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The name of Jilin(吉林) comes from the Manchu language '吉林烏拉' which means 'the village of the river'. It was the center of Xituanshan Cultural Site(西團山文化) during the Bronze Age, and there was a royal castle during the Buyeo period. And it was used as an important base during Goguryeo and Balhae. The name Jilin was first used during the Qing Dynasty. It served as a provincial capital until People's Government of Jilin Province moved to Changchun in 1954. Therefore, Jilin is a land of long history.

Land like the Mother's Arms

I first went to Jilin when I was studying abroad. It felt like a cozy, gentle mother’s arms. It was quite different from Changchun City, which was spread out in a desolate field. The long scenery of the alluvial land and low hills formed wide between the rivers gave me the feeling of being in Chungcheong province where I was born and raised. 『The Three Kingdoms(三國志)』 was accurate, with the record that it had many mountains, hills and wide ponds, the flattest and widest in the Dongyi area, and the many grains had good soil to grow. I understand why Baekje moved the capital to Sabi and changed the name of the country to South Buyeo(南扶餘).

A Gilt-bronze Mask, the Face of Buyeo

Jilin is the center of Buyeo, so there are many remains. Representative remains include Paoziyan Qianshan Ruins(泡子沿前山遺蹟), Dongtuan Mountain Ruins(東團山遺蹟), Mao'er Mountain Ancient Tombs(帽兒山古墳群), and Longtan Mountain City(龍潭山山城). The survey of these remains began in the early 19th century in order to collect basic resources for Japan to occupy the Manchuria region. Japanese scholars such as Hamada Kosaku, Yagi Saburo, Shiratori Kurakichi, Mikami Tsugio, Koda Ryosaku and Chinese scholars such as Li Wenxin survey Mao'er Mountain, Xituan Mountain, and Longtan Mountain. The results of the survey at that time are published in journals such as 『Manchuria Historic Site』, 『Manchuria Ancient Records』, and 『Archaeology of Manchuria』.

The remains of Buyeo were destroyed and damaged during the Japanese colonial rule. Nevertheless, many artifacts were excavated, the best of which is the Gilt-bronze Mask. The Mask was found dozens of them near Dongtuan Mountain and Mao'er Mountain. But now there are only four remaining in total, one at the Jilin Museum, one at the Lushun Museum and two at the National Museum of Korea. Gilt-bronze Mask looks scary and eccentric. Lee Moonshin, who first discovered it, described the mask as 'strange'. Three lines of thick wrinkles are expressed on the forehead, the eyes are sharp, the cheekbones are protruding, the mouth is open, and the jaw is concavely emphasized. Is this what Buyeo People look like? Unfortunately, there is no example of restoring the face of Buyeo People, so we don't know now.

However, these shapes of faces do not appear only in Buyeo. Bronze Fan-Shaped Axe Human Face(Excavated in Tawan Village, held by the Liaoyang Museum), which is believed to have been produced by Gojoseon people in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, also has braided hair, raised eyes and convex cheekbones. This shows that the shape of face is similar to the Gilt-bronze Mask of Buyeo. In addition, the face of Chexia(車轄) excavated from Linjiang Tomb(臨江墓) in Jian, the capital of Goguryeo, also matches the Gilt-bronze Mask of Buyeo. Lamadong cemetery is believed to be the tomb of the descendants of Buyeo during the Qianyan period, where the Gilt-bronze Mask excavated is also similar to the Gilt-bronze Mask in Buyeo. Considering this point, the form of Gilt-bronze Mask of Buyeo can be seen as the face of the general Yemac people who lived in the northeastern area at that time. And that strange figure may have been due to a bit of exaggeration in the process of making it.

So what was this mask used for? I also wondered about the use of it and asked the audience in lectures and presentations. Various opinions were raised, such as being used for rituals, masked on the face of a dead person, or used for singing and dancing at festivals. However, there are small holes in the top of the mask and under the chin, and similar holes in both earlobes. These holes are likely to be used to insert strings to wear masks, or nail holes. And a loop with a vertical hole is attached between the inner eyes of the mask, so that it can be fixed from the inside. Also, there is a gloss between the nose and the eye of the surface; this shows that this mask is actually worn. Perhaps this Gilt-bronze Mask was used to ceremonial or prophesy, and then buried in the tombs of kings and nobles.