Does the Samguk Sagi Record of Locusts Change the Map of Ancient History?

How Do Locust Swarms in Historical Records Hint at the True Lost Locations of Ancient Kingdoms?

• The scientific reality and destructive power of the ’locust’ disaster recorded in Samguk Sagi
• Contradictions between historical records and the ecological environment of the Korean Peninsula
• A new perspective on one of ancient history’s greatest mysteries: the locations of the Three Kingdoms

Locusts: The Two Faces of Hero and Disaster

If you search for ‘Hwangchung’ (황충), most results will show the legendary veteran general Hwangchung (黃忠), a symbol of old-age valor under Liu Bei’s command in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I too initially thought of him naturally. However, the intellectual shock came when I discovered that another entity with the same name, Hwangchung (蝗蟲), the locust swarm that covers the sky and devours everything, could be the key to solving a huge mystery in ancient history.

One represents human glory, the other symbolizes nature’s chaotic threat to civilization. We tend to focus on kings and generals, overlooking the massive natural forces that shaped humanity’s fate in the background. This article is a historical detective story that follows the faint traces of the ‘monster’ locust behind the hero’s narrative, casting a huge question mark on the historical map we thought we knew.

The Reality of the Terrifying Locust Disaster Recorded in History

Korea’s oldest historical record, the Samguk Sagi, inscribes this dreadful disaster like a code:

• Baekje King Bunseo, Year 6 (303 AD): “In autumn, 7th month, locusts damaged the crops and the people starved (秋七月 蝗害穀 民饑).”
• Silla King Cheomhae, Year 14 (240 AD): “In summer, there was a severe drought and a locust disaster (夏大旱 蝗).”
• Goguryeo King Yuri, Year 24 (5 AD): “In autumn, 8th month, there was a locust disaster (秋八月 蝗).”

The brief phrase “the people starved (民饑)” hides a grim reality of famine and social collapse. In ancient East Asia, such disasters were seen as heavenly warnings for a ruler’s immorality, called ‘Cheongyeon (天譴)’. Because it was a major event requiring the king to personally seek forgiveness from heaven, it was unlikely to be omitted from historical records. This fact enhances the credibility of these accounts.

So what is the scientific reality of the locusts that terrified ancient people? They are ordinary grasshoppers that, under specific conditions (drought followed by rain), multiply explosively and transform into an aggressive “gregarious phase.” This phenomenon is called ‘phase polyphenism.’

Billions of locusts can travel over 100 km per day, and a medium-sized swarm (about 40 million locusts) can consume the daily food supply of 35,000 people. The sky darkens like night, and the “steady roar of billions of wings” can be heard. This matches chillingly with a 494 AD Chinese historical description: “Locusts flew by, and their sound was like wind and rain.”

The Unsolved Mystery: An Impossible Crime Scene

Here our mystery begins. For a large-scale locust disaster to occur, a specific ‘origin’ is needed. Scientists identify this as a vast semi-arid plain with sandy soil, especially river sediment plains. Typical examples include Africa’s Sahel region and the Yellow River-Huai River plains in China.

But what about the Korean Peninsula, the main stage of the Three Kingdoms? About 70% of the land is mountainous with a temperate humid climate—completely opposite to the locust origin conditions. It’s like claiming a crime that can only happen in a desert occurred in a dense forest—an ‘impossible crime.’

Even the Chinese historical record, the Records of the Three Kingdoms, notes that Goguryeo “had no wide plains,” consistent with modern geography, yet this contradicts the locust records in Samguk Sagi.

A Crucial Clue? Locust Records from Neighboring China

To solve this puzzle, let’s listen to the neighbor’s testimony. Surprisingly, Chinese historical records detail that locust disasters frequently occurred in the Yellow River-Huai River plains. The most decisive point emerges when these records are placed side by side with Samguk Sagi, revealing a meaningful simultaneity.

Comparison of Locust Disaster Records in the Three Kingdoms and China

Is it mere coincidence that Baekje and Tang recorded locust damage in the same autumn of 646 AD? Modern science reveals that large locust swarms are not local phenomena but regional climate disasters affecting all of East Asia.

This discovery fundamentally changes our question from “How did locust disasters occur in Baekje?” to “Within the vast area affected by this disaster, where exactly was Baekje located?”

Hypothesis: What If the Map We’ve Been Using Is Wrong?

If the eyewitness (historical record) statements are true, what have we misunderstood? Perhaps the real mystery is not the historical records themselves but the ‘map’ we use to read them.

This is the core of the bold hypothesis called the ‘Continental Perspective’ (大陸史觀). It claims that the early centers or core areas of the Three Kingdoms included not only the Korean Peninsula but also parts of the Chinese continent with perfect conditions for locust outbreaks (Hebei, Shandong, etc.).

Applying this hypothesis neatly resolves all contradictions:

• Ecological mystery solved: If the Three Kingdoms’ territories included the Yellow River plains, the locust records become perfectly natural.
• Historical record conflicts resolved: Goguryeo might have been a kingdom spanning both the mountainous Korean Peninsula and continental plains.
• Simultaneity explained: The 646 AD records from Baekje and Tang reflect neighboring states recording the same disaster.

The locust records challenge the fixed historical map and whisper that the real mystery may lie not in the past itself but in our perspectives and assumptions about the past.

Conclusion

Through the mystery raised by a small insect called the locust, we reach several important conclusions. It would be premature to declare this hypothesis the established historical fact. However, these records represent a strong ‘anomaly’ that existing theories struggle to explain. Like a single experimental data point that triggers a new scientific theory (such as Einstein’s relativity), the locust records prompt us to ask new questions.

• Key Summary:

  1. Discovery of contradiction: Frequent locust disaster records in Samguk Sagi contradict the ecological conditions of the warm, humid, mountainous Korean Peninsula.
  2. New clues: Comparison with contemporary Chinese histories suggests these disasters were regional climate phenomena affecting East Asia.
  3. Shift in perspective: The ‘Continental Perspective’ hypothesis, which expands the Three Kingdoms’ locations beyond the peninsula to the continent, gains persuasive power as a key to resolving contradictions.

The whisper of this tiny insect reminds us that history is not a static museum exhibit but a living discipline constantly reinterpreted with new evidence and perspectives. Asking ‘why?’ about accepted historical facts is perhaps the most intriguing challenge this mystery leaves us.