When Koguryo ruled East Asia

Evolution of Koguryo Tomb Murals

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Ⅲ. Evolution of Koguryo Tomb Murals

phase, the Gakjeochong, Tomb of Wrestlers, and the

Muyongchong, Tomb of Dancers, are best known. Both

tombs are situated at the southern foothills of Usan and face

the southwest. Their interiors are divided into two sections,

as the walls and the ceiling inside a wooden frame house.

Large trees divide sections for the depiction of various

themes.

Of the two, the Tomb of Wrestlers is easily recognized

for the painting of two men, an aquiline-nosed man from

West Asia and a Koguryo man, engaged in wrestling, as

well as the portrait of the tomb occupant and his two wives.

All these individuals in the murals, including the master

couple and servants show the characteristic appearance of

Koguryo people, whose faces are narrow and thin. They are

clearly different from the individuals portrayed in the

murals of the Anak Tomb No. 3, who have full and round

faces.

The Tomb of Dancers, meanwhile, portrays scenes of

hunters on horseback, dancing figures, two muscular men

performing a martial art, lotus petals and buds hovering in

the sky, as well as celestial figures such as immortals and

auspicious animals (blue dragons and white tigers). The

dancing scene is part of a larger painting that portrays the

dead master venturing out on horseback followed by his

attendant, while dancers and choir members see him off.

The murals attest to the sophisticated artistic skills of the

Koguryo painters in the Gungnae region during the early

5th century. 

2. Second Phase:The Diversified Celestial

World

The second phase in the evolution of Koguryo's mural

art covers a period from the mid-5th to early 6th centuries.

This was when Koguryo dominated Northeast Asia as one

of the region's four major powers, along with the Later Yan

in inner Asia and the Southern and Northern Dynasties in

China. During this period, murals were created for one-

chamber or two-chamber tumuli, featuring a variety of

themes. Some show a mixture of life scenes and the Four

Directional Animals, some life scenes and decorative

patterns, and others have only decorative patterns. When

the Four Directional Animals were painted in the interior of

the burial-chamber, they always appeared in the order of

blue dragon (left/east), white tiger (right/west), red phoenix

(front/south), and black warrior (rear/north). It is assumed

that these auspicious animals were painted in order to

complement the geomantic disadvantages of the tomb, or

when the tombs were built at a location where the animals

could not exercise their strongest power.

A good number of tomb murals depicting life scenes and

decorative patterns were excavated in the region of

Gungnae, the kingdom's former capital and political and

cultural center after the capital was relocated to

Pyeongyang in 427 CE. Some of the popular decorative

motifs were the spiral pattern, 'king' letter pattern, lotus-

petals, clouds, intertwined dragons, and honeysuckle.

Among them, the lotus-petal is important, for it appears in

most of the murals. The popularity of the motif is relevant

to the spread of Buddhism, which was notable during the

5th century. A lotus-flower pattern drawn inside the burial-

chamber reflects the aspirations of the deceased for rebirth

in the Buddhist Paradise. 

As for the mural tombs of the second phase in the

Gungnae region, the Jangcheon Tomb No. 1 and the Samsil

Tomb are significant. The Jangcheon Tomb, a typical two-

chamber tomb, has drawn attention for its paintings that

depict the tomb occupant and his guests enjoying games,

and the images of afterlife and Buddhist deities (Buddha

and bodhisattvas), wrestler-like figures from West Asia

who symbolically sustain the world of afterlife with their

raised hands, and the two figures of rebirth from lotus

flowers. As for the Samsil Tomb, it is an unusual structure

in which three chambers are linked in a "U" shape. The

images of the wrestler-like figures occupying the walls of

the second and third chambers appear to be of the same

ethnic background as the West Asian figures in the

Jangcheon Tomb No. 1. These murals are evidence of the

active cultural exchanges between Koguryo, Central Asia

and West Asia.

Also of note is that in some tombs in the

Pyeongyang/Anak region, the life scenes appear with the

images of the Four Directional Animals. Initially, the

animals were depicted with the constellations in the ceiling

of the chamber. They later moved down to the wall areas,

eventually occupying the entire wall, replacing the life

scenes and becoming the main themes of the murals. The

Ssangyongchong, the Tomb of Twin Pillars, the Susanri

Tomb and the Tokhwari Tomb No. 1 are among the best

examples of the second phase tumuli discovered in the

regions of Pyeongyang and Anak.

In the two-chamber Tomb of Twin Pillars, the most

notable is the portrayal of figures, which are rendered in

much more sophisticated and refined lines when compared

with those in the previous paintings. In the paintings, men

are wearing Koguryo hats (“Jeolpung”), jackets with rims

of different colors, and loose-legged pants. Women are

wearing similar kinds of jackets with rims of different

colors and pleated skirts. Persons donning similar outfits

appear on the murals of the Susanri Tomb as well. These

materials enable us to conclude that the tradition of

portraiture in Koguryo was established during the later part

of the 5th century. 

3. Third Phase: The Place for Eternal Rest

The third phase of the evolution of Koguryo mural art

covers a period from the mid-6th century to the 7th century.

In this period, the pan-Koguryo culture, which began

flourishing in the later part of the 5th century, was reflected

in the kingdom's mural art, even though the kingdom's

status as a regional power and its role as a cultural hub of

Northeast Asia then were being seriously challenged. The

murals of this period were painted on the smoothened stone

surfaces of the burial chambers. This shows that the

artisans of the kingdom were familiar with manufacturing

and handling of pigments. For the murals of one-chamber

tombs, the Four Directional Animals were still favored. 

Procession scene of Samsilchong

Ceiling mural in Muyongchong

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