Sangdaedŭng (, the First of Taedŭngs or Peers, Extraordinary Rank One) or Sangsin (), was an office of the Silla state. The Sangdaedŭng was the head of the Council of Nobles and was considered as the highest and most prestigious office that one could attain next to the throne itself. The position was established during King Beophung's 18th year as a king (531) and survived until the end of Silla.
Selection The Sangdaedŭng was chosen from among those men of "true bone" () lineage in Silla's strict aristocratic social order. He presided over the Hwabaek Council (), an advisory and decision-making committee composed of other high-ranking officials holding the office of Taedŭng (). The council's primary duties lay in rendering decisions on important state matters, such as succession to the throne and declarations of war.Lee, Ki–baik. A New History of Korea (translated by Edward W. Wagner with Edward J. Shultz). (Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1984), p. 53. Its existence dated back to the early Silla state and reflected that state's tribal origins. Throughout Silla history the Hwabaek Council led by the Sangdaedŭng served as a check on the king's authority.
During the middle period of Silla, following that state's unification of the peninsula, the focus of government authority shifted from the Hwabaek Council and Sangdaedŭng to the Chancellery Office (Jipsabu, ) and its Chief Minister (Sijung, , or alternately Jungsi, ), an office instituted in Silla in 651 as the highest organ in the central government apparatus. This reflected the monarchy's efforts to curb the power of an independent nobility by relying on the Chinese inspired Jipsabu rather than the Hwabaek Council, whose existence was predicated on age old aristocratic and clan prerogatives. In the wake of several challenges to his authority King Sinmun dared even execute the Sangdaedŭng Gungwan in 681 for complicity in the revolt of Kim Hŭmdol ().
Despite these attempts to limit its power, the office of Sangdaedŭng remained until the end of Silla the highest and most prestigious office one could attain short of the throne itself. In the later period of Silla, during which the throne was continuously contested, several monarchs emerged from the office of Sangdaedŭng.
List of Sangdaedŭng +MonarchNameYears in ServiceRefRomanizedHangulHanjaBeopheungCh'ŏlbu531–534Beopheung/Jinheung?Kim Guhae532?–576?JinjiGeochilbu 576–?JinpyeongNoribu 579–588?Sueulbu 588?–?SeondeokEulje 632–636Sup'um636–645?Bidam645?–647JindeokAlch'ŏn647–654MuyeolKŭm Kang655–660Muyeol/MunmuKim Yu-sin660–673MunmuKim Gungwan 680?–681Sinmun/Hyoso?Chin Pok681–694?HyosoMunyŏng694–695Kaewŏn695–?SeongdeokInp'um706–720Pae Pu720–728Kim Sagong728–?Chŏng Chong737–?GyeondeokKim Sain745–757Sinch'ung757–764Manjong764–768?HyegongSin Yu768–?Kim Yang-sang774–780SeondeokKim Kyŏngsin780?–785WonseongCh'ungnyŏm785–792Wonseong/Soseong?Segang792–?AejangKim Ŏnsŭng801–809HeondeokKim Sungpin809?–819Kim Suchong819–?HeungdeokKim Kyunchŏng835–836HuigangKim Myŏng836?–838MinaeKim Kwi838–?Sinmu?Chang Pogo839–?MunseongYejing840–849Kim Ŭichŏng849–857HeonanKim An857–?GyeongmunKim Chŏng862–874Wijin874–875Heongang/Jinseong?Kim Wihong875–888?HyogongChunhŭng898–?Hyogong/GyeongmyeongKim Sŏng906–912, 919–?SindeokKyegang912–?GyeongmyeongWiŭng917–924
Footnotes
References