Journal of the American Oriental Society 140.3 (2020) 531 Making and Remaking Silla Origins Richard D. McBride II BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY The ofcial narrative on the early history of the Korean state of Silla (trad. 57 BCE–935 CE) was constantly under revision and probably not initially charted until the late seventh or early eighth century. This narrative continued to evolve throughout the remainder of the Silla and early Koryŏ period (918–1392), achiev- ing its fnal form in the mid-twelfth century with the publication of the Samguk sagi. King Mich’u (trad. r. 262–284) was modeled closely on King Pŏphŭng (r. 514–540) to push Silla origins back several hundred years. Sŏk T’arhae (trad. r. 57–80) and Naemul (trad. r. 356–402) were crafted based on Chinese historiog- raphy. The late emergence of the legend of Pak Hyŏkkŏse (trad. 57 BCE–4 CE) as the ultimate founder of Silla in the Koryŏ period refects the relevance of the Pak descent group in the Silla-Koryŏ transition period and rise of the Pak lineage in the early Koryŏ period. On November 22, 2008, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) aired the frst half of a two- part documentary titled “Secrets of King Munmu’s Stele.” The subtitle of the episode gets to the heart of the assertion examined by the biopic: “Does the royal Kim family descend from the Xiongnu?” 1 This is because the damaged part of Munmu’s 文武 (r. 661–681) funerary stele says that members of the Silla royal family are “the descendants of Du-hou 秺候 (Kor. T’uhu) that sacrifced to Heaven” 秺侯祭天之, or Marquis Du, the historical fgure Jin Ridi 金日磾 (Kor. Kim Ilche, 134–86 BCE), a Xiongnu 匈奴 prince. Another part of the stele, however, refers to a certain Sŏnghan 星漢 as the founding ancestor of Silla 新羅 (trad. 57 BCE–935 CE). Sŏnghan is the name given to the Silla founder in a few funerary steles from the late seventh through mid-tenth centuries. This being the case, what are we to make of the narratives in the twelfth-century Samguk sagi 三國史記 (History of the Three Kingdoms) of Pak Hyŏkkŏse 朴赫居世 (trad. r. 57 BCE–4 CE), reported to have been the founder and frst sovereign of Silla, Sŏk T’arhae 昔脫 解 (trad. r. 57–80), who is recorded as having been the frst member of the Sŏk descent group to rule Silla, and Kim Alchi 金閼智 (trad. f. late frst century CE), reported to have been the progenitor of the long-reigning Kim family? How are we to understand other Silla notables, Author’s note: The author would like to thank the two anonymous readers for the journal for helping improve the quality of the essay and, more importantly, to make it accessible to an audience that does not specialize in early Korean history. 1. “Munmu wangnŭng pi ŭi pimil—Silla Kim-ssi wangjogŭn Hyungno ŭi huson in’ga?” (문무왕릉비의 비 밀–신라 김씨왕족은 흉노(匈奴)의 후손인가?). Korean Broadcasting System, November 22, 2008. Andrew Logie suggests that the 2008 Korean documentary ultimately may have drawn inspiration from a 1995 German documen- tary: Sphinx—Geheimnisse der Geschichte, subtitled “Todesreiter aus der Steppe—Die Hunnen stürmen Europa” by flmmaker Jens-Peter Behrend and academic Eike Schmitz, arguing that the European Huns of the fourth century CE were Xiongnu closely related to Koreans. One piece of evidence they suggest are Hun/Xiongnu type bronze cauldrons, which they compare to similar examples found in Kaya as well as the cauldron-shaped funnel on the back of the well-known Silla earthenware horserider fgurines. These ideas were referenced by the pseudo-historian Kim Unhoe in 2006. See Logie, Popular Korean Historiography in Northeast Asia: A Critical Survey from the 13th Century until the Present, Pertaining to Early Korea, Publications of the Institute for Asian and African Studies 18 (Helsinki: Univ. of Helsinki, 2016), 409, 417–19.