You wonder why the Japanese archaeological community is so interested in the Goguryeo tombs in China? In addition to the mystery of the nation itself, it has a lot to do with the rich murals in the ancient tombs and is the most direct material for understanding the history of Goguryeo, especially the history of Northeast Asia. These fresco tombs, which are of great artistic value, have also been called "the treasure house of art in Northeast Asia" by the academic community.
Pictured: Kitchen diagram. Above there was a woman burning the fire into the pot stove, another woman taking something out of the steamer, and another woman washing dishes in another place; and two dogs in front of it, as if smelling incense, drooling and refusing to leave, waiting for the owner to appreciate the food.
Pictured: Feasting chart
Figure: Angle diagram. The two were naked in the competition, and there was another person next to them, who seemed to be the referee role.
Pictured: Riding shot chart
Figure: Hunting chart
Picture: Mural of Tomb No. 5 of the Five Helmets Tomb of Goguryeo (top part of the tomb)
Archaeological investigation found that most of the Goguryeo mural tombs are sealed earth and stone chamber tombs, and there are currently 33 in China and 68 in North Korea. The content of the mural reproduces the social life of goguryeo princes and nobles such as homes, feasts and drinks, song and dance, hundred plays, and travel, and the early murals also depict palaces, pavilions, stables, wells, guards, maids, cows, horses, chickens, dogs, flowers, trees, sun, moon, stars, and other patterns. The painting method is generally to smear white ash on the stone wall, and then paint on the white ash; then directly on the polished stone wall.
Due to the early demise of Goguryeo, the written materials left behind are scarce, and the goguryeo tomb murals with rich content have become very rare research materials, which have important reference value for the study of the history, culture and customs of Goguryeo.
In addition to the murals, the Haotaiwang Monument, known as the "First Monument of the East", directly provides historical information about Goguryeo. The Chinese characters of this stele are lishu, fang yan thick, originally engraved with 1775 characters, and about 1600 words can be seen at present.
Photo: The Pavilion of the Good King Monument
The Haotaiwang Monument is 200 meters northeast of the tomb of the 19th King Haotai of Goguryeo, and the stele is tall, dignified and dark, and was built in 414 (the tenth year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty). Located at the foot of Mount Yu and on the Donggou Plain, 4 kilometers east of present-day Ji'an City, Jilin Province, the Tomb of The Good King is a large square altar stepped stone chamber tomb with the same shape as the General's Tomb.
The tomb owner, King Haotai, was named Tan De, who died at the age of 39, and was called "Good King" because of his nickname "Good King of Peace and Security in the Vast Land of guogang". King Haotai succeeded to the throne in 391 at the age of 18 and reigned for 22 years. During the reign of King Haotai, it was the most prosperous period of Goguryeo, and with his strong economic and military strength, King Haotai invaded the east and the west, occupied Liaodong, drove out the Wokou, invaded the Han River, and lowered Buyeo, so that the territory of Goguryeo was expanded unprecedentedly. The changshou king who succeeded to the throne later erected this monument to commemorate the great deeds of his father.
There is no doubt that although the Good Taiwang Monument is not of great value, it is a unique cultural relic with extremely great historical value, and there will be no second theft. Such an important stone stele, but for a long time has been lost in the mountain weeds, no one knows, until the end of the Qing Dynasty was not discovered, why? Originally, the area around Yushan was a forbidden land of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, with Changbai Mountain as the center and a wide area around it, and the common people could not come in chaotically, and the Border between China and North Korea along the Yalu River and Tumen River was particularly forbidden.
Pictured: A huge Goguryeo tomb around Mount Yu
Ethnic minorities living in northeast China, such as the Khitan and Jurchens, have always believed that Changbai Mountain is the birthplace of their nation, and Changbai Mountain is their sacred mountain. As descendants of the Jurchens, the Manchus inherited this claim. The Qianlong Emperor's Changbai Mountain Sacrifice Message begins with "Ao I Qing Chu, Zhao Chang Bai Mountain".
In the 20th year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1681 AD), the Manchu Qing people built wicker edges and began to ban it, prohibiting the fishing of folk specialties such as Eastern pearls, ginseng, mink, foxes, bears, deer, tigers, and leopards. In the nineteenth year of Qianlong (1754 AD), Qianlong personally visited Xiaobai Mountain, sacrificed Changbai Mountain in the Wang Sacrifice Hall, and ordered the ban of Changbai Mountain to protect the sacred mountain of origin. It was not until the seventh year of Guangxu (1881 AD) that the old system of forbidden mountain paddocks was abolished and a reclamation bureau was set up to recruit people to open up the wasteland.
Why the northeast was banned, at first it was mainly to prevent the common people from digging and digging indiscriminately, and to damage the feng shui of the place of origin, and later there was also the consideration of the problem of banning the Han people from entering the guanguan and the Koreans on the peninsula to sneak across the border.
Pictured: A huge Goguryeo stone tomb around Mount Yu
It was banned for more than 200 years before and after the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Places such as Yushan in Ji'an, where Goguryeo tombs are located, are also sacred and mysterious. After the ban was lifted, the people could easily enter the mountain, and the history hidden in the mountain was dug up like a mountain treasure and wild vegetable. Soon after, there was an extremely important unexpected discovery here.
In the third year of Guangxu (1877 AD), Huan Renjian County, a Shuqi named Guan Yueshan (equivalent to a small civil servant such as a secretary today), toured this barren land. Guan Yueshan was very old, and found a huge stone covered with moss and covered in sludge in the grass, and felt strange, and when he looked closely, he found that there was still a word on it, thinking that it might be a stone stele.
Therefore, Guan Yueshan hired someone to clean the moss of the stone, and when he could not wash it for a while, he burned it with oil, hoping to see the stone stele. This burning, the stone stele was damaged, and many words of the original very clear inscription could not be recognized, causing irreparable damage to this unique cultural relic. Guan Yueshan rubbed out the inscription and then introduced it to Beijing, and this "first monument in the East" and its value were known to the world.
Pictured: A closer look at the Monument of the King
Picture: Rubbings of the Good King Monument (Partial)
The Hotaewang Monument is of great significance to the study of Goguryeo's politics, military, culture, institutions, traditions, and Goguryeo's relationship with Silla, Baekje, and the Japanese archipelago, so it is also highly valued by Japanese academics.
After the "918" incident in the 20th year of the Republic of China (1931), the Japanese carried out a round of premeditated and organized excavations of a number of Goguryeo tombs distributed in northeast China in the name of archaeology, stealing many Chinese cultural relics from the "treasure house of Northeast Asian art".