Studies on the Korean music history has dealt so far with the music history of Silla in Three -Kingdom era centering on Kayag m and dancing. In addition, the musical pieces found in the music section of Samguksagi's miscellaneous part, such as "Hoeak" ...
Studies on the Korean music history has dealt so far with the music history of Silla in Three -Kingdom era centering on Kayag m and dancing. In addition, the musical pieces found in the music section of Samguksagi's miscellaneous part, such as "Hoeak", "Siny lak" and so forth, have been generally understood as folk music that reflects its local characteristics. As a result, Silla music has been considered to be less sophisticated than that of Paekche and Kogury , the other two kingdoms in those days. It has also been assumed that orchestral music may have become possible by the introduction of the musical instruments of the neighboring countries after the unification of the three kingdoms.
However, its hard to believe that only music culture was left behind in a simple form while other aspects of the country dramatically developed over the 6th to the 7th century, to the extent that it could finally achieved the feat of the unification. From this viewpoint, this research is intended to broaden the perspective on the music history of Silla by examining the music in its different developmental stages in Three-Kingdom era.
The history of Silla music can be divided into three stages to make a systematic approach into it. In the first stage of the Sam-Han era in the Bronze age, the music of Jinhan which later became Silla couldnt be compared with that of Mahan. In the second stage, from 4th to 5th century, as Silla developed into an ancient nation, it polished its court music and began to try orchestral music. The music in this period was more influenced by that of Central Asia than that of China. In the third stage, from 6th to 7th century, Chinese musical elements started to be introduced due to active trades with the country.
In short, Silla took the shape of an ancient country in the second stage and went through dramatic changes in the next stage. Along with these social changes, its music must have grown more refined, which, in turn, laid the groundwork for the music of Unified Silla.
Kayag m and dancing used to be regarded as the musical essentials of Silla music. Then, the discovery of clay dolls with the musical instruments proved the existence of the wind and string instruments in the Silla era, which shed a new light on its music. In addition, though the musical pieces found in the music section of Samguksagi had been simply considered to be local music, they turned out to be the court music that is closely related to the Silla Royal Family. Hyang-ga, the folk music, is discussed as a part of Silla music and the accommodation of Chinese music, Dang-ak, and the introduction of Buddhist music are considered to be the other aspects of Silla music, though they have been prevalently believed to be the characteristics of Unified Silla music. I hope that these findings will help deepen and broaden the appreciation in Silla music.