Correcting a Silla Unification Plaque
A coastal city is revising a 120-word English plaque for a 676–935 history gallery. The draft says: 'In 668 Silla defeated Baekje and Goguryeo with Tang help and unified the entire Korean peninsula. Unified Silla then ruled alone until 935, while Balhae remained a small frontier tribe.' The gallery has three cases: a Silla gilt-bronze Buddha, a Balhae roof tile, and a map showing Tang forces withdrawing. The curator has room for only one correction pass and must keep the plaque under 120 words. A tour guide objects that visitors already know 668 as unification year; a teacher wants the plaque to explain why historians say 'Unified Silla' rather than 'Silla.' The curator asks for a fact-check table and a revised caption that keeps the tourist-friendly date but does not mislead.
1. Identify every factual error in the draft and explain why each matters for visitors.
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The draft has four problems. First, 668 is only partly right: Silla and Tang defeated Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668. Second, 'unified the entire Korean peninsula' is misleading. Tang forces occupied former Baekje and Goguryeo territory, and Silla had to expel them; by 676 Silla controlled the peninsula south of the Taedong River, not all of the peninsula or Manchuria. Third, 'Balhae remained a small frontier tribe' is wrong. Balhae was founded in 698 by Dae Jo-yeong, a former Goguryeo commander, and became an organized state in former Goguryeo territory. Historians therefore describe a North-South States period, with Balhae in the north and Unified Silla in the south. Fourth, 'ruled alone until 935' ignores Balhae, which existed until the Khitan destroyed it in 926; Unified Silla ended in 935 when it was absorbed by Goryeo. Keeping 668 is acceptable as a headline if the caption immediately distinguishes 660, 668, and 676.
2. Draft a corrected plaque of no more than 120 words that keeps 668 visible but avoids the errors.
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Sample caption: 'In 660 Silla and Tang forces defeated Baekje; in 668 they defeated Goguryeo. Tang then tried to rule the peninsula, but Silla drove Tang forces out by 676. Historians call the resulting state Unified Silla (676–935). It controlled the peninsula south of the Taedong River, not all of Manchuria or the northern peninsula. In 698 Dae Jo-yeong founded Balhae in former Goguryeo territory, so the North-South States period paired Balhae with Unified Silla. Balhae fell to the Khitan in 926; Unified Silla ended in 935.' This is under 120 words, keeps 668, and explains why 'Unified Silla' is a conventional but limited term. The curator should not say Silla ruled 'alone' because Balhae existed in the north. The Balhae roof tile in the case supports the correction by showing a state with its own material culture.