Balhae(Palhae), a flour-inshing empire in the Orient

Balhae(Palhae) Kingdom(or Balhae Kingdom), 698A.D.-926A.D.
A flourishing empire in the orient(海東盛國)

Even after Koguryo ceased to exist in 668, the anti-Tang struggle waged by the surviving members of Koguryo continued in the areas north of the River amonk-gang The Koguryo general Tae Jo Yong organized a peoples struggle against the Tang in-vaders in the Liaotung area, pushed on them into the west of the Liao River and set up the kingdom of in Balhae(Palhae) in 698. He made he first capital at Tongmo-san (now Tunhua in Northeast China) and then moved it to Sanggyongryong Chondu (Toungkingcheng).
The area south of the River Taedong-gang passed under river was absorbed by Balhae(Palhae) that succeeded to Ko-ryo. this meat that the former territories of the Tree kingdoms were completely regained.
The people and the Malfgal tribe who had lived in the territory of Koguryo from the outset. Foremost among the top circles of the ruling apparatus were those of Koguryo origin.
Balhae(Palhae) soon became a strong kingdom because she inherited the developed economy culture of Koguryo.
in 732 in order to frustrate the attempted aggres-sive design of Tang, the naval troops of Balhae(Palhae) landed at Tungju (now Penglai) of the Santung penin-sula and slew its governor. Afer defeating the guard troops they withdrew quickly. such preemptive strike by a naval force of Balhae(Palhae) originated with the traditional tactics employed by the Koguryo people. After its establishment, Balhae(Palhae) soon secured a wide territory. it was bordered on the south by silla with the Chongchon-gang River and Anbyon as a demarcation line; the Liao River separated it from its western neigh Tang and Khitan; and it faced the lower Sungari River in the north and the East Sea in the east.
Immediately after its foundation it set about re- organizing its ruing machine-military system. The central administration consisted of three ministries, the highest government organ, whose function was to draft the kings order, issue it, guide its impleman-tation and deliver opinions, and six departments, the executive organ. The local administration was divided into 5 Ryong (districts), 15 pu(sub-districts) and 62 chu (counties). All these aimed to dominate and plunder the people. The capital had five military units. The local troops were under the command of the respective local governor. The Balhae(Palhae) army was militant spirit. It was said that three men of Balhae(Palhae) were enough to catch a tiger without weapons.
Endowed with vast fertile plains, the inhabitants were occupied mainly with agriculture. They also practised a stockbreeding, hinting and fishing eco-nomy. The development of craft was noteworthy. Fur goods of fair quality, gold and silver articles and potteries were special products of Balhae(Palhae). Many of used as tray which was exported to Tang in 831 had a capacity of 0.5 som (one som is 4.9629 bushels), but its weight was as light as fur. This tes-tifies to the technical excellence of porcelain in that period.
As the relations with Tang became normalized Balhae(Palhae) sent its students to Tang for scholarly research and carried on trade briskly. It had almost no rela-tions with Silla in the south but generally enjoyed good relations with Japan across the sea. Several hundreds of Balhae(Palhae) envoys cross the sea at a time and they had favourable effects upon the dev-elopment of culture there.
At the time Balhae(Palhae) had a wide territory, devel-oped economy and culture and strong army. so, she was known by the name of "Haedong Singgunk", or a flourishing empire in the East.
But from the latter half of the 9th century the moral corruption in ruling circles and social contra-dicrions.
In 926 it was conquered by the Khitan tribe, a nomadic tribe, that established a dynasty in the area of the upper reaches of the Liao River.
Since then many surviving members of Balhae(Palhae) moved to Koryo.

Korean name

Korean alphabet: 발해

Hancha(Chinese): 渤海

- McCune-Reischauer Romanization: Palhae

- Revised Romanization: Balhae

What are he cultural heritage of Balhae Kingdom 

There is also historical evidence that Balhae(698AD-926AD), another ancient Korean kingdom in that region, was not a provincial state of China. Extant diplomatic documents dispatched from Balhae to ancient Japan reveal that Balhae is the successor to Koguryo. In the palace ruins of Balhae''s capital, traces of Koguryo''s ondol floor-heating system have been found, which is further proof of Balhae’s connection to Koguryo.

Heating System Confirms Ancient Kingdom Was Korean

A crown ornament bearing a striking resemblance to a Koguryo crown has been unearthed at a royal tomb of the Balhae Kingdom, while an epitaph states that the buried individual is an empress. The find by Chinese government researchers directly contradicts claims by the country's Northeast Project that the Balhae Kingdom was a province of the Tang Dynasty.

The Jilin Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and a team of researchers from the Office of the Yanbian Korean Nationality Autonomous Prefecture Commission for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments excavated 14 ancient tombs in the Helong region of Jilin Province dating back to the Balhae era. They published their findings in the latest issue of the journal "Chinese Archeology" published by the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Gold diadem ornament (left) excavated from the ancient tomb M13•M14 (right) of the Balhae Kingdom in Helong, Jilin Province in China

(Courtesy of Prof. Song Ki-ho )

The tomb appears to have been created between the late 8th and early 9th century, the heyday of the Balhae Kingdom, and is located in the same area where the tomb of Princess Jung-hyo of the third Balhae King Mun-wang(文王) was found in 1980. The Chinese discovered the tombs between 2004 and 2005 as they prepared to register the grounds as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but this is the first time the results have been revealed.

Prof. Song Ki-ho of Seoul National University, who recently checked the report, said Tuesday, "The fact that the title 'empress' is used on the epitaph is evidence that Balhae was an empire rather than a regional province of China, while observations of the tomb's pattern and relics clearly show Balhae was a successor to the Koguryo Kingdom." Prof. Lee Han-sang of Daejeon University said, "The gold ornament depicting a three-stranded bird's wing is a valuable piece of evidence demonstrating how Koguryo's traditional crowns were passed on to Balhae."

The Northeast Project is by many here seen as an attempt by China to coopt early Korean history with claims that the Three Kingdoms were variously vassal states or autonomous Chinese provinces.

Balhae Castle Unearthed    

A castle-sized mound of the Balhae Kingdom has been unearthed in Primorsky Kray, Russia. The ruins confirm that Balhae (698-926) stretched even to the 45th to 46th parallels and was the indisputable successor to Koguryo (277 B.C.-668 A.D.).

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage made the announcement Thursday. From Sept. 3 until Oct. 2 in cooperation with the history, archeology and folklore research center at the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the NRICH excavated the ruins of Pyeongji Castle in the Koksharovka-1 area of the Chuguevskiy rayon district east of Lake Xingkai in the Russian Far East. "In this area, we unearthed lots of relics and large building sites furnished with the 'ondol' floor heating system typical of Balhae," the NRICH said.

The ruins of a castle from Korea's ancient Balhae Kingdom unearthed in the Koksharovka-1 area in Primorsky Krai, Russia by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Cultural Heritage Administration. /Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration

The Koksharovka-1 area in the upper reaches of the Ussuri River is 1,645 m long and measures 160,000 sq. m. The castle is well preserved, with the highest point in the ruins being 6 m and the widest point in the castle wall 10 to 14 m. The NRICH said the castle "is decisive evidence refuting the claim of some Russian scholars that Balhae's northernmost border was south of Primorsky Kray."

Chinese Marker Calls Korean Kingdom a 'Vassal State'

Beijing recently erected a large stone marker that says Korea's ancient Balhae kingdom (698 - 926 A.D.海東盛國) was a Chinese "vassal state." The sign sits on a road in Antu County, Jilin Province passed by many tourists to the Chinese side of Mt.Baekdu, it was confirmed that pictures of the Chinese painting the sign were taken by Ahn Byung-chan, a Goyang city resident who recently toured the mountain that according to Dangun mythology is the birthplace of the Korean nation.

 A stone sign reads, "The road Balhae built to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty" (right), while a Chinese man fills the stone lettering on the back of the stone with ink.

The stone sign reads, "The road used by the vassal state Balhae to present regular tribute to China's Tang Dynasty." On the back, the still unfinished marker reads, "Balhae built the road to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty." It also mentions "ecotourism" to "Changbai shan" - Mt. Baekdu - suggesting it is part of China's ongoing plans to develop the mountain and surroundings.

Kyungsung University historian Prof. Han Giu-cheol said a Tang Dynasty book does refer to the "tribute road," but this was a term only used by Tang China. From the perspective of Balhae, it should be called the Aprok Road, for the Korean name for the Yalu River area, he said. Academics agree that a tribute investiture relationship was a way of routine trade between the dynasties. Balhae always used its own names for successive eras and, like China, called itself an empire. The kingdom made it clear that it saw itself as the successor to the Korean Koguryo kingdom, stating in diplomatic letters to Japan, "from the king of Koryo(Koguryo)."

Balhae was a state founded in former Koguryo territory by displaced Koguryo people.