Silla's Social System

It is quite interesting how sudden a particular dynasty gets replaced by another in a blink of an eye. It is also quite interesting to sit back and view the various changes being taken place, whether it calls for drastic measures or simply leaving things the way they are. Perhaps changes will allow for improvement and create a better society for all. But, if things are done one way and results are satisfactory, why change a good thing? Koryo, a dynasty founded and ruled by a military commander named Wang Kon (T 'aego), did just that. It kept many of the female-centered features of Silla 's social system, which will be discussed in the following paragraphs. (Kim, p11) During the declination of the Silla dynasty and the formation of the newly
Changes were largely brought about by the introduction of Confucianism, which included the revision of the bone rank system and kinship organization. "One of the distinct features of Koryo society was the kinship unit of five generations which replaced the seven generation clan group as the basic unit of social organization." (Kim, p12) Since the bone rank system was discarded, a new class was created among the royal clan. Of course, King T 'aejo made sure Silla 's elite families maintain similar statuses as before. The ruling class consisted both the military and civil, was called the yangban. Below the yangban were the commoners (sangmin), and below them, existed the lowborn (ch 'onmin). Even though there were class distinctions and strict rules for all to marry within their social classes, the people of Koryo enjoyed a more flexible class system than those of the Silla period. This is explained by, ""¦ marriage in the upper class served in part to preserve power, marriage in the lower classes sometimes provided a means of climbing up the social ladder and accumulating wealth." (Kim, p14) This idea was practiced in the later periods of Silla, which was further carried out into the time or Koryo. Women were often deserted by their husbands for other women of higher status and wealth.
In the courts, Silla people valued having the bloodline stay within. And when there 's no heir to the throne, they would allow a princess to take over, whereas in Koryo times, a king 's illegitimate son would step forward, or a son-in law would, but never would the daughter take over. "Silla women had more legal rights and a relatively high status is society." (Kim, p7) Such rights can be seen carried out into the Koryo dynasty. Rights included something like property inheritance. Women, regardless of their marital status had almost equal rights with men. By almost, it is meant that the sons had priorities, especially in land inheritances, but for other properties such as slaves, claims were equal for both sons and daughters. Females were entitled to inheritances. They also had rights to access any inheritable properties. On the other hand, succession could not be assumed directly by the female, but only through her son. (Kim, P12) All the legitimate sons and grandsons came first, followed by the illegitimate sons and grandsons, then the daughters. Nonetheless, women 's roles and their rights were quite similar in both the dynasties, but there were few obvious changes that is led to believe women 's rights were more valued and expressed in the Silla time