Suro of Gaya
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Suro of Gaya | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: | 수로왕 |
| Hanja: | 首露王 |
| Revised Romanization: | Suro-wang |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Suro-wang |
Suro Wang (reigned 42–199) was the legendary founder and King of the state of Geumgwan Gaya in southeastern Korea. His name is sometimes also given as Sureung (수릉/首陵). According to the foundation legend of Geumgwan Gaya, King Suro was one of six princes who were borne from eggs that descended from the sky in a golden box. This legend is recounted in the 11th century chronicle Garakguk-gi (가락국기/駕洛國記), reproduced at the end of volume 2 in the Samguk Sagi. According to the tale, Suro was the leader among the princes, who went off to found the other states of Gaya. This presumably reflects the leadership role which Geumgwan Gaya long played in the Gaya confederacy.
Also according to legend, King Suro's queen Heo Hwang-ok was a princess from the Indian country of Ayuta (아유타/阿踰陀). She is said to have arrived in Gaya by boat in the year 48. They had ten sons in all, two of whom took the mother's family name. Ayuta is today often identified with Ayodhya in India, and the tale has gained modern significance in the light of the modern-day relations between Korea and India [1] (http://www.hinduunity.org/articles/politics/koreaseeksties.html) [2] (http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1205728.stm).
Whether King Suro actually existed is an open question. Certainly few historians today would take the claim that he ruled for more than 150 years at face value, any more than they would accept the traditional account of his birth. The legend as a whole is seen as indicative of the early view of kings as descended from heaven; notably, the founder of Goguryeo was also born from an egg. Aspects of the legend have been mined for information about the customs of Gaya, of which little is known. For example, Lee (1984, p. 7) cites the legend of his being raised to the kingship as one among various "embellished accounts of ... selecting a tribal leader." Kwon (2003) analyzes the tale of Queen Heo to gain information about the types of clothing worn at the time.
A tomb attributed to King Suro is still maintained in modern-day Gimhae. Members of the Gimhae Kim clan, who continue to play important roles in Korean life today, trace their ancestry to King Suro. So do members of the Gimhae Heo clan.
References
- Kwon, J.-h. (2003). 가야인의 삶과문화. (Gayain-ui salm-gwa munhwa/Life and culture of the Gaya people). Seoul: Hyean. ISBN 89-8494-221-9
- Lee, K.-b. (1984). A new history of Korea. Tr. by E.W. Wagner & E.J. Schulz, based on the Korean rev. ed. of 1979. Seoul: Ilchogak. ISBN 89-337-0204-0
See also
| Preceded by: none | King of Gaya 42-199 | Succeeded by: Geodeung Wang |
