An expansive and accessible introduction to the history of Korea during the first millennium CE.
 
Korea’s Three Kingdoms period is a genuine “lost civilization,” during which ancient realms vied for supremacy during the first millennium CE. Nobles from this period’s feuding states adopted and adapted Buddhism and Confucianism through interactions with early medieval Chinese dynasties. It was not until the mid-seventh century that the aristocratic Silla state, with the assistance of the mighty Chinese Tang empire, unified the Three Kingdoms of Korea by conquering the kingdoms of Koguryo and Paekche. Weaving together legends of ancient kings with the true histories of monks, scholars, and laypeople, this book sheds new light on a foundational period that continues to shape Korean identity today.

Richard D. McBride II is professor of Asian and near eastern languages at Brigham Young University. His many publications include Aspiring to Enlightenment: Pure Land Buddhism in Silla Korea.

Chronology
Introduction
1 Legends and Origins of Korea’s Three Kingdoms
2 Koguryo and Paekche
3 Kaya and Early Silla
4 Religion and Culture in the Early Three Kingdoms
5 Greater Silla and Parhae
6 The Flourishing of Buddhism and Confucianism in Greater Silla
7 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the Later Three Kingdoms
Epilogue

REFERENCES
FURTHER READING
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX