뉴스레터

Question

What stories do the Koguryo tomb wall paintings tell us?

Answer

Many of the Koguryo tomb wall paintings look like a snapshot picture that fossilized a moment. These fossilized scenes give us information about the lives and customs of the period that written records cannot give.

Three-Chamber Tomb in Guknaesong, the capital of mid-period Koguryo and presently Jian, is one of the tombs that show us the customs of the period. This tomb, which located at the southern foot of Mt. Yushan, has a very interesting painting that describes a battle scene.

The outcome of a battle relies on how strategically to use the troops. Battlefields of ancient times would not be too much different in this respect. But sometimes, brilliant maneuvers of a few individuals could change the whole makeup of the battlefield: defeating the enemy commander in a one-to-one battle to boost the morale of the troops even before the whole-out battle starts, charging into the enemy lines and destroying the lines by knocking down a great number of enemy soldiers, and so on.

This tomb wall painting, often called Gongseongdo [攻城圖, Picture of Castle Attack], depicts four warriors in a battle outside of a castle, which is painted on the left. What is particularly interesting in the painting is two cavalrymen on the right. These two warriors are clad in a suit of armor from head to toe, and as if it were not enough, their horses are also wearing armor. Looking closely, we can see that the vertical and horizon lines crisscrossing the body of the cavalryman on the right, which apparently describes scale armor. He is also wearing a helmet adorned with a horn on each side, a typical helmet of Koguryo warriors. The cavalryman on the left, on the other hand, is wearing a different type of armor, and his helmet is also different. Therefore, it can be inferred that the cavalry warrior on the right is the owner of this Three-Chamber Tomb, and the left cavalryman is an enemy warrior that he met in a battle.

Both men are holding a two-forked spear called Cha [叉], and it seems that two warriors using the same kind of weapon have accidently met in a battlefield. The hind legs of the two horses are in the air, suggesting that both horses were in the middle of full gallop. In this battle scene of ultimate warriorship, the warrior on the left looks as though he was about to leave the scene, turning the head of his horse, realizing that he could not beat the Koguryo warrior. But without missing the chance, the Koguryo warrior pierced his spear with his both hands into the armor of the other warrior.

This battle must have left an ineradicable memory to the owner of the Three-Chamber Tomb. Maybe it is because his opponent was a famous great warrior, or it could be because he won the battle with the butt end of a spear in an extemporaneous effort. At any rate, this single wall painting tells us a story of a mortal battle fought in one battlefield long time ago without help of any written character.