The Nature and Influence of Confucianism Introduced to Goguryeo in the 4th to 6th Centuries
Authors:   Soc Stud Early Kor His, Lee Dong-hoon 
Published: January 2025

From its early founding, Goguryeo embraced Confucian studies from China. At the time Goguryeo was established, the Han Dynasty saw the rise in popularity of the study of Confucian classics, which focused on researching The Five Classics, the core texts of Confucianism. Due to differences in script and textual versions, Confucian studies were divided into New Text Confucianism, written in the official script of the Han Dynasty, and Old Text Confucianism. New Text Confucianism placed particular emphasis on The Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, which sought to elucidate the Way of Heaven through concepts like yin-yang, the five elements, and auspicious and catastrophic signs, while stressing the interaction between Heaven and Man. It was also connected to divination thought. New Text Confucianism emphasized textual interpretation, such as exegesis, to clarify the original meanings of the classics. 『The History of The Three Kingdoms』, in the Goguryeo Annals, contains numerous records related to auspicious and catastrophic signs from the kingdom’s founding to its fall. This indicates that Goguryeo was strongly influenced by Han Dynasty Confucian studies from an early period. The New Text and Old Text Confucian studies were later unified and systematically compiled by Zheng Xuan(鄭玄) during the Later Han Dynasty The pinnacle of Zheng Xuan's thought lay in ritual studies. Zheng Xuan provided annotations on The Three Rites, with a particular focus on the Zhouli (Rites of Zhou). This marked a shift in Han Dynasty Confucianism from a focus on Spring and Autumn Annals studies to a focus on ritual studies. During the Wei and Jin period, metaphysics became popular, particularly around Luoyang, though it was not a nationwide trend. Following the Wu Hu(five non-Han people) uprisings in the early 4th century, the Northern and Southern Dynasties emerged, each showing distinct ideological tendencies. In the South, metaphysics and a metaphysical approach to Confucian studies became popular, while in the North, Zheng Xuan’s approach to the study of Confucian classics continued to be widely practiced. It was natural for Goguryeo, which shared a border with the Northern Dynasties, to be influenced by them due to geographic proximity. In the 4th century, King Sosurim of Goguryeo established the Taixue(太學), officially recognized Buddhism, and promulgated a code of law. Additionally, King Gogugyang organized the Ancestor’s Shrine System. With the establishment of the Taixue, Goguryeo provided education in Confucian classics, specifically using the texts annotated by Zheng Xuan. Thus, the organization of the Ancestor’s Shrine System was influenced by Zheng Xuan’s teachings, which emphasized ritual systems. The establishment of ritual systems was closely related to the strengthening of royal authority and the establishment of a centralized government. Through the founding of the Taehak and the reorganization of the Ancestor’s Shrine System, Goguryeo established ritual systems and strengthened its legal system by promulgating codes of law. Consequently, after the 4th century, Goguryeo's state and political system developed into a unified, centralized system of governance centered around royal authority. Consequently, after the 4th century, Goguryeo’s state and political system evolved into a centralized, monolithic governance structure centered on royal authority. However, while Goguryeo reformed its institutions following the Chinese model, it also retained a significant portion of its own traditional customs. Strengthening the worship of Jumong and establishing the Temple of Jumong across the nation is a notable example of this. Additionally, there were slight differences in the recognition of animals symbolizing auspicious omens compared to China. This illustrates that while Goguryeo adopted Chinese Confucianism, it operated in a way that was subjectively tailored to its own circumstances.