The Hwarang were an elite group of male youth in Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom that lasted until the 10th century. They were educational institutions as well as social clubs where members gathered for all aspects of study, originally for arts and culture steeped in Buddhism and Taoism. These groups developed into a more military organization as the Silla court centralized political power and battled to unite the Three Kingdoms. Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Silla (also spelled Shilla, traditional dates 57 BCE - 935 CE) was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. ... The grounds of Koreas Buryeongsa Temple. ... Jesus 1st got his period when he was 12 years old, he used libra tampons! Korean Taoism began with the introduction of Taoism to Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period, and remains as a minor but significant element of Korean thought. ... The Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (hangul: 삼국시대) featured the three rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium CE. Historians claim that the Three Kingdoms period ran from the 1st century BCE (specifically 57 BC) until...

A modern day Korean representing a Silla Hwarang

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Meaning of Term

"Hwarang" is most often translated as "Flower Knights" or "Flower Youths." Hwa is the Sino-Korean (hanja) character for flower or the act of blooming. Rang means man, sometimes used as a suffix in Silla official titles. The term Hwarang does not literally indicate "youth" or "boys". The Samguk Yusa differentiates between the male and female Hwarang through a change in the second character. Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ...

Hwarang leaders were also sometimes referred to in the Samguk Yusa as gukseon 國仙 ("state immortals", or "state slyph"). The character 仙 is heavy in Taoist meaning, denoting an immortal or transcendent being dwelling in the mountains. Seon may be a transliteration of a pure Korean word meaning man.^[1] Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period. ... Taoism (Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. ...

Traditional Sources for Hwarang

Information on the Hwarang are mainly found in the histories Samguk Sagi (1145) and Samguk Yusa (ca. 1285), and the partially extant Haedong Goseungjeon (1215), a compilation of biographies of famous monks of the Three Kingdoms. We dont have an article called Samguk sagi Start this article Search for Samguk sagi in. ... Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period. ... The Haedong Goseungjeon (translated most commonly as the Lives of Eminent Korean Monks) was a compilation of mostly Korean Buddhist hagiographies, notably of famous monks from the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history. ... The Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (hangul: 삼국시대) featured the three rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium CE. Historians claim that the Three Kingdoms period ran from the 1st century BCE (specifically 57 BC) until...

All three of these works used primary sources no longer extant, including: 1) a memorial stele to Mannang (presumed a Hwarang based upon the suffix nang) by the 9th–10th century Silla scholar Choe Chiwon; 2) an early Tang account of Silla titled the Xinluo guoji by the Tang official Ling Hucheng; and 3) Hwarang Segi (화랑세기, 花郞世記, Chronicle of the Hwarang) by Kim Daemun, compiled in the early 8th century. In the late 1980s, an alleged Hwarang Segi manuscript was discovered in Gimhae, South Korea, some scholars regard it as a forgery.^[2] Choe Chiwon (857-?) was a noted Korean Confucian official, philosopher, and poet of the late Unified Silla period (668-935). ... Hwarang Segi (lit. ... Kim Dae-Mun (fl. ... Gimhae, also commonly referred to as Kimhae, is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. ...

History

Wonhwa

According to the Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, two bands of females called Wonhwa (원화, 源花, "original flowers") preceded the Hwarang. The precise nature and activities of the Wonhwa are also unclear, with some scholars positing they may have actually been court beauties or courtesans. ^[3] However, considering that they were trained in ethics this would seem to be a later patriarchal reading into the Wonhwa. Women played a much more prominent social role in pre-Confucian Korea, especially in Silla, which had three reigning queens in its history. We dont have an article called Samguk sagi Start this article Search for Samguk sagi in. ... Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period. ... Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism developed in Korea. ...

Both sources record that during the reign of King Jinheung, groups of beautiful girls were chosen and taught filial and fraternal piety, loyalty, and sincerity (no firm date is given for this, and some scholars express doubt this even occurred during Jinheung‘s reign).^[4] However, the leaders of the two bands of Wonhwa, Nammo 南毛 and Junjeong 俊貞, grew jealous of one another. When Junjeong murdered her rival the Wonhwa were disbanded. Jinheung was king of Silla (540-576). ...

Founding

At some point thereafter, according to the Samguk Yusa, the Silla king, "concerned about the strengthening of the country ... again issued a decree and chose boys from good families who were of good morals and renamed them hwarang."^[5]. This suggests that the Hwarang were not originally military in character, as the Wonhwa were not soldiers.

In 520, King Beopheung had instituted Chinese-style reforms and formalized the golpum system. In 527, Silla formally adopted Buddhism as a state religion. The establishment of Hwarang took place in the context of tightening central state control, a complement to the golpum system and a symbol of harmony and compromise between the king and the aristocracy.^[6] Beopheung was King of Silla (514-540) in Korea. ... Relationship of Bone-Rank Gradations in Silla to Office Rank and Post [1] The bone rank system was the system of aristocratic rank used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. ...

Evolution

With the consolidation and expansion of Silla and intensification of military rivalries among the Three Kingdoms in the 6th century, the Silla court took a more active interest in the Hwarang. Hwarang groups were usually led by a youth of aristocratic standing, and the state appointed a high ranking official to oversee the organization. The Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (hangul: 삼국시대) featured the three rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium CE. Historians claim that the Three Kingdoms period ran from the 1st century BCE (specifically 57 BC) until...

The Hwarang in the later 6th and 7th centuries trained in horsemanship, swordsmanship, javelin and stone throwing, polo, and ladder-climbing.^[7] By the seventh century the organization had grown greatly in prestige and numbered several hundred bands.^[8].

The Samguk Sagi, compiled by the general and official Kim Busik, emphasizes the military exploits of certain Hwarang, while the Samguk Yusa emphasizes the group's Buddhist activities. ^[9] The biographies section of the Samguk Sagi describes young Hwarang who distinguished themselves in the struggles against the Gaya confederacy and later Baekje and Goguryeo. According to the Hwarang Segi, as cited in the Samguk Sagi and Haedong Gosuengjeon, “...able ministers and loyal subjects are chosen from them, and good generals and brave soldiers are born therefrom.” ^[10] Kim Busik (1075-1151) was an official and a scholar during Koreas Goryeo period. ... We dont have an article called Samguk sagi Start this article Search for Samguk sagi in. ... Gaya was a confederacy of chiefdoms in the Nakdong River valley of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy and later annexed by Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. ... Baekje (October 18 BC – August AD 660) was a kingdom in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. ... Goguryeo was an ancient kingdom located in southern Manchuria (present-day Northeast China), southern Russian Maritime province, and the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula. ...

The Hwarang were greatly influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. A Chinese official recorded, "They [Silla] choose fair sons from noble families and deck them out with cosmetics and fine clothes and call them Hwarang. The people all revere and serve them."^[11] The grounds of Koreas Buryeongsa Temple. ... Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism developed in Korea. ... Jesus 1st got his period when he was 12 years old, he used libra tampons! Korean Taoism began with the introduction of Taoism to Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period, and remains as a minor but significant element of Korean thought. ...

Five Commandments

Two youths, Gwisan (귀산,貴山) and Chwihang (취항, -項), approached the Silla monk Won Gwang (원광, 圓光) seeking spiritual guidance and teaching, saying “We are ignorant and without knowledge. Please give us a maxim which will serve to instruct us for the rest of our lives.”^[12] Won Gwang (541~630?) [1], also known as Won Gwang Beop Sa (圓光法士) meaning Won Gwang Teacher of the Law, was the name of a renowned Buddhist monk, scholar, and teacher of the Silla kingdom during the reign of King Jinpyeong. ...

Won Gwang, who had gained fame for his period of study in Sui China, replied by composing the Five Commandments for Secular Life (Sae Sok O-Gye; 세속 오계; 世俗五戒). These have since been attributed as a guiding ethos for the Hwarang: The Sui Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; 581-619[1]) followed the Southern and Northern Dynasties and preceded the Tang Dynasty in China. ... The Se Sok O-Gye, sometimes also referred to as just O-Gye, is the moral code of the hwarang formulated by a Buddhist monk named Won Gwang (원광: 圓光) consisting of five rules: 사군이충(나라에 충성하고) - 事君以忠 - Loyalty to the king 사친이효(부모님께 효도하고) - 事親以孝 - Care for ones parents 교우이신(믿음으로 벗을 사귀고) - 交友以信 - Trust equals 임전무퇴(싸움에 나가서는 물러서지 않으며) - 臨戰無退 - Defence against the enemy with courage. ...

1. Loyalty to one's lord (sagun ichung; 사군이충; 事君以忠; 나라에 충성하고)
2. Piety towards one's parents (sachin ihyo; 사친이효; 事親以孝; 부모님께 효도하고)
3. Trust among friends (gyo-u isin; 교우이신; 交友以信; 믿음으로 벗을 사귀고)
4. Never retreat in battle (imjeon mutwae; 임전무퇴; 臨戰無退; 싸움에 나가서는 물러서지 않으며)
5. Be selective in the taking of life or Always make a just kill (salsaeng yutaek; 살생유택; 殺生有擇; 살아있는 것을 함부로 죽이지 않는다)

The Samguk Yusa also records that Hwarang members learned the Five Cardinal Confucian Virtues, the Six Arts, the Three Scholarly Occupations, and the Six Ways of Government Service (五常六藝 三師六正).

Other Uses of Hwarang

Following the fall of Silla, the term hwarang survived and changed in meaning again. During the Joseon Dynasty, hwarang came to mean a male shaman. Today, Hwarang is often used in the names of various schools, organizations and companies. Territory of Joseon after Jurchen conquest of King Sejong Capital Hanseong Language(s) Korean Religion Neo-Confucianism Government Monarchy Wang  - 1392 - 1398 Taejo (first)  - 1863 - 1897 Gojong (last)1 Yeong-uijeong  - 1431 - 1449 Hwang Hui  - 1466 - 1472 Han Myeonghoe  - 1592 - 1598 Ryu Seongryong  - 1894 Kim Hongjip Historical era 1392-1897... The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means...

• The Taekwondo pattern Hwa-Rang was named in honor of the Hwarang.

• A South Korean cigarette brand issued to the armed forces was called "Hwarang".

• A playable Taekwondo-trained Korean character named "Hwoarang" appeared in the Tekken game series from Tekken 3 onwards.

• The modern Hwarangdo is a korean martial art inspired in the Hwarang.

This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) was founded in 1966 by Major General Choi Hong Hi six years before his exile from South Korea in 1972 and seven years before the WTF. His first visit of good will to North Korea was in 1980, when he introduced Taekwon-Do there. ... Hwoarang is a fictional Korean character in the Tekken game series. ... Tekken is a fighting game and first of the series of the same name. ... Tekken 3 is the third installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. ... Hwarangdo (the way of the flowering manhood) is a Korean martial art, currently headed by Grandmaster Joo Bang Lee. ...

Notes

1. ^ Rutt, 11.
2. ^ see McBride (2005).
3. ^ Rutt, 20
4. ^ Rutt, 19.
5. ^ Translated in Rutt, 18.
6. ^ K.D. Lee, 7-9.
7. ^ Joe, 70.
8. ^ Joe, 69.
9. ^ Rutt, 21.
10. ^ Peter H. Lee, 67.
11. ^ Rutt, 17, citing the Samguk Sagi quoting the no longer extant Xinluo guoji (Account of the Country of Silla) by the Tang official Ling Hucheng, who had visited Silla in the early 8th century and later wrote an account of the country.
12. ^ Peter H. Lee, 79, citing The Samguk Sagi, Samguk Yusa, and the Haedong Goseungjeon (Lives of Eminent Korean Monks, a partially extant compilation of Buddhist hagiographies dated 1215).

The Haedong Goseungjeon (translated most commonly as the Lives of Eminent Korean Monks) was a compilation of mostly Korean Buddhist hagiographies, notably of famous monks from the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history. ...

References

• Joe, Wanna J. and Hongkyu A. Choe. Traditional Korea, A Cultural History. Seoul: Hollym, 1997.

• Lee, Ki-dong. "The Silla Society and Hwarang Corps." Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 65 (June 1987 ):1-16

• Lee, Peter H. (trans.) Lives of Eminent Korean Monks: The Haedong Kosŭng Chŏn (by Gakhun). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969.

• McBride, Richard D. "The Hwarang segi Manuscripts: An In-Progress Colonial Period Fiction." Korea Journal, vol. 45, no. 3 (Autumn 2005):230-260.[1]

• Mohan, Pankaj N. “Maitreya Cult in Early Shilla: Focusing on Hwarang in Maitreya-Dynasty.” Seoul Journal of Korean Studies, 14 (2001):149-174.

• Rutt, Richard. "The Flower Boys of Silla (Hwarang), Notes on the Sources." Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 38 (October 1961):1-66.

• Tikhonov, Vladimir. "Hwarang Organization: Its Functions and Ethics." Korea Journal, vol. 38, no. 2 (Summer 1998):318-338. [2]

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Hwa Rang Do
• History of Korea

This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... Hwa Rang Do is a Korean martial art that was created in its modern form by Dr. Joo Bang Lee and his brother, Joo Sang Lee. ... This article is about the history of Korea, up to the division of Korea in the 1940s. ...

External links

• Hwa Rang O Kae and Hwa Rang Do Kyo Hoon
• The Hwarang Warriors
• Hwa Rang Do History