118 korea
677, he was made Military Governor of Liao-tung commandery and,
reviving an ancient name from Former Han times, king of Ch’ao-
hsien (Choson) commandery (Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.6382; Wen-hsien
t’ung-k’ao 325:51a). This was an attempt to attract at least some of his
former subjects to a tiny principality, established as a buffer between
Silla and the Chinese Liao-tung. It did not work out as planned. On
arrival, Kao Tsang secretely communicated with the Mo-ho in the
north, planning to rise against the T’ang. When this was discovered,
he was exiled to Ssu-ch’uan (Tzu-chih t’ung-chien pp.6382, 6383; Wen-
hsien t’ung-k’ao 325:51a).
In 686, the T’ang enfeoffed Kao Ts’ang’s grandson Pao-yüan as
king of Ch’ao-hsien commandery and in 698 made him a General-
in-chief of the Guards Who Soar Like Hawks of the Left (Chiu T’ang
shu 199A:5b). In 699, Kao Ts’ang’s son Te-wu was appointed Chief
Commandant of the no longer existing An-tung Protectorate (T’ang
hui-yao 95:13a).
Like Chiao-chih/Annam, and Japan, the three Korean states were
under the influence of Chinese civilization and actively sought to learn
from their neighbour, both in the cultural and administrative spheres. It
has been seen that Koguryo in 621 requested Tao masters, and that in
624 it asked for the T’ang calendar. Students from Koguryo, Paekche,
and Silla studied at the National Academy in Ch’ang-an (Tzu-chih
t’ung-chien pp.6152-6153). But this does not mean that any of the states
were vassals of China or that they paid tribute to it. Koguryo fought
three great wars for its independence, in 598, 612-614, and 645-647,
which is not the behavior of a tributary. Yon Kae-so-mun who con-
trolled Koguryo from 642 to 666 was not a friend of China. Because
of the hostility of the three Korean states to each other, which offered
a leverage to the Chinese, Koguryo was vulnerable. The kings found
it useful to be recognized by China. They were willing to make some
concessions, such as presenting the map in 628 and sending princes as
envoys in 640, 663, and 666. That Koguryo repeatedly congratulated
on New Year’s Days, condoled on the death of T’ai-tsung in 649, and
congratulated on the investiture of a new heir-apparent in 656 proves
nothing, since such acts were part of standard diplomatic etiquette
between states with close relations.
The division of Korea into three states was to China’s advantage.
In 612, Paekche was opposed to Koguryo. In 626, Silla and Paekche
were opposed to Koguryo, as well as hostile to each other. In 643,
Koguryo and Paekche were opposed to Silla. In 645-647, Silla and