SAM-HAN, OR SOUTHERN COREA.
At the time of the suppression of Chō-sen and the incorporation of its territory with the Chinese Empire, B.C. 107, all Corea south of the Ta-tong River was divided into three han, or geographical divisions. Their exact boundaries are uncertain, but their general topography may be learned from the map.
Map of Sam-han in Southern Corea.
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MA-HAN AND BEN-HAN.
This little country included fifty-four tribes or clans, each one independent of the other, and living under a sort of patriarchal government. The larger tribes are said to have been composed of ten thousand, and the smaller of a thousand, families each. Round numbers, however, in ancient records are worth little for critical purposes.
South of the Ma-han was the Ben-han, in which were twelve tribes, having the same manners and customs as the Ma-han, and speaking a different yet kindred dialect. One of these clans formed the little kingdom of Amana, from which came the first visit of Coreans recorded in the Japanese annals.
After the overthrow of his family and kingdom by the traitor Wei-man, Kijun, the king of old Chō-sen escaped to the sea and fled south toward the archipelago. He had with him a number of his faithful adherents, their wives and children. He landed among one of the clans of Ma-han, composed of Chinese refugees, who, not wishing to live under the Han emperors, had crossed the Yellow Sea. On account of their numbering, originally, one hundred families, they called themselves Hiaksai. Either by conquest or invitation Kijun soon became their king. Glimpses of the manner of life of these early people are given by a Chinese writer.