There were not so much prominent foreign resistance and territorial expansion of Koguryo in the 6th century unlike in other period. In this age, Koguryo underwent twice the war of the royal succession internally. In the later 6th century, Koguryo was ...
There were not so much prominent foreign resistance and territorial expansion of Koguryo in the 6th century unlike in other period. In this age, Koguryo underwent twice the war of the royal succession internally. In the later 6th century, Koguryo was confronted with the pressure of Paekche(百濟) and Silla(新羅) as well as that of Northern Che(北齊) and T'u-chueh (突厥). It is very important to understand the dynamic aspect of Koguryo's aristocracy in this period in order to know how Koguryo overcame such a crisis.
Ondal, a historical figure in the later 6th century, is an example showing the characteristic of Koguryo's aristocracy in those days. This thesis observes Koguryo's aristocracy in the 6th century, noticing the openness of the social status more carefully. Particularly, the marriage of Ondal and a royal woman, a rank for initial appointment called Taehyong(大兄), and the political conditions related to such a situation were usually studied.
Above all, I surveyed marriages among royal families in the Three Kingdom's era and the Unified Silla's era in order to understand the significance of Ondal's marriage. As the result of that, I found that there was a strict system of status. Compared with other cases, Ondal, who espoused a daughter of the King P'yongwon(平原王) was not such a lower- status person.
The rank Taehyong which Ondal was said to be appointed as his first post was the 7th grade in the official rank system of Koguryo. If one finds that upper noblemen had been promoted only through the hyong-line rank (兄系 官等) since the 6th century, he can perceive that Taehyong was very significant in the role and in the symbolic meaning even if its post was lower relatively. It is noticeable that Ondal was invested with Taehyong, the 7th grade, as his first official rank.
Lastly, I investigated the political background in those days. According to various historical documents, Koguryo in the 6th century went through severe disorder politically. That is a series of events such as the political conflicts in 531 & 545, rebellion in 557, etc.. It seems that the family of Ondal fell down politically involved in these strifes although having a power's base. Nonetheless, a movement to solve the political conflicts arose from the royal family in order to cope with the sharply changing international situation. It appears that the Rite of the King P'yongwon at the Sijomyo(始祖廟) was to pursue a kind of compromise among conflicting groups. The fact that Ondal got married to a royal daughter and obtained the rank Taehyong must be a symbolical one of such a ceremonies.
As considering the above contents, it will be concluded that Koguryo's aristocracy of the 6th century had a tendency to keep the system of social status rather than to make that accessible.