고구려 왕명과 왕호의 분석 — 고구려 성씨문화 이해의 토대작업으로서 —

Abstract

The official title of a Koguryeo monarch was systemized into three components - the Ho, the last name, and the Hwi(Myung). The monarch’s Wangho would be decided posthumously. The first three kings of the dynasty had no separate procedure to decide this Wangho after death, and used their Hwi(Myung) as a posthumous Wangho. After this period, they titled the deceased monarchs with the name of the area they were buried in. This was not a formal procedure to decide the posthumous Wangho, but the fact that they were given a new name that didn’t include their title during the time they were living shows a development in the legislation of Wangho. The following accomplishment (or characteristic) Wangho was created through a establishment procedure of examining and discussing the former king’s accomplishments, completing the legislation of Wangho. The accomplishment Wangho not only contained words showing the characteristics or achievements of the king but also included the Hwi and the name of the burial area. The former tradition had lived on in the Wangho. According to this tradition, when they failed to denominate a new Wangho, they would use the name of the burial area or the Hwi. The recording of the royal surname being “Hae” for not only the Koguryeo royal family but also that of Buyeo and Baekje likely comes from “Hae”, an indigenous word of Koguryeo and Buyeo, being the first syllable of the monarchs’ names. Later historians may have inadvertently distorted historical fact while restructuring ancient names according to their contemporary conventions of naming. It is evident that a non-prejudiced and fundamental observation/approach of ancient names is necessary.