Chapter 5: Three Kingdoms Era

From the Kingdom of Paekche, Confucian ideals were transmitted to Japan at the bequest of King Kunch Ogo (346-375 AD). Two Confucian scholars, A Chikki and Wang In were sent to Japan. They brought with them ten copies of the Analects of Confucius and one copy of the Chien Cha Wen, "The Thousand Character Classic." This is also the point where the initial transmissions of the Korean martial arts system of Subak were passed from Korea to Japan.

During the Three Kingdom Era, Confucian ideology seems to have had the least direct effect upon the Korean Kingdom of Silla. By the end of the 6th century AD, Confucian ideals apparently influenced some of the cultural doctrines of this kingdom but not to the degree that it had impacted the kingdoms of Koguryo and Paekche.

Taoism

Taoism, which is both a religious and political system of thought, was first brought onto the Korean Peninsula in 624 AD when Emperor Kao Tsu, of the Chinese T'ang Dynasty, sent a Taoist priest, Shu Ta, to meet with King Yong Nyu (617- 642 AD) of Koguryo. At this point, the elite members of Koguryo society begin to take an interest in the speculative thought of Taoism but this enthusiasm only lasted for about one hundred years. It was much later, in the 12th century, that the Taoist concept of Um and Yang (Yin and Yang in Chinese) and the I Ching scriptures were embraced by the Korean masses.