An Syudy on the Records of Goguryeo seen in Historical Notes of Tang and Song Dynasties

Historical texts are classified into public and private sources. Public sources, represented by the Chinese canonical histories officially compiled by the respective dynasties, have played an important role in overcoming data limitations in the study of Korean ancient history. However, relatively little attention has been paid to private sources, including historical notes. Historical notes written by intellectuals contain a great deal of historical information. In recognition of their historical value, China has long categorized and published such materials under the name of “Historical Notes”. Among them, the “Historical Notes of the Tang and Song Dynasties” published by the China Book Bureau is highly authoritative. Focusing on this book, this study identified 42 articles related to Goguryeo from a total of 60 texts. The identified Goguryeo-related articles have some overlap with the existing materials of the public sources represented by the canonical histories. However, considering that many of them were compiled before the “Old Book of Tang” and the “New Book of Tang”, their historical value is not insignificant. Moreover, even if they are the same, most of them have slight differences in words and phrases. The historical notes contain a wide range of information, including data on the wars between Goguryeo and Tang, the lives of the Goguryeo people who migrated to Tang after the fall of Goguryeo, and the views of the Tang and Song dynasties on the Goguryeo people. In particular, this study has identified several new materials in “Chaoye Jinzai,” “Minghuangzalu,” and several others that have never been found in the canonical histories. Examples include Goguryeo’s espionage activities in China’s interior before the fall of Goguryeo and a belt worn by the king of Goguryeo that was taken from Goguryeo during the fall of Goguryeo. The materials found in the historical notes are expected to contribute to further research on the history of Goguryeo.