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Editor's Notes: The Chinese government announced recently that the 'Ji'an Koguryo Stele (集安高句麗碑)' had been discovered in 2012 and was now under study. The new Koguryo stele that came onto the scene is considered a subject of keen interest and important significance by historians at home and abroad. This month's newsletter highlights this topic in Special Reports written by NAHF Research Fellows.

A breakthrough was made in the field of the history of Koguryo in which major historical materials available for research had been limited to the Gwanggaeto Stele and related accounts included in the historical records of China, and Samguk Saki (三國史記, The History of Three Kingdoms). The Gwanggaeto Stele, when discovered as recently as 130 years ago, was what made the capital of Koguryo come to light which had been hidden from the world despite its 700-year history. In this regard, another stele from the era of Koguryo recently found in Ji'an City in Jilin Province of China, similar to the Gwanggaeto Stele in the contents of inscriptions, cannot be more exciting to the academia.

The Discovery of the Stele

According to an article by China Cultural Relics News dated January 4, 2013, the stele was discovered by a local resident by the Maxian River (馬線河) located in Maxiancun (麻線村), Maxianxiang in Ji'an City on July 29, 2012, and it has been moved into Ji'an Museum for safekeeping. The Ji'an Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics announced that the Task Force for the Protection and Research of the Stele composed of experts had been organized to review the stele, confirmed that the stele went back to the era of Koguryo and decided to name it the 'Ji'an Koguryo Stele.'

The Maxian River, where the Ji'an Koguryo Stele was found, rises from the southern slope of the Laoliang Mountains (老嶺) and flows from north to south into the Abrok River. The specific location of discovery is on the sands west of the river halfway between the new Maxian Bridge on the road connecting present Ji'an to Dandong (丹東) and the old road running through former Jianjiangcun (建疆村), about 456 meters southeast of the Qianqui Tomb (千秋墓) where a brick with the inscription '千秋萬歲永固' was famously found, and 1149 meters away from the Xida Tomb (西大墓). It is located at 126°08′28″ east longitude and 41°05′46″ north latitude, and an altitude of 184 meters. The Maxian River basin forms the complex of Maxian Tombs, one of the relatively larger complexes of ancient tombs of Koguryo distributed across the Guonei City highlands. Both sides of the river are dotted with about 700 to 800 stone mound tombs.

The Shape of the Stele

The stele is made of locally produced granite, measuring 173 centimeters in surviving length, 60.6 to 66.5 centimeters in width, 12.5 to 21 centimeters in thickness, and weighing 464.5 kg. The stele's body has flat-surfaced front and back sides, and it tapers slightly toward the top. The stele's exact shape cannot be determined because a piece has been chipped off the body in the upper right corner. However, judging from the conditions of the remaining body, one can speculate that the stele is in the shape of a scepter with a triangular head. At the bottom, the stele has an overhang about 15 to 19.5 centimeters long, 42 centimeters wide and 21 centimeters thick.

In overall appearance, there is an interesting distinction between this stele and the Gwanggaeto Stele or the Chungju Koguryo Stele. If the latter two were square stone columns, the Ji'an Koguryo Stele has a scepter-shaped head and a body cut into a rectangular plate with an overhang at the bottom that would fit into a pedestal for erection. If the site of the stele's discovery is excavated, chances are that the missing piece from the upper right corner and the pedestal will be also discovered.

The Contents and Script Style of the Stele's Inscriptions

The stele's front side, relatively better preserved, is estimated to have a total of 218 characters inscribed from the beginning, of which about 140 characters have been deciphered so far. Lines 1 to 9 contain 22 characters each, and the last Line 10 contains 10 characters. The back side is so seriously damaged, except for a few characters with identifiable strokes, that making it out would require precision using various methods.

the Ji'an Koguryo
Stele rubbing(front)

The stele's inscriptions include phrases almost identical to what was inscribed on the Gwanggaeto Stele, '元王始祖鄒牟王之創基也' and '河伯之孫,' which confirm that Koguryo was founded by King Chumo, a.k.a. Jumong, and that King Chumo is a descendent of Habaek. The inscriptions also include such expressions as '守墓者,' '煙戶頭,' '四時祭祀,' '律敎,' '賣ㆍ買,' '立碑銘' which suggest that regulations governing grave keeping were prescribed and written on the stele. For example, it was the grave keeper's role to perform ancestral rites at the tomb. In particular, the characters '四時祭祀' and '煙戶頭' included in the inscriptions have never been found before, either on the Gwanggaeto Stele or any other historical record of Koguryo, and hold important clues to the understanding of Koguryo's funeral and grave keeping systems.

As for the script style of the characters on the rubbing, although I can't say for sure before actually seeing it, it appears to be an intermediate clerical script (隸書) making transition to the regular script (楷書).

Bearing a faint resemblance to both the Gwanggaeto Stele script unique to Koguryo and the clerical script from the Han dynasty, it is the material evidence of Koguryo's originality, even under the influence of the popular script style of China.

The Significance of the Ji'an Koguryo Stele, a Gift from King Gwanggaeto 1,600 Years after His Death

The newly discovered Ji'an Koguryo Stele, along with the Gwanggaeto Stele and the Chungju Koguryo Stele, is a historical material of extreme value in studying Koguryo's history and culture. It will shed a new light on the political, economical, and social history of Koguryo as written on the Gwanggaeto Stele, including the enforcement and nature of the grave keeping system, the specific way in which grave keeping was conducted, and the relationship between grave keeping households and their heads.

In addition, the stele's shape and script style will also offer a glimpse into the evolution of Koguryo's script style, the use of script, and the exchanges of transcription culture between Korea and China. As the stele has been already made public by the China Cultural Relics News, an official report is expected to be published in the near future. The report, as soon as it is obtained, will have to be examined by the NAHF and experts for academic review. At the same time, a group of researchers from China, North and South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan will have to be organized as soon as possible to decipher and study the characters together. I think that the Ji'an Koguryo Stele is a special gift from King Gwanggaeto 1,600 years after his death, and hope that it will stimulate academic exchange between Korea and China.