동북아역사재단 2022년 09월호 뉴스레터
- Seol Bae-hwan, Professor at Chonnam National University
The world is getting closer through connections and networks in the 21st century. On August 2, 2022, when US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army of China conducted military exercises 'enveloping' Taiwan. The United States deployed its carrier battle group to the Philippine Sea. On the next day, the Korean confectionery and fishery industries surged in the stock market. The US-China superpowers shook the geopolitics of the world and the Korean Peninsula.
The 13th and 14th centuries were a period of great global transformation in Afro-Eurasia. More than 800 years ago, the superpower was not ‘China’ but the empire of warriors and horses called ‘Yeke Mongol Ulus,’ Great Mongolia. The Mongols propelled the Korean Peninsula into a new era. Its first epicenter was the tent palace (ordu) and the capital Karakorum (now Kharakhorin, Mongolia).
Goryeo in 1232, Facing Mongolian Revolution in East Asia
Genghis Khan (reigned 1206-1227), the first monarch of the Mongol Empire, left the Great Ordu (Avargyn Balgas, Delgerkhaan Sum, Mongolia) in 1211 to attack the Jurchen in the south. On his way to the capital of Jin, Kim Yang-gi, Goryeo’s envoy and general, was shot and killed by a Mongol arrow in Tongzhou (a part of today’s Beijing). It was the first encounter between Goryeo and Mongolia. In 1219, Genghis Khan established new relations with Goryeo and Jin in East Asia, Khorezm in Central Asia, and the eastern and western regions beyond them, paving the way for the “conqueror of the world.” It ‘accidentally’ became the beginning of a change in world history. The pact of brotherhood could not act as a sufficient defense for Goryeo against Mongolia.
Chief Commander Jo Suk-chang and Associate Censor Seol Sin were the first Goryeo people who met the Great Khan. They left Gaegyeong at the end of December 1231 in the lunar calendar and arrived in Mongolia on April 12 of the following summer. They submitted an official letter indicating that they were subordinates to Ogedei Khan (reigned 1229-1241) and explained the case of Zheguyu, who was murdered on the border of Goryeo in 1225. They presented khan with 10 rolls of gauze, filament silk, twill, and thin silk each, gold and silver liquor cups, saddle flaps, and fans with pictures. At that time, the khan was resting from the heat in Jin’s capital, Zhongdu (today’s Beijing), Juyongguan, and Guanshan (today’s Dushan in Yanqing in the northwest of Beijing). It was immediately after the Mongol forces of Tolui defeated the elite soldiers of the Jurchen with jada (magic of using strong winds, heavy rains, and heavy snow) at Sanfeng Mountain (located in Yuxian, Henan). This battle reversed the Mongol-Jurchen hegemony.
Contrary to popular belief, it was not the Karakorum but Guanshan, “Altan Ke’ere (Golden Meadow) of Kitai (North China),” where Jo Suk-chang and others met the Great Khan. Surprisingly, just two months later, in June, King Gojong (reigned 1213-1259) of Goryeo killed 72 darughachis and moved the capital to Ganghwado Island. This provided an excuse for Sartaq to invade Goryeo in August of the lunar calendar. Only after the death of his younger brother, Tolui, in September the Great Khan returned to the Great Ordu, Mongolia. According to the reports, khan was in critical condition at the time. The shamans washed his illness with water from a wooden goblet on which they cast a spell, and khan's strong competitor, Tolui, drank the water and died a few days later.
Sartaq attacked Cheoinseong Fortress in August and was killed by Kim Yoon-hoo. Goryeo organized an envoy to Mongolia for the first time. General Kim Bo-jeong and Office Chief Jo Seo-jang left for “Mongolia” in October and explained the situation to the Great Khan in December. That place was Genghis Khan's Ordu – it is about 2,540 km from Ganghwado Island to the Great Ordu. In other words, in 1232, Goryeo moved its pieces cautiously and boldly on the chessboard of northeast Asia, which included Ganghwado Island and Gaegyeong of Goryeo, Zhongdu, and Great Ordu.
How was Karakorum Associated with Goryeo?
After Karakorum Castle was built in 1235, General Kim Bo-jeong and Censor Song Eon-gi were the first Goryeo people who went to Mongolia. They went to “Mongolia” in December 1238. Mentioning the pacification of the two countries in 1219 and 1231, he asked the Great Khan to stop the military threat. Considering the season and the encampment, the destination would have been the Great Khan’s winter quarters to the east of the Onggin River. It is unclear whether the four Goryeo envoys have visited the Karakorum since then.
Prince Yeongnyeong Wang Jun (1223-1283) left Goryeo as a hostage in April 1241 and arrived in Mongolia – traveling about 2,800 km from Ganghwado Island to the Karakorum - in the fall just before the death of the Great Khan. He may have visited Karakorum Castle during his stay. Prince Shinangong Wang Jeon (?-1261) went to Mongolia twice in 1239 and 1245. The latter trip lasted until 1249. Guyuk Khan (reigned 1246-1248) became the third Khan in Ongginsum (today’s Bayangol Som Shaazan-Khot) in July of 1246. The papal envoy, Plano Carpini, attended the coronation ceremony and must have seen “the leader of Solangi (Goryeo),” perhaps Wang Jun or Wang Jeon.
According to records, the only person from Goryeo that visited the Karakorum was Kim Soo-gang. In June 1255, he followed Mongke Khan (reigned 1251-1259) into Karakorum Castle, paid tribute, and demanded the withdrawal of the Mongolian troops. The castle's name was published in Goryeo literature 20 years after it was constructed.
The Goryeo people (Koreans) who visited the Karakorum and its seasonal quarters nearby are essential contributors to Korean history. They placed Goryeo in world geography in the 13th century. “Solangγas” in 『Secret History of Mongolia』, “Solangqa-Solangi” and “Kawll” in Persian sources, “Solangi,” “Solanga,” “Caule,” and “Cauli” are proofs of this. These words are the origins of the Mongolian word “Solongγos,” which refers to “Korea” today, and the Persian/European word “Korea.”
Sanctuary, Karakorum’s Metropolitan Area, and Center of Empire
The Orkhon Valley was a sacred land, strategic point, and economic hub in Mongolia. This is why there are two ancient ruins in this valley: Ordu Baliq, the capital of the Gotturk and Uyghur Empires, and the Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire. The Karakorum was a transportation hub connecting the Mongolian steppes to China and Western Asia. It lies at the eastern foot of the Khangai Mountains and leads to the steppes of central Mongolia.
Against this geopolitical background, Genghis Khan established Karakorum - meaning "black gravels" in Mongolian - as the capital in 1220. Ordu was remodeled by Ugudei Khan after his accession in 1229. In 1235, a golden tent was witnessed in the grassland. It was the golden tent for the monarch, made of wood lattice walls, overlaid with gold woven fabric, and covered again with white felt. It was Sira Ordu of the summer quarter.
In 1235, the Great Khan hired Kitai craftsmen to build Karakorum Castle and Tumen Amgalan Ord (Wanangong Palace). The technical director was Liu Min. When the palace was completed, the khan offered banquets and gifts. The Great Khan stayed at the castle for about a month in February or March in the spring. It had mud walls and four gates, one in each direction. Grains were sold at the east gate, sheep and goats at the west gate, cattle and carts at the south gate, and horses at the north gate. During the reign of Mongke Khan, a 1.6 km² castle (1,450 m north-south × 1,138 m east-west) had a population of 10,000 to 15,000 people. They included Mongolians, Koreans, and Han people, including Khitan and Jurchens, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Persians, Indians, and Europeans from France, Hungary, and Russia. As religious facilities, there were twelve Buddhist and Taoist temples, two mosques, and a Nestorian church. It is presumed that nomadic gers were clustered northwest of the castle. In short, Karakorum was a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-cultural economic city. The Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire from 1235 to 1260. Later, it became the "north of the Great Wall" of the empire but was still very important to the Mongols in terms of military and economy (trade, farming, herding, and hunting). The Karakorum survived as the capital of the Great Yuan (the so-called "North Yuan") from the 14th to the 15th centuries.
Artisan Competition in Skills, Embracing Asia’s Best
Erdene Zuu Monastery is Mongolia's oldest existing Tibetan Buddhist temple (1548). On the northwest side, there is a 2.65m-long granite-made tortoise sculpture. There is a large building site right next to it. It is the site of the Xingyuan Pavilion.
In 1254, Rubruk rated the abbey of St. Denis in France ten times better than the palace of the khan. Two years after his departure, Mongke Khan completed the Great Buddhist Stupa and a pavilion on the Tumen Amgalan Ord (Wanangong Palace) site. The pavilion was a five-story building and was 300 feet high (about 90 m)—the wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa Temple was about 80 m tall. This temple was called Dage Temple (大閤寺), reconstructed in 1346 and renamed “Xingyuan Pavilion” in 1346. According to Heo Yu-im (1287-1364), there was no temple pavilion comparable to this in China at that time.
‘Chinese style’ architecture and street scenes unfolded in the Karakorum. For Ugudei Khan, it competed with Baghdad, “the most beautiful city on Earth.” The Muslim artisan sneered at it. By order of the Great Khan, they completed Kehen Chaan, the “shining white palace,” 40 km north of Karakorum in 1237. The palace was a detached palace (today’s Doityn Balgas) used as the spring quarter.
The appearance of Karakorum in the early stage did not impress some strangers. But inside the palace, it was different. Ugudei Kaan ordered a goldsmith to make various kinds of gold and silver barrels in the shape of animals such as elephants, lions, and horses inside the liquor hall. He placed a silver wine cup in front of the barrel and poured wine and kumiss from the animal's mouth. The French goldsmith Guillaume Buchier installed a silver-wood-shaped pillar at the Mongke Khan’s palace entrance. It took the form of four silver lions and gold-plated serpents, through which they poured wine, airag (fermented mare’s milk), mead, and rice wine. Huge carts, each pulled by eight oxen, were prepared to transport grain and wine. Khan’s stock was full of foods, beverages, and treasures.
All Roads Lead to the Karakorum
Ugudei organized the transportation network centering on Karakorum. It is the so-called “Jamchi” (ami). This station system installed a station with horses and food approximately every 40 km. As a result, the Great Khan secured the safety of envoys and merchants, the transmission of information, and the convenience of transporting goods. Stations contributed to military activities, communications, and economic developments. Food and beverage came into the Karakorum daily, loaded in 500 wagons. When a revolt broke out in Guanzhong in 1316, the news reached the Karakorum in less than two months.
All postal roads led to the Karakorum. As a result, the Karakorum and its surrounding encampments became the backbone of the empire that could be regarded as the “Karakorum Capital Region.” Their flexibility, concentration, and openness promoted the rapid success of the Mongols and Karakorum in the 13th and 14th centuries.
동북아역사재단이 창작한 '몽골 성소(聖所) 카라코룸, 수퍼파워, 그리고 고려' 저작물은 "공공누리" 출처표시-상업적이용금지-변경금지 조건에 따라 이용 할 수 있습니다.
