“Bone” as the Underlying Subject for Nobility in Koreans and Turks

In Silla (668-935), i.e. the first kingdom to unite the Korean Peninsula under a single roof, within the bone-rank system [kol-p’um] that discriminates the nobles from commoners, and among the nobles the dynasty from bureaucracy, “bone” manifests itself as the underlying subject of nobility. According to this bone-rank system, those who were born a “sacred bone” [sŏng-gol] consisted the highest stratum, those who were born a “true bone” [chin-gol] were of the second rank. Kings and queens were supposed to belong to the sacred bone caste. The relatives of the dynasty and the ministers constituted the true bone caste. And below them, and above the commoners [p’yŏng-min], there were the “head rank” [tu-p’um] caste that consisted of six levels. In like manner, white bone-dark bone dichotomy determines who is noble and who is not in Turks and in Genghis Khan Empire, i.e., nobility is an attribute of bone regarding being white or not. For in Turks and Genghis Han Empire, “white bone” signifies nobles; whereas “dark bone” signifies commoners. This remarkable similarity is a sign that the Turks and the Koreans have more in common, along with nomadism, the monotheistic belief in the God of Heaven(s) (i.e. Blue Sky or Tengri) and Altay language. This humble work aims at grounding this point mentioned

Keywords

stratification, bone-rank system, white and dark, common cultural traits