CultureJuly 545(Lunar)

Geochilbu compiles the Guksa

Under King Jinheung, on Isabu’s advice, Geochilbu and others compiled the Guksa, a history of Silla.

In 545, the sixth year of King Jinheung, the minister Isabu argued that a national history records the merits and faults of rulers and subjects for all generations, and asked what posterity would have to look at if none were compiled. The king ordered Geochilbu and others to gather scholars and compile one.

The work does not survive. It is seen as a display of royal authority by a Silla that had promulgated its law code, recognised Buddhism and was now expanding its territory.

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States at the time: Silla

People

King JinheungAD 534 – AD 576
monarch · Twenty-fourth king of Silla, who took the Han River basin and Daegaya, raised border steles and organized the hwarang
Isabu
related figure · Silla general who subdued Usan-guk with wooden lions and later conquered Daegaya
Geochilbu
author · Silla minister and general under King Jinheung who compiled the history Guksa and took ten districts of the upper Han River from Goguryeo in 551

Before and after

Earlier: AD 539 Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha with Inscription of the 7th Year of Yeonga
Later: AD 550 King Jinheung’s Expansion

Themes that include this event

Writing Korean HistoryAD 375 – 1931
From the Seogi, Guksa and Sinjip to the Joseon sanggosa — history-writing as royal display, Confucian record, assertion of independence and nationalist scholarship