Samseonggi 1 by An ham-ro

[Samseonggi 1]

1. Founding of Hwanguk by Heavenly Sovereign Hwanin

The state founded by our Hwan people was the most ancient of all states.
Residing in the heaven of the Great Radiance, the One Spirit alone is the source of universal creation-transformation. The One Spirit illumines the universe with Its radiance, gives birth to all existence through Its supreme power of creation-transformation, lives eternally, and perpetually takes pleasure in bliss. It gleefully harnesses the ocean of ultimate qi, profoundly uniting Itself with dao (the laws of nature), revealing Itself without form, creating all existence without action, and performing all acts without words.

[Hwanin Anpagyeon: Primogenitor of Humanity's Primal Civilization]

One day, eight hundred adolescent boys and girls were sent down to the land of Heuksu (Black Water) and Baeksan (White Mountain). At this time, Hwanin became the head of all people, took residence in the Heavenly Region, and taught people how to cook food with fire for the first time by striking flints together. The land was named Hwanguk (Radiant State). This ruler of Hwanguk was known as Heavenly Sovereign Hwanin and was also called Anpagyeon. Hwanguk spanned the rule of seven sovereigns. Yet, the exact chronology of each sovereign's rule is difficult to ascertain.

2. Baedal Period of Heavenly Emperor Hwanung

Hwanung later succeeded the throne of Hwanguk. Accepting the mandate of the God in Heaven (Sangjenim), Hwanung descended to the region between Baeksan and Heuksu. He thence dug two kinds of wells (Wells of the Son and Wells of the Daughter) in Cheonpyeong (Heavenly Plain), and divided the land in Cheonggu (Blue Hills) into farming plots.

Possessing the Heavenly Emblems and Seals and presiding over the Five Affairs, Hwanung ruled according to the ways of Spirit Teaching, thus enlightening the people and promoting far-reaching benefits for humanity. He established Sinsi (Divine City) as the capital and named the state Baedal.

[Accepting the Woman of the Bear (熊) Clan as Empress]

Hwanung chose the auspicious numbers 3 and 7 to determine a period of 21 days for offering rites to the God in Heaven (Sangjenim), withdrawing from all other matters, sealing all doors, and devoting himself to meditation. Hwanung chanted mantras and prayed (to the God in Heaven) to accomplish meritorious deeds and virtue. He drank an elixir and became an immortal. He used the divination trigrams to foresee the future. Perceiving the movement of the qi of heaven and earth, he ordered the spirits at will.

Hwanung gathered many people of spirituality and wisdom and made them his subjects. He received the woman of the Bear Clan and made her empress. He established the ritual of matrimony, having animal skins used as matrimonial gifts. He had the people undertake agriculture and animal husbandry, and open markets to conduct trade.

Thereupon, tribute flowed from the regions of the Nine Hwan Clans. Even wild birds and animals gathered in dance. People of later times deified Hwanung as the greatest god on earth, and rituals offered in commemoration of him did not cease for ages.

In the final period of the Baedal Dynasty's Sinsi era, Heavenly Emperor Chi-u came to power. He vastly expanded the territory of Cheonggu. Heavenly Emperor Hwanung's Baedal Dynasty spanned eighteen rulers, lasting 1,565 years.

3. Founding of Joseon by Dangun Wanggeom

In a later time, the divine person Wanggeom descended to a thicket of birch trees in Bulhamsan Mountain. Embodying both divine virtue and saintly benevolence, he readily inherited the laws of his sacred primogenitors, the Hwanins and Hwanungs, upheld the will of heaven and in this way established a code of morality. His radiant and virtuous accomplishments were both high and mighty.

All people of the Nine Hwan Clans were overjoyed at this and, submitting their loyalty with full sincerity, received him as the incarnation of the Heavenly Sovereign and as their emperor. He was called Dangun Wanggeom. Wanggeom restored the ancient values and standards of Sinsi Baedal and, establishing the capital in Asadal, called his new state Joseon.

[Accepting the Daughter of Habaek from Biseogap as Empress]

Hands folded together, Dangun Wanggeom sat gracefully and ordered the world by ruling with seeming nonaction. He became enlightened to the mystical and miraculous dao. Edifying all living beings, he commanded Paeng-u to reclaim the land, had Seong-jo build palace chambers, had Go-si administer agriculture, had Sin-ji invent a written language, had Gi-seong manage cures and medicines, had Na-eul administrate the census register, had Hui preside over divination trigrams, and had U(尤) establish the military. He received the daughter of Habaek from Biseogap and made her empress. He entrusted her with overseeing sericulture.

His benevolent and virtuous rule, expressed through his love for his subjects, extended in all four directions and all of the East enjoyed great peace.

[The 2,096-Year History of the Great Joseon and its Forty-Seven Danguns]

In 425 BCE (Dangi 1909), during the reign of King Kao of the Zhou Dynasty, the Dangun changed the name of the state to Great Buyeo and moved the capital from Baekaksan Mountain (Great White Mountain) to Jangdanggyeong. He established law according to the Code of Eight Stipulations.

He had his subjects engage in reading and archery. He made offering rites to Heaven (to Triune-Spirit Sangjenim) the fundamental precept of his teachings and encouraged his subjects to practice agriculture and sericulture. He granted the common folk access to the mountains and lakes and ensured that criminal punishments did not extend to wives and children. He discussed matters with the people and ruled with their cooperation.

Men had stable occupations and women had good husbands. Every household had bountiful goods. The mountains were empty of bandits. The fields were without the starved. Musical instruments and songs resounded throughout the land. From the time when Dangun Wanggeom began his rule in 2333 BCE, forty-seven different rulers reigned for 2,096 years.

4. Haemosu, Founder of North Buyeo, and Godumak-han, King of Dongmyeong

In 239 BCE (Dangi 2095) when Zheng, King of Qin, ruled, the divine person Haemosu the Great rose to power at Ungsimsan Mountain (Bear Heart Mountain). In 194 BCE (Dangi 2140), during the reign of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, Wiman, who was the leader of the refugees of the Yan state, plundered and seized a cornering territory of the western frontier. King Jun of Beonhan battled against him, was defeated, and then fled across the sea. Thenceforth, most of the people of Samhan (the three Han states) migrated south of the Hansu (Han River in the Korean Peninsula).

Afterward, many heroes raised armies in the region east of Yohae and battled for power against one another for some time. In 108 BCE (Dangi 2226), during the reign of Emperor Wu, the Han Dynasty invaded the territory and defeated Ugeo, a grandson of Wiman.

At this time, Godumak-han from West Amnok raised a militia advocating justice and proclaimed himself Dangun. In 86 BCE (Dangi 2248), during the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, Godumak-han conquered the old capital of Buyeo and named his state Dongmyeong (Light of the East). This was the old land of the people of Silla.

[Succession of North Buyeo by Gochumo and the Founding of Goguryeo]

In January of 58 BCE (Dangi 2276), Gochumo ascended the throne as the Son of the Heavenly Sovereign, succeeding North Buyeo. Gochumo restored the ancient laws and social systems of Dangun. Revering Haemosu as the founding emperor, Gochumo conducted memorial rites for him and proclaimed that the era of his own reign would be called Damul. He was the founder of the Goguryeo state.