Silla (redirected from Silu)

Silla

Kingdom of ancient Korea that in AD 668 consolidated other polities on the Korean peninsula under the Unified Silla dynasty (668–935). Traditionally believed to have been founded by Hyokkose in 57 BC, Silla emerged as a full-fledged kingdom in the 6th century. In the reign of King Chinhung (540–576), a unique military corps, the hwarang (see Hwarangdo), was organized; allied with Tang-dynasty China, it defeated the Korean state of Paekche in 660 and Koguryo in 668, then expelled the Tang forces to create a unified and independent Korean state. It adopted a Chinese bureaucratic structure, but its aristocracy was never replaced by a bureaucratic class based on merit. Silla art before unification shows a tendency toward abstraction; postunification art reflects Tang naturalism.

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Silla 

one of the three early states—Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche—that arose as the primitive communal order on the Korean Peninsula disintegrated; Silla was located in the southeastern part of the peninsula.

Although chronicles traditionally date the rise of Silla to 57 B.C., the tribes in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula, led by the Saro (or Silla) tribe, were brought together only in the course of the first few centuries of the common era. A state was not really formed until the sixth century, when, over a considerable area, the geographical division of the population was consolidated, organs of state administration were created, and Buddhism became the state religion. Thenceforth, the three states fought an increasingly bitter struggle for domination of the peninsula, while the Chinese dynasties actively intervened in the struggle. Silla, in alliance with the Chinese T’ang dynasty, defeated Paekche in 660 and Koguryo in 668; however, the T’ang dynasty’s subsequent attempts to entrench itself in the Korean Peninsula provoked a national liberation struggle, during which Silla united all Korea south of the Taedong-gang (river).

The rise of a united state of Silla in the late seventh century was an important stage in the formation of the Korean nationality and in the development of feudal relations. Irrigated crop cultivation and crafts made significant strides in Silla. In the ninth century, as large-scale landowning grew and separatism among feudal lords increased, the state of Silla broke up into numerous appanages.

M. N. PAK