The New History of Korean Civilization

Copyright © 2012 by Chai-Shin Yu.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4620-5559-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-5560-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-5561-6 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011917151

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 02/11/2012

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Glossary

To Mr. & Mrs. Duk-Sun Kim

Preface

It has long been our intention to write a book of Korean history and culture in English, so that knowledge of our country’s history would be more readily accessible to foreign students. Recent events, however, have given this plan greater urgency. Recently there has been considerable discussion in Korea concerning an officially-sanctioned scholarly trend in China to treat Koguryo history as part of Chinese, not Korean, history. We feel a need to counter this erroneous perception of Korean history, and also believe that the heightened interest in Korean history that the controversy has inspired provides a fertile ground for the publication of a new book on Korean history and culture.

Until the nineteenth century, Korea was considered to be a secluded country, and was called the Hermit Kingdom because of its isolation, or the land of the Morning Calm as a literal translation of Choson and perhaps because of its agriculture-based economy. However, beginning in the 1960s, a strong wave of industrialization began to sweep over the Republic of Korea, and as she marched steadily towards full democracy, became part of the worldwide trend of globalization. Indeed, Korea now is one of the world’s top ten trading nations, and has been the site of such international events as the 1988 Olympics, and with Japan, co-host of the 2002 World Cup of Football. These successful events showed the world the new face of Korea and sparked worldwide interest in Korean history and culture—both traditional and modern. This book is an attempt to respond to that interest.

In compiling this book, we tried to keep the following guidelines in mind.

Firstly, since this book is designed for non-Koreans, we did not include all the Political systems that have appeared throughout the history of Korea, because such excessive complexity would make the book hard to read.

Secondly, we tried to provide as many illustrations as possible in the hope of introducing the richness and variety of Korea’s artistic expression through the ages.

Thirdly, we attempted the monumental task of describing the entire span of Korean culture from the beginning to 2002.

Fourthly, in the transliteration of all Korean names and terms we used the McCune Reischauer. Exceptions were made, however, for the names of some prominent twentieth century Koreans who are better known under a different transliteration. For Chinese, we followed pinyin transliteration.

We consulted a wide variety of books for the translations of terminology and the titles of books, but relied especially on Edward Wagner and Edward Schulz’s translation of Ki-baik Lee’s A New History of Korea. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that, without their pioneering work, and the work of many previous scholars, this book would have been very difficult to write indeed.

In the contents of this book, B.C. is used to specify time periods but A.D. is not used. Therefore, any years shown without abbreviations after them will be understood to mean A.D.

In the process of writing this book, Dr. Jung Bae Kim and graduate students at Korea University gave me a great deal of help; also Prof. Youngsik Yoo form Univ. of Toronto helped me. Moreover, my friend and colleague at the University of Toronto, Professor R. W. L. Guisso, carried out the final proofreading and fact-checking. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife for endless hours of work.

Chai-Shin Yu

Introduction

This book outlines the major features of Korean culture, particularly highlighting its distinctiveness from its Chinese and Japanese counterparts. It was written for the purpose of introducing the roots of Korean culture to Westerners and second-generation Koreans living in the West.

Covering an area of 220,000 km2, Korea is a peninsular nation, includes a number of small islands, and is comparable in size to the United Kingdom and Italy. It adjoins China to the west and Russia to the north and to its south lies the islands of Japan. The Korean race originated from the Yemaek people whose members came from various tribes in Siberia, Mongolia, and some parts of China. Currently, the populations of South and North Korea are about 40 and 19 million respectively.

Introducing Korean culture to the West is a task of great import. Throughout its 4000-year long history, Korea has developed a unique culture. The foundations of East Asian culture and thought were laid by both China and Korea. The Korean contribution in the development of Chinese culture was already discussed in my book, Korean Thought and Culture. Korean culture also played a vital role in the formation of Japanese culture. It should be pointed out, for instance, that the Meiji Reform, which laid the foundation of Japan’s modernization, was inspired by the Neo-Confucian thought of the Korean scholar T’oegye.

Korea was able to preserve the Confucian and Buddhist thought and culture of East Asia, in contrast to China, where, since the rise of the communist regime, objective study of Chinese culture has been lacking. The communist government’s negative outlook towards traditional culture, including the Confucian and Buddhist heritage, led to the destruction of numerous cultural artifacts during the Cultural Revolution. The Confucian rites and royal ancestral rites, which disappeared in China, are still performed in Korea in the National Confucian Academy. Korea, in other words, preserved and developed the traditional culture of East Asia. The rich legacy of Buddhist and Confucian traditions can be seen in the ancient Silla capital of Kyongju and in the Andong Folk Village.

The two pillars of Korean thought are the monotheistic Hananim (One God) thought and polytheistic Samsin (Three-Gods: Hwanin, Hwanung, and Tangun) thought. Daoism, often considered as a branch of Chinese thought founded by Laozi and Zhuangzi, also originated from Korea; it has its roots in the religious thought of the Tong-i people, the predecessors of the Korean race, who moved to China and disseminated Daoist ideas. Another branch of Korean thought is the Sonbi tradition, which predates the introduction of Confucianism to Korea. Sonbi thought emphasizes the importance of 1) loyalty and propriety, 2) knowledge and integrity, 3) harmonious coexistence of human beings based on the ideal of mutual beneficence, and 4) balance of cultural and military prowess. The advocates of these ideals later served as officials in the government, and they came to be known as Sonbi.

The Three Kingdoms of Korea—Koguryo, Paekche, and Silla—made significant contributions to the development of East Asian culture. Koguryo’s tomb murals are regarded as paramount landmarks in the history of Asian art, and Koguryo’s Buddhist master Sungnyang is recognized as the founder of China’s Three Śāstra School, a good example of the Korean influence in the development of Chinese Buddhism.

Paekche’s culture in particular had a great impact on the making of Japan’s ancient culture. Paekche’s stone pagodas display a unique style, different from that of China’s brick pagodas and Japan’s wooden pagodas.

Silla also had a flourishing Buddhist culture. The golden crowns, the earliest extant example of an astronomical observatory in the world Ch’omsongdae, the renowned Buddhist temple Pulguksa and its famous Sokka Pagoda, the man-made Buddhist cave Sokkul Grotto, and the beautifully carved Emile Bell are all products of the Buddhist culture of Silla. The Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Sutra, discovered inside the Sokka Pagoda in 1966, was printed 751 years ago, and it is celebrated as the earliest example of printed text in the world. Silla also produced numerous Buddhist thinkers, including Wonhyo who merged the teachings of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism and propagated them among the general populace.

The fall of Unified Silla was followed by the founding of Koryo, the dynasty that made great strides in promoting Buddhist culture. Indigenous Buddhist schools emerged, including the Chogye School, founded by Chinul who combined the teachings of the Huayan and Chan Schools. In fact, we can say the tendency to syncretism is one of the defining characteristics of Korean Buddhism, and stands in contrast to the diversifying tendency we find in Chinese and Japanese developments.

The Tripitaka Koreana, produced during the Koryo dynasty, is the most complete collection of Buddhist texts in East Asia from the period, and it also includes the writings of Silla monks. The texts were gracefully carved onto 80,000 wooden printing blocks, and the use of woodblock printing later inspired the development of metal type. The Pulcho Chikchi Simch’e Yojol (Pages from the Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Son Masters), printed in 1377, is the world’s oldest example of movable metal type printing, much earlier than the Gutenberg Bible, the earliest example of metal type printing in the West.

Another notable advancement in Koryo’s material culture was its celadon ware. After adopting the ceramic technology from the Chinese, the Koreans improved the techniques of glaze and engraving, and became the producers of the finest celadon ware in East Asia.

The scholars of Koryo also devoted a great deal of attention to compiling the history of the Korean people.

Drawing on various previous records, extensive historical works, such as the Samguk sagi (The History of the Three Kingdoms) and Samguk yusa (The Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), were produced. The latter provides the earliest account of the founding of the first Korean kingdom by Tangun, thereby demonstrating a growing awareness of national history and culture.

While upholding Buddhism as the state ideology, Koryo also strengthened its Confucian tradition. The Civil Service Examination based on Confucian learning was implemented as a way to train civil servants. In the late years of the dynasty the Cheng-Zhu School of Neo-Confucian learning was introduced from China and developed into a formidable political force.

The ensuing Choson dynasty traced its genealogy to Tangun’s Old Choson. During the period of Japanese colonization, historians described Choson as a subordinate nation to China, but this is a misunderstanding. Choson and China had a tributary relationship. In return for the tribute from Choson, China provided Choson with the goods it needed; in other words, theirs was a kind of international trade relation. The two countries were on very close terms, and together they defeated the Japanese invasions of Hideyoshi.

While respecting China’s authority, Choson maintained its political autonomy and developed a strong national identity and culture. The borrowing of the name Choson clearly reveals the founding king’s desire to reconnect with and revive the ancient cultural roots. In the 4,000 years of Korean history, Manchuria belonged to the Korean kingdoms Koguryo and Parhae for 3,000 years, and throughout the remaining 1,000 years, although the control of Manchuria was in the hands of the Chinese, Choson endeavoured to exert its influence by reclaiming the territory northward as far as the Yalu River and Tumen River. King Sejong’s invention of the Korean alphabet also demonstrates the effort to create national culture and identity. Choson also protected its territory from repeated Japanese invasions. The world’s first armored vessel, the Turtle Ships invented by General Yi Sun Sin, played a vital role in Korea’s repeated maritime successes.

Choson also creatively transformed philosophical and political ideas of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism introduced from China. Scholars like T’oegye and Yulgok contributed to the indigenous adaptation of Neo-Confucian ideology, and T’oegye’s Neo-Confucian learning, in particular, played a seminal role in Japan’s Meiji Reforms. It later developed into Practical Learning, called Silhak, which became the ground for harmonizing Eastern and Western thought in Choson Korea. Silhak’s democratic ideas, as well as Chong Yak-yong’s idea regarding Hananim greatly contributed to the modernization of Korea.

Although Buddhism suffered much persecution from the Neo-Confucian regime, Choson continued to produce Buddhist thinkers, many of whom earned great esteem for their practice of moral and spiritual cultivation under dire sociopolitical circumstances. Among them were Songch’ol and Popchong, who emerged as leading Buddhist thinkers after Independence. Choson Buddhism was a highly nationalistic religion, producing many militant monks who became a formidable fighting force in the war efforts against the Japanese.

The period of Japanese colonization between 1910 and 1945 devastated Korea and her people. Under colonial rule, Koreans were not allowed to use their language or their surnames. The Japanese set up only one university in the Korean peninsula, the Keijō Imperial University, primarily for the purpose of educating the Japanese youth.

During the Second World War, in order to provide for their war effort, Japan extracted from Korea resources of all kinds, including many young lives.

Koreans continued to fight the brutal exploitation and oppression of the Japanese regime, and their resistance eventually led to the organization of the nation-wide March First Independence Movement. The movement was headed by 33 major religious leaders of the time—mostly from Christian and indigenous religion Ch’ondogyo background, who set aside their religious differences to work together in non-violent protests to bring about independence. A provisional government and a military school for the Korean Independence Army were later set up in Shanghai in order to better coordinate the resistance movement.

Catholicism and Protestantism, introduced to Korea about 200 and 100 years ago respectively, also played a vital role in offering much needed hope to the Koreans during the colonial period. Throughout the peninsula, many private schools were established by the churches, providing education to the people. Although the use of Korean language was repressed, it was spoken in the church setting, and the Korean translation of the Bible was read widely. In this sense, the church facilitated the preservation of local language and culture. When the devastating Korean War ended, Christianity once again became actively involved in promoting nation-wide charity movement.

The end of the WWII in 1945 led to Korean independence, but soon the peninsula was divided in half as the United States and Soviet Union took jurisdiction over the territory south and north of the 38th parallel. In 1950, the North invaded the South, and the ethnic war which came to be known as Korean War claimed the lives of several millions. Among the victims of the war were soldiers from many countries who came in support for the UN mission. The war is still not over, and under an armed truce, Korea has remained divided for over 60 years.

Out of the rubble of the Korean War, South Korea emerged and realized the miracle of the Han River. It became a world economic power and a leading democratic nation that, after many political experiments put an end to military despotism. In 1988, Korea successfully hosted the 24th Summer Olympics in Seoul, and the event provided an opportunity for dialogue between the United States and Soviet Union. In 2002, together with Japan, Korea hosted the FIFA World Cup, and for the first time in history entered the League of Six. In 2010, the first G20 Summit meeting in East Asia was held in Seoul, proving Korea’s growing role as a global leader.

I do not discuss the culture and history of North Korea in this book. I eagerly await future scholars’ contributions on this subject. Finally, it is my earnest hope that this book will play a part in preserving the cultural heritage of the Korean people and in disseminating a better and more correct understanding of the past.

Chapter I

Prehistoric Culture of Korea

1.   Paleolithic Age Cultures of Korea

•   The Remains of Paleolithic Age Cultures

Archaeological evidence suggests that humans began living in an area encompassing the Korean Peninsula and Northeastern Manchuria hundreds of thousands of years ago. Prior to the early 1960s the presence of humans in this region before the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, was not generally accepted. The discovery, since then, of many Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) remains has confirmed the existence of Paleolithic cultures in this region.

The excavation of Korean Paleolithic remains began in earnest the 1960s. The excavations at Kulpo-ri in Unggi and Sokchang-ni in Kongju in 1964 confirmed the existence of Paleolithic cultures on the Korean Peninsula. More than fifty Paleolithic sites have since been excavated in Korea, including the Black Anvil Cave site and the Chongchongam Cave site.

The Paleolithic Age is divided into three eras: the Upper (over 100,000 years ago), the Middle (100-50,000 years ago) and the Lower (50-10,000 years ago)with the above sites suggesting that humans or hominids were already present on the Korean Peninsula by the early Paleolithic.

The Sokchang-ni site and the Black Anvil Cave site, which date from the Upper Paleolithic, contain some of the oldest materials found in Korea. The Chonggong-ni site is the first site in Asia where a hand-axe of the European Acheulian type was found and a vast array of Paleolithic materials have been found throughout ‘Old Choson,’ in which region is included both the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria. The Paleolithic inhabitants of Manchuria are thought to be very closely related to the people living within the Korean Peninsula. Further comparative research on this subject is needed.

•   Paleolithic People and Their Habitat

Base on archeological evidence, it is clear that hominids were living on the Korean Peninsula more than a hundred-thousand years ago, and that they continued to live in the region throughout the Paleolithic period. It is not certain, however, whether the Korean people of today are descendants of the Paleolithic inhabitants of the peninsula.

During the ice ages, the peninsula went through four freezing and three melting stages, with each state bringing extreme changes to the coastline, and at times there were land-bridges between China, Korea, and Japan, easing migration between these regions. These climatic changes forced the migration of both humans and animals. During the freezing stages northern animals and plants would migrate south, and during the melting stages southern life-forms would migrate north. Many scholars hypothesize that the extreme climate changes that occurred during the ice ages would have repeatedly forced the Paleolithic inhabitants of the region to migrate to other regions in search of food. This supports the Discontinuity Theory, which argues that the Paleolithic inhabitants of the region have little or no connection to the current inhabitants. In contrast, the Continuity Theory presents the argument that the Paleolithic inhabitants are directly connected to both the Neolithic and contemporary Korean people. New DNA studies suggest that the actual ancestors of the Korean people may possibly be connected to those that lived in the region during the Late Paleolithic.

Based on skulls found at various cave sites it is also known that the Early Paleolithic inhabitants of the Korean Peninsula had large brow ridges and long jaws. When these skulls are compared to the present day Korean people it is difficult to find a connection due to the differences in tooth structure and the lower jaw bone, and the present day people’s lack of a brow ridge.

•   Paleolithic Arts and Religion

Artistic remains from the Paleolithic period have been found at the site of Sokchangni, in the city of Gongjoo, South Korea. At the front of the dig stand stone images in the likeness of dogs, whales and mountain pigs. There are also sculptures carved into cobblestones depicting humans, birds and deer. These sculptures reflect not only the simplicity of Paleolithic art but also the religious meaning of life in the Paleolithic period. Both two-and three-dimensional figures appear to depict hunting and other daily activities, and include incantations soliciting a prosperous hunt. The incantations also seem to be related to totemism. Three things can be surmised regarding the sculptures and their purpose: (1) people made animal sculptures to elicit a successful hunt; (2) sculptures were also created to commemorate those who had passed away; (3) in addition, sculptures were used to pray for safety from harmful animals and/or diseases and to ensure a peaceful life.

•   Paleolithic Society

The Paleolithic people’s tool kit consisted mainly of tools made of stone and bone. The analysis of the remains at Sokchang-ni reveal a progression of stone tool use, with first whole stones, then stone fragments with single chipped edges, and finally with double-edged chopping tools. It is obvious from this evidence that the main way of life of these people was food gathering, including hunting, fishing and fruit-picking.

The main housing units of the Korean Paleolithic were cave dwellings, but based on the finds from the flatlands of Sokchang-ni it is apparent that Paleolithic people also had other types of dwellings. Evidence of artistic production was also found at the Sokchang-ni site.

2.   The Korean Neolithic Period

•   The Neolithic Culture and Its Remains

The Korean Paleolithic ended approximately ten-thousand years ago with the end of the last ice age and the arrival of the Mesolithic period. Stone tools continued to be used during the Mesolithic era, but the tool kit become more elaborate. Instead of simple chipped tools people gradually began to use tools of various shapes. Many different spear and arrowhead attachments from this period have been uncovered. Such tools have been found throughout Korea, specifically in the top cultural section of the Sokchang-ni site in Kongju, the Hawhague-ri site in Hongchon and in the shellfish midden of Sangnodaedo in Tong’yong. However, conclusive evidence has not been uncovered by which these finds can be revealed to represent a distinct era. The debate concerning the Mesolithic era is related to the controversy as to whether there is a connection between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic on the Korean Peninsula.

The Mesolithic is followed by the Neolithic, which, in Korea, spans the period between 6,000 B.C. and 5,000 B.C. The era is characterized by the emergence of polished stone tools and pottery, and most scholars suggest that agriculture began during the later part of the Neolithic.

Whereas the Paleolithic inhabitants of Korea only produced rudimentary chipped stone tools, the Neolithic inhabitants began using elaborately made polished stone tools. The simple chipped stone tools of the early Neolithic were similar to those tools that had been used during the late Paleolithic, but by the late Neolithic these were replaced by a wide variety of tools, including semilunar stone knives. The methods used by Neolithic peoples for making stone tools were both more advanced and more varied than those used by Paleolithic peoples.

The use of pottery during the Neolithic indicates that the people of that era were both cooking and storing food. This also suggests that Neolithic people were leading a more sedentary lifestyle than had Paleolithic people. Since the shape and design of pottery is usually culturally specific it is very valuable in studying cultural connections. The typical pottery found in Korean Neolithic sites is Comb-Pattern Pottery (Pit’sal munui t’ogi), also sometimes referred to as Geometric Pottery. Some scholars argue that this type of pottery is found not only in Korea but also in an area that stretches from Siberia all the way to the Scandinavian Peninsula, and according to this theory, the similarity between the types of pottery indicates a connection between Korea and the so-called Northern Eurasian Kammkeramik (comb-pattern pottery) culture.

The pottery culture of Neolithic Korea is commonly divided into three stages. During the early period (6,000-3,500 B.C.), the pottery found on the west coast was the most standard in form, and was characterized by sharp bottoms and the use of artwork on the entire vessel. On the east coast, in the lower levels of the Osan-ni site in Yang’yang in the Kangwon Province, the pottery is also flat-bottomed and has patterns around the rim. is characterized by On the East coast, in the shell midden of Tongsam-dong, the pottery of this early era had flat bottoms and partial designs on the surface. On the South coast, pottery of this era has been found in Pusan. The pottery found there includes styles of pottery that precede Comb-pattern pottery, including Raised-design pottery and pottery without decorations.

During the Middle Neolithic, divergences from the regular comb-pattern can be seen in pottery remains from the shell middens found on the islands on the south-west coast of Korea. In this region it is noticeable that lower surface of the pottery is without patterning. At this time, on the east and south coasts, pottery of this type almost completely disappeared from the west coast—instead, pottery in which only the rim area was decorated became prevalent—and the east and south coast soon followed a similar pattern. Pottery in northwestern Korea and northeastern Manchuria came to be influenced by Chinese Neolithic pottery culture—often colored, with fretwork; and the vessels were often flat-bottomed.

•   The Neolithic People and Their Environment

As was indicated earlier, the Korean Neolithic cultures had cultural connections with the Siberian Neolithic cultures and cultures of Northern China, and three stages of change can be seen through the different shapes and designs of pottery. This theory is based on the premise that the migration into the Korean peninsula of various groups—now distinguished by their different pottery styles—contributed to the formation of Korean Neolithic culture. Pre-comb-pattern pottery people (including people who used undecorated pottery and people who used Raised-design Pottery) are the oldest of the Neolithic people in the Korean peninsula. They are believed to be a branch of the Paleoasiatic people who had migrated south from Siberia. Comb-pattern Pottery is also found in Siberia, so the emergence of comb-pattern pottery culture seems likely to have been the result of another migration of another group of Paleoasiatic peoples. According to DNA research on the current Korean people, 70% of the Korean inheritance appears to derive from Northern people, and 30% to derive from people of Southern China.

The Neolithic period is characterized by pottery production and the working of obsidian stone, as well as by the beginning of farming and livestock husbandry. Food gathering was still prevalent at the beginning of the Korean Neolithic culture, with farming being introduced only near the end of the Neolithic period. The presence of weights used on fishing nets and fish-hooks found together with remains of early Neolithic dwellings suggest that fish continued to be the main source of food. In addition, the presence of stone arrowheads and spearheads in Neolithic dwellings indicates the continued importance of hunting. Stone plowing hoes, semi-lunar stone knifes used for harvesting and milling stones have been found in sites associated with the very late Neolithic, suggesting that farming begun at about that time. Adding more support to this theory, fossilized grains have also been found in Hwanghae Province in sites associated with the end of the Neolithic.

There are two basic types of dwellings that have been uncovered from the Korean Neolithic: cave dwellings and pit dwellings—the latter being the more common form. These pit dwellings are typically circular or square with round angles, with a stove pot in the center for cooking and heating, an entrance facing southeast or southwest for maximum sun exposure, and a storage pit either next to the stove pot or by the entrance. These pit dwellings are usually five meters in diameter, about sixty centimeters deep, and eighteen square meters in area. They would have been suitable for the residence of approximately four people. The number of dwellings found on a particular site suggests that Korean Neolithic settlements were small in size.

•   Society and Religion in the Neolithic Period

During the Neolithic period the bands of the Paleolithic coalesced into larger tribes. It is believed that these tribal societies were not differentiated according to status. The leaders of the various tribes would have governed largely through consent and consensus—they would not have been ‘rulers’ who could impose their will on the communities that they governed. Still the tribal system established a larger community with a farming settlement, and the beginnings of more complex social relationships. Societies of this type are generally regarded as polities based on equality where all members had the same rights and important matters were decided in a clan meeting. Usually, the clan leader kept his group closed off from the outside and only gradually made contact with other clans, a process which resulted in the formation of larger tribes.

The religion of the Neolithic people was based on animism, the belief that spirits live within all living things, and was usually expressed by worshipping many different objects. Shamanism, a belief in sorcery, and a belief in the afterlife for human beings, was widespread and popular in the Neolithic period. The connections between Korean Neolithic cultures and Siberia also created a link with the shamanism of Siberia. Totemism, the worshipping of animals or other natural objects that had been chosen and respected as special symbols of the tribe, was also prevalent during