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I
Handout 1
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In various periods in world history , opportune meetings of trade and talent have created golden ages of literature and thought . Examples include the golden age of Athens , Greece , Renaissance Italy , and Elizabethan England . While historians have focused on Renaissance Italy as an example of a civilization with access to new routes of open trade , little has been done to show the ways in which earlier trade routes stimulated other cultures into an era of unprecedented cultural and philosophical development . Silla represents an Eastern version of a golden age which flourished in part as the result of trade and cultural exchange .
What makes Silla unique ? Early Korean history depicts constant tension with its large neighbor China , and Silla ’ s history is marked by both accommodation and resistance to Chinese influence . By the fifth century , the Korean Peninsula was divided into the Three Kingdoms — Koguryo ( 37 BCE – 668 CE ), Paekche ( 18 BCE – 660 CE ) and Silla ( 57 BCE – 668 CE ). Of the Three Kingdoms , Koguryo had the greatest military skill and bore the brunt of repelling Chinese attempts to conquer the Korean peninsula . It seemed most likely to unify the peninsula . Paekche , known for its design and construction of pagodas and temples and for its friendly ties to Japan , resisted Koguryo and , for a time , allied itself with Silla .
Internal problems in China gave the Three Kingdoms respite , but the creation of the Sui dynasty ( 581 – 618 CE ) and the Tang dynasty ( 618 – 907 CE ) meant a full frontal attack on Koguryo . The eventual result was that Koguryo expended its resources and suffered heavy casualties while the Paekche-Japanese trade alliance was challenged by Silla . Meanwhile , Silla was able to spend its resources on developing forts , a naval fleet and an army , thus successfully conquering Kaya , the land of iron , seizing the heart of the peninsula on the west coast , a gateway to China and driving far up the West coast to achieve a position on Koguryo ’ s flank . In 668 CE Silla , with the support of Tang China , defeated Koguryo and unified the Korean peninsula . Then for the next nine years , the Tang forces unsuccessfully tried to annex Silla into China by using their “ divide and conquer ” tactics . Thus Silla , which had seemed the least likely to unify the Korean peninsula , became the state to do so .
By uniting all Three Kingdoms , Silla incorporated Koguryo ’ s military skills and Paekche ’ s artisans to design and build pagodas and temples . Moreover , Silla was able to maintain diplomatic ties with Tang China , thereby benefiting from the trade routes and cultural exchanges passing through China along the Silk Road . Silla , from her long alliance with China , did not see the Tang as a total enemy and new ideas flowed from China and its Silk Road contacts . At the same time , the people of Silla were aware that to accept too much would merely make them a province of China itself . The balance between these two positions may be one of the reasons for the golden age of Silla . Silla Korea and the Silk Road : Golden Age , Golden Threads
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