『魏書』의 黑齒國은 어디인가?

Finding the “Black-toothed Country” As Mentioned in Wui-Suh(魏書) Text

Many historians agree that the Ancient Kingdom of Baekjae(百濟ㆍBC 1st Century ～ AD 7th Century) was a dominant power in the Korean Peninsula and neighboring regions. But unknownst to many historians both Korean and foreign, there is new evidence suggesting that the Kingdom of Baekjae was once a great maritime power extending far into East Asia. The ancient Chinese historical documents such as Song-Suh(宋書), Yang-suh(梁書) and Nam-Jae-Suh(南齊書) all mention Baekjae Kingdom as a power which maintained “colonial power” in considerable areas in Mainland China. Accordingto Song-Suh and Yang-Suh, Baekjae Kingdom acquired the territory of “Ryo-Sue-Gun(遼西郡)” and “Jin-Pyong-Gun(晉平郡)” in early 5th Century and set up in those regions, a governing body of “Baekjae-Gun(百濟郡)”. It is a known that the location of “Ryo-Sue-Gun” was in the area of Cho-Yang City(朝陽市) in the North-Eastern China. Due to the lack of detailed information about the geography of “Jin-Pyong-Gun”, one could not ascertain the exact where abouts of the location. But a few years ago, a Korean documentary(produced by a Korean broadcast station) introduced a small rural village called “Baekjae” in Kwang-Si Province, China. The inhabitants of this village are Chinese people descended from a minority race called “Jang-Jok”(壯族, race of Jang). One of the fascinating facts about the people of “Baekjae Village” is that for almost 1500 years they have kept alive the history of ancient Korean kingdom of Baekjae. Today, the local inhabitants of Baekjae Villege who are mostly Jang-Jok people still speak of the ancient Kingdom as “Great Baekjae(大百濟)”.(This was also where Song-Suh’s “Jin-Pyong-Hyun”(晉平縣) was located) Half a century ago in China, there was an important excavation of a ancient tomb belonging to a General named “Black toothed” Sang-Ji(黑齒常之). The inscription on the tomb showed that General “Black-toothed” Sang-Ji and his clan originated from Baekjae Kingdom. His family was of royal blood and he was specially appointed as King(?) of the “Black-toothed Country” in the mid-6th Century. His name “Black-toothed(黑齒)” comes from this tradition. From these finds, we can conclude that Baekjae Kingdom did control parts of South-Western China. But it is still unknown exactly how far Baekjae Kingdom’s region extended into Eastern Asia. Moreover, in the recent edition of the Chinese Dictionary “Who is Who in Ancient Generals”, General “Blacktoothed” Sang-Ji was born in the area of Baekjae Village, Kwans-Si Province. From this we can assume that the capital of the “Black toothed Country” was also in the same region.