Buried Memorial Tablet from the Tomb of King Muryeong
Artifact from the tomb of King Muryeong of Baekje
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The buried memorial tablet from the Tomb of King Muryeong (Korean: 무령왕릉 지석; Hanja: 武寧王陵 誌石) is the 163rd National Treasure of South Korea unearthed from the ancient tumulus of King Muryeong, who ruled the Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Since the tomb is located in what is now Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, Gongju National Museum holds the epitaph.[1]
Background
The memorial tablet refers to a kind of monument that notates general information of the deceased: the name, the date of birth and death, and his or her achievement records.[2][3] This artifact is the only instance representing the exact owner of the tomb among the monarchs from the Three Kingdoms of Korea.[4]
The epitaph plaques are 41.5 centimeters wide, 35.2 centimeters long, and 5.0 centimeters thick.[2] They are composed of the same kind of plutonic igneous rocks, the so-called hornblendite. The color of the rocks is greenish gray with a granular texture.[3][5]
Excavation
The tomb was accidentally discovered during water drainage work on the No.5 and 6 tombs in 1971.[3][6] Even though other tumuli had been robbed or seriously destructed, it was found untouched for over a millennium.
On coming into the gate of the tomb, the stone tablet stands right in front with a seoksu. Hence, the stone epitaph plaques were the first artifacts to be taken out of the tomb.[2] The words inscribed on the surface of the monument precisely indicate the owner of the tomb, King Muryeong of Baekje who died in 523 AD. [1][3]
Inscriptions
The stone tablets are made for the king and the queen. The couple of tablets consist of two smooth blue-gray plates. In case of the king’s, the front is inscribed with 6 lines of record with 5 to 6 centimeters each, while the rear side of the King’s epitaph plaque featured a map of the sexagenary cycle (ganjido) as a guide inside the royal tomb.[3][2] The letters written such as the year of his death exactly coincide with the records written in Samguk Sagi, the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history.[1][3][4]
It is recorded in the Samguk sagi that King Muryeong was “the second son of King Dongseong.” In referring to King Muryeong, the name “Sama” (斯麻) appears on the tablet. A couple of letter 'Sama' refers to the same individual; it is, therefore, clear that “Sama” was the name that had been used during King Muryeong’s lifetime.[7]
The queen's memorial tablet has 13 lines, of which only four lines are filled with inscriptions, each measuring 2.5 to 2.8 centimeters. The rear face of the tablet is engraved with maejimun (certificate of ownership of the land), saying the place for the burial was bought from the god of the land.[1][2] The plaques also marked the information about the funerary rites that had been undertaken for the king and queen.[8]
Connotation
One of the most distinctive features is the certificate of ownership on the burial place. The epitaph mentions that in order to use the land for the tomb, a 'contract' was made with the earth spirits.[3][9] For the payment, strings of coins from the Chinese Liang dynasty were put on top of the plaque, [3][9] suggesting that the original designation of King Muryeong's tomb is located at its auspicious location.[10] The land purchase record strongly shows the influence of Taoist funeral ritual.[10][11]
Aside from Taoist influence, it is also found that the royal family of Baekje kept the bodies intact, showing the respect for the deceased for 3 years. This indicates that the Korean kingdom imported 3 years mourning from Chinese Confucianism. As a result, the funeral rituals of Baekje seemingly maintained a mixed style of Taoism and Confucianism.[4][11]