A History of Korea (13 page)

The authoritative twelfth-century Korean historical source,
History of the Three Kingdoms
(
Samguk sagi
), relates that an especially large number of Buddhist temples was erected during S
nd
k’s reign, firmly establishing a defining pattern of Korean history until the fourteenth century. Not coincidentally, some of the oldest surviving artifacts of Korean civilization are stone pagodas that dot the countryside and Buddhist temples, some dating back to the ancient era even if the wooden buildings that surround them do not. Queen S
nd
k, like other monarchs on the peninsula, appears to have benefited from this association with the religious order, for it provided support for her claims to monarchical authority. In fact, the “Mir
k” or Maitreya sect of Buddhism that prevailed on the peninsula considered the monarch the embodiment of the Buddha himself. The ancient Korean rulers, even those of systematic, sophisticated states like Silla, basked in this religious eminence, which accompanied the increasing centralization of state authority visible in all three kingdoms.

For some leaders, like S
nd
k, the historical perception of their rule appears to have been firmly wedded to their spiritual mystique. The
Tales of the Three Kingdoms
(
Samguk yusa
), a work dating from the thirteenth century that mostly recounts the often legendary history of Buddhism in ancient Korea, provides glimpses of this relationship. S
nd
k is said to have issued three prophecies during her reign, all coming true: one concerning a cryptic gift from the Chinese emperor, another suspecting an imminent Paekche attack, and finally a prediction of the manner of her own death. The content of these prophecies reflects important issues that surrounded her reign, as we will see below. But the overarching impression left behind by these stories is of a skillful, sagacious monarch whose glories were reflected in her mystical powers. It was if she was indeed a reincarnation of the Buddha,
or at least the embodiment of the blending of Buddhist teachings and native shamanistic practices.

Buddhism exerted its influence also through the great standing that China enjoyed as the perceived center of high culture. The Three Kingdoms each sent students and scholars to the Middle Kingdom to gain exposure to advanced Buddhist learning. The most prominent and gifted scholar-monk of Silla was a younger contemporary of Queen S
nd
k, W
nhyo (617–86). Indeed W
nhyo is still the most celebrated figure in Korean Buddhist history, so influential was his attempt to synthesize Buddhist teachings into a more comprehensible form. He could be characterized as the first great Korean popularizer of this foreign religion, and his influence extended all the way to Japan, which became a depository of continental civilization as filtered largely through the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula. Such activity was not limited to Buddhism, however; other aspects of Chinese culture were eagerly absorbed (and transmitted), including the complicated but impressively ordered set of teachings about government and politics that we know as Confucianism. According to legend, W
nhyo’s own son, S
l Ch’ong (660–730), established himself as one of the early great Confucian scholars and has traditionally been credited with developing the Korean writing system known as
idu.
Together this father–son tandem symbolized the momentous transitions in Korean civilization during their life spans, in particular the unification of the peninsula under Silla rule.