Guo Zhi and do not provide any additional information or evidence to back the story. The claim is further discredited as Korea's Samguk Sagi (a history book written by Kim Bu-sik which heavily focuses on facts that allude to credible sources) states that the first king of Silla (the kingdom that succeeded Jinhan) built the kingdom alongside the indigenous Koreans from Gojoseon.[7]

先是、朝鮮遺民分居山谷之間、爲六村、一曰閼川楊山村、二曰突山髙墟村、三曰觜山珍支村 或云干珍村、四曰茂山大樹村、五曰金山加利村、六曰明活山髙耶村、是爲辰韓六部。
There were six countries in the area founded by the indigenous Koreans of Gojoseon [...] these were the six countries of Jinhan.

It is also referenced in the Samguk Sagi that Kim Bu-sik took notes from now lost books called "Guksa (國史/National History Book [of Silla])", "Silla Gogi (新羅古記/Annals of Silla)" and "Jaewangyeondaeryeok (帝王年代歷/Records of the Kings)",[7] Korean books that were written during the Three Kingdoms period when studying about Jinhan, which suggests that the indegineous Koreans did not believe in the Qin dynasty story or it was contained only within China and were oblivious about the story themselves.[8] It should also be noted that Kim did not include myths and rumors in the fact-oriented Samguk Sagi, evident in his encounter with the baseless rumors surrounding Lady Saso (see Lady Saso's origins).[9]

Such misconception had ultimately affected immigrants who hailed from Silla to Japan known as the Hata clan who were wrongfully labeled as descendants of the Qin Dynasty simply for being associated with Silla.[10]

Culture edit

Its relation to the earlier state of Jin is not clear, although the contemporary Chinese chronicle San Guo Zhi alleges that Jinhan was identical with Jin (while another record describes Jin as the predecessor of the Samhan as a whole). Jinhan and Byeonhan shared essentially the same culture, with varying religious customs, and apparently were not separated by a clear boundary.

Many of the archeological evidence found in the area lack distinguishable differences with the evidence found in the neighboring kingdoms, suggesting that the cultures were mostly similar across the southern part of the peninsula.

Little is known about the daily lives of the Jinhan people. The religion appears to have been shamanistic which played an important role in politics as well. Agriculture was heavily dominated by rice, but also included substantial rearing of livestock including horses, cattle, and chickens.

Similar to Byeonhan, infants born in Jinhan were made flat headed by pushing their skulls onto a flat rock. This practice is thought to have lasted up to the Gaya confederacy.

Language edit

The language of Jinhan is thought to be the predecessor of the language of Silla, which in turn was the supposed ancestor of the modern Korean language.[11]

However, due to multiple evidence[citation needed] stating that Silla, Baekje and Goguryeo spoke similar languages without a need of a translator, it can be deduced that the languages spoken in Jinhan bore close resemblance to languages spoken in countries such as Byeonhan and Mahan at the time.[citation needed]

Statelets edit

According to the San Guo Zhi, Jinhan consisted of 12 statelets of 600 to 5000 families each divided from 6 statelets:

  • Saro (사로국, 斯盧國), most powerful state in Jinhan, it is also called Seorabeol. In 503, Saro state renamed itself "Silla".
  • Gijeo (기저국, 己柢國), present-day Andong.
  • Bulsa (불사국, 不斯國), present-day Changnyeong.
  • Geun-gi (근기국, 勤耆國), present-day Pohang or Cheongdo.
  • Nanmirimidong (난미리미동국, 難彌理彌凍國), present-day Miryang. It is also called "Mirimidong".
  • Yeomhae (염해국, 冉奚國), present-day Ulsan.
  • Gunmi (군미국, 軍彌國), present-day Sacheon.
  • Yeodam (여담국, 如湛國), present-day Gunwi.
  • Horo (호로국, 戶路國), present-day Sangju.
  • Juseon (주선국, 州鮮國), present-day Gyeongsan.
  • Mayeon (마연국, 馬延國), present-day Miryang.
  • U-yu (우유국, 優由國), present-day Cheongdo or Yeongdeok.

According to Samguk Sagi, the Silla Kingdom (around present-day Gyeongju), was founded by Bak Hyeokgeose in 57 BC, who united the six clans of Jinhan under his rule. The records are sparse and conflicting regarding the relationship of the names Jinhan, Saro, Seorabeol, and the later Silla kingdom.

Location edit

Most theories indicate that Jinhan was located in the area later occupied by the Silla kingdom: the Gyeongju Basin and adjacent Sea of Japan coast. It would have been neighbored by the Byeonhan confederacy on the southwest, and by the much larger Mahan confederacy on the west. On the north it would have been bounded by the Chinese commanderies and the small coastal state of Dongye. However, some scholars place Jinhan in the Han River valley, bounded by Mahan on the north and Byeonhan on the south.

References edit

  1. ^ Lu Guo-Ping. 在韓國使用的漢字語文化上的程 [A Historical Study on the Culture in Chinese Characters in Korea] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22.
  2. ^ Lu Guo-Ping. 在韓國使用的漢字語文化上的程 [A Historical Study on the Culture in Chinese Characters in Korea] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22.
  3. ^ Graff (2015), pp. 18–19.
  4. ^ a b Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, 〈Korean History in Maps〉, 2014, pp.18-20
  5. ^ Both Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa record Jinhan as "辰韓" not "秦韓".
  6. ^ Chinese records simply mention an "old man (耆老)", therefore, the claim itself is quite difficult to verify or crossreference as neither his full name, profession or credibility is mentioned in all accounts he is found. Hence, the claim is deemed to be a rumor at best.
  7. ^ a b "Samguk Sagi" 卷第一 新羅本紀 第一 [Book 1, Founding of Silla, Chapter 1]. Database of Korean History Gov. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ Korean texts that mention this theory are post-Goryeo records that allude to the aforementioned theory claimed by the Chinese and allude to San Guo Zhi and History of the Northern Dynasties as sources. This further supports the claim that no native Korean sources exist surrounding this theory.
  9. ^ Similar legend can be found within the history of Korea under Heo Hwang-ok, a supposed Indian princess who arrived in Gaya that married the king. However, the story of Heo is believed to be part of Buddhist-centric ideology due to it only being a "claim" that has no factual, historical, archaeological or geneaological evidence much like the Sinocentric theories found at the time.
  10. ^ "弓月の君秦氏の謎 | 秦歴史文化遺産保存". www.kibinosato-hada.com (in Japanese).
  11. ^ Vovin, Alexander (2010). Koreo-Japonica: a re-evaluation of a common genetic origin. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN 978-1-4416-7120-2. OCLC 671819220.

Works cited edit

  • Graff, David (2015). "Bei shi 北史". In Dien, Albert E.; Chennault, Cynthia Louise; Knapp, Keith Nathaniel; Berkowitz, Alan J. (eds.). Early Medieval Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Berkeley, CA: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California. pp. 18–23.