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From a long time ago, there has been a farm village with the name of our ancient kingdom 'Baekje' in a remote southwestern most area of China. The land was called 'Annam (安南)' in Chinese ancient history. That is the place where Qin Shi Huang Di (秦始皇) first set up an administrative unit of Sanggun (Sungzhou City for today) around the 3rd century BC. The map of Guangxi Province has an administrative unit with the name of Baekje-hyang, Baekje-heo (百濟鄕 百濟墟) which is located in the middle of Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi autonomous prefecture, and southernmost port city of Heumzou.

The center of the administrative district of Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhigu, Ongnyeong-hyeon, Baekje-hyang is a small farm village called 'Baekje-heo,' which literally means 'fortress of Baekje' or 'historic remains of Baekje' with many things reminiscent of ancient Baekje Kingdom. Baekje-hyang (hyang is equivalent to myeon in Korea) is close to the border between today's China and Vietnam with population of 33,000. A majority of the residents there are descendents of Zhuang race as part of the Vietnamese people. (According to the residents there, their ancestors came from Shandong Peninsula a long time ago.)

On the assumption that the area had long been called 'Baekjeheo' it is highly possible there was a place ruled by Baekje like 'Baekjegun.' By a geographic dictionary for the region, the area is pronounced as 'Baijixu' in Chinese but the Zhuangzu people describe it as 'Daejbakchae' in Korean pronunciation. There is Naru-heo in Baekjehyang, which is called 'Daeijnazlaeu' by the Zhuangzu people in a way different from the standard language.

The legacy of 'Daebaekje' in Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhigu

The ancient 'Daebaekje' seems to have certainly existed in the land. Such pronunciation would have been impossible had there not been for 'Daebaekje' there. Baekje is learned to have set up an administrative unit of 'Baekje-gun' in Osaka area of Japan, but the Japanese call the state just 'Kudara' in the same context was as 'Daebaekje' of Zhuangzu people.

According to China's history books of ''Yangseo (history of Yang)'' or ''Songseo (history of Song),'' Baekje advanced into Jinpyeong-gun in southern China to set up 'Baekjegun' there at the end of Chin Dynasty. (Around that time, Baekje also established 'Baekjegun' in 'Yoseogun). Songseo says Baekje's administrative unit was located in 'Chinpyeong-hyeon,' which refers to the 'Baekjehyang' in Annam region. We believe Baekje's administrative agency was around there in that Zhuangzu people still pronounce the state as Daejbakchae.'

History books show that 'Daejbaekchae' forayed into the area to rule there but there has been skepticism about the exact location of the region and whether Baekje people were able to make such a long journey to the area. According to Wijiwaeinjeon (魏志倭人傳) on the situation of then Japan called 'waeguk' around 230s, 'Heukchiguk' was bordering with 'Naguk (naked nation)' and seems to have been at the center of Annam area given the fact that the Naguk seems to refer to the current central and southern area of Vietnam and Cambodia. 'Waeinjeon' says Juyugok (the nation of dwarfs) is 1,600km away from Japan while 'Naguk' and 'Heukchiguk' are another 2,400km to 2,800km away from there. Given this, it took one year to go there. (Some scholars assert 'Naguk' as Taiwan and 'Heukchiguk' as the Philippines)

And many questions regarding the matter were also resolved through the epitaph of general 'Heukchisangji' which was made public in 1989. The mainland Baekje was demolished upon the attack from Tang Dynasty in 660 with its king (King Euija) and his subordinates having been brought to Tang, who numbered 12,000, according to a history book. Among them, general 'Heukchisangji' (右武衛大將軍) achieved brilliant performance for Tang Dynasty until he was buried at Mangsan in Luoyang at the age of 60 in 689. The general's son Heukchijun set up the epitaph for his father, through which we came to trace and retain the lost land of ancient Baekje.

Epitaph tells about general Heukchisangji

According to the tombstone, they were originally royal 'Buyeo family in Baekje and his great grand father Mundae (文大) was dubbed 'Heukchiguk' as descendents of Baekje and their family name became 'Heukchi' as they served in the nation for three generations. (Under then feudal system, the emperor may name his relatives as king of his subordinate state and the king may get the state name as his family name.)

'History of Tang' and 'Samguk Saki (History of three kingdoms)' trigger confusion by claiming general 'Heukchisangji' was from West Baekje. Some ancient historians see the general was from either Yesan or Dangjin, west of Baekje's capital Sabi. But then Tang Dynasty was well aware of the fact that Baekje once advanced into Annam area in western inland beyond the sea from Baekje (History of Tang says Baekje borders with Wolju (Vietnam) off the sea.) This is the reason why they called them 'western Baekje people.'

According to a dictionary 'Chronicles of Chinese Generals' (中國 將帥傳) in 1997, general Heukchisangji was from Baekje-hyang, Guangxi, which may help resolve lingering questions. Given these, current 'Baekje-heo' area in Guangxi was the capital city of 'Baekje-gun' and concurrently center of 'Heukchiguk.'