Samhan: Encyclopedia II - Samhan - Relations

Samhan - Relations

Until the rise of Goguryeo, the external relations of Samhan were largely limited to the Chinese commanderies located in the northern part of the peninsula. The longest standing of these, the Lelang commandery, appear to have maintained separate diplomatic relations with each individual state rather than with the heads of the confederacies as such.

In the beginning, the relationship was tributary: a political trading system in which "tribute" was exchanged for titles or prestige gifts. Official seals identified each tribal leader's authority to trade with the commandery. However, after the fall of the Kingdom of Wei in the third century, San guo zhi reports that the Lelang commandery handed out official seals freely to local commoners, no longer symbolizing political authority (Yi, 2001, p. 245).

The Chinese commanderies also supplied luxury goods and consumed local products. Han dynasty coins and beads are found throughout the Korean peninsula. These were exchanged for local iron or raw silk. After the second century CE, as Chinese influence waned, iron ingots came into use as currency for the trade based around Jinhan and Byeonhan.

Trade relations also existed with the emergent states of Japan at this time, most commonly involving the exchange of ornamental Japanese bronzeware for Korean iron. These trade relations shifted in the third century, when the Yamatai federation of Kyushu gained monopolistic control over Japanese trade with Byeonhan.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Relations", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki