신라 통일기 금석문에 나타난 天下觀과 歷史意識: 三韓一統意識의 성립 시기 고찰

Abstract

Examined in this article are the people’s perception of the world as well as their historical consciousness, which are well reflected in the epigraph materials of the Unified Shilla period. We can not find any traces revealing the people’s perception of the Sam-Han(三韓) entities, from the “Jungdae(中代)” period epigraph materials such as the ones found at the Mausoleum for King Munmu-wang(“Munmu Wang’reung-bi, 文武王陵碑”) or upon the King Seongdeok's Holy Bell(“Seongdeok Daewang Shinjong, 聖德大王神鍾”). Suggested in these materials is only an origin story of its own. Also suggested is that the world (for the Shilla people) was formed through the Unification war, but this kind of notion was also based upon the situation in which Shilla was obliged to pay respect(“Sadae, 事大”) to the Chinese Dang(唐) dynasty. The earliest example from which we could see a notion regarding the Sam-Han units is the Memorial tablet for Yi Cha-don’s martyrdom(“Yi Cha-don Sun’gyo-bi, 異次頓殉敎碑”), but there are some clashing theories concerning the time the tablet was erected. Only from the Seongju-sa temple tablet(“Seongju-sa-bi, 聖住寺碑”) erected in the mid-9th century we can see that the Shilla people were finally sharing with each other their own idea of the Sam-Han entities’ identity. And there is the “Hwang’ryong-sa Chalju Bon’gi(皇龍寺刹柱本記)” erected in the ending days of the 9th century, from which we could find a more reinforced notion of “Three Hans are One”(三韓一統意識). This mean that the notion itself was a newly invented one, due to the political and societal situations of the mid-9th century.