Structuring Silla's State Ceremonial System : The Rites for Mountain and Streamin the Former Baekje Territory

This paper examines the organization and significance of Silla's state ceremonial system (祀典體制), focusing on the rites for mountain and stream (山川祭祀) conducted in the former territories of Baekje. In governing its expanded territory after unification, Silla actively incorporated traditional mountain and stream beliefs into the framework of national rites (國家祭祀), utilizing them as a core ideological basis for state governance. In particular, the state ceremonial system centered on the Great Mountains and Stream (名山大川) functioned not merely as a set of religious practices, but as a political and religious apparatus that institutionalized the state's ruling ideology and legitimized royal authority. In this regard, Silla's inclusion of mountain and stream sites in former Baekje regions was not simply for religious purposes, but rather served as a symbolic measure to assert political integration and control, strategically utilizing the military and geographical significance of these locations. Notably, Silla deliberately excluded the Three Mountains (三山), which were once revered as protectors of Baekje's royal authority, while incorporating sites such as Gyeryongsan and the Geumgang River, where previous ritual traditions existed. This indicates a calculated policy to appropriate local sacredness while implanting a new order of rule. Furthermore, the inclusion of major mountain and stream sites such as Garimseong, Dongroak, and Seodasan－former battlefields between Baekje and Silla－demonstrates a decision informed by the historical and military significance of these areas, serving as a symbolic reaffirmation of Silla's royal supremacy. Under the state ceremonial system, the king of Silla exclusively presided over the rites, and this monopolization of sacrificial authority functioned as a key mechanism for strengthening royal legitimacy and authority. Ultimately, the rites for mountain and stream played a crucial role in symbolically unifying the newly expanded territory of Silla after unification, including the former Baekje domain. The organization of these rites simultaneously absorbed regional sacredness and reconstituted sacred spaces under a new royal order, functioning as a political strategy for ideological and religious conquest beyond mere military subjugation.