발해의 종족적 연원

Abstract

While the “Balhae/Malgal” chapter of the Chinese historical text 『Gu-Dang’seo(History of Dang, Former version)』, published in the mid-10th century, dictates that Dae Jo-yeong, the founder of Balhae, was from a Goguryeo descent, the “Balhae” chapter of the Chinese text 『Shin-Dang’seo(History of Dang, Later version)』, which was published a hundred years later, dictates that the Balhae people were composed of the Sog’mal Mal’gal tribes which succumbed to the protection of Goguryeo. The latter book did not specify about Dae Jo-yeong’s descent. Scholars have been agreeing with either references and have tried to come up with a reasonable mix of the two rather conflicting references. Yet the scholars did not consider the possibility that both references might be referring to different situations and are indeed true at the same time, and they did not take into account the fact that both historical texts were created by different people living in different ages and with different agendas. By the examination attempted in this study, it seems that both historical texts are delivering their own truths. Dae Jo-yeong was originally from Goguryeo, so in 『Gu-Dang’seo』 he was described as a man from a Goguryeo descent. He gathered together not only the Goguryeo people under his command but also the pro-Goguryeo Sog’mal Mal’gal tribes who were living in adjacent regions, and then founded Balhae. Then, during the exodus from Dang, which enabled the Balhae foundation in the first place, the Sog’mal Mal’gal tribes played an instrumental role. So the author of 『Shin-Dang’seo』, who believed that Balhae was a dynasty with the Mal’gal people, recorded that Balhae was of the Sog’mal Mal’gal tribes. In the end, we can say that Balhae had a dual descent, from both Goguryeo and Sog’mal Mal’gal. Recently some Korean scholars have been suggesting the possibility that Dae Jo-yeong might have been a Sog’mal Mal’gal entity in his blood, yet culturally transformed by the Goguryeo influence. This is simply not right. The authors of both texts that are mentioned above were not interested in elaborating upon bloodlines or the Balhae people’s level of transformation. They were only interested in the Balhae people’s origins. Academic approaches to such issue should be reviewed in the future.