View source for Place:Byeonhan confederacy

{{Short description|1st to 4th century Koreanic state}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name                = 변한 (弁韓)
| conventional_long_name                = Byeonhan confederacy
| common_name                = Byeonhan
| era                = Ancient
| status                = 
| status_text                = 
| empire                = 
| government_type                = Confederacy
| event_start                = Establishment
| year_start                = 194 BC
| event_end                = Transition to the Gaya confederacy.
| year_end                = 42 CE
| event1                = 
| date_event1                = 
| event2                = 
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| event3                = 
| date_event3                = 
| event_pre                = 
| date_pre                = <!--- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities p1 to p5 and s1 to s5 --->
| p1                = Jin (Korean state)
| flag_p1                = 
| s1                = Gaya confederacy 
| flag_s1                = 
| s2                = 
| flag_s2                = 
| image_flag                = <!--- Default: Flag of {{{common name}}}.svg --->
| flag                = <!--- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of {{{common name}}} --->
| flag_type                = <!--- Displayed text for link under flag. Default "Flag" --->
| image_coat                = 
| symbol                = 
| symbol_type                = 
| image_map                = Samhan Period Byeonhan Shaded.jpg
| image_map_caption                = The Korean peninsula in the 1st century, Byeonhan shaded in red.
| capital                = 
| national_motto                = 
| national_anthem                = 
| common_languages                = [[Social:Han languages|Han]]
| religion                = Shamanism
| currency                = 
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<!--- Area and population of a given year --->| stat_year1                = 
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| today                = {{wipe|South Korea}}
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}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|hangul={{linktext|변한}} or {{linktext|변진}}
|hanja={{linktext|弁韓}} or {{linktext|弁辰}}
|rr=Byeonhan or Byeonjin
|mr=Pyŏnhan or Pyŏnjin
|image=
|caption=
}}
[[File:Byeonhan Burial Archaeology.jpg|thumb|Skeletal remains from the Byeonhan confederacy period that was discovered in Gimhae, {{wipe|South Korea}} through archaeology. Burial traditions can be seen.]]

'''Byeonhan''' ({{Ko-hhrm|hanja=弁韓|hangul=변한|rr=Byeonhan}}, {{IPA-ko|pjʌn.ɦan}}), also known as '''Byeonjin''',<ref name="Byeonhan">{{cite book|last1=Huiyi|first1=Yi|last2=Songsu|first2=Park|last3=Naehyon|first3=Yun|title=New history of Korea|date=2005|publisher=Jimundang|location=Seoul|isbn=8988095855|page=136|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KO8MAQAAMAAJ&q=byeonhan+byeonjin}}</ref> ({{Ko-hhrm|hanja=弁辰|hangul=변진|rr=Byeonjin|labels=no}}, {{IPA-ko|pjʌn.dʑin}}) was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the beginning of the [[Common Era]] to the 4th century in the southern Korean peninsula. Byeonhan was one of the [[Place:Samhan|Samhan]] (or "Three Hans"), along with [[Place:Mahan confederacy|Mahan]] and [[Place:Jinhan confederacy|Jinhan]].<ref name="Asia">{{cite book|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|title=Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1133606512|pages=101}}<!--|accessdate=11 June 2015--></ref>

== Etymology ==
"Byeonhan (弁韓)" is believed to be a combination of [[Social:Old Korean|Old Korean]] words. "Byeon (변)" in native Korean meant "Shiny/Shimmering" while "Han (한)" meant "big",<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://www.mosan.or.kr/book/2/14.pdf |script-title=zh:在韓國使用的漢字語文化上的程 |trans-title=A Historical Study on the Culture in Chinese Characters in Korea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722141342/http://www.mosan.or.kr/book/2/14.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-22 |url-status=dead |language=zh |author=Lu Guo-Ping}}</ref> giving the meaning of Byeonhan, the "Big Nation of Shimmer".

As part of the Samhan, Jinhan meant "Big Nation of the East" and Mahan meant "Big Nation of the South".<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://www.mosan.or.kr/book/2/14.pdf |script-title=zh:在韓國使用的漢字語文化上的程 |trans-title=A Historical Study on the Culture in Chinese Characters in Korea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722141342/http://www.mosan.or.kr/book/2/14.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-22 |url-status=dead |language=zh |author=Lu Guo-Ping}}</ref>

== History ==
This early part of the [[History:Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms]] period is sometimes called the Proto–Three Kingdoms period. Byeonhan, like the other Samhan confederacies, appears to be descended from the Jin state of southern Korea.

Archaeological evidence indicates an increase in military activity and weapons production among the Byeonhan in the 3rd century, especially an increase in iron arrowheads and [[Engineering:Cuirass|cuirass]]es (Barnes 2000).<ref name="Asia" /> This may be associated with the decline of Byeonhan and the rise of the more centralized Gaya Confederacy, which most Byeonhan states joined. Gaya was subsequently annexed by Silla, one of the [[History:Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms of Korea]].

Various cultural aspects supposedly unique to Byeonhan overlap with Jinhan, but are not universal in Byeonhan. One notable tradition was tattooing, which was done by both men and women.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=박 |first1=은봉 |title=한국사 1 |last2=김 |first2=용란 |publisher=교원 All Story |year=2004 |isbn=89-21-42395-8 |location=Seoul, South Korea |pages=32}}</ref> Another tradition was the burying of feathers and [[Chemistry:Earthenware|pottery]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=이 |first=소영 |date=2019 |title=弁韓 西部地域 瓦質土器文化 硏究 |trans-title=A study on the Culture of Wijil Pottery of the western ByeonHan (弁韓) Areas |url=http://m.riss.kr/search/detail/DetailView.do?p_mat_type=be54d9b8bc7cdb09&control_no=55738c94a12fcc97ffe0bdc3ef48d419 |journal=사학과 고고학 |location=Jinju, South Korea |volume=8 |pages=vi - 97 |via=Riss}}</ref> in graves alongside the dead body as it was believed that the feathers helped the afterlife souls fly into the sky.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=박 |first1=은봉 |title=한국사 1 |last2=김 |first2=용란 |publisher=교원 All Story |year=2004 |isbn=89-21-42395-8 |location=Seoul, South Korea |pages=32}}</ref>

Byeonhan as a political grouping was also sometimes referred to by a calque of ''Byeon'' ({{lang|ko|弁}}) and ''[[Place:Jinhan confederacy|Jin]]'' ({{lang|ko|辰}}) as Byeonjin with the ethnonym ''[[Place:Samhan|Han]]'' ({{lang|ko|韓}}) being used by its inhabitants, identical to that of its neighbours.

There are also two hypotheses about the Byeonhan constituting a separate ethnicity distinct from the Jinhan:

# The Wa people of the Japanese archipelago, described in early Chinese records as present on the southern coasts of the peninsula.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Anne Walthall |title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History |date=2013 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=9781285528670 |page=101}}</ref>
# Any ethnic who traveled through ancient southern trade routes seen through the distribution of dolmens culture. According to recent studies that excavated Kofuns in South Jeolla Province, analysis of the components of glass beads there suggests that the raw material production area is Thailand.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.donga.com/news/article/all/20210810/108471668/1 | title= about Sinduck Kofun article | date= 10 August 2021 | publisher= The Dong-a Ilbo}}</ref>
However, there is no distinct evidence that indicates an ethnic separation of Byeonhan and Jinhan as the two shared essentially the same culture, with varying religious customs, and apparently were not separated by a clear boundary according to the contemporary Chinese chronicle ''San Guo Zhi''.

==Culture and Language==
The ''Dongyi'' ("Eastern Barbarian") in the ''Wei Shu'' section of the Chinese ''Sanguo Zhi'' states that the culture of Byeonhan was similar to that of [[Place:Jinhan confederacy|Jinhan]] (言語法俗相似) and that their populations lived "intermingled together" (弁辰與辰韓雑居), while having similar language and customs.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Whitman |first=John |date=December 2011 |title=Northeast Asian Linguistic Ecology and the Advent of Rice Agriculture in Korea and Japan |journal=Rice |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=149–158 |doi=10.1007/s12284-011-9080-0 |s2cid=18459463 |issn=1939-8433|doi-access=free }}</ref> 

The fifth century ''Hou Han Shu'' however notes on differences in their language and customs as “languages and customs have differences” (言語風俗有異), after stating that their enclosed settlements and clothing are the same.<ref name=":1" />

Furthermore, the ''Wei shu'' states that “Chinhan men and women are close to Wa (男女近倭),” the ethnonym for the contemporary inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago, and like the [[Social:Wa (Japan)|Wa]] tattoo their bodies. The ''Hou Han shu'' however identifies this with Byeonhan, stating that “their country is close to Wa, therefore they frequently have tattoos.”<ref name=":1" />

The linguist John Whitman summarizes the situation as such:

<blockquote>In fact, the texts indicate a more complex (and plausible) interrelationship between language, ethnicity, and protopolitical grouping. [...] The Chinhan population lives intermixed with Pyŏnhan; the Chinese reporters struggle to decribe the resultant demographic complexity. Their languages may be similar, or different; some resemble the Wa, some tattoo their bodies. While Wa-like toponyms are more frequent in the Pyŏnhan grouping, one such toponym is identified with Chinhan. This is exactly the kind of complexity we might expect to be associated with the situation described by Ahn, where a population associated with Mumun wet rice growing culture lives alongside more recently arrived members of the Korean-style bronze dagger culture.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
==Politics and Trade==
Byeonhan may have simply been a political description for decentralized polities south and west of the Nakdong River valley that were not formal members of the Jinhan confederacy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yi |first1=Kwang-kyu |title=Korean studies series |date=2003 |publisher=Jipmundang |isbn=8988095499 |edition=Korean Studies series 25 |location=Seoul |pages=24–27}}<!--|accessdate=11 June 2015--></ref>

Byeonhan was internationally known for its production of [[Chemistry:Iron|iron]],<ref name="Korea">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Injae|last2=Miller|first2=Owen|last3=Park|first3=Inhoon|title=Korean History in Maps|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1107098466|pages=18–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&q=byeonhan+trade&pg=PA18}}</ref> which was also its main export good to the Lelang Commandery to the northwest, the Japanese archipelago,<ref name="Korea" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kyong-hee|first1=Won Yu han ; translated by Lee|title=Money traditional Korean society|date=2006|publisher=Ewha Womans University Press|location=Seoul, Korea|isbn=8973006746|pages=17–18}}<!--|accessdate=11 June 2015--></ref> and the rest of the Korean peninsula.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mong-nyong|first1=Choi|title=최근 의 고고학 자료 로 본 한국 고고학, 고대사 의 신 연구(Recent research on archaeology and ancient deities|date=2006|publisher=Juryusung|location=Seoul|isbn=9788987096650|page=41}}<!--|accessdate=11 June 2015--></ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=이|first=양수|date=2011|title=弁韓의 對外交易|trans-title=Foreign trade of Byeonhan in the Samhan period (4C B.C-3C A.D)|url=http://www.riss.kr/search/detail/DetailView.do?p_mat_type=1a0202e37d52c72d&control_no=a833651c38df28ab4884a65323211ff0|journal=부산고고학회|volume=8|pages=27–63|via=RISS}}</ref> It was also a center of stoneware manufacture.

==Member statelets==
According to the ''Records of Three Kingdoms'', Byeonhan consisted of 12 statelets:

* Mirimidong ({{lang|ko|미리미동국/彌離彌凍國}}), present-day Miryang.
* Jeopdo ({{lang|ko|접도국/接塗國}}), present-day Haman.
* Gojamidong ({{lang|ko|고자미동국/古資彌凍國}}), present-day Goseong.
* Gosunsi ({{lang|ko|고순시국/古淳是國}}), present-day Jinju, Sacheon or Goseong.
* Ballo ({{lang|ko|반로국/半路國}}), present-day Seongju.
* Nangno ({{lang|ko|낙노국/樂奴國}}), present-day Hadong or Namhae.
* Gunmi ({{lang|ko|군미국/軍彌國}}), present-day Sacheon.
* Mioyama ({{lang|ko|미오야마국/彌烏邪馬國}}), present-day Changwon.
* Gamno ({{lang|ko|감로국/甘路國}}), present-day Gimcheon.
* Guya ({{lang|ko|구야국/狗邪國}}), present-day Gimhae.
* Jujoma ({{lang|ko|주조마국/走漕馬國}}), present-day Gimcheon.
* Anya ({{lang|ko|안야국/安邪國}}), present-day Haman.
* Dongno ({{lang|ko|독로국/瀆盧國}}), present-day Dongnae.

==References==
*Barnes, G.L. (2000). "Archeological armor in Korea and Japan: Styles, technology and social setting".  ''Journal of East Asian Archeology 2'' (3–4), 61–96. (Electronic Version). 
<references />


{{DEFAULTSORT:Byeonhan Confederacy}}
[[Category:Former confederations]]

{{Sourceattribution|Byeonhan confederacy}}