Hwandan Gogi

Hwandan Gogi (Korean: 환단고기; Hanja: 桓檀古記), previously called Handan Gogi in some published copies, is a compilation of 5 pre-existing books on ancient Korean history, written by 5 different authors over the span of 1,000 years.[1]

It is a bound volume of First Book of Samseonggi(Three Sacred Dynasties) written by Ahn Ham-ro, Second Book of Samseonggi(Three Sacred Dyansties) written by Won Dong-joong, Dangun Segi(Centuries of Danguns), written by Yi Am, Buk Buyeogi(Records of Northern Buyeo) written by Beom Jang, and Taebaek Ilsa(Secret History of the Taebaek) written by Yi Maek.

Hwandangogi was first compiled into one volume in 1909 and was later published in 1911 by Gye Yeon-su who received supervision from Yi Gi (이기, 李沂; 1848–1909).

Until recently, the entire set of texts, the only extant version as a modern transcription by Yi Yu-rip published in 1979, was believed as a forgery among academics.[2]

But in 2019, the discovery of the 1909 version of the original Hwandangogi was made public, challenging the previous claims of Korean academia that Hwandangogi's original copy didn't exist and further challenging the claim that it was written solely by Yi Yu-rip's imagination.[3]

Contents

The Hwandan Gogi comprises the following four books:

  • Samseonggi, a two-volume book which describes an ancient kingdom called Hwan-guk that lasted for 3301 years and Hwanung's 1565-year rule of Baedalguk (倍達國).
  • Dangun Segi (단군세기; 檀君世紀), a chronicle of Gojoseon through 47 generations of Dangun rulers.
  • Bukbuyeogi, a book about the six kings of Bukbuyeo (North Buyeo).
  • Taebaek Ilsa, a book about the histories of Hwan-guk, Baedalguk, Samjoseon, Goguryeo, Balhae, and Goryeo; also includes the text of Cheonbu-gyeong.

Dispute regarding authenticity

Support

Some historians view the Hwandan Gogi as worthy of further scholarly research, believing that it is at least partly based on historically valuable, ancient (if not literally accurate) texts.

  • The astronomical record alleging five stars had been arranged in a straight line in 1733 BCE (오성취루; 五星聚婁) was confirmed by Professor Park Changbeom, who published his findings in a journal.[4] He showed that the five stars would have been arranged in straight line in 1734 BCE, under the assumption that Gojoseon had been established in 2333 BCE.
  • Law professor Junhwan Go offered several reasons as to why he found Hwandan Gogi worthy of consideration.[5][6][7]
  • The territory of Gojoseon described in Hwandan Gogi corresponds to the distribution area of the mandolin-shaped dagger culture in Korea. The distribution area of mandolin shaped daggers are advocated by Yoon et al.[8] and Yi Pyong-do.[9]
  • 1909 publication version of Hwandangogi was preserved by the Cheondogyo.[10]
  • Choe Chi-won's interpretation of the ancient scripture Cheonbugyeong, existed since the days of Shilla dynasty.[11]

Criticism

Most historians in South Korea, North Korea and Japan consider the text to have been created in recent times due to the following reasons:

  • The document contains modern phrases and concepts. For example, it includes references to gender equality (男女平權, 'men's and women's rights') and patriarchy (父權, 'father's rights').
  • The manner in which Hwandan Gogi was first published is unclear:
    • There are no historical records which support the existence of Samseonggi's two alleged authors, An Ham-ro and Won Dong-jung. It is believed that a group of three people by the name of An Ham, Ro Won, and Dong Jung were mistaken as two individuals.
    • Yi Gi could not have supervised the compilation of Hwandan Gogi in 1911, as he had already died in 1909.[12]
    • The contents of Cheonbu-gyeong could not have been included in Taebaek Ilsa before 1911, because the Cheonbu-gyeong was first discovered and known to the Daejonggyo in 1916.

Other criticisms targeted unrealistic descriptions found in the texts,[13] for example:

  • When calculated with modern measures, the alleged territory of Hwan-guk spans from the North Pole to the South Pole.
  • The rulers of Baedalguk are said to have lived for an average of 120–150 years.[14]
  • Hwan-guk is said to have had intricate bureaucratic systems during the Stone Age.
  • Some records in Hwandan Gogi contradict each other.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0064977
  2. ↑ Mason, David A. (24 April 2016). "The Cheonbu-gyeong, Holy Seondo Scripture". Solitary Sage: The Profound Life, Wisdom and Legacy of Korea's "Go-un" Choi Chi-won. ISBN 978-1-365-06780-8. This text seems to have first appeared in the Hwandan Gogi [...] as a modern forgery.
  3. ↑ Lee, Myung-woo. Hwandangogi from 1909 that no one knew about(환빠도 역사학자도 몰랐던 1909년 환단고기). ISBN 9791198255624.
  4. ↑ 박창범, 라대일, "단군조선시대 천문현상기록의 과학적 검증 (Scientific proof of astronomical record in Gojoseon), 한국상고사학보, vol 14 Deprecated link archived 2012-09-08 at archive.today
  5. ↑ Hwandan Gogi explains why the Mausoleum of Dangun is in Kangdong near Pyongyang, North Korea - 고준환, "단군신화설은 식민사학자들의 왜곡.농간", (경기대 법학과 교수), 개천절에 되새겨 보는 '실증적' 단군조선사, 오마이뉴스, 2003-10-03 13:15 조인성(경희대 사학과 교수). It states that the fifth Dangun Gueul died while travelling the south area of Gojoseon, and then he has been buried at Daebaksan. The Daebaksan is located at current Pyongyang.
  6. ↑ Hwandan Gogi explained that the era name of Mun-wang of Balhae was Daeheung (대흥, 大興) before the era name of Mun-wang was discovered in the tombstone of Princess Jeonghyo (정효공주묘비, 貞孝公主墓碑) in 1980 - Retrieved from Empas Korean Information 엠파스 한국학 지식
  7. ↑ Hwandan Gogi states that era name of Jangsu Taewang of Goguryeo was Geonheung (건흥, 建興). This era name is used in a Buddhist statue in Chungju of Chungbuk. Before Hwandangogi was published, the statue was considered to be from Baekje - 고준환, 신명나는 한국사, 인간과자연사 (2005) ISBN 8987944433
  8. ↑ 윤내현, 박선희, 하문식, 고조선의 강역을 밝힌다 (The Territory of Gojoseon) (2006) ISBN 8942310893
  9. ↑ 이병도, 최태영, 한국상고사 입문 (Introduction to the Ancient Korean History) (1989)
  10. ↑ 해학 이기의 환단고기 감수 입증하는 『환단고기』등사본 (Hwandangogi Deungsabon Print Version which provides evidence of Yi Gi's involvement in compilation of Hwandangogi) http://www.hmhtimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=5032 (2020)
  11. ↑ 걸어서 인물속으로-한민족 역사문화탐방 고운 최치원 Choe Chi-won https://www.domin.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1441965
  12. ↑ 엠파스 한국학 지식 - 한국의 인물 - 이 기(李沂)
  13. ↑ History Special: The Handan Chronicle, KBS 1999
  14. ↑ Am-Ro Ahn ed., Handan Gogi
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