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PersonAD 793

King Mun (Dae Heum-mu)

Balhae's third king, who used the era name Daeheung, made peace with Tang, set up the Three Departments and Six Ministries, moved the capital to Sanggyeong and opened the Silla Road

He used the era names Daeheung and Boryeok, and Princess Jeonghyo’s epitaph calls him "Emperor." He set up three central chancelleries - Jeongdangseong, Seonjoseong and Jungdaeseong - and six ministries named after Confucian virtues (loyalty, benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, propriety and faithfulness); the Jeongdangseong’s chief minister directing the government and the virtue names were features unique to Balhae. He founded the Jujagam as the highest school. In letters to Japan he called himself "King of Goryeo (Goguryeo)," and in 762 Tang raised Balhae’s status from "prince of Bohai Commandery" to "king of Bohai."

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3 related events

  1. 1
    AD 737 – AD 793Reforms of King Mun of Balhaemonarch

    King Mun made peace with Tang and adopted its institutions, creating the Three Departments and Six Ministries; he used the era name Daeheung and opened the Silla Road.

  2. 2
    AD 756Balhae Moves its Capital to Sanggyeongmonarch

    King Mun moved the capital from the Central Capital to Sanggyeong Yongcheon-bu, a grid city modelled on Tang Chang’an.

  3. 3
    AD 780 – AD 792Tombs of Princesses Jeonghye and Jeonghyo of Balhaemonarch

    Tombs of King Mun’s daughters Jeonghye (buried 780) and Jeonghyo (buried 792), which show Goguryeo and Tang culture side by side.

People who appear alongside

  • Princess JeonghyeAD 737 – AD 777

    King Mun's second daughter, buried in a stone-chamber tomb in the Liudingshan cemetery

  • Princess JeonghyoAD 757 – AD 792

    King Mun's fourth daughter, buried in a brick tomb with figure murals in the Longtoushan cemetery

Themes this person appears in

  • Sui, Tang and the East Asian WorldAD 317 – AD 979

    From the divided Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Gupta age through the Sui and Tang empires to the founding of the Song — the age when an East Asian world sharing law codes, Buddhism, Confucianism and Chinese characters took shape, and Korea and Japan built their states on its model

  • Central Government Through the AgesAD 250 – 1899

    From the noble councils of the Three Kingdoms to the State Council, the Border Defense Council and the Gabo cabinet — how central government shifted between aristocratic consensus and royal power

  • Educational Institutions Through the AgesAD 372 – 1943

    From the Taehak and Gukhak to the Gukjagam and Seonggyungwan, modern schools and the colonial education ordinances — state schools that trained officials and the private schools that filled the gaps

  • Changes in Tombs2000 BC – 1374

    From dolmens to the tomb of King Gongmin — stone-mound, stone-mound wooden-chamber, stone-chamber and brick tombs, and how burial changed by kingdom and age