Chinese influence on Korean culture

The tradition & historical record

Chinese influence on Korean culture can be traced back as early as the Goguryeo period; these influences can be demonstrated in the Goguryeo tomb mural paintings. Throughout its history, Korea has been greatly influenced by Chinese culture, borrowing the written language, arts, religions, philosophy and models of government administration from China, and, in the process, transforming these borrowed traditions into distinctly Korean forms. ¹

Chinese culture influences can be traced back to the Samhan and Three Kingdoms period. Areas controlled by the Chinese, such as the Lelang Commandery, was a channel for the introduction and spreading of advanced technology and new culture which also influenced the political and the economical development of the Korean peninsula greatly. For example, tomb painting concepts which were found in Goguryeo and the brick paintings found in late Baekje tombs already showed Chinese influences. ¹

The Goguryeo tomb murals were primarily painted in two geographical regions: Ji'an (集安) and Pyeongyang.The former is the second capital of Goguryeo while the latter is the third capital of Goguryeo from the mid-fourth to the mid-seventh centuries. While the mural paintings found in regions Ji'an typically shows the characteristics of Goguryeo people in terms of their customs and morals; those from the regions of Pyeongyang typically show the cultural influences of the Han dynasty as the Han dynasty had governed this geographical region for approximately 400 years, including Chinese-style clothing. Goguryeo accepted Sutras and Buddhist pictures from China early on, such as in 372 AD during the Former Qin dynasty period, when they were brought by the envoys of the Heavenly King, Fu Jian. ¹

The Kingdom of Baekje had had early contacts with China and had an especially close relationship with the Southern dynasties of China; It also had frequent cultural exchanges with the Southern dynasties and with the Liang dynasty and would request copies of the Chinese classics, as well as request the dispatch of artisans, painters, and people who were experts in poetry. In 450 AD, during the reign of Yuanjia in the Liu Song dynasty, the King of Baekje requested for the Book of Yi Lin and the Shizhan (式占), as well as waist crossbows, which were all granted by the Emperor. From 534 to 541 AD, it was a frequent occurrence for Emperor Wu of Liang to send Chinese classics to the King of Baekje; he would also send scholars of poetry and rites to Baekje in order to teach the Shijing and the Liji, and he would also frequently send experts and professionals in diverse fields, such as medicine, engineering, etc., in order to distribute these imported skills and knowledge to Baekje. A ruler of Baekje had also requested Emperor Wu of Liang for Buddhist sutras, medical practitioners and painters in 541 AD. The ruling class of Baekje and enjoyed reading the Chinese classics and histories and were proficient in reading Chinese. They also appointed official educators who were well-verse in the Chinese Five Classics, medicine, and astronomy. ¹

The Silla Kingdom was sinicized more slowly compared to both Baekje and Goguryeo. However, it studied Chinese Buddhism which was already introduced in the Three Kingdom periods deeply. Cizang (慈藏), a Silla monk, studied Vinaya in China and when he returned to Silla, he promoted Dharma in 643. Cizang also contributed to the change of Silla's imperial or official dress for the customs of the Tang, which also marked the beginning of Chinese clothing rituals in Silla. During the reign of Queen Jindeok, Kim Chunchu adopted the Tang dynasty dress and encouraged the Silla kingdom to adopt Chinese administrative practices. The danryeong was thus introduced from the Tang dynasty by Kim Chunchu in the second year of Queen Jingdeok's rule. By the mid-7th century, the ruling class of the Silla Kingdom attached great importance to Chinese culture having inherited this tradition from the previous dynasties. They decided to send envoys to the Tang dynasty to buy Chinese books and acquire Chinese essays; they also sent their people to the Tang dynasty to learn the Tang dynasty culture and to further study Chinese Buddhism and/or to further practice the Chinese ritual systems. The Silla court also sent envoys to the Tang dynasty to request poetry and essays in 686 AD. In the late 7th century during the Unified Silla period, most of the Buddhist sects of the Sui and Tang dynasties had been imported to Korea. In 837 AD alone, there were 217 students from Silla studying in the schools of the Tang dynasty. By having Silla people studying in the Tang dynasty, they intended to import the Tang dynasty systems related to education, rites, and policy. ¹

Goryeo started to imitate imperial examination system of China in the early Song dynasty. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Chinese influence on Korean culture”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Chinese influence on Korean culture is influence of Chinese culture on Korean culture, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²