Dongcheon

King Dongcheon of Goguryeo
Korean alphabet :	동천왕, 동양 왕
Hanja :	東川 王, 東 襄王
Revised Romanization :	Dongcheon-wang, Dongyang-wang
McCune-Reischauer :	-

Birth Name
Korean alphabet :	우위 거, 위궁, 교체
Hanja :	憂 位居, 郊 彘
Revised Romanization :	Uwigeo, Wigung, Gyoche
McCune-Reischauer :	-

Dongcheon (* 209 ; † 248 ) was the eleventh ruler of the state of Goguryeo , the northern of the Three Kingdoms of Korea . He ruled from 227 until his death in 248.

Life

Dongcheon was the grandson of the eighth king Sindae and the son of the tenth king, his father Sansang . He was made Crown Prince in 213 and succeeded his father to the throne in 227.

Goguryeo had faced a major military threat from the Chinese Empire over the past few decades . Under Dongcheon's government, the decline in power of China began to show after the division into the Three Kingdoms . The north of Goguryeo was determined by the Chinese governor and warlord Gongsun Yuan , but he overestimated his strength and tried an uprising against his suzerainty, the Wei dynasty under Cao Rui, in an alliance with the emperor Sun Quan from southern China . Dongcheon briefly allied itself with the Wei dynasty and was able to beat Gongsun Yuan in association with the Wei general Sima Yi . In 242, Dongcheon gained another power after his victory at Yodong Fortress.

In 246, the Wei Dynasty sent an invading force of 10,000 men to Goguryeo and captured the capital, Hwando. Dongcheon therefore moved the capital to Pyongyang the next year . He was finally able to repel the invasion and maintain independence from Goguryeo. At the same time (245-248) Dongcheon fought against the southern empire Silla , but could not achieve any success.

Dongcheon fell ill in 248 and died. His son Yeon-Bul, crown prince since 243, succeeded him to the throne as King Jungcheon .

predecessor	Office	successor
Sansang	King of Goguryeo 227–248	Jungcheon