Gija Joseon - Controversy On Whether Gija and Jizi Were The Same Person

Controversy On Whether Gija and Jizi Were The Same Person

Those records made no references to Jizi being enfeoffed with Joseon by King Wu or his seizing power in Joseon. Archeological evidence suggests that Chinese bronze cultures were very different from Korean bronze cultures through this period, and Chinese writing system was not used in Korea at this period. Until such evidence put the Gija/Jizi theory into doubt, it was widely believed that Gija Joseon was located in current Korea, replacing Gojoseon of Dangun.

Some scholars, who try to reconcile the Book of Han account with archaeological evidence, believe that Jizi settled west of Beonjoseon based on the Book of Han's assertions and Korean record of Samguk Yusa, arguing that the records suggest that Gojoseon continued to coexist with Gija Joseon after the migration of Jizi. These scholars believe that Jizi's influence was limited to western Gojoseon, west of Liao River.

Historian Kim Jung-bae argues that the association between Jizi and Joseon has generally been disproven. He believed that the existence of Gija Joseon as a state established by Jizi was fabricated during Han Dynasty. He and historians holding similar views point out that the Bamboo Annals, and Confucius's Analects, which was the earliest extant text that referred to Jizi, did not say anything about his going to Gojoseon. Similarly, the Records of the Grand Historian, written soon after the conquest of Wiman Joseon by Han, made no reference to Joseon in its discussions about Jizi and no reference to Jizi in its discussions about Joseon. Kim, and other scholars holding similar views, believe that the confusion and/or intentional fabrication of the account arose out of the confusion between Jizi and Gihun's ancestor Gija. There are many controversies on whether Gija was the surname "Gi," or "Ki", or "Han". There are those controversies because King Jun of Gija Joseon defeated Samhan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan Joseon, uniting the 4 Old Joseon territories, and claimed himself "King of Han", which makes people think that all kings of Samhan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan Joseon of "Han" lineage, which makes people with other surnames in Korea jealous of the surname "Han".