Wei Man

Wei Man (衛滿 wei4 man3) was a Chinese general who established a kingdom in northwestern Korea (Wiman Joseon) in the 2nd century BC. He was the first figure in the history of Korea who was recorded in documents of the same age. The Records of the Grand Historian simply calls him Man, so the surname Wei was probably named later.

Man was a general of the Yan Principality, which King Lu Wan (盧綰), Emperor Gao's old ally, ruled. However, Lu Wan fled to the Xiongnu in 195 B.C. because he was suspected of rebellion and was attacked by the Emperor. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, Man led 1,000 people, dressed in barbarian costume, crossed the Pei River(浿水; Chŏngchŏn River?) into Korea. He organized natives in Zhenfan and Chaoxian and Chinese refugees from Yan and Qi and came to the crown. He put the capital in Wangxian (P'yŏngyang). His kingdom is called Weishi Chaoxian (衛氏朝鮮, Wiman Joseon in Korean) today.

Since the Han Empire was not completely stabilized yet, the Governor of Liaodong appointed Man as an outer subject, provided that he did not prevent natives to go up to the empire. With the support of the Han Empire, he expanded the territory by conquering a lot of small towns. His kingdom was eventually conquered by Emperor Wu in 108 B.C during the reign of his grandson Youqu.

Weilue, which was written about 4,00 years later, says that Man took power in a coup from King Zhun, a descendant of the Chinese sage Jizi. Zhun fled to the south and proclaimed himself the King of Han. This seems to be the story of the Han clan, who claimed themselves as descendants of Jizi, and to have spread to China because of Chinese direct rule of the Korean peninsula.