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The 'Mohe' (or 'Malgal', 'Mogher') were a Tungusic people in ancient Manchuria. They are sometimes considered the ancestors of medieval Jurchen and modern-day Manchus. According to some records, they originally dwelt near the Liao River and later migrated southward. According to Chinese records, they were governed by the Buyeo kingdom, but broke free during the Chinese Three Kingdoms period. They subsequently became an autonomous state. They were involved in the early history of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The records of Baekje and Silla during the 1st century and 2nd century AD include numerous battles against the Mohe.
The Mohe were divided into various tribes, the most powerful of which were the Sumo Mohe. The Sumo Mohe were eventually conquered by Goguryeo, and the other Mohe tribes by Sui Dynasty China. Many Mohe moved back toward their northern homeland in this period. The "Mohe" section of the "Beidi Zhuan" (北狄传, Communications of the Northern "Di" Barbarians) of the "Jiu Tang Shu" (旧唐书, Old Book of Tang) states: "Their country is all (or "roughly") comprised of some tens of 'bu' (roughly "tribes," but also just generally meaning "divisions"), each having a chief, some of whom are attached to the Goryeo, and some of whom serve as common people (i.e., vassals) to the Tujue."
The Mohe also participated in the later kingdom of Balhae, 698-926. The founder of Balhae, Dae Joyeong (大祚榮) was recorded to be a former Goguryeo general of Sumo Mohe stock (''New Book of Tang''), although the ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Samguk Yusa'') written by Koreans several hundred years later states that he was of Goguryeo stock.^[1] After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the main ethnic group that became the Jurchen.
The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" (Japanese 新靺鞨, しんまか) or "New Mohe," the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it, which was introduced to the Japanese court during the Nara Period or around the beginning of the Heian Period from the Balhae Kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the "kana" reading Makkatsu (まっかつ), which is probably a reading pronunciation based on the standard Sino-Japanese readings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe the ethnonym of the Mohe.
The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested '
★ Motgit' (Chinese characters : 勿吉 Middle Chinese : Moji Korean: 물길 Japanese: もっきつ pinyin : Wùjí), as well as to that of the medieval Merkits, who opposed the rise of the Mongols lead by Genghis Khan.

Contents

Mohe Tribes

Notable personalities

Sumo Mohe Chieftains (粟末靺鞨/燕州靺鞨部 酋長)

Footnotes

See also

Mohe Tribes

According to some records, there were seven/eight Mohe tribes :

Moji/Merjie/Wuji (勿吉)	Mohe/Mogher/Malgal (靺鞨)	Modern location
Sumo tribe 粟末部 속말부	Sumo tribe 粟末部 속말부	near Songhua River (松花江)
Baishan tribe 白山部 백산부	Baishan tribe 白山部 백산부	near Changbai Mountains (長白山)
Yulou tribe 虞婁 우루	Yulou tribe 虞婁 우루	on the Suifun Basin
Bodo tribe 伯咄部 백돌부	Bodo tribe 伯咄部 백돌부
Funie tribe 拂涅部 불열	Funie tribe 拂涅部 불열	near the Mudanjiang River (牡丹江) on the Khanka Basin
Anchegu tribe 安车骨部 안차골부	Tieli tribe 鐵利 철리
Haoshih tribe 号室部/號室部 호실부	Yuexi tribe 越喜 월희
Heishui tribe 黑水部 흑수부	Heishui tribe 黑水部 흑수부	low banks of Heilongjiang (黑龙江)

Notable personalities

Sumo Mohe Chieftains (粟末靺鞨/燕州靺鞨部 酋長)

★ Todiji (突地稽 Hangul : 돌지계 Pinyin:Tūdìjī) ca. 580-620

★ Li Jin-xing (李謹行 Hangul : 이근행 Pinyin:Lǐ Jǐnháng) (619-683), Chinese name of the Mogher chieftain Todiji's son

★ Li Dazuo(?) (李多祚 Hangul : 이다조 Pinyin:Lǐ Duōzuò)

★ Qiqi Zhongxiang (乞乞仲象 Hangul : 걸걸중상 pinyin:Qǐqǐ Zhòngxiàng) later known as Dae Jung-sang.

Footnotes

1. Yi, U-song. "A Study of the Period of the Northern and Southern States". ''Korea Journal'', Vol.17, No.1, Jan., 1977.



★ Relationship between Mohe aristocratic names, Jurchens and Hungarian names

See also

★ History of China

★ History of Korea

★ List of Korea-related topics

★ Balhae