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聖王
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Seong-wang
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Sŏng-wang
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(d.
554 ; reigned
523 –554) ruled
Baekje during the
Three Kingdoms period of the
Korean Peninsula . His name was Myeongnong(明穠) and he was a son of
Muryeong Of Baekje . In
538 he moved the capital of Baekje from Ungjin in present-day
Gongju further south to
Sabi in present-day
Buyeo County , on the
Geum River .
He led a long campaign to regain the
Han River valley, the former heartland of Baekje which had been lost to
Goguryeo in
475 . The old Baekje capital was regained in
551 . The campaign culminated in
553 with victories in a series of costly assaults on Goguryeo fortifications.
Silla troops, however, arriving on the pretense of offering assistance, attacked the exhausted Baekje army and took possession of the entire Han River valley. Incensed by this betrayal, the following year Seong launched a retaliatory strike against Silla's western border, but was killed in the resulting melée.
Seong also maintained his country's diplomatic ties with
Liang Dynasty China as well as
Japan . He is credited with having sent a mission in
538 from
Baekje to
Japan that brought an image of
Shakyamuni and several
Sutras to the
Japan ese court. This has traditionally been considered the official introduction of Buddhism to Japan. He sent tribute missions to Liang in
534 and
541 , on the second occasion requesting artisans as well as various Buddhist works and a teacher. According to Chinese records, all these requests were granted. A subsequent mission was sent in
549 , only to find the Liang capital in the hands of the rebel
Hou Jing , who threw them in prison for lamenting the fall of the capital.
He was known as a great patron of
Buddhism , and built many temples. Indeed, in
528 Baekje officially adopted Buddhism as its state religion.
