History of the Early Korean Kingdom of Paekche with Annotated Translation of The Paekche Annals from Samguk Sagi - Harvard East Asian Monograph | Perfect for Korean History Scholars, Asian Studies & Academic Research
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Product Description
This volume presents two histories of the early Korean kingdom of Paekche (trad. 18 BCE–660 CE). The first, written by Jonathan Best, is based largely on primary sources, both written and archaeological. This initial history of Paekche serves, in part, to introduce the second, an extensively annotated translation of the oldest history of the kingdom, the Paekche Annals (Paekche pon’gi). Written in the chronicle format standard for the traditional official histories of East Asia, the Paekche Annals constitutes one section of the Histories of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk sagi), a comprehensive account of early Korean history compiled under the editorial direction of Kim Pusik (1075–1151). Although these two representations of Paekche history differ markedly, the underlying problem faced by both the twelfth-century and the twenty-first-century historian is essentially the same: fashioning a responsible, encompassing, and reasonably coherent history of the kingdom from meager, and often disparate and fragmentary, evidence.Included in the volume are 22 appendixes on problems in Paekche history; a concordance of proper names, official titles, omens, and weights and measures; a glossary of geographical names; and six historical maps of the kingdom showing its changing boundaries.
Customer Reviews
Dr. Jonathan Best is the foremost American expert on Baekje history and culture and his book on Baekje is an exhaustive study on its history. The book is divided into three main parts. The first is Dr. Best's evaluation of Baekje history, the second is his translation of the Baekje pongi (annal) of the Samguk Sagi (an exhaustive chronicle of the histories of Silla, Koguryo and Baekje compiled in the 12th century AD). The last section are a series of helpful appendixes.The history and culture of the early Korean kingdom of Baekje is important to the field of East Asian studies because much of the sinification and civilization of the early Yamato era Japan can be traced to said kingdom. Although, much of this is not fully understood, it is generally agreed that Baekje supplied many scholars, statesmen, engineers, craftsman, Buddhist priests, etc. and other agents of civilization to early Japan to help Chinese style civilization emerge and blossom in the southern and central archipelago.Those that drift more the the "nationalistic" side of Korean history may not like this book because Dr. Best advocates a late 3rd century origin of the Baekje kingdom, rather than the traditional Korean view that the kingdom began in 18 B.C. Furthermore, in the section where he includes his interpretation of Baekje history, he often times gives primacy to the Japanese source Nihon Shoki, because it was compiled at an earlier date than the Samguk Sagi. This will not give traditional Korean historians much happiness, but is unavoidable given the dearth of primary sources of said kingdom.In my opinion, this book is an excellent "primer" source for study into the Korean kingdom of Baekje and anyone else interested in the early history of Korea and/or the Korean Three Kingdoms period. I do believe, at times, Dr. Best's over relies on textual sources and not archaeological sources. There has been much accomplished in the field of Baekje, early Korean and Japanese archaeology that would have added more clarity, but much of it is not included in this book. Perhaps that could be an endeavor pursued by the next scholar who has a serious interest in Baekje history.
