Samguk Sagi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms) is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The Samguk Sagi was written in Classical Chinese (as used in writing by Korean scholars at the time) and compiled by the Korean historian Kim Busik (金富軾) in 1145. It is very well known as the Oldest Korean history book.
The 50 volumes are:
- Records of Silla (Nagi; 나기; 羅紀) (16 volumes)
- Records of Goguryeo (Yeogi; 여기; 麗紀) (10 volumes)
- Records of Baekje (Jegi; 제기; 濟紀) (6 volumes)
- Chronological tables (3 volumes)
- Miscellanea (9 volumes): ceremonies, music, transport, housing, geography, official ranking
- Biography (10 volumes)
The title nomenclature was influenced by the Chinese historical texts Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian and Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou.
Some modern historians are critical of the records provided in Samguk Sagi. Their main criticisms stem from the supposed flunkeyism towards China and the Silla-centered view of the Three Kingdoms period. This criticism comes from the fact that Kim Busik is a patrician of Silla origin who supported Confucianism over Buddhism as the guiding principle in governance and favored presenting tributes to the Chinese emperor to prevent a conflict with China. The critics subsequently claim that the author and his beliefs effectively reduced the importance of Goguryeo in Korean history, while augmenting that of Silla.
See also
