neighbours for over 300 years, however, towards the end of the sixth
century, China began a most micidial war against the king of Ko-Korai, or
Korai, as it was then called, the "Ko" having been dropped. It seems
that even in those remote days the Chinese had no luck in the land of
Cho-sen, and though army after army, and hundreds of thousands of men
were sent against them, the brave Korai people held their own, and far
from being defeated and conquered, actually drove the enemy out of the
country, killing thousands mercilessly in their retreat, and becoming
masters of the Corean Peninsula as far south as the River Han.

To the south of Korai were the states of Shinra and Hiaksai, and between
these and Korai, there was for a couple of centuries almost perpetual
war, the only intervals being when the latter kingdom was suffering at
the hands of the formidable Chinese invaders. But as I merely give this
rough and very imperfect sketch of Corean history, to explain how the
word Korai originated and was then applied to the whole of the peninsula,
I must now proceed to explain in bold touches how the other states became
united to Korai.

After its annexation to China, the Korai state remained crippled by the
terrible blow it had received, for the Ko-Korai line of kings had been
utterly expelled after having reigned for over seven centuries, but at
last it picked up a little strength again through fresh migrations from
the north-west, and in the second decade of the tenth century a Buddhist
monk called Kung-wo raised a rebellion and proclaimed himself king,
establishing his court at Kaichow.

One of Kung-wo's officers, however, Wang by name, who was believed to be
a descendant of the Korai family, did away with the royal monk and sat
himself on the throne, which he claimed as that of his ancestors. Coming
of a vigorous stock, and taking advantage of the fact that China was weak
with internal wars, Wang succeeded in uniting Shinra to the old Korai,
thus converting the whole peninsula into a single and united realm, of
which, as we have already seen in the first chapter, he made the walled
city of Sunto the capital. Wang died 945 A.D., and was succeeded by his
son Wu, who wisely entered into friendly relations with China, and paid
his tribute to the Emperor of Heaven as if he ruled a tributary state. In
consequence of this policy it was that Corea enjoyed peace with her
terrible Celestial rival for the best part of two centuri