Newsletter

In Goguryeo society, the greatest crime was plotting rebellion. The punishment for those who plotted rebellion was severe, involving assembling a large crowd to set their bodies on fire, cutting off their heads after their bodies festered, and enslaving their family members. Those who surrendered to enemies, lost a war, committed murder, or engaged in plunder were also subject to beheading as a felony, but the process leading up to execution was not as brutal as in cases of rebellion. In addition, Goguryeo had other forms of punishment related to execution, such as burying the condemned alive or placing them in leather bags and throwing them into the sea(or a river). One of the officials, who spoiled a pig intended for ritual sacrifices, was buried alive, and Lady Kwanna, who contested the king’s affections with the queen, was placed in a leather bag and thrown into the sea. Particularly, in the case of Lady Kwanna, her crime was excessive jealousy. Even in Buyeo, ladies’ excessive jealousy was considered a serious crime. Those convicted were not only sentenced to death but also left neglected on the mountain. This makes it clear that excessive jealousy was not a trivial matter in Goguryeo and Buyeo. So how did Lady Kwanna come to meet her demise, and what was the significance of her punishment?

‘Jealousy is my power’: Everyday matters

  According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Goguryeo’s 2nd King, Yuri (reign: B.C. 19-A.D. 18), married the daughter of Songyang as his queen. However, when she passed away, he took in two women, Hwahee and Chihee. These two women competed for the king’s affection and had a strained relationship, eventually leading to Chihee returning to her family. At the moment, the king pursued Chihee, but he returned alone, singing the song named 「Yellow Bird Song」. On the other hand, King Sansang(reign: 197-227) married Empress Yu, the widow of his brother, King Gogukcheon(reign: 170-197), after Gogukcheon’s death. However, as he was concerned about not having children, he met a beautiful lady from Jootong village. When Empress Yu noticed this, she felt jealous and attempted to kill the lady from Jootong village. However, upon realizing that the lady had the king’s child, she couldn’t proceed with her plan, and the lady became a secondary Empress. The lady from Jootong village became the object of envy and jealousy from Empress Yu, but she gave birth to the king’s child - who would later become King Dongcheon - and her life was spared. It frequently happened that queens or empresses desired to possess the king’s affection and power, but if they indeed caused serious incidents, they would be punished. This is precisely the crime of excessive jealousy.

Excessive Jealousy is a Crime: The Conflict between Empress Yeon and Lady Kwanna

  During the reign of King Jungcheon of Goguryeo(reign: 248-270), lady Kwanna was a woman who was punished for excessive jealousy. King Jungcheon initially made Yeon his empress just when he ascended the throne, but he fell in love with Lady Kwanna, renowned for her beauty and extraordinarily long hair that reached 270cm. So, he contemplated making her his secondary empress. Empress Yeon, fearing that Lady Kwanna would monopolize the king’s affection, made a suggestion to the king. She suggested that Goguryeo should send a long-haired beauty to Wei to improve relations, given that the Wei dynasty was known to purchase long hair at an expensive price. Empress Yeon had Lady Kwanna in mind when she made this suggestion, and the king was aware of this but remained silent. At this point, Lady Kwanna became aware of this fact, and knowing that she would clearly be in trouble if she remained silent, she decided to launch a counterattack instead. She falsely appealed to the king, claiming that the empress had disrespected and cursed her, threatened her with trouble if she did not return to her village, and implied that the empress would certainly kill her in the king’s absence. Later, when the king returned from his hunt, Lady Kwanna showed him the leather bag and claimed that the compress had tried to kill her with it, shedding tears. But the king knew she was lying and put her in the leather bag and threw her into the sea. In the end, the battle for the king’s affections between Empress Yeon and Lady Kwanna concluded with the death of Lady Kwanna, who had consistently lied out of excessive jealousy.

  As mentioned earlier, severe punishments were imposed for excessive jealousy even in Buyeo. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, The Book of Dongyi, Chapter on the Fuyu Tribe, people hated excessive jealousy so much that they would kill women for it, leaving their bodies neglected on the mountain until they rotted. In Buyeo, it was originally considered honorable to keep the body for an extended period during mourning, and during the summer, they believed that preserving the body through methods like using ice protected the soul. Therefore, leaving a body neglected went against Buyeo’s beliefs surrounding death. It can be said that women who failed to preserve their bodies received a cruel punishment even in death, as they could not find solace for their souls. Similarly, Lady Kwanna met the same fate of being thrown alive into the sea, losing her place of eternal rest for her soul.

Law, the Ritual of Purification through Water: Depriving the Rest of the Soul

  Punishment originally held the meaning of removing evil, cleansing impurities or offenses committed against the community’s order or customs, namely washing away blasphemy committed against Gods. The character for law(灋) is the initial character for law(法) and has meanings of water[水], which corresponds to fair punishment, and of the mythical unicorn lion[廌], which eliminate dishonest people. Particularly, ‘expel(去)’ implies “washing away impurity,” likened to leaving impurity in water. In other words, it’s a way of washing away the guilty by leaving them in the water.

  Furthermore, the character for law(灋) is often interpreted as ancient ritual of removing evil that was practiced by transferring impurities committed against Gods to the mythical unicorn lion, due to its shape of the mythical unicorn lion in a leather bag. The fact that Lady Kwanna was placed in a leather bag and thrown into the sea ultimately constitutes a punishment executed through the cleansing of her sins.

  Water-based purification rituals were not limited to this context. There was also the punishment of being thrown into a river even in Baekje and Silla. Baekga, who rebelled during the reign of King Muryeong of Baekje(reign: 501-523), was beheaded and thrown into the Baek River, while Geomil, who committed the crime of rebellion during the reign of King Taejong Muyeol of Silla(reign: 654-661), had his limbs torn apart and was thrown into a river. This punishment reflected the meaning of washing away impurities with water, as well as the meaning of depriving the place of eternal rest for the soul by not allowing the body to be buried in the ground and instead throwing it into the river.

  Through such examples, we can be reminded of the fact that while the punishment for the crime of rebellion reflects purification by throwing bodies in the water, the Goguryeo case of Lady Kwanna being thrown into the sea reflects the notion that excessive jealousy was an equally grave sin in that society.