고구려 건국신화의 형성과 변용

Abstract

This paper argues that Goguryeo’s foundation myth of Jumong was formed from the very early years of Goguryeo and transformed along with the historical development and political surroundings of the kingdom. Jumong Myth is very similar to Buyeo’s foundation myth of Dongmyeong since Jumong himself was from the royal family of Buyeo and hence adopted the myth of Buyeo. However, the two foundation myths differ in their description of the ancestral mother. Dongmyeong Myth describes the ancestral mother as ‘the king’s maid’ while in Jumong Myth she was referred to as the Daughter of the Earl of the River (河伯女郞 or 河伯之女). In the Samguk sagi and the Samguk Yusa, she was also mentioned with the name Yuhwa(柳花) or Willow Flower. This author pays attention to these different descriptions of the ancestral mother between the two foundation myths, despite many similarities from their mystical births to gifts of horse-riding and archery skills, and argues that the root of this difference came from the historical development of Goguryeo. The force of Jumong broke away from Buyeo and founded Goguryeo, but it seems that they were not able to prevail upon the existing powers in the territory in the early years. Hence, in order to bolster the legitimacy and authority of the royal house, they likely adopted the foundation myth of Buyeo. According to the Samguk Sagi, King Dongmyeong sent Bubunno(扶芬奴) in 32 B.C. (in the 6thyear of his reign)and conquered the tribal state of Haengin(荇人國) in the southeast of Mount Taebaek to make it a province of Goguryeo. It is important to note here that Goguryeo first conquered the territory around Baekdu Mountain after its foundation. It seems that Goguryeo added the legend of the Earl of the River to its foundation myth after the conquest of Baekdu Mountain and the Yalu River. After the conquest, the legends of water in Manchuria must have colored Goguryeo’s foundation myth, and along with it, it is likely that the element of willow trees was added in the story so that the daughter of the river earl came to have the name of Willow Flower. The deification of the founder’s father and mother as ‘the son of the heavenly god’ and ‘the daughter of the river earl’ secured the authority of the royal family. The once secured authority of the royal house was not affected eventhough the royal bloodli new as changed at the time of King Taejo, and this storyline of the foundation myth continued thereafter. The paper examines the record of Goguryeo’s founder Jumong as King Dongmyeong from the perspective of the historical relationship between Goguryeo and Buyeo. In the early 4thcentury, as King Micheon drove out the Lelang Commandery and secured Liaodong, the presence of Goguryeo became prominent in the region of Northeast Asia. In the Liaodong area, Goguryeo came to compete with the Former and Later Yan, the dynasties of the Xianbei tribe. In the 20thyear of his reign(410 A.D.), King Gwanggaeto made an expedition to Buyeo Province. Henceforth, the royal house of Buyeo barely sustained its existence and finally succumbed to Goguryeo in the year 494(4thyear of King Munja). The fall of Buyeo, them most advanced state in Manchuria, came as a big shock to the polities and states in the region. After the collapse of Buyeo, a group of Buyeoans went to the northwest and established Doumolou State(豆莫婁國). Therefore, Goguryeo must have felt the need to affirm its legitimate succession of Buyeo’s heritage in the region. Against this backdrop, the imperial title of Buyeo’s founder Dongmyeong must have been given to Jumong. Meanwhile, Baekje, another country branched out from Buyeo, named itself as Nam Buyeo or South Buyeo after it had moved its capital to Sabi in 538 A.D. (16thyear of King Seong). Although the kingdom of Buyeo had collapsed, King Seong wanted to strengthen the authority of his royal house borrowing the historical legacy of Buyeo. Both the Samguk Sagi and the Samguk Yusa referred to the founder of Goguryeo as Dongmyeongseong-wang(東明聖王) or literally Holy King of the East and his mother as Yuhwa Buin or Madam Willow Flower in the chapter of ‘King Dongmyeong’. The source of these references are likely from the Gu Samguksa or An Old History of the Three Kingdoms. The Gu Samguksa is believed to have been a historical record centered on Goguryeo and contained a more detailed account of Goguryoe’s foundation myth. At the order of King Yeongyang, the 100 volumes of Yugi (留記, Old Records), which had existed from the early years of the state, were condensed to the 5 volumes of Sinjip(新集, New Volumes) in 600 A.D. (11thyear of King Yeongyang). The record of Jumong as King Dongmyeong was likely included at that time. Goguryeo’s historical embellishmen of its founder as King Dongmyeong likely happened between 494 and 538 A.D. against the political backdrop of the foundationof Doumolou State(豆莫婁國) and Baekje’s adoption of the state name Nam Buyeo.