Book XI 651
On the State of Chinhan
Three States of Han in antiquity stood like a three- legged cauldron,^21
And the land of a thousand li grew exhausted with war.
Their strength being comparable,
They failed to achieve unification.
As Duke Wang first rose to redress the malady,
The Kim clan gave themselves in submission from afar.^22
Starting from that time until now,
Our people have continued to live in peace.
On the State of Mahan
The land of Mahan, which stretched afar, was located on the coast
Where whales were frolicking off the shore.
At first, when it was one of the three competing states, it fought hard;
Once the country became unified, however, it made peace with
neighbors.
A thousand years have passed since people sharpened their weapons
for war;
Every field is now filled with mulberry and hemp, fresh with spring
sunshine.
Moreover, they are now fortunate to live in the reign of peace,
Enjoying the benevolence of the emperor from afar.
On the State of Pyŏnhan
When the Eastern Kingdom was divided into three states,
The lives of the people were unsettled for a long time.
- “Three States,” or Samhan, refers to those that existed before the Three Kingdoms.
Chinhan is assumed to be located to the east of the Nakdong River in Kyŏngsang Province.
Mahan was located in the region of modern Kyŏnggi, Ch’ungch’ŏng, and Chŏlla Provinces,
and Pyŏnhan in Kyŏngsang Province to the west of the Nakdong River. (Ki- baik Lee, p. 26)
- “Duke Wang” refers to Wang Kŏn (918–943), who brought order out of the chaos of the
Later Three Kingdoms and founded a new unified kingdom named Koryŏ. “Kim clan” indi-
cates the Silla nobility, especially the last king, Kyŏngsun, who chose to surrender to Wang
Kŏn in exchange for his security.
