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Ja-oji Hwanung (Hangul:자오지 환웅;Hanja:慈烏支桓雄) (2707 BCE - 2598 BCE) was the legendary fourteenth ruler of the ancient Korean Empire of Baedal who appears in the Hwandan Gogi. Jaoji Hwanung is better known as Chi-Woo Cheonhwang (Hangul:치우 천황;Hanja:慈烏天皇). Chi-Woo is recognized today in Korea as one of the greatest rulers and heroes of Korean history. He was deified as a war god in some other parts of Asia.

Background

Chi-Woo was a descendant of Baedal's first Hwanung, Keobalhan, who had founded the kingdom in the year 3897 BCE. The Baedal kingdom consisted entirely of the Baedal people, who were later called Dongyi by those in the Huanghe river valley, also known as the North China Plains.

Reign

Chi-Woo succeeded Sawara Hwanung to the throne of Baedal during the year 2707 BCE. Upon rising to the throne, Chi-Woo was almost immediately faced with the threat of the growing influence of Yoomang, who was a descendant of the Yan Emperor, also known as Shennong. Yoomang was the 8th and final ruler of the kingdom of Shennong. Chi-Woo declared war on the kingdom of Shennong, and rose victorious at Kuhon. Yoomang fled to his close relative, Xuanyuan, also known as the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor led a tribe of his own, and merged his tribe with the Shennong tribe to form the Huaxia tribe. The Huaxia tribe declared war on Baedal, and a ten-year war began. Chi-Woo ordered for weapons to be created, and among these weapons was the first form of metal armor to be created on this world. Along with this armor was said to have been horned helmets as well. Chi-Woo's army consisted of 8 skilled generals, 81 adjunct generals, and an unknown but massive number of soldiers. Baedal and the Huaxia tribe battled each other bitterly in seventy battles. One of these battles was led by General Chiwoo-Bi, who was among Chi-Woo's younger brothers. Chiwoo-Bi was defeated at Takrok, and eventually killed at Hebei. Chi-Woo Hwanung returned to Shinshi. Upon returning, he moved the capital from Shinshi to Chung-Gu, which was located in the Shandong region. From there he ruled over Baedal and continued expanding, restoring all of Hwan-guk's territories at its height.

Death and Aftermath

Chi-Woo Hwanung died during the year 2598 BCE, at the age of 151. He was succeeded by Chi-Aekteuk, who became the 15th Hwanung of Baedal. Chi-Woo Hwanung was deified as a war god in some parts of Asia at that time. Chi-Woo's later descendants, the ancestral Koreans, also deified him and kept his memory alive, a memory that is slowly being revealed once again.

Controversy

• Before his final showdown against the armies of Xiang Yu, Han Gaozu Liu Bang was said to have visited a shrine of Chi-Woo, who had been deified as a War God throughout East Asia for centuries. After his victory and establishment of the Han Empire, Liu Bang was said to have built a Chi-Woo shrine within the capital of Chang'an.

• It is also said that Chi-Woo was captured and executed at Hebei, but the person killed at Hebei was actually General Chiwoo-Bi, and not Chi-Woo Hwanung. General Chiwoo-Bi disobeyed orders and impatiently led an attack on Xuanyuan's army and was defeated.

• The Chinese also celebrate that Xuanyuan led the Huaxia tribes to defeat Chi-Woo numerous times.

• Much of what is known about Jaoji Hwanung in the context of Korean culture comes from the Hwandan Gogi, which itself is a highly controversial book that purports to describe hitherto-unrecorded events that happened millennia before its compilation.

See also

• Baedal
• List of legendary monarchs of Korea
• Chi You
• Yellow Emperor

Sources

• Hwandan Gogi