Queen Seondeok of Silla

Titles In texts, Queen Seondeok is indicated not only as Seondeok yeowang , but also as Seondeok wang , Seondeok yeodaewang and Seongjohwanggo . Yeowang – Yeowang ("female king") is the title of queen regnant in Korean. Because there is no feminine equivalent to king and emperor in East Asian languages, different titles are used for female monarchs and female consorts. Wang – Unlike European languages, in East Asia, the titles of female monarchs can also be abbreviated as "king" or "emperor", much like their male counterparts. However, to avoid confusion with male monarchs, they are usually referred to as "female king" or "female emperor". Yeodaewang – It is a combination of yeowang ("female king") and daewang . In the Samguk yusa, she is also called Seondeok yeodaewang , meaning Great Queen (Regnant) Seondeok. Seongjohwanggo – The title given to Queen Seondeok when she ascended the throne was Seongjohwanggo (聖祖皇姑). It means Empress descended from divine ancestors. This is one of the cases in which Silla used the title of emperor/empress as well as the title of king/queen. (See Emperor at home, king abroad for more information.)

Succession to the throne Born Princess Deokman , Seondeok was the daughter of King Jinpyeong and Queen Maya of Silla. She had two siblings, Princess Cheonmyeong and Princess Seonhwa (although Seonhwa's existence is controversial due to the discovery of evidence in 2009 that points to King Uija's mother as being Queen Sataek and not Seonhwa as indicated by historical records). It is uncertain whether she or Cheonmyeong was the first born. According to the disputed text Hwarang Segi, Cheonmyeong was older than Seondeok. According to the historical text Samguk sagi, Seondeok was the eldest daughter.

According to the disputed text Hwarang Segi, because King Jinpyeong had no son whom he could pass the crown to, he began to consider his son-in-law, Kim Yongsu (husband of Princess Cheonmyeong) as his successor - after recognizing his achievements for the country. When Princess Deokman heard of it, she made a plea to her father, asking him to give her a chance to compete for the throne, insisting that she too had the right to compete for the throne as much as Kim Yongsu had. Seeing her determination, the King gave her the chance to prove herself worthy of the throne. Although it was not unusual for women to wield power in Silla (Queen Sado also served as a regent for King Jinpyeong), the thought of having a female ruler sitting on the throne was still unacceptable for most of them. Therefore, Princess Deokman had to prove herself in order to gain the trust and support of her people. Eventually, she succeeded, and was named as King Jinpyeong's successor. But this story is not mentioned in the historical texts Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa. According to the Samguk yusa, the reason Seondeok became a female monarch was just because there was no male Seonggol of Bone-rank system.

The decision was not accepted by everyone, and as a result; some officials planned an uprising in order to stop her from being crowned. On May of 631, Ichan Chilsuk and Achan Seokpum planned a rebellion. But, their plan was discovered and suppressed early on. As punishment, Chilsuk was beheaded in the market place along with his entire family. Seokpum was able to escape and ran to the Baekje border. However, he missed his wife and decided to return after exchanging clothes with a woodcutter. Upon his return, he was arrested by soldiers waiting for him at his home, and was later executed.

Reign Cheomseongdae, astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. In January 632, Queen Seondeok became the first queen regnant of Silla. As a ruler, Queen Seondeok's primary concern was the livelihood of her people. Right after she was crowned, she appeased her people by telling them what her policies would be. She sent royal inspectors throughout the kingdom to improve the care of widows, widowers, orphans, the poor, and the elderly. During that same year, she sent a diplomat to pay tribute to the Emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, and inform him about Silla's new ruler. However, Emperor Taizong of Tang refused to acknowledge Seondeok as a ruler because she was a woman.

In the second year of Queen Seondeok's reign, Cheomseongdae, an astronomical observatory, was built to help the farmers. She also announced a whole year of tax exemption for the peasants and reduced the tax for the middle class, and through this act of kindness, the queen won the people's support and her position was strengthened against the opposition of the male aristocracy. In June of the same year, Queen Seondeok sent a diplomat to pay nominal tribute to the Tang Emperor again; however, Emperor Taizong still refused to acknowledge her as a ruler. Seondeok was unfazed, as Korean rulers of Korean dynasties have always seen themselves as equal to the rulers of Chinese dynasties.

According to the Samguk sagi, in March, 636, the queen became ill and no amount of prayers and medicine worked. In March, 638, a large stone on the south side of the mountain moved on its own, and seven months later, Goguryeo attacked the mountain valley. The next year, the sea water on the eastern part of the Silla kingdom turned red, which caused all of the fish living in it to die. These events made the people anxious, and some of them considered them as bad omens portending the Silla kingdom's downfall.

In 642, Uija of Baekje personally led a campaign against Silla, and conquered 40 fortresses in the western part of Silla. General Yunchung conquered the strategically important Daeya Fortress with 10,000 men and executed the daughter and son-in-law of Kim Chunchu. In 643, Baekje and Goguryeo conquered Danghang Fortress, blocking an important sea route to the Tang dynasty. Because of this, Queen Seondeok sent a diplomat to the Emperor of Tang and asked for assistance. The Emperor gave her three proposals. First, he would attack the Liaodong Peninsula and carry out a naval campaign on the west to occupy the Baekje. Second, the emperor would provide thousands of Tang uniforms and army flags in order to help Silla soldiers disguise themselves as Chinese troops. Third, he would send a male royal of Tang descent to serve as a new king of Silla, as, according to him, Silla faced constant threat because their enemies did not fear them due to their having a female ruler. The diplomat returned to Silla, unable to tell the Queen of the proposals that the Tang Emperor had offered.

At that point of crisis, Queen Seondeok sent for the well known Buddhist monk, Jajang, who had been studying under the great Buddhist masters of the Tang dynasty for seven years. Monk Jajang returned to Silla in 643. He advised the queen and her counselors to build the great nine-story pagoda for the dual purpose of blocking foreign invasions and calming her people. After careful consideration, the queen decided to accept Jajang's proposal, seeing it as necessary to overcome the crisis that they were facing at that time. However, during her meeting with her royal subjects, she learned that they were strongly against it due to concern for the state of the royal treasury, knowing that the construction of the pagoda would bring a heavy tax burden on her people. But the queen still decided to continue with the plan with the firm belief that a work of religious devotion would bring her people together and show her people that Silla was still far from ruin. She told her royal subjects to "tear down her palace and use its bricks and timbers, if they think they lack the funds". After two years, the pagoda was finally completed; it was called Hwangnyongsa (meaning "Imperial Dragon Temple") and was considered the tallest temple in East Asia at that time. After Queen Seondeok's death, her cousin was then named as the next female ruler of Silla, and became Queen Jindeok.

Buddhism and astrology Like her father, Queen Seondeok was drawn to Buddhism. Silla built many temples, pagodas, and Buddha statues during her reign. One of the famous temples that was built during her time was the temple of Hwangnyongsa. According to ancient architectural records, the pagoda was 68 or 80 meters in height, making it one of the tallest structures in East Asia at the time. The pagoda represented the earnest wish of Queen Seondeok and the Silla people, to protect the country and bring the three kingdoms of Korea under one ruler. It was an offering to the Buddha, in hope that these wishes would be fulfilled. The queen often visited the Hwangnyongsa temple to pray for the wisdom and strength to save Silla from danger.

Bunhwangsa, Oseam, Sangwonsa, , Tongdosa, Woljeongsa, Baekdamsa, and Magoksa were built during her reign. She also built the "Star-Gazing Tower," or Cheomseongdae, considered the first dedicated observatory in the Far East, which helped farmers at that time. The tower still stands in the old Silla capital of Gyeongju, South Korea and is the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia.

Legacy She encouraged a renaissance in thought, literature, and the arts in Silla. She developed Buddhist culture, selected great talent, and established diplomacy with the Tang dynasty, laying the foundation for the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

However, there are also negative evaluations due to the military failure and the squandering of national power by the excessive construction of temples, and since Queen Seondeok's ascension to the throne itself was achieved through a compromise between two conflicting powers, no reforms that could even slightly affect the existing balance could be promoted during her reign. It was evaluated that the absence of any achievements related to system reorganization during Queen Seondeok's reign, except for Buddhist rites such as the construction of temples, clearly shows this. In addition, it was interpreted that the balance between the two powers was broken by King Uija's invasion west of the Nakdong River in 642, which led to the Rebellion of Sangdaedeung Bidam, the leader of the noble faction, as Queen Seondeok neared death in 647.

Husbands

According to the historical text Samguk yusa, she married (음갈문왕).

According to the disputed text Hwarang Segi, Queen Seondeok had three husbands. Kim Yongchun (김용춘), a child of King Jinji and Princess Cheonmyeong's brother-in-law. He served as an official during King Jinpyeong's reign and served as a Sangdaedeung for Queen Seondeok. Supposedly King Jinpyeong ordered Kim Yong Chun to become Princess Deokman's consort, in hope that a son would be born, so that the kingdom would not be entrusted to a woman. When they failed to conceive a child, Kim Yong Chun asked the king to allow him to retire as Princess Deokman's consort. The king agreed to his request, but asked him to assist Princess Deokman once she took over the throne. He went on to marry Princess Cheonmyeong in order to fulfill his brother's dying wish. (을제): served as an official during King Jinpyeong's reign and as a Sangdaedeung for Queen Seondeok. (흠반공): was said to be one of King Jinpyeong's brothers.

According to (창녕 조씨) tradition, she was married to the clan founder (조계룡).

However, it is widely believed that she did not let herself be wed in order to avoid political conflicts, hence the next female rulers after her (Queen Jindeok and Queen Jinseong) were not married either.

Legends Peony flowers and painting

This story is recorded in the Samguk yusa.

Emperor Taizong of China once sent the queen a painting of three peony flowers in red, purple and white, along with its actual seeds. When the queen had the seeds planted in her garden, she made a remark that "even though the flower was pretty, it probably does not have much fragrance". Her words were then proven to be correct when the flowers bloomed, wilted and died, without giving off any scent. People were surprised that she had known of it, and asked her about it. She explained it thus: "The painting showed no butterfly or bees beside the flowers. When he sent me this gift, Emperor Taizong was mocking me for not having a husband."

The peony flower does not have any scent, which is why butterflies were not interested on it — implying the reason why she did not have a husband was probably because no man was interested on her (not being married was seen as something negative for one's character and status during those days). It is said that the temple Bunhwangsa (Fragrance of the Royal Temple) was built as a response to the mockery.

Another version of that story tells that when Queen Seondeok was seven years old, her father King Jinpyeong received a box of peony seeds and a peony painting sent by Emperor Taizong of Tang. When she saw the painting, she commented that even though the flowers are pretty, it must not have much fragrance because no butterflies or bees were around them. Peonies, therefore, are equated with her wisdom and insight.

The Legend of Jigwi The Legend of Jigwi is recorded in . 3rd daughter (There is constant debate over her identity.) Cousin: Kim Seung-man , only daughter of Gukban and Lady Wolmyeong of the Park clan ; later Queen Jindeok

In popular culture Portrayed by Kim Hye Jung in the 1992–1993 KBS TV series Chronicle of the three Kingdoms Portrayed by Lee Ae-jung in the 2005 EBS TV series Jump Portrayed by Lee Hyun Jung in the 2006–2007 SBS TV series Yeon Gaesomun Portrayed by Lee Yo-won and Nam Ji-hyun in the 2009 MBC TV series Queen Seondeok. Portrayed by Yoon So-yi in the 2011 film The Bracelet of Blue Tears. Portrayed by Park Joo-mi, Sun Joo-ah and Hong Eun-hee in the 2012–2013 KBS1 TV series Dream of the Emperor. She is the leader of the Korean civilization in the Rise and Fall expansion of the 4X video game Civilization VI. Seondeok is a playable character in the Mobile/PC Game Rise of Kingdoms. Featured in Sheri Holman's Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595. Portrayed by Ahn So Ri in the 2017 KBS TV series Chronicles of Korea Playable hero character in the online video game Art of War