고려의 對後唐 외교와 신라 — ‘尊王論’의 전개와 관련하여 —

Abstract

Examined in this article is the Goryeo government’s policy in dealing with Chinese Hudang(後唐), based upon a recent study which revealed that an early Goryeo individual formerly known as the “Gangju prefect [知康州事, in this case, more like regent or ‘head’ than prefect] Wang Bong-gyu(王逢規),” which had been understood as some local leader operating in the Jinju region, was actually the Founder king of Goryeo, Taejo Wang Geon(王建) himself. The reason Wang Geon initiated diplomatic talks with China under the name of the ‘Leader of Gangju’ than the ‘Goryeo king’ was to display a certain level of respect for Shilla. He even referred to such notion and attitude as “honoring the legitimate kingdom and its king (‘Jon’wang-ron, 尊王論’).” This was of course to stabilize his(Wang Geon’s) own kingdom and absorb pro-Shilla elements into the Goryeo government. Wang Geon had his emissaries to China tag along the Shilla envoy, and the Hudang court as well considered Wang Geon’s emissary as part of the Shilla delegation. Yet later, when Shilla king Gyeong’ae(景哀王) was killed during Gyeon Hweon’s invasion of Gyeongju and Gyeongsun(敬順王) was subsequently enthroned as the new Shilla king, Wang Geon decided no longer to maintain this notion. After the battle of Gochang-gun(古昌郡), Goryeo was able to annex most of Shilla’s territory, and Wang Geon managed to reverse the nature of its relationship with the Shilla king (from being a vassal or subordinate to now newly a senior partner and superior) when he visited the Shilla capital as a victor. With development of this new dynamic inside the Korean peninsula, Goryeo finally received an entitlement from Hudang, and Wang Geon himself changed his name to “Geon(建, ‘found, erect, establish’),” in order to cut himself loose from the past when he was still a mere vassal of Shilla. This series of events provided Wang Geon with a much needed level of legitimacy which he direly required to become the new king of “Samhan(三韓, the Korean peninsula)”, and with this new authority Wang Geon annexed the rest of Shilla and dominated Hu-Baekje, ultimately achieving the reunification of the Korean peninsula.