Section 5.

 Section 5: Considering ‘Heu’ (흐) as a Country Name

If the character 明 (Myeong) is engraved on Joseonjeon (a.k.a. Myeongdojeon), then it represents the nation that minted the coin. If it is engraved on every coin, then it clearly denotes a national title. However, in China, scholars initially claimed that this character referred to "Shao (召)," the King of Yan, but as this claim was evidently false, they changed their academic statement to say that 明 referred to a regional name in Yan. This is illogical—producing such a large quantity of currency on a regional basis is unreasonable. In investigations, a testimony that changes is often false. Likewise, the statements of Chinese scholars are changing.

Let us now explore the meaning of the "Heu" (흐) that we predict refers to Joseon. The native Korean name for Joseon is "Asadal," which means "the land where the sun first rises." In fact, ancient pottery of the Dongyi (東夷) tribes features characters or patterns representing “the sun rising above the land (or mountains).”

When this pattern is rotated sideways and the bottom shape, which looks like land or a mountain, is simplified into a line, it becomes the shape found on Joseonjeon (Myeongdojeon). When we rotate the top shape to the left, we get a diagram similar to that of Joseonjeon. The middle symbol changes into a complete moon shape, and the rightmost mountain/land figure is omitted, becoming a curve (shape ②). While Bronze Age technology during the Gojoseon period was advanced enough to draw these shapes precisely, they appear to have been simplified for convenience. In another symbol on the right (④), the moon is omitted, resulting in a horizontal and diagonal line rising above a round sun. Thus, it becomes a shape like "Heu" (흐).

This is the same principle modern companies use when creating logo symbols based on the abbreviation of their names. In short, this character sequence symbolizing "the land brightly lit by the sun and moon" is a visual representation of "Asadal," the capital of Gojoseon. Therefore, the symbol previously introduced means either "the land of eternal brightness where the sun and moon shine together" or "the land of the sun’s radiance," and represents the country name Joseon.

Coins made by the state of Qi are not called Myeongdojeon (明刀錢) even by the Chinese. They are simply referred to as Qido (Qi-knives), named for their knife shape.

Let us now examine the name "Yan" (燕).

Yan (燕): means swallow (bird), banquet, comfort.

The name of the Yan state carries the meaning of “a peaceful land where swallows fly,” having nothing to do with the sun or the moon. It is unimaginable to associate the name with "a land where the sun and moon rise."

In conclusion, the character 明 found on the front of the Myeongdojeon (positions ② and ④) represents the national title Joseon.