Gyeongsun of Silla
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| Monarchs of Korea Silla (Post-Unification) |
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Gyeongsun of Silla (d. 978, r. 927-935) was the 56th and final ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. A sixth-generation descendant of King Munseong, he was the son of Ichan Hyojong by Princess Gyea, who was the daughter of King Heongang.
Gyeongsun was placed on the throne by Hubaekje king Gyeon Hwon after the Hubaekje forces sacked Gyeongju in 927. Gyeongsun reigned over a tiny remnant of the former Silla territory until finally abdicating to Taejo of Goryeo in 935. His abdication completed Taejo's unification of Korea.
Gyeongsun married a daughter of Taejo (presumably as a second wife), and lived out the remainder of his life near the Goryeo capital (modern-day Kaesong). His tomb lies in Jangdan-myeon, Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
According to Samguk Sagi, Gyeongsun's son, Prince Ma-Ui objected to his father's submission to Goryeo and became a hermit in Mount Kumgang. Another myth, recently made somewhat prominent by Korean ultranationalists, holds that Prince Ma-Ui went much farther noth, into the land of the Jurchens where he became the founder of the Aisin Gioro clan, who would eventually become masters of China as rulers of the Qing Dynasty. It should be noted that Aisin Gioro does mean "gold," like the royal Shilla surname "Kim" and indeed some surviving members of the Aisin Gioro clan also use the character 金 for their surname.
