- Title: Crossing Borders: Examining Goguryeo Murals from an East Asian Perspective
- Author: Byung-Joon Kim
- Journal: Asia Review 11(1)
- Publication Date: April 2021
- Abstract
This paper aims to examine Goguryeo murals
from an East Asian perspective. It begins by noting that the murals of Goguryeo
tombs have, until now, generally been viewed within the framework of the
Goguryeo Kingdom. Although the adoption of such a premise and its accompanying
cultural framework may at first appear to be unproblematic, the way in which this
approach has resulted in the overlapping of the concept of the ancient state
with the concept of the modern nation state was pointed out. Thus, the need to
break free from the shackles of an identity based on the nation state – at
least when exploring issues of cultural adoption and exchange – was proposed. From
this standpoint, two issues were addressed in relation to Goguryeo murals. The
first was the need for a critique of the notion of the universality of Goguryeo
murals. For this purpose, universal attributes that penetrate all East Asian murals,
were identified. In particular, it was noted that the common purpose of the
messages presented by the murals of the tomb, a place where the dead were laid
to rest, was the ascension from the tomb to the heavenly world in the
afterlife. It was argued that Goguryeo murals must also be understood by taking
into consideration this universal nature. The second issue was the
individuality of the Goguryeo murals. Before looking for characteristics
distinctive to Goguryeo, attention should be paid to the contents and
techniques of the paintings themselves. Mural paintings were influenced by the
tradition of East Asian mural paintings, the painting style of the painter’s
group, and the acceptance of new pictorial trends, in addition to the requests
of the deceased and his or her family. For this reason, murals within Goguryeo
were bound to be individualistic and diverse. The combination of these two
elements – of the universal nature of the East Asian mural tradition and the
individual nature of the murals – can be put forth as the distinctive
characteristic element of Goguryeo murals.
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