Prologue

Joseon (朝鮮) is the oldest name still in use. The official name of North Korea is Joseon. The Buddhist monk Il-Yeon (一然; 1206–1289) compiled the Samguk yusa (三國遺事). It revealed the source of the legend as the Book of Wei (魏書) and has that the founding father Dangun Wanggeom (壇君王儉) set the capital in Pyongyang and lived an era of a legendary sage king Yao. It was the beginning of the written history with archaic ideographs.

The Chinese history has it that the legendary Gija (箕子) went to Joseon at the end of the Shang dynasty (商朝; c. 1046 BC), came back within few years, and met the first king Mu (周武王) of Western Zhou. A bronze vessel that King Mu had made for his compatriot was found in the Xian Valley, which is the birthplace of Yellow River Valley Civilization (YRVC) in the western part of original Nine Provinces. It is known that they made Shanhaijing to control the flood.

The name Joseon is in the Shanhaijing and Book of Changes. Guanzi of Guan Zhong (管仲; c. 720–645 BC) named the northern extra state (北州) as Ba-al Joseon (發朝鮮).

Yet the official historiographies 尚書, 春秋傳, 國語, 逸周書 did not have the name Joseon. It is apparent. Chinese historians concealed the fact that ancient Korea had emerged in the birthplace of YRVC. Korean scholars used a wrong methodology to study ancient history and failed to confirm the birthplace and legendary founding father.

By formulating a new study method based on the fact that written history began with the use of archaic logograms in the NEA, the birthplace was confirmed as in the Shanxi Province of China along the Feng River (汾水) valley. Since the birthplace of Gojoseon (古朝鮮; old Korea, ancient Korea) was in the cradle of YRVC, the oldest scriptures and analyzing archaic logograms are the key to study ancient history of Korea. The new methodology based on a series of syllogism to study NEA history is explored in depth.

Introduction

There have been many political revolts and revisionist in the academic fields throughout history because the existing regime was out of common sense. Traditional interpretation about the Old Joseon is out of common sense.

The phrase “下視三危太伯可以弘益人間” should be interpreted as [by looking down the Three Highland mountains (三危) could be the place for the Great leader (太伯, Dangun) to set the capital and provide ideal government for the benefit and Devotion and welfare to the mankind]

The Korean legend has it that the leader came down to the peak of Tai-Baek Mountain (降於太伯山頂) and got married to a Yung-nyeo (熊女;융녀), literally “female bear.”^[1] It is a mistranslation of the local Tungusic word Yu-Ung (戎; 有熊) as in the Carl Jung of European philosopher. Yung-nyeo is an acronym of Yu-Ung lady, meaning a lady from the west with Scythian trait commonly described as Rong by the Chinese. They also misinterpreted Tai-Baek Mountain (太伯山) , literally Dangun Mountain  that is the Khan Tengri  Mountain in the Altaic Mountain ranges as the Myohyangsan (妙香山) or Baekdu Mountain (白頭山), literally White Head Mountain, in the Manchurian border. Koreans consider them as Sacred Mountains. Korean consider them as a Sacred Mountains.

The Chinese mystical Yellow Emperor (黃帝) who fought against the Dong-yi leader Chiyou (蚩尤) shares the same maternal linage, Rong (戎) from the west: his name is xuān yuan (軒轅; 헌원Heon-won by Korean) and family name is Gong-son (公孫), literally descendants of the leader.^[2] Yet the highly regarded three commentaries on the ancient Chinese chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) do not mentioned him or Joseon. Xuān yuan is also PLCs of Tungusic one syllable Huan (桓), which was pronounced with two syllables. Hwanung (桓雄) is the son of heavenly god Hwan-in (桓因, origin of brightness, 밝히다, 빛, beam of light by Korean) and father of Dangun Wanggeom. Hwan (桓, 밝을 환 or 훤, Bal -Eul-Huan) is a compound ideograph derived from the 木 旦 sunrise and a tree, meaning “dawn,” and read as Huan or Hwan, depending upon the degree of brightness. Hwan-in (桓因) is the origin of the light, equivalent to the God of light

In the ancient times, both ideographs 戎, 桓, Jung, Hwan were pronounced with one syllable by Koreans and recorded with two syllables by the Chinese. They added tone and rhythm in Tungusic language. There are many other such evidences in the scriptures.

There are a group of historians specializing in a specific field or region. The words regional historian, specialized in a specific region of the country, is commonly used around the world, but not in Korea. They used the word “在野史學者,” literally “hermit historians,” who are revisionists against the core academic history society (講壇史學者) for a long time. The Buddhist monk compiled the Samguk Yusa after the official history of the three kingdoms. Samguk sagi (三國史記) had appeared in 1145. This official record of Korean history was compiled by the group of scholars appointed by the king’s court. It doesn’t mention the origin of Korean people, but started only from the Three Kingdoms of Korea since the first century BC. Those two books are the oldest surviving chronicles of Korean history. The Buddhist monk Il-Yeon was the first hermit historian in Korea. Few others followed throughout the Goryeo (高麗) and Joseon Dynasty. As western Catholicism came to China through the sea route, Korean Confucian scholars met the reform movement known as Silhak (實學派) in the late seventeenth century of the Joseon Dynasty in the Korean Peninsula. They came up with few versions of Korean historiographies. The country named Korea was introduced to the western world during the Goryeo Dynasty. The phonetics of word Goryeo was recorded as Corea by the European countries and Korea in English.

Hwan dan Gogi (桓檀古記), compiled by Gye Yeon-su (계연수, 桂延壽; ?–1920) in 1911, is the most publicized nonofficial historiography on ancient Korean history. The title of this book is an abbreviation of 桓因and 檀君王儉, which means the old records of the origin of light—opposite of darkness, referring Monotheism and the priest who worshipped the source of light in the sky. Flaws of this text is revealed in the title 檀君世紀 itself and the lack of references. Dangun Wanggeom should be written as should be: 壇君 as in the Samguk-Yusa. The source of Hwan dan Gogi needs to be explored.

They couldn’t accept the official version of historiography. Many scholars have attempted to find out the birthplace of Old Joseon for a long time, but failed. It is reasonable to speculate that they didn’t have the will to tackle the question or used a wrong methodology. Revisionists ought to design a new methodology as a forensic scientist to resolve the question related to the events of time and place.

The Old Joseon emerged during the transitional period as the oral history to the written history, not in Africa or Europe, but in Northeast Asia. The essence of oral history is the language of the locals who used to live at the time and place of epic flood in the YRVC, which is known as the cradle of civilization in the NEA. There are a handful of written records that could confirm the events, time, and place of the epic flood. As seen in the name of Corea to Korea and Cathy to Kathy, local phonetics is the key to step into the playfield and take the very important role in the process of record keeping. Westerners struggled to come up with the correct spelling of foreign language. Phonetic language is easier than the romanization of archaic ideograms. A Korean linguist, while in the Harvard-Yenching Institute, had suggested the concept of local phonetics being used as the standard romanization. The same concept was adapted in Korea without considering the fact that Korean and Chinese are very different language and writing system. Hence, a good number of Koreans revolted against the official announcement (translation of ideographs to phonetic Korean language. [중국어 한글 표기법]). Since the Chinese use logograms with meanings attached, translation to the phonetic language ought to be based upon the meaning, not phonetics of the logogram being used by the locals in the Chinese capital region. For example, the logogram 倭wēi wō wǒ, 왜 Wae in Korean has been used in many ancient scriptures and interpreted as the archaic form of characters representing the current Japanese. It is a compound logogram of a person and a high position from the west with a grain on a stalk (倭; 亻 委: 우위 Wi in Korean. wěi wēi; 禾 女), which means “a leader,” commonly being described with the character Hahn, 韓, 汗, and the Anglicized Hahn or Khan came from the west. Semantic of the same logogram has been recorded as 高, 魏, 崔, 最, 吳, 元, and so on.^[3] So, one ideograph has many meanings and different phonetics and are often flip-flopped to conceal the facts. Family name Fan (范) and ideograph Bin (豳, 邠, 彬), as in the folk lyric Bin (豳風), are good examples.

To find out such evidences in the scriptures, all the records dealing with ancient history and culture need to be scanned under a bird’s-eye view. The golden rule for searching— “No stone left unturned”—couldn’t be used until it is narrow down to a specific time and place.

Goguryeo absorbed Old Joseon in Manchuria

History has it that Emperor Wu of Han defeated Joseon in Manchuria in 108 BC. Chen Shou applied an unusual name called gǔ dōu (骨都), literally “Skull Capital,” in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.^[4] It could be interpreted as semantics as skull or one of PLCs of gǔ, meaning “old.” The Book of Sui (隋書) and Tongdian (通典) described the same place as the 烏骨城, literally “Citadel of Crow Bone.”^[5] The gǔ dōu (骨都) is the 訖升骨城 in the Samguk Yusa.^[6] It is clear. The ancestor of King Ugeo was the Wuhwan(烏桓, 烏丸, 烏亘) people who settled in the southwestern part of Manchuria and faced massive atrocity. The phrase 烏骨城 is an abbreviated noun meaning “the Citadel of Wuhwan Skeleton.” Chen Shou (陳壽 233–297) cited the Wei Brief (魏略) and used the same phonetics and ideograms 渠 of Ugeo (右渠) as to the leader of the village (渠帥) in the section of Hahn. It is the event related to the collapse of Donghu King, who was recorded as King Bi (朝鮮王否) of Joseon. His son Jun (準) ran away to the sea and settled in the Mahan.^[7] Though Goguryeo absorbed Old Joseon, their culture remained in Manchuria, spread out to the sea and to the further north inland of Russian Far East.

Descendants of Old Joseon Built Khitan Empire

The name Skull Capital is the tip of iceberg: Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝;130–87 BC) allowed massive killing. Old Joseon people had to run away, as written in the Book of Han 朝鮮在海中. 居北方胡之域, literally “Joseon in the sea,” Hu (東胡) lived in the north.^[8] Chen Shou made another elusive sentence describing the Joseon refugees left from the Tianjin harbor (天津; 帶方; 滄海之郡) into the sea.^[9] He meant the refugees were spread out into the three corners, 三韓, of the Hahn-Hae (汗海, 翰海, 瀚海); that is, the eastern shore of China, northern shore of Liaodong Bay in Manchuria, and western shore of the Korean Peninsula to the Japanese archipelago. Later, historians interpreted them with different ideographs, three places as three kinds of Hahns, and exclusively applied it to the Korean Peninsula as the land of the Three Hahns.^[10] The descendants of Old Joseon had left their old custom in the new place as they settled. One good example is the totem poles scattered all over the NEA, Russian Far East, and the west coast of the North America.

Khitan has gone. Mongolians do not use classic ideographs. Koreans are the only descendants that remain in the NEA, carry on the name Joseon, old custom, and the language. It is fiducial duty for the Koreans to reconstruct the forgotten history of NEA. Manchuria is goldmine for every field in academics. Korean ought to step in and lead the group of scholars to explore this unknown territory

January 23rd, 2023

[1]. 三國遺事: 魏書云。乃往二千載有壇君王儉。立都阿斯達。今白岳宮是開國號朝鮮。

[2]. 史記 :黃帝者，少典之子，姓公孫，名曰軒轅。而諸侯咸尊軒轅為天子，是為黃帝。

[3]. 委： 任也。性命非汝有，是天地之委順也。是天地之委蛻也。公孫黑强委禽焉。

[4].三國志: 潛軍浮海，收樂浪、帶方之郡，踰烏丸、骨都，過沃沮，踐肅慎之庭, 東臨大海

[5].通典: 隋將于仲文率軍指樂浪道，軍次烏骨城. 隋書: 軍次烏骨城. 軍至烏骨城.

[6].三國遺事: 北扶餘古記云。前漢書宣帝神爵三年。天帝降於訖升骨城在大遼醫州界

[7].三國志 : 魏略曰：其子及親留在國者，因冒姓韓氏。辰韓右渠帥，聞樂浪土地美.

[8].漢書 :漢兵擊拔朝鮮以為樂浪、玄菟郡。朝鮮在海中，越之象也；居北方，胡之域也。

[9]. 三國志 韓傳: 韓在帶方之南，東西以海為限，南與倭接，方可四千里。有三種.

[10]. 後漢書: 馬韓最大,共立其種為辰王,都目支國, 盡王三韓之地. 考證: 三韓改辰韓.