Korean History › Unified Silla & Balhae › Balhae
Dae Jo-yeong, founder of Balhae
r. 698–719· Person· Rulers & states
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A Goguryeo-linked leader who escaped Tang control with Goguryeo and Mohe followers and founded Balhae in 698.
See it on the Korean History map →What happened
Dae Jo-yeong (대조영) had been deported with his people to Yingzhou, in today's Liaoning, after Goguryeo fell. When the Khitans revolted against Tang in 696, his father's band and the Mohe leader Geolsa Biu broke away eastward. After Tang forces killed Geolsa Biu, Dae Jo-yeong rallied both groups and beat the pursuing Tang army at Cheonmunryeong in 698. He founded a state near Dongmo Mountain, first called Jin; in 713 Tang recognized him as king of Bohai (Balhae).
Why it matters
He built a successor state to Goguryeo in the north, which later shaped the idea of a 'North–South States' period in Korean history.
Legacy and how we know
The Old and New Tang histories; Balhae royal tombs, such as Princess Jeonghyo's with its dated epitaph, confirm the dynasty he founded.
Still debated
The two Tang histories disagree: one calls him a Goguryeo man of 'separate stock,' the other a Sumo Mohe attached to Goguryeo.
Connections (2)
▸Dae Jo-yeong, founder of Balhae founded BalhaeWell documented
The connection
After defeating Tang at Cheonmunryeong, Dae Jo-yeong built a state near Dongmo Mountain, gathering Goguryeo refugees and Mohe tribes. He first called it Jin; from 713 Tang recognized him as king of Bohai, and the name Balhae stuck. His Dae clan ruled until 926.
When and how
698, near today's Dunhua in Jilin, China; Tang recognition followed in 713.
How we know
The Old and New Tang histories describe the founding; early Balhae sites near Dunhua have been excavated.
Debates and open questions
Exactly where the first capital stood, and how independent of Tang the early state was, are still debated.
▸Dae Jo-yeong, founder of Balhae is said to descend from GoguryeoDebated
The connection
Dae Jo-yeong led Goguryeo and Mohe refugees out of Tang-held Yingzhou, defeated a Tang army at Cheonmunnyeong, and founded Balhae in 698. The Old Book of Tang calls him 'of a separate branch of Goguryeo'; the New Book of Tang calls him a Sumo Mohe once subject to Goguryeo.
When and how
From Yingzhou, near today's Chaoyang in Liaoning, east to Dongmo Mountain in Jilin, 696–698.
How sure are we?
The two Tang histories disagree; Korean sources such as the Samguk yusa and later works stress his Goguryeo roots.
Debates and open questions
His ancestry is the crux of the Korean–Chinese dispute over Balhae; many scholars see a Mohe background shaped by long Goguryeo rule.