\

KOREAN
ART
THE
OKLYN
ISEUM
Ti^r
^
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
KOREAN
ART
KOREAN
ART
FROM
THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM
COLLECTION
ROBERT
J.
MOES
UNIVERSE BOOKS
New York
Note: Items listed in the catalogue as loans are, without
exception, promised gifts and will all enter the permanent
collection of The Brooklyn Museum within a few years of
this exhibition.
Published in the United States of America in 1987
by Universe Books
381 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
1987 The Brooklyn Museum
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior permission of the publishers.
87 88 89 90 91 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in Hong Kong
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moes, Robert.
Korean art.
Bibliography:
p.
1. Art, Korean -Catalogs. 2. Art-New York (N.Y)-
Catalogs. 3. Brooklyn MuseumCatalogs. I.Brooklyn
Museum. II. Title.
N7362.M64 1987 709'.519'074014723 87-13752
ISBN 0-87663-654-7
ISBN 0-87663-516-8 (pbk.)
Design by John Bellacosa
Cover illustration: 56. Three Jumping Carp
CONTENTS
Foreword vii
Preface: The Brooklyn Museum's Korean Collection ix
Introduction: The Historical Context of Korean Art 1
Prologue: The Uniqueness of Korean Art 19
Catalog 21
The Chinese Colony at Lo-lang 23
The Kaya Confederacy 27
The Silla Period 33
The United Silla Period 41
The Koryo Dynasty 47
The Yi Dynasty 71
Modern Korea 199
Selected Bibliography 205
Color Plates 207
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012
http://archive.org/details/koreanartfrombroOObroo
FOREWORD
The Brooklyn Museum's collection of Korean art is among the most
comprehensive in the United States. It includes all periods of Korean
cultural history from the Bronze-Iron Age to the mid-20th century and
is particularly rich in Korean folk art, seldom seen outside its country
of origin.
Although the Museum has for several years maintained the only
permanent installation of Korean art in the New York area, limited
gallery space has permitted only a fractional portion of the Korean
collection to be on display at any one time. A hundred of the finest and
most characteristic examples of Korean art from the collection were thus
selected for the special exhibition documented by this catalogue. These
works represent every important category of Korean art (except architec-
ture), including painting, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer, metalwork, furn-
iture, and embroidery. Few other American museums are capable of
mounting such a major Korean art exhibition entirely from their own
collections.
Robert Moes, Curator of Oriental Art at the Museum, both selected
the objects for the exhibition and wrote this catalogue. In 1985 Mr. Moes
was recognized by the government of South Korea for his "valuable
contribution to acquainting the American public with Korean culture
and promoting friendship between the two countries."
Robert T. Buck
Director, The Brooklyn Museum
PREFACE
THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM'S
KOREAN COLLECTION
Stewart Culin (1858-1929) was Curator of Ethnology at The Brooklyn
Museum from 1902 to 1928. In those days, The Brooklyn Museum was
a museum of science and history as well as of art. Around 1930, the Board
of Governors decided to make The Brooklyn Museum an art museum
exclusively. Pursuant to that decision, the museum's large collections of
stuffed animals, birds, fish, bones, rocks, and plaster casts were trans-
ferred to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.
However, a large quantity of anthropological material collected in the
field by Stewart Culin was retained at The Brooklyn Museum. By the
1930s this type of material, formerly considered merely ethnographical,
had been admitted into the realm of the fine arts as antiquities, or as
pre-Columbian, tribal, or folk art. Culin was a remarkably energetic and
resourceful man. He made extensive collecting trips to Mexico, Central
and South America, Africa, China, Japan, and Korea. Gathering masks
and spirit figures from tribal villages in the African bush in the early
years of this century was a difficult and sometimes dangerous business,
and in Mexico and China, bandits plagued the expeditions.
In 1913 Culin made a collecting trip to Korea. The armor, helmet, and
mandarin squares in this exhibition were acquired on that trip. Culin
mentioned his Korean trip in a letter dated February 24, 1926 to William
H. Fox, The Brooklyn Museum's Director from 1914 to 1933. In that
letter Culin complained that the material he had collected was not on
display: "The important and beautiful Korean collection I secured in
Korea in 1913 is now out of sight in the basement."
When I joined the staff of The Brooklyn Museum in 1973, the situation
remained the same; no Korean art was on display, in spite of the fact
that many superb Korean works of art had entered Brooklyn's collection
during the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. In order to remedy this, we applied
to the National Endowment for the Arts and received a grant to renovate
the Japanese Galleries. We sacrificed one-fourth of the Japanese gallery
space in favor of Korea. The handsome and functional new Japanese
and Korean Galleries opened in 1974 and remain an important part of
The Brooklyn Museum's permanent installation.
During the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s, we systematically
acquired, through donation and purchase, a wide range of Korean art
to fill gaps in the Museum's collection, which is now one of the most
comprehensive in the United States. The Brooklyn Museum maintains
the only permanent display of Korean art in the New York City area.
Robert Moes
Curator
of
Oriental Art
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to express his profound gratitude to Ms. Myung-
suk Tae for translating the inscriptions on items in the catalog and to
Mrs. Eunwoo Lee for her research on Buddhist paintings and sculpture
in the collection.
This catalog and the exhibition, From the Land of Morning Calm:
Korean Art at the Brooklyn Museum, were made possible, in part, by
support from Republic New York Corporation. The exhibition received
generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal
agency.
The Brooklyn Museum received additional support for the
exhibition from the New York State Council on the Arts,
The Daewoo
Corporation, and LUCKY-GOLDSTAR.
KOREAN
ART
INTRODUCTION
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF
KOREAN ART
The Korean peninsula arches roughly 620 miles
southward and slightly eastward from the south-
eastern corner of Manchuria, which is now part of
the People's Republic of China. Its boundary with
Korea is formed by two rivers flowing in opposite
directions from closely situated sources. The Amnok
River (called the Yalu by the Chinese) flows south-
west into the Yellow Sea, the body of water separat-
ing Korea from the coast of North China. The Tuman
River (Tumen in Chinese) flows northeast into the
Sea of Japan. Just before reaching the sea, the Tuman
River becomes the boundary between Korea and a
tip of the USSR near Vladivostok.
The Sea of Japan separates the Siberian coast and
Korean peninsula from the Japanese archipelago.
The Straits of Tsushima, between the southeastern
tip of Korea and the northwest coast of Kyushu,
southernmost of the four main islands of Japan,
is only 128 miles wide, easily navigable in good
weather even by primitive boats. Since early times,
because of its geographic position, the Korean penin-
sula has functioned as a land bridge through which
peoples and cultural developments from mainland
Asia have reached Japan.
The area of Korea is about 86,000 square miles. The
present population is approximately 53,270,000. The
Korean peninsula is rugged and mountainous; hills
and mountains occupy about 70 percent of its area
and only about one-fifth of the land can be farmed.
The great T'aebaek mountain range runs along the
east coast, forming the spine of the peninsula and
leaving only a narrow strip of land between the
mountains and the Sea of Japan. The mighty Nang-
nim mountain range lies parallel to the Amnok (Yalu)
River in northern Korea, forming a barrier between
Korea and Manchuria. The T'aebaek chain connects
perpendicularly with the Nangnim range.
In early times, the mountains of Korea were densely
forested. In recent centuries, forests have survived
only in the more remote mountains. All the timber
on nearby hills and peaks was cut long ago to burn
as firewood against the extreme cold of the winters,
during which a fierce wind from Siberia howls
through Korea, penetrating even several layers of
clothing. Today an admirable government reforesta-
tion program is turning the hills and mountains of
South Korea green again.
The most noticeable and characteristic feature of
Korean topography is granite: huge, rough masses of
exposed granite jut up everywhere among the sparse
cover of brush and small trees on the slopes of hills
and mountains. In certain areas, such as the famous
Diamond Mountains, near the east coast of Korea
just above the thirty-eighth parallel, granite boulders
have assumed fantastic shapes, like thousands of
rock spires.
South of the Nangnim Mountains and west of the
T'aebaek range lie numerous river valleys and coastal
plains ideal for growing rice and other crops. While
the east coast is narrow and almost without harbors,
the south and west coasts are broken by countless
inlets, bays, and small islands affording excellent
harbors. Many varieties of fish abound in the seas
surrounding the peninsula and form an important
part of the Korean diet.
The Koreans are a hardy people. They are
somewhat larger in stature than the Chinese and
Japanese. Their personality is direct and rather
volatile; they have little patience with pretense and
over-refinement. Koreans have a much stronger class
consciousness than do the more egalitarian Chinese,
and they are less tense and regimented than the
Japanese. The ancestors of the Koreans were nomadic
peoples of Mongoloid racial stock who came from
the forests and grasslands of northern Asia.
The Korean language is related to the Altaic lan-
guage group, named after the Altai Mountains of
Central Asia. Turkish, Manchu, and Mongolian
belong to this language group; Finnish and Japanese
are related to it. These various languages have dis-
similar vocabularies and are mutually unintelligible,
but their structures are similar: They are polysyllabic,
agglutinative languages, that is, they have words that
are often several syllables long, and to many words
KOREAN ART
are added endings indicating their role in the sen-
tence. This is completely different from Chinese,
which is monosyllabic and uninflected; a Chinese
word's function is indicated entirely by its position
in the sentence.
yC In spite of the total incompatibility of the Korean
and Chinese languages, virtually all writing in Korea
prior to the mid-15th century was done in Chinese.
Lacking a writing system of its own, Korea relied on
classical written Chinese, which was introduced into
Korea as early as the 3rd century B.C. Idu, a hybrid
system using Chinese ideograms to represent Korean
sounds, was invented in the late 7th century A.D. but
never widely used. A simple, nearly perfect system
for writing Korean was developed at the command of
Sejong, fourth king of the Yi Dynasty, and officially
adopted by royal decree in 1446. It was originally
called onmun (vernacular writing) but is called han'gul
(Korean letters) today. However, after its introduc-
tion, all scholarly and official writing continued to be
done in Chinese. Han'gul was only used by women
and other poorly educated persons. Only since the
end of World War II, after the expulsion of the
Japanese from Korea, has han'gul really come into
its own as the standard system for writing the
Korean language.
Japan annexed Korea in 1910 and held it until 1945.
Its geographic position, with fierce nomadic peoples
to the north in Manchuria and Mongolia, the huge
and often powerful Chinese empire to the west, and
the aggressive Japanese to the east, has unfortunately
resulted in frequent incursions, invasions, and con-
quests by its various neighbors since early times.
During the annexation, Japanese was imposed on
Korea as the official language. Prior to 1910, the con-
tinuous use of classical Chinese as the written lan-
guage of the educated classes had naturally facilitated
wholesale Korean borrowing of Chinese philosoph-
ical, political, literary, and artistic forms and ideas.
Over and over throughout its history, Korea welcomed
overwhelming cultural influence from China. Yet the
native cultural substructure remained distinctive and
vigorous beneath the official overlay of Chinese civil-
ization. It is in folk art, for example, that the Korean
artistic genius expresses itself most vividly, since the
art of the court and the scholar bureaucrats usually
struggled to be as Chinese as possible.
THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
In Neolithic times, Korea was occupied by various
tribal groups who had pottery and polished stone
tools but no agriculture. Primarily of Mongoloid
racial stock, these peoples migrated from the forests
and steppes of north Asia across the mountainous
border into the Korean peninsula by the third millen-
nium B.C. They became the principal ancestors of the
Korean people. As noted previously, the Korean
language provides evidence for this; it is similar
to others associated with the Altai Mountains of
northern Central Asia.
Lacking agriculture, the Neolithic inhabitants of
Korea were dependent on fishing, hunting, and
gathering. The remains of their village sites are often
adjacent to shell mounds, indicating that shellfish
were a significant part of their diet. These shell
mounds, the garbage dumps of antiquity, have
yielded pottery shards, as well as implements made
of stone, bone, or shell. The pottery is often decor-
ated with combed patterns. A toothed implement
was used to scratch designs of short, parallel lines on
the surface of the clay before firing. Comb markings
are common on Neolithic pottery of Siberia, Man-
churia, and Mongolia, but rare on early Chinese
ceramics. Neolithic Korean pottery was fired in shal-
low, open pits; the kiln had not yet been invented.
Some of the Neolithic pottery shards excavated in
Korea resemble Japanese earthenware of the Jomon
Period (c. 6000-300 B.C.). From the skeletal evidence
of burials near their shell mounds and villages, the
Jomon people were of Caucasoid racial stock. Their
ancestors presumably came from Siberia to northern
Japan by boat and spread south until they eventually
occupied the entire archipelago. The diversity of
facial types among modern Koreans, and the fact
that some Korean men have relatively profuse facial
hair, may indicate a Caucasian strain among their
ancestors. Some of the Caucasian tribes in Siberia
may have crossed the mountains into the Korean
peninsula during the Neolithic Period at the time
when others like them were migrating to Japan.
Neolithic Koreans constructed dolmens

huge,
table-like stone monuments consisting of two or
more upright stones supporting a horizontal stone
INTRODUCTION
slab. These dolmens offer further confirmation of
the north Asian origin of the early Korean peoples,
especially since they are encountered frequently in
northern Asia but have not been found in China.
Shamanism, the indigenous religion of Korea, is
descended from the animistic beliefs of these early
peoples from the forests and grasslands of north-
eastern Asia. A sentient spirit dwells in every
animal, tree, rock, or mountain, and they must be
propitiated by shamans so that they will cooperate
rather than work against men.
Tigers and bears were worshiped by Neolithic
Koreans, just as they were by many of the early for-
est peoples of north Asia. The tiger has continued to
be a potent Shamanist guardian spirit and frequent
subject of Korean folk paintings until recent times
(see Cat. 54). A bear and a tiger figure prominently
in the story of Tangun, the legendary founder of
Korea (traditionally in 2333 B.C.). Comma-shaped
stone beads based on the form of a tiger or bear claw
were worn by the early inhabitants of Korea. They
continued to be used well into historic times, for
example as ornaments on the gold crowns and
^
ceremonial belts found in 5th-6th-century Korean \
tombs of the Silla Period. In the 4th and 5th cen-
turies, Silla warriors invaded Japan and installed one
of their clan chieftains as the first emperor, so the
magatama (curved jewels), which form part of the
Japanese imperial regalia, are identical to the
comma-shaped beads of early Korea. Shinto, the
indigenous religion of Japan, in its orginal form,
was very similar to early Korean animism.
THE BRONZE/IRON AGE
During this period, from roughly 350 B.C. until
the time of Christ, Korean culture advanced rapidly
under the powerful influence of its two prime
sources: the northern nomads and the Chinese.
While the overlay of Chinese civilization has been
more noticeable in historic times, early tribes from
Manchuria, Mongolia, and Siberia were the main
ancestors of the Korean people and also provided
the original and lasting foundation of Korean culture.
Korea, like Japan, had no real Bronze Age, since
bronze-casting technology and iron-forging technology
were introduced from abroad in well-developed form
at about the same time. Early bronze artifacts exca-
vated in Korea have usually been found in conjunc-
tion with iron ones. Doubtless, many of the earliest
metal implements used in Korea were imported.
However, earthenware molds for casting bronze
mirrors during this period have been excavated in
Korea, indicating that early bronzes were produced
locally as well as imported.
Prior to the establishment of a Chinese trading
colony on Korean soil in 108 B.C., most of the bronze
artifacts in Korea were made in the Scytho-Siberian
style rather than the Chinese style. The term
"Scytho-Siberian" is used to describe the culture
of early nomadic peoples inhabiting the steppes and
forests of a vast area stretching from the ancient
country of Scythia near the Black and Aral seas all
the way to the coast of Siberia. The surviving art
of these early nomads consists primarily of small,
portable metal artifacts such as weapons, horse fit-
tings, and belt buckles, often taking the form of, or
decorated with, figures of animals, and therefore
referred to as "the animal style." The nomads raised
cattle and sheep for food, hides, and wool. They
depended on their sturdy, fast Mongol horses for
transportation, hunting, and warfare. They hunted
deer, bears, tigers, and other game. Animals were
important to them and played significant roles in their
spiritual beliefs and folklore as well as in their art.
The migration of northern nomad groups into
Korea and the flow of cultural influence across the
border from Manchuria, Mongolia, and Siberia con-
tinued sporadically until well into historic times.
However, this influx of people and ideas was
accelerated in the 4th century B.C., when the fierce
Hsiung-nu horde from Mongolia menaced other
nomadic tribes to its east in Manchuria and Siberia,
causing many to flee across the mountains into the
Korean peninsula, bringing with them a fully
developed bronze and iron technology.
The Hsiung-nu were a federation of Turkish-speaking
tribes, the same group known in the West as the
Huns"Hun" being very probably derived from the
Chinese "Hsiung-nu." When some of the Hsiung-nu
were driven westward around A.D. 200 by the power-
ful Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) Chinese armies,
they began pillaging eastern and central Europe.
KOREAN ART
Their fast and deadly mounted archers made the
Hsiung-nu a threat not only to other nomad tribes
but to the Chinese as well. Like other "Northern Bar-
barians" before and after them, the Hsiung-nu were
constantly raiding towns along the northern frontier
of China. It was against such incursions that the
Chinese built the Great Wall, but to no avail the
nomads breached it time and again, almost at will.
The "Barbarians" sometimes conquered large sec-
tions of China, and eventually all of it: the T'o-pa
(Northern Wei Dynasty, 386-535) in northwestern
China; the Khitan (Liao Dynasty, 947-1125) in north
China; the Jurched (Chin Dynasty, 1126-1234) in
north China; the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty, 1260-1368)
in all of China; the Manchus (Ch'ing Dynasty, 1644-
1910) in all of China.
War chariots were the pride of Chinese armies
during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1027 B.C.) and the
Chou Dynasty (1027-221 B.C.). The much greater
speed and maneuverability of nomad cavalry forced
the Chinese to abandon the cumbersome chariots
and adopt the cavalry techniques of their nomad
enemies by the beginning of the Han Dynasty.
Uncharacteristically, the normally chauvinistic
Chinese also appropriated some of the motifs and
treatment of nomad animal-style art for use on their
own metalwork at the time.
The nomadic tribes forced into Korea by the
troublesome Hsiung-nu were Tungusic-speaking
Mongoloid peoples. Tungusic is a subfamily of the
Altaic language group. Spoken in Manchuria and
eastern Siberia, it includes the Tungus and Manchu
languages. The Tungusic arrivals of the 4th and 3rd
centuries B.C. introduced important features of the
nomadic way of life to Korea: horse and cattle raising
and the mounted warrior. The Scytho-Siberian style
bronzes they produced included weapons, horse
fittings, buckles, mirrors, and bells. Along with
independent bells, jingle bells, attached like orna-
ments to various bronze objects, are characteristic
of this style. The cast decoration on Scytho-Siberian
style bronzes consists mainly of flat saw-tooth and
thin parallel-line patterns. A belt hook in the form of
a Mongol horse is one typical nomad bronze artifact
subsequently appropriated by the Chinese for their
own use (see Cat. 1). In Korean excavations, Scytho-
Siberian style bronzes are often found mixed with
ones derived from the Chinese.
In the 3rd century B.C., amid the accelerated influx
of northern nomads and their culture, Korea received
a major infusion of Chinese influence as well. Agri-
culture, both the wheat farming of North China and
the wet-paddy rice cultivation of Central and South
China, were introduced to Korea and gradually
spread throughout the peninsula. Rice farming
prospered best in southwestern Korea, where the
land is flatter and the climate is warmer and moister.
By the 3rd century B.C., the state of Yen in north-
east China had expanded into southern Manchuria
and was in contact with Korea. Choson, the first true
Korean state, was founded in the 3rd century B.C.
and lasted until 108 B.C. It was located in the north-
western part of the peninsula, nearest the source of
Chinese influence. The name "Choson" was later
adopted by the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910), and subse-
quently the Japanese used it as the name for Korea
during the annexation of 1910-1945. The establish-
ment of the original state of Choson in the 3rd
century B.C. was due in part to the arrival of Chinese
refugees fleeing the fighting as nine of the ten War-
ring States into which China was divided at the time
were conquered by the tenth, leading to the unifica-
tion of China under the first emperor, Ch'in Shih
Huang-ti, in 221 B.C. Wiman (Chinese: Wei Man), a
Chinese, or possibly a Korean in the service of the
Chinese, seized the Choson throne in about 190 B.C.
and moved the capital to P'yongyang, today the
capital of North Korea. Under Wiman, Choson
became a powerful state whose influence was felt
throughout the Korean peninsula.
During the Bronze/Iron Age, a new type of pottery
appeared in Korea. It consists mainly of globular
jars with flaring mouths or well-defined necks and
remarkably thin walls. The pots are made of well-
washed buff earthenware whose surface has been
burnished with a smooth tool prior to firing or some-
times coated with red iron-oxide slip before burnish-
ing. The shapes, techniques, and style of this pottery
are very reminiscent of Yayoi pottery in Japan. The
Yayoi Period (c. 300 B.C.-A.D. 300) was Japan's Bronze/
Iron Age. The Yayoi people are believed to have come
to Japan in several waves of migration from the
Korean peninsula. Skeletal evidence from burials
indicates they were of Mongoloid stock. With their
bronze and iron weapons, their better social organ-
ization, and their wet-paddy rice farming, they were
INTRODUCTION
easily able to dominate Japan's preagricultural,
Neolithic Jomon people. The Yayoi pottery of Japan
evolved from Bronze/Iron Age Korean prototypes.
LO-LANG
The increased influence of Chinese culture on Korea
due to the presence of Chinese refugees in the state
of Choson was further accelerated by the establish-
ment of a Chinese colony on Korean soil in 108 B.C.
The colony was named Lo-lang ("Nangnang," accord-
ing to the Korean pronunciation of the two ideograms
pronounced "Lo-lang" in Chinese). The Lo-lang
colony played a key role in transmitting Chinese
goods, ideas, and institutions to early Korea. Lo-lang
survived until AD. 313, outliving the mighty Han
Chinese dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) that spawned it.
Wu Ti, third emperor of the Han Dynasty, invaded
Korea in 109 B.C. Arriving by ship as well as overland,
his armies defeated the Korean state of Choson in
108 B.C. His purpose was not so much conquest for
its own sake as it was to out-maneuver the Hsiung-
nu hordes who were a major threat along China's
northern border. Wu Ti was afraid the Hsiung-nu
would form an alliance with the Korean state of
Choson. Han armies occupied most of central and
northern Korea. The Chinese invaders divided the
area into four administrative commanderies. How-
ever, many of the Korean inhabitants refused to
accept Chinese rule. In 82 B.C., the Chinese were
forced to pull back to one commandery, Lo-lang,
with its capital at Wang-hsien on the Taedong River
near P'yongyang.
Lo-lang became a highly profitable trading station,
selling Chinese goods to the Korean peninsula as
well as to the islands of Japan. It was the custom in
China at the time to bury luxury goods in the tombs
of deceased dignitaries so they could continue to use
them in the spirit world. Tombs of the lst-2nd-
century-A.D. Lo-lang aristocracy near P'yongyang
have yielded some of the most splendid Han Dynasty
artifacts ever recovered (see Cat. 1), including ex-
tremely well-preserved lacquer such as the famous
Painted Basket, which depicts figures engaged in lively
conversation.
All this came to an end when northern nomads
overran much of North China at the beginning of the
4th century, cutting off the Lo-lang colony from its
source. The Koreans took advantage of the situation
and conquered Lo-lang in 313.
During the four centuries when strong Chinese
cultural influences were emanating from the Lo-lang
colony, the southern half of the Korean peninsula
was dominated by a tribal people called the Han.
This "Han" is written with a different Chinese ideo-
gram than the one for the Han Dynasty. The name
of these early Korean Han people has been chosen
as the modern name of South Korea: Han'guk, "The
Country of Han."
During the 1st century A.D., agriculture gradually
spread throughout southern Korea. The topography
and climate of southwestern Korea in particular is
ideal for wet-paddy rice farming; this area has con-
tinued to be the main rice-producing region of
Korea. Large deposits of iron ore in southeastern
Korea made it possible for the rulers there to engage
in profitable trade with the Chinese at Lo-lang, as
well as with Koreans in other parts of the peninsula,
and with the Japanese.
THE THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD
This phase of Korean history is named after the
Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu Han, and Wu) into
which China was divided for roughly sixty years
following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in AD.
220. The Three Kingdoms Period in Korea began
with the conquest of Lo-lang in 313 by the Koguryo
Kingdom and ended with the unification of Korea
by the Silla Kingdom in 668. Koguryo occupied the
northern half of the peninsula, Silla the southeastern
quarter, and Paekche the southwest quarter. Each of
the three kingdoms traditionally claimed to have
been founded in the 1st century B.C. It was not
unusual for early Chinese kingdoms, and subse-
quently Korean and Japanese ones, to claim greater
antiquity for the sake of added prestige. Koguryo
claimed 37 B.C., Silla 57 B.C., and Paekche 18 B.C.
Koguryo
Koguryo was the first great native Korean kingdom.
Whereas the rulers of Choson had been mainly
Chinese immigrants, the Koguryo people originally
KOREAN ART
consisted of a group of five tribes among the north-
ern Manchurian nomads known as the Puyo
(Chinese: Fu-yu). During the 2nd century B.C., the
Koguryo tribes, who were primarily hunters and
warriors, migrated south and settled in the rugged
mountain forests that separate Korea from Manchuria.
Fierce Koguryo mounted warriors fought against
the Chinese troops sent by Han Wu Ti to occupy
Korea in 109 B.C. The Chinese invaders were forced
to abandon three of their four Korean commanderies
and consolidate at Lo-lang in about 75 B.C. The chief-
tain of one of the five Koguryo tribes then assumed
the title of king, which became hereditary. The
Koguryo tribes took control of much of northeastern
Korea and southeastern Manchuria. The Han Empire
dispatched forces to subdue them but was never able
to do so.
Koguryo defeated Lo-lang in A.D. 313, taking over
its territory and people. Subsequent events followed
a pattern that has been repeated many times within
China itself: the conquering nomads were quickly
Sinicized by their Chinese subjects. Less than sixty
years after their victory, the kings of Koguryo set up
a complex, Chinese-style bureaucratic government,
complete with the necessary system of agricultural
taxes to support it. They promulgated a Chinese-
style law code and established a university to teach
Confucianism and Chinese history. Buddhism was
introduced from China in 372. First brought to China
by missionaries from India in the lst-2nd century,
Buddhism was adopted as a state religion by the T'o-
pa Tartars who conquered northwestern China in the
late 4th century. As in 6th-century Japan, Buddhism
was given government support in Korea less from
belief in its religious teachings than from a desire to
obtain the advanced material culture of China that
came with it.
In 427, Koguryo moved its capital from Kungnae to
P'yongyang, the former capital of Lo-lang and the
modern capital of North Korea. Wall paintings in the
tombs of the Koguryo nobility near Kungnae and
P'yongyang are among the finest known surviving
examples of 4th-5th-century Chinese wall painting.
Although Koguryo was invaded by troops from
North China in about 342 and forced to pay tribute
to various Chinese states, it soon became powerful
enough to repulse large Chinese armies. China was
divided into a number of smaller kingdoms for most
of the time between the fall of the Han Dynasty in
220 and the founding of the Sui Dynasty (581-618).
After reunifying China, the Sui emperor decided to
conquer Korea. Four times between 598 and 614
he dispatched large expeditionary forces against
Koguryo; all four times the Chinese armies were
repulsed. These attempts to conquer Korea were so
costly that they helped bring about the collapse of
the Sui Dynasty.
Five more times between 644 and 659, the first and
then the second emperor of the T'ang Dynasty
(618-907), one of the mightiest in Chinese history,
sent huge armies to conquer Koguryo; each time the
Chinese forces were defeated. Obviously, Koguryo
could not withstand this kind of punishment
indefinitely. T'ang China formed an alliance with the
Silla Kingdom in southeastern Korea. Together, the
armies of Silla and T'ang destroyed the Kingdom of
Koguryo in 668.
Paekche
The Kingdom of Paekche occupied the southwestern
quarter of the Korean peninsula. Agriculture, speci-
fically wet-paddy rice farming, spread to this region
during the 1st century A.D. While the eastern and
southern portions of southwestern Korea are rather
mountainous, the northwestern portion consists of
wide, flat river valleys. This topography, plus the
local climate, warmer and moister than northern
Korea, combined to make the area perfect for grow-
ing rice. This region has been the main rice-producing
area of Korea ever since the 1st century. As a result,
it has tended to have a larger population than other
parts of the peninsula.
In the days of the Chinese colony at Lo-lang (108
B.C. -A.D. 313) in northwestern Korea, southern Korea
was dominated by a tribal people called the Han.
The early Paekche kings managed to consolidate the
Han tribes of southwestern Korea under their rule
in the 3rd-4th century A.D., although they piously
claimed a date of 18 B.C. for the founding of their
dynasty. The Paekche royal family considered them-
selves to be descended from the Puyo (Chinese:
Fu-yu), nomadic tribes in northern Manchuria,
of whom the Koguryo people were originally also
a branch.
The Koguryo kingdom maintained direct connec-
INTRODUCTION
tions overland with northern China. Paekche was cut
off from such contact by the presence of Koguryo in
between. Throughout most of their history, Paekche
and Koguryo were at war with one another. Paekche,
therefore, compensated for its lack of communication
with northern China by developing and maintaining
relationships with coastal southern China by ship
across the Yellow and the East China seas. Paekche
also established close maritime connections with
Japan: it was from Paekche that Buddhism was
introduced to Japan in A.D. 552. Japan welcomed
Buddhism primarily because it offered access to the
advanced material culture of China; each of the
Three Kingdoms in Korea embraced Buddhism for
the same reason.
Buddhism was brought to the Kingdom of Paekche
by a Chinese monk; the new religion received official
recognition and state support from the Paekche court
in 384. The first capital of Paekche was at Kwangju,
just below the Han River, halfway up the west coast
of Korea, not far from the modern city of Seoul. In
475, southward expansion by the powerful Kingdom
of Koguryo forced Paekche to move its capital south
to Kongju. Continuing Koguryo pressure caused
Paekche to move the capital further south to Puyo
in 538.
In their struggles against Koguryo and, later,
against Silla, their increasingly powerful neighbor
to the east, the kings of Paekche requested military
assistance from the Japanese. Paekche (pronounced
"Kudara" in Japanese) sent some Buddhist monks,
nuns, and ritual paraphernalia to Japan with one of
its diplomatic missions, offering the new religion as a
gift and asking for military aid in return but to no
avail. In 662, T'ang Dynasty Chinese naval forces,
with the help of Silla armies, destroyed the Kingdom
of Paekche. In 663, Japan finally sent a fleet of war-
ships to rescue Paekche, but the combined T'ang and
Silla forces easily defeated the Japanese armada.
Silla
From the 1st century B.C. through the 3rd century
A.D., while northwest Korea was under the strong
Sinicizing influence of the Chinese colony at Lo-
lang, southern Korea was dominated by the Han
people. The southwest became Korea's main rice-
producing region, while the southeast carried on a
profitable iron-ore trade with Lo-lang and other parts
of Korea, as well as with Japan. Just as Han tribes in
southwest Korea had coalesced to form the Kingdom
of Paekche, those in the southeast united during the
4th century to become the Kingdom of Silla. Six of
the Han tribes in southeastern Korea formed a con-
federation and imposed their rule on other tribes in
the area. The chieftains of the six ruling tribes met as
a council to elect a ruler and decide important issues.
Like Koguryo and Paekche, Silla claimed an impossibly
early date for the founding of the state: 57 B.C.
The southeast was the quarter of Korea furthest
away from Chinese occupation and influence. Sinifi-
cation came to Silla somewhat later than it did to
Koguryo and Paekche. The capital of Silla was near
the present town of Kyongju. Tombs of the 5th-6th-
century Silla aristocracy in that district have yielded
an abundance of impressive luxury goods: pottery
(see Cat. 5,6), swords, armor, horse trappings,
bronze mirrors, jade jewels, gold crowns, and gold
earrings (see Cat. 7). The splendid gold crowns
found in the most important Silla tombs have antler-
like or treelike superstructures suggesting the ani-
mistic beliefs of early peoples from the forests and
grasslands of north Asia; these beliefs became the
basis for Korean Shamanism.
Silla was frequently at war with Koguryo, Paekche,
or the Japanese colony of Kaya (between Paekche
and Silla on the south coast of Korea). Koguryo
and Paekche had developed efficient, Chinese-style
centralized bureaucracies and large, well-organized
armies. However, the mounted warriors of Silla were
especially fierce fighters. Their vigor and effective-
ness resulted from their old tribal loyalties rather
than from Chinese-style organization.
As with Koguryo and Paekche, however, Sinifica-
tion inevitably overtook Silla. In the 5th century,
chieftains in the Kim family won the hereditary right
to rule the confederation. In 503, they began refer-
ring to themselves by the Chinese title of king.
During the first half of the 6th century, the Silla
kings promulgated a Chinese-style law code and
reorganized the government along Chinese bureau-
cratic lines. Buddhism was made a state religion in
528. As with Koguryo and Paekche, however, the old
tribal Shamanism was not rejected. It continued to
be practiced along with Buddhism, especially by the
common people.
8 KOREAN ART
Implementation of Chinese ideas and practices
during the first half of the 6th century proved stim-
ulating and beneficial; Silla became increasingly
powerful. In 562 Silla formed a military alliance with
Paekche and conquered the Kaya confederation that
lay between them. Silla armies then advanced up the
east coast well into Koguryo territory, turned west-
ward, and fought their way across to the west coast,
driving a wedge between Koguryo and Paekche. This
move also gave Silla a port on the Yellow Sea and
direct maritime access to China. Taking advantage
of the situation, Silla subsequently formed a military
alliance with the T'ang Dynasty. T'ang warships and
Silla warriors combined forces to conquer the King-
dom of Paekche in 662. In 663, they destroyed a
Japanese fleet sent to rescue Paekche. Next, they
turned their attention to Koguryo. Combined T'ang
and Silla armies overwhelmed the Kingdom of
Koguryo in 668, making Silla and its Chinese allies
masters of the entire Korean peninsula.
The Three Kingdoms Period: Kaya
Kaya is not counted as one of the Three Kingdoms;
it is usually treated as a part of Silla, which it did
become after its conquest by Silla in 562. However,
Kaya was very important in its own right because of
its extremely close connections with Japan.
Kaya never coalesced into a unified state as did
each of its neighbors, Koguryo, Paekche, and Silla;
it remained a confederation of tribal units. Kaya
occupied the central third of southern coastal Korea,
including much of the lower Naktong River valley.
Kaya is sometimes referred to as Karak, the name of
the largest principality within it. Karak was tradition-
ally founded in A.D. 42 and had its capital at Kimhae,
across the delta of the Naktong River from the modern
city of Pusan at the southeastern tip of the peninsula.
Kaya was called Mimana by the Japanese, who
maintained what amounted to a colony there from
the middle of the 4th century until the Silla conquest
of 562. The close ties between Kaya and Japan were
based on the fact that the dominant Yamato clans in
Japan were closely related to the people of Kaya.
Tribes of mounted warriors had migrated into Korea
from the north and moved gradually through the
peninsula to the south coast. Some of them remained
there and formed the Kaya confederacy, while others
pushed on across the straits of Tsushima to Japan.
They arrived in Kyushu, the large southern island
of Japan, in the 4th-5th century. They easily domi-
nated the local Jomon-Yayoi people, who had never
encountered warriors on horseback before. Next,
these warriors and their followers moved up through
the Inland Sea to what is now the Osaka area, where
they installed one of their clan chieftains as the first
emperor of Japan. The Shinto myths of the Yamato
people, as they called themselves, describe their
descent from the plains of High Heaven to the
islands of Japan. The archaeological evidence points
to the Kaya area of Korea instead. Objects deposited
in 5th-6th-century Japanese tombs are virtually
identical to those found in Kaya and Silla tombs
of the same period.
The material culture of the Kaya confederacy, as
evidenced by objects excavated from royal tombs
near Kimhae, was substantially the same as that of
its neighbor, Silla. However, some of the forms and
techniques seem to have been developed in the Kaya
area first and then transferred to Silla from there,
especially the characteristic dark-gray pottery of the
period (see Cat. 2). It typically consists of bowls and
jars on tall pedestals with rectangular perforations
(see Cat. 3). The nearly identical Sue Ware of the
Tumulus Period in Japan derives from it.
THE UNITED SILLA PERIOD
With their conquest of the Koguryo Kingdom in 668,
the T'ang Dynasty Chinese expeditionary forces and
the Silla armies found themselves in control of the
entire Korean peninsula, unified for the first time in
history. But the victors inevitably began squabbling
among themselves. The Chinese expected to annex
Korea to the T'ang Empire. Silla, of course, wanted
to rule Korea itself. Fighting broke out between the
Chinese occupation forces and the Silla troops.
Fortunately for Silla, most of the defeated inhabitants
of Paekche and Koguryo decided to join forces with
Silla against the Chinese invaders. Still, it took them
ten years to drive the Chinese armies out of Korea. It
is an indication of the toughness and determination
of the Korean people that they were able to humili-
INTRODUCTION
tate the mighty T'ang Empire and establish their
independence. Henceforth, United Silla sent tribute-
bearing envoys to the T'ang court on an annual basis;
this assured Chinese recognition of Silla, as well as
diplomatic relations and trade. In spite of frequent
invasions, revolts, and changes of dynasty, Korea
has remained a unified, independent country until
modern times.
The United Silla Period lasted from 668 until 918.
The capital remained at Kyongju, but there were now
five secondary capitals scattered throughout the
peninsula. The Salification of Silla that had begun
before unification increased rapidly following the
takeover of Paekche and Koguryo, each of which
already had a well-organized Chinese-style bureau-
cracy long before their conquest by Silla. Silla now
needed that kind of centralized bureaucracy in order
to administer the much larger area and population
that had come under its control. The Silla king wisely
rewarded the surviving aristocracy of Paekche and
Koguryo who had assisted in the expulsion of the
T'ang armies with court ranks or government posts.
The annual tribute missions to the T'ang court
ensured closer contact with China than had been
possible in the past. The T'ang Dynasty (618-907)
was a glorious Golden Age in the history of China,
a time of outstanding achievement in every area of
cultural endeavor. Both Korea and Japan greatly
admired T'ang culture, and both emulated it as
closely as they could.
Chinese Buddhism was at its height during the
T'ang Dynasty. Emperors and aristocrats lavished
their support on Buddhist temples and monasteries,
many of which became rich and powerful. United
Silla Korea and Nara Period Japan (710-794) followed
the T'ang example in their opulent patronage of
Buddhism (see Cat. 8, 9). The overwhelming size
of Todaiji Monastery in Nara attests to its generous
support by Emperor Shomu (724-748). The splendidly
restored 8th-century Pulguksa Monastery and mag-
nificent Sokkuram Grotto Temple near Kyongju
attest to the lavish patronage of United Silla kings.
The Nara emperors and United Silla kings did not
ignore secular splendor either. They built elegant
T'ang-style palaces and surrounded themselves with
T'ang-style luxury goods, some of which were imported
from China, and many of which were made locally
based on T'ang prototypes. This pervasive imitation
of T'ang culture was facilitated by the large number
of Japanese and Korean Buddhist monks and lay stu-
dents who went to China for study. Most of this
Chinese-style elegance was, of course, limited to the
capital cities; little of the imported luxury penetrated
the Japanese or Korean countryside.
While the benefits of T'ang-style material culture in
Korea were visible mainly around the capital district
at Kyongju, T'ang-style bureaucratic administration
reached throughout the United Silla Kingdom. Korea
was divided into nine provinces, based on a Chinese
model. The provinces were subdivided into prefec-
tures, as was the practice in China. The provinces
and prefectures were all given Chinese-style names
in 757. A complex hierarchy of Chinese-style govern-
ment bureaus administered the country on behalf of
the king. Government officials received regular salar-
ies computed in grain or in the yield of a given acre-
age, based on the importance of their posts. There
were two basic and equal categories of government
officials; civil and military. Army installations were
systematically set up in each province.
However, United Silla ignored one significant aspect
of Chinese bureaucracy, the civil-sendee examinations.
During the T'ang Dynasty, the examination system
became an important means of selecting educated
and talented men for the huge bureaucracy that was
necessary to run a country the size of China. The
examinations were open to everyone, although they
naturally tended to favor the upper classes, who had
a better opportunity to acquire the elaborate formal
education in the Confucian classics necessary to pass
the examinations. In Korea, by contrast, government
appointments were made almost solely on the basis
of aristocratic birth. At the other end of the social
scale, the Korean peasants who worked the land to
support the government were condemned by birth
to the status of serfs.
Toward the end of the 8th century, serious difficul-
ties overtook the United Silla Kingdom, and the 9th
century, the final century of Silla rule, was a time of
utter chaos. In the wake of several uprisings, the last
legitimate Silla king was murdered in 780. A series of
twenty kings followed in quick succession, none of
whom came from the direct royal line. Each was a
puppet placed on the throne by one or another of
10 KOREAN ART
the squabbling factions at court. Assassinations and
coups became routine. The capital district at Kyongju
was laid waste.
Meanwhile, Korea's peasants had been taxed beyond
endurance to support the greedy aristocracy. The
serfs who worked the estates of the nobility and the
slaves who labored in the government factories were
also badly treated. The result was a series of peasant
rebellions and the flight of thousands of serfs from
the estates to which they were bound; in desperation
many of them became brigands.
Even Buddhism, once considered the guardian of
the state, now began to cause trouble. Lavish dona-
tions of goods and land by the aristocracy had made
some of the Buddhist sects very rich. Many common-
ers became monks to avoid military service and farm
labor. Noblemen often took the tonsure to escape
court intrigues. The number of monks swelled dra-
matically. Many of the monasteries became huge,
powerful establishments. Seeking additional power,
some of them began to meddle in government affairs.
During the 9th century, the king found it necessary
to curtail the power of the monasteries and confis-
cate much of their land. At about the same time,
Buddhism in China was dealt a blow from which it
never recovered: Between 841 and 845, a mad T'ang
emperor seeking Taoist immortality destroyed 44,600
Buddhist monasteries and defrocked 260,000 monks
and nuns. Only the Ch'an (Zen) sect escaped perse-
cution; its personal, contemplative approach kept it
from becoming a nuisance to the government.
By the end of the 9th century, the peasant
rebellions had spread throughout Korea, and the
situation was out of control. In 901, a Buddhist monk
named Kungye founded a kingdom of his own in
north Korea and called it Later Koguryo. Kungye's
father was a Silla king, but his mother was a lowly
concubine. Considered outside the royal line,
Kungye entered the Buddhist priesthood, a common
practice at the time. After establishing the Later
Koguryo Kingdom, Kungye set up a T'ang-style ad-
ministration, but unfortunately he became a terrible
tyrant. He was deposed by one of his own military
officials, who took the throne for himself in 918, thus
marking the end of the United Silla Period and the
beginning of the Koryo Dynasty.
THE KORYO DYNASTY
The name of the Koryo Dynasty was formed with
the first and last of the three Chinese characters with
which "Koguryo" is written. The Western name
"Korea" derives from "Koryo." The Koryo Dynasty
lasted from 918 to 1392. It began when one of
Kungye's generals, Wang Kon, seized the throne of
Later Koguryo for himself in 918. In 935 the last king
of United Silla capitulated. He was granted one of
Wang Kon's daughters in marriage and given a high
post in the new government. With this shrewd move,
Wang Kon absorbed the United Silla bureaucracy
smoothly into his own regime.
Wang Kon built his capital at Kaesong (also called
Songdo), near the west coast of Korea, slightly north
of the Han River estuary, not far from Seoul, the
present capital of South Korea. Seoul itself was des-
ignated a secondary Koryo capital (Southern Capital),
as were P'yongyang (Western Capital), which had
been the capital of Lo-lang and Koguryo, and Kyongju
(Eastern Capital), the former capital of Silla.
Kaesong was laid out in the grand manner with a
rectangular grid of broad streets and avenues
dominated by a huge royal palace in imitation of
Ch'ang-an, the great capital city of T'ang China.
Kaesong became one of the most splendid cities of
the world in its day. The roofs of the palace were
covered with expensive celadon porcelain tiles that
glistened in the sunlight like blue-green jade.
Just as the Koryo kings copied Ch'ang-an when lay-
ing out their capital city, so they also imitated T'ang
administrative structure when setting up their gov-
ernment bureaucracy. In 958 a Chinese-style civil ser-
vice examination system was put into operation, but
since class consciousness is much stronger in Korea
than in China, the examinations were open to com-
moners in theory only.
Koryo emulation of T'ang forms lasted long after
the fall of the T'ang Dynasty itself. Following the col-
lapse of T'ang in 907, China was plunged into a half
century of chaos, called the Five Dynasties Period
(907-960) after five regimes in North China that
followed each other in rapid succession. South
China broke up into ten different kingdoms during
this period. China was unified again under the Sung
INTRODUCTION" 11
Dynasty in 960. Korean contact with China was not
as close in Sung times as it had been during the
T'ang. Two powerful Tartar kingdoms stood between
Korea and Sung China, the Khitan (Liao Dynasty)
and the Jurched (Chin Dynasty).
Orthodox Buddhism in China was effectively and
permanently destroyed by the imperial persecution
of 841-845. However, the situation in Korea was quite
different. Buddhism flourished more than ever
under the ardent official patronage of Koryo Dynasty
kings (see Cat. 11). Wang Kon, the founder of the
dynasty, was a devout Buddhist. He is usually called
King T'aejo; Koryo kings, as well as those of the suc-
ceeding Yi Dynasty, are traditionally referred to bv
their posthumous titles, as was the practice in China.
In the Ten Injunctions, promulgated for the benefit of
his successors, T'aejo emphasized the fact that the
prosperity of the dynasty depended on the divine
protection of the Buddha. Under the lavish patron-
age of the Koryo kings and aristocracv, leading
monasteries once again became rich and powerful.
Many acquired vast estates of farmland, the true
measure of wealth at the time.
X
The great monasteries rivaled the roval court as
centers of learning and art. One of the notable
cultural achievements of the Koryo Dynasty was the
production of a set of wood blocks for printing the
Tripitaka, the complete collection of Buddhist sacred
texts. Each block was carved with the Chinese
characters for one page of text. The blocks have
survived -all 81,137 of them -in the repository of the
Haeinsa monastery on Mt. Kaya in South Korea.
Shamanism was maintained alongside Buddhism
in Korea, just as Shinto was in Japan. King T'aejo's
Ten Injunctions admonished subsequent Koryo kings
to continue the observance of Shamanist rituals as
well as Buddhist ones. Inevitably, Shamanist and
Buddhist beliefs commingled. Bv the time of the Yi
Dynasty (1392-1910), most Korean Buddhist monas-
teries had subsidiary buildings for the worship of im-
portant Shamanist deities, particularly Sanshin, the
Mountain Spirit (see Cat. 30).
When the various Buddhist sects arrived in Korea
from China, they were already somewhat adulter-
ated by Chinese beliefs, especially Taoist ones.
According to Taoist geomancy, for example, buildings
must be positioned so as to be in harmony with the
forces of nature. Many Buddhist monasteries were
built on high mountains to the northeast of cities or
palaces to protect them from the evil influences that
emanate from that direction.
Buddhism in Korea declined considerably during
the Yi Dynasty since Confucianism was the religion
favored by the court. Sharply curtailed by the Yi
kings, Korean Buddhism survived as a kind of folk
religion in which Buddhist, Taoist, and Shamanist
elements were intermingled.
Sung Dynasty Chinese emissaries to the Korean
court remarked in their journals about the sharp
disparity between the elegant luxurv of the Korvo
aristocracy and the wretched povertv of evervone
else in Korea. The peasants' grain taxes and periodic
mandatory labor supported the aristocracy in high
style but left little for the peasants themselves. Below
the peasants in the social hierarchv was a large class
of laborers and slaves who worked as servants for
the aristocracy* or toiled in government mines and
factories. As earlv as the 12th centurv, oppression of
peasants and slave laborers by the aristocracy re-
sulted in rebellions. Feuding factions at court created
further disorder. In 1170, the militarv officials respon-
sible for guarding the palace killed the civil officials
at court and installed a different king on the throne.
The remainder of the 12th century was marred bv
continuous civil war.
Racked bv internal difficulties, the Korvo Dvnastv
also faced serious threats from outside. In 1011, the
Khitan Tartars (Liao Dynasty) invaded Korea and
overran the capital. The Jurched Tartars (Chin
Dvnastv) conquered North China in 1126 and forced
Korea to pay heaw tribute.
In the 13th centurv, an even more awesome force
appeared at Korea's northern border: the Mongols.
Thev invaded the peninsula in 1231 and attacked the
capital. The king capitulated and agreed to recognize
Mongol suzerainty. However, after the withdrawal of
the Mongol troops, he moved his capital to Kanghwa
Island, just off the west coast near the estuary of the
Han River, a location that could be more easily de-
fended against Mongol attack. The move infuriated
the Mongols; they retaliated by ravaging the entire
Korean peninsula for the next quarter century. In
1258, Korea was annexed to the Mongol Empire. In
1279, the Mongols completed their conquest of China,
12 KOREAN ART
where they established the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368),
with its capital at Peking. Koryo kings were hence-
forth forced to live in Peking part of the time.
Devastated by the brutal Mongol occupation, Korea
was further strained by two attempted Mongol inva-
sions of Japan. In 1274, and again in 1281, the Mongols
sent huge fleets of warships to conquer Japan. The
attacks were launched from Korea, which was forced
to furnish the ships, the provisions, and some of the
troops. Fortunately for Japan, the two Mongol arma-
das were both wrecked by fierce storms near the
coast of Japan just after the fighting started. The
Japanese credited their native Shinto deities for sav-
ing Japan from the Mongols and named the storms
kamikaze (Divine Winds).
But Korea's external problems did not end there. In
retaliation for the invasions, Japanese pirates (wako)
took advantage of the weakened condition of Korean
coastal towns and raided them continuously through-
out the late 13th and 14th centuries, ravaging the
coastal districts and driving the inhabitants inland,
while completely disrupting Korean shipping. In des-
peration, some Koreans became pirates themselves.
In 1368, the overextended Mongol Empire col-
lapsed and was replaced in China by a native dynasty,
the Ming (1368-1644). The Koryo Dynasty, having
suffered such heavy Mongol domination, was unable
to survive for long after the fall of the Yuan. The
more progressive factions at the Koryo court were
anxious to form an alliance with the new Ming
Dynasty. The more conservative factions, unforJao^
nately, insisted on remaining loyal to the Mongols.
Korean troops were therefore sent to attack Ming
forces in Manchuria. The commanding general, Yi
Song-gye, realizing the absurdity of this undertak-
ing, ordered his troops to return to the capital in-
stead. He took over the government in 1388 and
proclaimed himself king in 1392, marking the end of
the Koryo and the beginning of the Yi Dynasty.
THE YI DYNASTY
The Yi Dynasty lasted over five hundred years, from
1392 to 1910, perhaps the longest continuous regime
in the history of the world. Recent Korean publica-
tions and the gallery labels in the Korean National
Museum refer to the Yi Dynasty as the Choson
Period, based on the fact that the first Yi king received
permission from Ming Dyansty China to name his
regime after the earliest Korean state, Choson (3rd
century B.C-108 B.C.).
The Yi capital was built at Seoul and remained
there throughout the dynasty. Today, Seoul is the
capital of South Korea. Its two Yi royal palaces, the
Kyongbok Palace (begun in 1395, rebuilt in 1867) and
the Ch'angdok Palace (begun in 1396, rebuilt during
the 19th century) survive as impressive examples of
Ming-style palace and garden architecture. Yi Dynas-
ty philosophical, literary, artistic, and administrative
forms imitated as closely as possible those of Ming
Dynasty China. Just as Silla and Koryo had copied
T'ang, Yi ardently copied Ming, often becoming more
orthodox and conservative than the Ming Chinese
themselves.
Yi Song-gye, like other Koryo and Yi kings, is
usually referred to by his posthumous title, T'aejo
('Grand Progenitor'). Immediately after founding the
Yi Dynasty, he established formal tributary relations
with Ming China. Korea agreed to send annual embas-
sies to the Ming court bearing monetary tribute in re-
turn for recognition, protection, and trade. Throughout
history, China has considered this its normal type of
relationship with neighboring countries.
The two distinguishing characteristics of Yi Dynasty
Korea were close imitation of Ming Dynasty China
and the ascendancy of Confucianism, which became
the official religion of the Yi Dynasty, as well as the
philosophical basis for Yi administration. Buddhism
was severely proscribed. Shamanism, with an admix-
ture of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, sur-
vived as the religion of the common people.
Confucius was a great Chinese philosopher and
teacher whose traditional dates are 551-479 B.C.
("Confucius" is the Latin version of his Chinese
name and title, K'ung-fu-tzu, "Master K'ung.") What
has survived of his ideas and teachings is contained
in the Analects (Lun yu) written down by his disciples
and their followers. The Analects consists primarily of
answers to questions, each preceded by "The Master
said

"
Confucius conveyed moral precepts rather
than abstract philosophy. His teachings emphasized
loyalty and responsibility to one's family especially
to one's parents
-
as well as to one's ruler. Confucius
INTRODUCTION 13
defined the proper behavior for each type of human
relationship: between a son and his father, a hus-
band and his wife, a man and his brother, a subject
and his king, one state and another, and so forth
(see Cat. 52).
The Confucian social hierarchy consisted of
heaven, earth, king, parents, teacher, and the indi-
vidual. The king and his officials were supposed to
behave righteously toward their subjects and ven-
erate their ancestors, the earth, and heaven. Accord-
ing to Confucian ideals, a nation would be peaceful
and prosperous if appropriate relationships were
maintained between its various levels of society.
As the centuries passed, Confucianism became a
powerful force in Chinese life, but many disparate
ideas were added to the original ethical precepts of
Confucius and his disciples. By the Sung Dynasty
(960-1279), Confucianism had evolved an elaborate
cosmology, a mystical side unrelated to the teachings
of Confucius himself and borrowed largely from
Taoism. Taoist cosmology recognized a basic unity
behind the diverse functions of the universe, yet
viewed everything in terms of duality: positive/
negative, male/female, light/dark, and so forth. The
myriad activities of the universe derive from the
interaction of yin and yang, the negative and positive
principles. The pair of intertwining commas on the
Korean flag (and a constant design motif on utilitarian
objects in Korea) is the ancient Chinese graphic repre-
sentation of interacting yin and yang (see Cat. 88).
The complex, developed form of Confucianism is
called "Neo-Confucianism" to distinguish it from the
teachings of the Master himself. Neo-Confucianism
acquired all the trappings of a religion, complete
with Confucian temples and elaborate rituals, in
which ancestor worship played an especially impor-
tant part. Neo-Confucianism was synthesized and
codified by Chu Hsi (1130-1200). Chu Hsi School
Neo-Confucianism hardened into an intimidating
orthodoxy in the late Sung Period that was handed
on to the succeeding Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty. It took
root in Korea at the time of the Mongol domination
during the late Koryo Dynasty, and it went on to
become virtually the state religion of the Yi Dynasty.
Yi rulers attached even more significance to Neo-
Confucian ideals than the Chinese did. Yi insularity
and conservatism helped to preserve many Confu-
cian rituals and other practices in Korea long after
they fell into disuse in China. Among Neo-Confucian
ideals, none was more important than that of the
superior man, the Confucian sage, who brought his
wisdom to perfection through learning and the cul-
tivation of righteousness, selflessness, and filial piety.
According to this ideal, human nature has the poten-
tial for such development if guided and inspired by
correct Confucian behavior and principles. The sage
advises the king, and the king rules his subjects justly.
Elaborate Confucian rituals involving music and
processions were performed on specific days of the
year at the royal palace or at Confucian temples in Yi
Dynasty Korea. In addition, each individual, from
king to commoner, was responsible throughout the
year for maintaining the practice of ancestor worship,
the most important Confucian ritual in every Yi
Dynasty Korean household. On the anniversaries
of the deaths of ancestors for several generations
back, a spirit tablet -a rectangular plaque with the
name of the deceased written or carved on it was
placed on an altar in the household shrine and the
ancestor was venerated (see Cat. 35). Only the men
in the family participated in this ritual. The status of
women in the Yi Dynasty was low, their main re-
sponsibilities being to bear sons and care for their
husbands and parents.
Confucianism's hold on Yi Dynasty Korea was
ensured and perpetuated by the fact that the Con-
fucian classics were the main subject matter of the
government examinations, just as they were in China.
Appointment to high government posts, as well as
the land and prestige that went with the position,
depended on success in the examinations. The situa-
tion in Korea was exacerbated by the fact that the
government examinations, plus all the long study
and preparation necessary to pass them, were in
Chinese. This tended to stifle creativity on the part
of the Korean intelligentsia and promote strict
adherence to orthodox Chinese teachings.
The ascendancy of Confucianism in Yi Dynasty
Korea was accompanied by a corresponding decline
in Buddhism. T'aejo, the first Yi king, was himself a
Buddhist. Nevertheless, he reacted against the po-
litical and spiritual corruption into which late Koryo
Dynasty Buddhism had fallen. Swayed bv his
Confucian-trained advisors, he withdrew official
14 KOREAN ART
government support from the Buddhist church and
canceled the tax exemptions of the monasteries. He
also prohibited the construction of new monastery
buildings and curtailed the repair of existing Bud-
dhist structures. T'aejo's son, T'aejong, the third Yi
king, went further: he dismantled all but 250 of the
Buddhist monasteries in Korea and appropriated
their land for the crown. Persecution continued
under T'aejong's son, Sejong, the fourth Yi king: he
banished Buddhist monks from the capital; decreed
that the seven Korean Buddhist sects must merge
into two; and reduced the number of monasteries
to only 36, whose population of monks he limited
to 3,700. Following these persecutions, Buddhism in
Korea survived as a sort of folk religion with a large
admixture of Taoist and Shamanist elements.
Yi Dynasty Korea really had four religions

Confucianism, Buddhism, Shamanism, and Taoism

-
although no one was actually aware of the fourth.
Taoism, unlike the other three, had no temples or
shrines of its own in Korea. Nevertheless, Taoist
ideas and Taoist symbolism permeated Korean life
at every level. Neo-Confucianism took much of its
cosmology from Taoism. Korean Buddhism and
Korean Shamanism borrowed heavily from Taoism.
Even more significant were the ubiquitous symbols,
auspicious or protective, that served as the principal
motifs on all the household objects in every Korean
home; this symbolism was all Taoist in origin.
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shamanism met
the need for institutional religion at the various
levels of Korean society. Similarities in beliefs and
practices between Shamanism and Taoism made
Koreans receptive to Taoist themes, while at the same
time eliminating their need for institutional Taoism.
The philosophical Taoism taught by the founder
of Taoism, Lao-tzu (b. 604 B.C.), had little impact on
Korea. However, religious Taoism, founded by Chang
Tao-ling (b. A.D. 126), thoroughly permeated Korean
culture. Chang Tao-ling promoted Lao-tzu's classic,
the Tao Te Ching, as the paramount Taoist scripture.
He also advocated solitary meditation in the moun-
tains in order to attain spiritual enlightenment, as
recommended by Lao-tzu. However, Chang Tao-ling
went well beyond Lao-tzu in teaching that longevity,
and even immortality, could be achieved by the use
of magic potions. Religious Taoism acquired a pan-
theon of deities and ecstatic rituals as well as the
magic elixirs. All this is quite similar to Korean
Shamanism and was thus easily absorbed into Korean
culture. In China, religious Taoism provided a neces-
sary antidote to the pious decorum of Confucianism.
In Korea, this role was filled by Shamanism, which
took over much of the lore of religious Taoism. Korea's
four religions were considerably intermingled. Most
Koreans were nominally Buddhists, yet they routinely
invoked Taoist spirits to repel evil or attract good
fortune, and they regularly engaged the services of
mudang (shamans), while at the same time practicing
ancestor worship and other Confucian rituals.
The rigid Confucian social structure of Yi Dynasty
Korea divided society into four classes: royalty, the
aristocracy, commoners, and the "low born." The
king and the court nobility constituted a relatively
small group. Beneath them was a large class of
scholar officials, called yangban, who ran the exten-
sive government bureaucracy. Yangban were the landed
aristocracy, the elite of Yi society, both intellectually
and economically. Only yangban normally received
the elaborate classical Chinese education necessary
to pass the government examinations and obtain high
official positions. Yangban usually held these posts
and lived in the capital or other large cities, but they
owned much of the land on which the farmers toiled,
since only yangban were permitted to own land. The
yangban class had two equal categories: civil officials
and military officials
-
indeed, the literal meaning of
yangban is "two groups." Membership in the yangban
class became hereditary.
Social mobility was virtually nonexistent during
the Yi Dynasty, as class consciousness had always
been strong in Korea. The Yi government set up and
effectively maintained a rigid social hierarchy. Each
person was locked into the class to which he was
born, and he was expected to follow his forebears'
occupation. There was a wide gap between the
wealth, education, and refinement of the yangban
class and the relative poverty of everyone beneath it.
Between the yangban and the commoners was a
very small "middle class" (chungin), consisting of
low-ranking government officials, doctors, engineers,
and court artists. Commoners (yangmin) formed the
largest class. Yi society was agricultural; farmers
made up the majority of the population. Most of
INTRODUCTION 15
them worked on farms owned by absentee-landlord
yangban or by the government. They were allotted a
small share of the crop from the land on which they
worked; the rest went to the landowner and to the
government as taxes. Artisans were below farmers
in the official hierarchy. Merchants, who were few
in number, ranked below artisans, since contempt
for money and profit making was a standard Con-
fucian pose.
Below the commoners was a large "low-born class"
(ch'onmin), considered outside the social order because
it contributed little or nothing toward maintaining
society. The "low-born class" consisted of servants,
slaves, workers in government mines and factories,
butchers, tanners, Buddhist monks and nuns, sha-
mans, kisaeng (female entertainers similar to Japanese
geisha), prostitutes, actors, and fortune-tellers. Butch-
ers and tanners were excluded from society because
they violated the Buddhist prohibition against taking
life, yet Buddhist monks and nuns were relegated to
the same outcast group!
The 15th century, the first full century of Yi rule,
was a time of vigorous intellectual activity in Korea.
The yangban class strove diligently and enthusiastically
to master classical Chinese literature, history, philo-
sophy, calligraphy, and painting. One of the great
cultural achievements of the Yi Dynasty was the use
of movable type for printing. Each letter (in this case,
each Chinese character) was carved on the end of a
small block of wood only slightly wider than the
letter itself. The pieces of type were set one above
another to print a line of text. The type was then
reused indefinitely in other combinations. This
method was much faster and less laborious than the
earlier method of carving all the characters for an
entire page of text on the surface of a single large wood-
block. Movable type was probably invented in China,
but its first extensive use anywhere in the world was
in early 15th-century Korea.
The extraordinarily long five-hundred-year tenure
of the Yi Dynasty would seem to suggest a high
degree of stability and tranquillity. Alas, such was
not the case. After its first glorious hundred years of
unity, strength, energy, and achievement in the 15th
century, the Yi regime was racked by the same inter-
nal dissent and external pressure that had destroyed
the Koryo Dynasty. The 16th century was bad; the
17th, 18th, and 19th centuries were worse. It is all the
more remarkable, therefore, that the Yi regime sur-
vived for such a long time. The Confucian-oriented
bureaucracy was extremely conservative, and per-
haps Korea was too weakened by continuous internal
squabbling and intermittent invasion to undertake a
change of government.
The principal internal problem was factionalism:
Groups within the government struggled with one
another for supremacy. Officials alligned with losing
factions were purged and sometimes executed. End-
less factional disputes drained the government of its
energy, efficiency, and responsiveness. The principal
external problem was invasions by the Japanese and
the Manchus (Ch'ing Dynasty China, 1644-1912).
The warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi consolidated
Japan under his rule in the late 16th century after
two-hundred-fifty years of continuous civil war. With
no more worlds to conquer at home, he decided to
invade China, which seems absurd, given its size and
population. However, Hideyoshi was an extremely
shrewd ruler. He probably wanted to keep his gen-
erals and their armies busy lest they be tempted to
rebel against his regime.
Hideyoshi tried to form a military alliance with
Korea against China. Korea understandably remained
loyal to its great mentor, Ming China. Hideyoshi
reacted by invading Korea in 1592 with 160,000 troops.
Crippled by factional disputes, the Yi government
was totally unprepared for the invasion. The Japan-
ese quickly captured Pusan, Seoul, and P'yongyang,
then went on to ravage the whole peninsula. The
Ming Dynasty dispatched an army across the Yalu
River to attack the Japanese invaders from the north.
Admiral Yi Sun-sin (1545-1598), Korea's greatest
military hero, attacked the Japanese by sea in the
south, destroying the fleet that was supplying and
reinforcing their troops. Admiral Yi invented the
"turtle ship" (kobukson), the world's first iron-clad
warship. The armored roof above its upper deck
resembled the shell of a turtle and protected the
sailors and fighting men on board from the enemy's
cannons, muskets, and arrows. Admiral Yi's fleet
consisted of 149 ships, of which 43 were turtle ships.
The Japanese retreated to the southern tip of the
peninsula late in 1593 and tried to negotiate a truce
with the Chinese. The talks dragged on for three
16 KOREAN ART
years, since each side behaved as if it were the victor.
Hideyoshi became impatient and attacked Korea
with a new army of 140,000 troops in 1597. The Korean
government had stupidly stripped Admiral Yi of his
rank through jealousy and factional intrigue, but it
quickly reinstated him to defend Korea against the
new Japanese invasion. Hideyoshi died in Japan of
natural causes in 1598. Upon learning of his death,
his commanders in Korea, realizing the folly of their
undertaking, sailed for home.
Admiral Yi once again attacked the Japanese fleet,
causing great damage, although he himself was killed
in the engagement. His memorial at Asan near the
hot-spring resort of Onyang is among the most im-
pressive shrines in Korea. His war diaries have sur-
vived at Hyonch'ungsa, a Buddhist temple, and have
been translated into English. His turtle-ship fleet
became a frequent subject of Yi Dynasty screen paint-
ings. Such screens functioned as talismans to repel
evil spirits from a household in the same way that
Admiral Yi's fleet repelled the Japanese from Korea.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, formerly one of Hideyoshi's lead-
ing generals, defeated the forces loyal to Hideyoshi's
son at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. In 1603 Ieyasu
had the emperor name him shogun (military dictator)
of Japan. Ieyasu reestablished diplomatic relations
with Korea in 1606. However, Korea's troubles were
far from over. The Ming Chinese soldiers who had
come to Korea's aid ravaged the peninsula almost as
badly as their Japanese enemies had. The expense
of sending a large army to Korea weakened the Ming
government, itself racked by serious factional disputes.
Troops who would normally have been stationed in
North China and Manchuria to protect China from
the Manchus had been diverted to Korea to fight
the Japanese.
In 1627, the Manchus invaded northwest Korea
and forced the Yi government to renounce the Ming
Dynasty. In 1636, one hundred thousand Manchu
troops overran the entire Korean peninsula. In 1637,
they forced Korea to become a tributary state to the
Ch'ing (Manchu) Dynasty. In 1644, the Manchus
completed their conquest of China, and the Ming
Dynasty collapsed. The Ch'ing Dynasty lasted from
1644 to 1912.
Instead of recovering from the Japanese and Man-
chu invasions, Korea remained crippled by factional
strife and rampant corruption in the government.
Corrupt officials absorbed more and more of the tax-
able farmland into their own tax-free estates, increas-
ing the tax burden on the already over-taxed peasants
and decreasing government revenue. The govern-
ment became too impoverished to store grain against
droughts and floods, resulting in severe famines
followed by devastating epidemics. Many peasants
were forced to become bandits. There were major
peasant rebellions in 1811 and 1862.
A visitor to Korea today is impressed by its abun-
dance of Christian churches. Even small towns often
have them. Many Koreans turned to Christianity for
solace during the troubled times of the late Yi Dynasty.
Korean Christianity remains viable today, having sur-
vived the Japanese annexation. Roman Catholicism
was brought to Korea from Peking in the second half
of the 18th century. The Ch'ing emperors permitted a
Catholic presence in China and even employed an
Italian Jesuit priest, Guiseppe Castiglione (1688-1768),
as court painter. Chinese, and later French, mission-
aries spread Catholicism in Korea, where it was called
sohak (Western learning). The Confucian-trained offi-
cials of the Yi bureaucracy regarded it as subversive.
It challenged their authority by teaching love of God
rather than loyalty to king, family, and ancestors. A
few Korean scholars were attracted to Christianity
by the Western scientific knowledge that came along
with it. But severe government persecutions of
Christianity in 1801, 1839, and 1866 forced Korean
converts to practice their new religion in secrecy.
Throughout the 18th century, Korea was at peace
with its neighbors. China enjoyed a century of pros-
perity under the K'ang-hsi (r. 1662-1722) and Ch'ien-
lung (r. 1736-1796) emperors. Korea continued to
maintain its tributary relationship with the Ch'ing
Dynasty. Korea carried on a limited trade with Japan
through the Japanese feudal lord of Tsushima, the
island in the straits between Korea and Japan. Korea
also sent several large diplomatic and cultural mis-
sions to Japan. The Korean envoys' processions,
especially the details of their clothing, so different
from that of Japanese, were carefully recorded by
Japanese artists at the time. Otherwise, Korea pur-
sued a policy of national isolation. So did Japan
under the Tokugawa shoguns (the Edo Period,
1603-1868).
INTRODUCTION 17
The external calm of 18th-century Korea was not
matched by the internal situation. Destructive faction-
alism within the government bureaucracy continued
unabated. Shifts in power from one of the major fac-
tions to the other and back again during the 18th
century cost the lives of some four thousand officials.
To make matters worse, toward the end of the 18th
century, a new external threat appeared from the
West. French and English ships began visiting the
Korean peninsula demanding trade relations. Korea
resisted as best it could, fighting skirmishes on
Kanghwa Island with the French in 1866, the
Americans in 1871, and the Japanese in 1875.
During the 19th century, Korea was in a state of
near collapse. Each king was intentionally placed on
the throne while still a boy, enabling regents and
their backers to wield control. Through this device,
the Kim clan and the Min clan took power. The feud-
ing factions of the previous century were reduced to
a minor role in the government. The Ch'ing Dynasty
sent a resident official to Seoul; through him China
interfered directly in Korean politics.
Korea's economic woes were worse than ever. The
continuing transfer of taxable farmland to the tax-
exempt estates of corrupt officials reached the point
where the meager portion of the crop allotted to the
peasants who grew it was insufficient to feed them
adequately, and the remainder was insufficient to
support the government. Natural calamities added
to the people's misery: floods destroyed crops and
caused famines, which were followed by epidemics.
Foreign pressure on Korea to open its doors to
trade and diplomatic relations now became intense.
Korea was no longer in any condition to resist. The
Yi government signed a commercial treaty with Japan
in 1876 and another with the United States in 1882.
The 1876 treaty marked the beginning of a gradual
Japanese takeover of Korea that culminated in the
1910 annexation.
The isolationist policy of the Tokugawa shoguns was
also broken by foreign pressure. Commodore Matthew
Perry sailed from the United States to Japan in 1853
with a fleet of sail-and-steam warships bearing a let-
ter from President Millard Fillmore demanding the
opening of Japanese ports to foreign ships for water
and supplies. Perry returned for an answer in 1854
with seven warships. Japan had no coastal defenses
or modern weapons of any kind, leaving her no
choice but to sign the treaty. England, Russia, and
Holland soon negotiated similar treaties with Japan.
The humiliation of being at the mercy of foreigners
led to the overthrow of the Tokugawa regime. Admin-
istrative control was restored to Emperor Meiji and a
European-style parliamentary government. Japan
turned itself overnight from an isolated, backward,
feudal country into a powerful modern industrial
nation. During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japan
fought two wars involving Korea. The Sino-Japanese
War (1894-1895) began when Korea, unable to cope
with desperate gangs of bandits, asked China to send
troops and restore order. Japan insisted on sending
troops also, in accordance with a treaty it had signed
with Korea in 1885. The Chinese and Japanese troops
clashed; war was declared between China and Japan.
China had very few modern weapons; Japan had
plenty, including a fleet of battleships. Japan easily
won the war. The Chinese fleet surrendered to the
Japanese. Russia, Germany, and France supervised
the signing of the peace treaty.
The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) began when
the Japanese fleet blockaded the Russians at Port
Arthur, on the tip of the Liaotung peninsula in the
Yellow Sea between Korea and China. The Russians
sent troops into Korea from the north, and the Japan-
ese from the south; several battles were fought. The
Japanese drove the Russians back across the Yalu
River into Manchuria, then out of Port Arthur, then
out of Mukden, Manchuria. The Japanese fleet
annihilated the Russian fleet and won the war. The
United States supervised the signing of the peace
treaty. Five years later, Japan incorporated Korea into
the Japanese Empire. The Japanese annexation of
Korea lasted from 1910 until the end of World War II
in 1945.
PROLOGUE
THE UNIQUENESS OF
KOREAN ART
Korean art is rich and diverse, as a glance through
this catalog will suggest. It is an art with which few
Westerners are familiar. Even those of us who have
had some exposure to Far Eastern culture have tend-
ed to regard China as a vast and overwhelming
civilization of which the arts of Japan and Korea were
provincial imitations. This view is not only unfair, it
is inaccurate. Japanese art and Korean art are as dif-
ferent from Chinese art, and from each other, as are
the languages and personalities of the three peoples.
Chinese art has, of course, been a major influence
on Japanese and Korean art, and a great deal of
direct imitation has taken place. In Japan, artistic
developments have usually followed a cyclical
pattern, with periods of enthusiastic borrowing
from China followed by periods of assimilation and
restatement in Japanese terms. In Korea, Chinese
influence has been much more pervasive and con-
tinuous, partly because of Korea's geographic prox-
imity to China. Japan was able to separate itself from
the outside world during periods of self-imposed
isolation simply because it is an island nation.
Official art in Korea, that is, the art of the royal
court, the powerful Buddhist monasteries, and the
scholar bureaucrats, strove to be as correct, and
therefore as Chinese, as possible. In Korean folk art,
on the other hand, one finds a truly indigenous
artistic expression, one that is quite distinct from the
art of China. This indigenous Korean artistic expres-
sion is characterized by directness, ruggedness, and
unpretentiousness. Once one learns to recognize
them, one can also find it in the more official forms
of Korean art, in spite of the heavy overlay of Chinese
style they bear.
Thirty years ago, one often heard Japanese art called
a mere imitation of Chinese art. Since that time,
Japanese art has been so extensively published in the
Western World that almost no one would make such
a statement today. Although Korean art has been
avidly admired and collected in Japan since the 16th
century, it remains relatively unknown in the West.
Even today, one hears Korean art dismissed as a
mere imitation of Chinese art. Ironically, the one
type of Korean art that has been admired in the West
was based closely on Chinese models: Koryo Dynasty
celadon porcelain (see Cat. 13-21). Koryo celadon
was an official art form; the best pieces were made
for use in the royal palace, and only the aristocracy
could afford it.
Koryo celadon has been collected by European,
British, and American museums and private collec-
tors for about a hundred years. The Western world
responded readily to this ware because it was similar
to the Sung products from which it derived. Chinese
celadon has been part of the Western tradition since
the 16th century, when shiploads of Ming Dynasty
export ware began to reach Europe, finding its way
into nearly every princely house. Koryo celadon seems
attractive to us because it fits comfortably into this
tradition.
The other reason why Koryo celadon has been vir-
tually the only form of Korean art to be collected in
the West is that its beauty is very apparent, rich and
real, sometimes even profound. Nevertheless, it is an
obvious kind of beauty, elegant and easily admired.
The beauty of other forms of Korean art is much
more challenging to Westerners. It is a rugged kind
of beauty, never obvious, never merely pretty, and it
represents the true artistic expression of the Korean
people. Fortunately, The Brooklyn Museum's collec-
tion of Korean art is quite comprehensive; it contains
a full range of divergent types, from official to folk art.
The rich diversity of Korean art makes it difficult to
generalize about its characteristics. Nearly all the
rules one attempts to formulate turn out to have
many exceptions. Still, it does have certain unique
characteristics that distinguish it from the art of its
giant neighbor and mentor, China, and it accurately
reflects the personality of the people who produced it.
Koreans are tough, and they are justifiably proud
of being so They have survived and often prospered
in a harsh environment of bone-chilling winters and
20 KOREAN ART
sweaty, hot summers, in a country where much of
the land is solid rock, a country whose history is
filled with hardship.
During the Korean War (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953),
Communist North Korean troops with Russian T-34
tanks swept through South Korea. They were finally
stopped at the Naktong River near Taegu, just above
the southern tip of the peninsula. Seoul was reduced
to rubble. Yet today, only thirty years later, Seoul is a
splendid, large, modern city of skyscrapers and
high-rise apartments, broad avenues and parks, a
fine international airport, excellent hotels, and
sprawling shopping malls overflowing with the latest
electronic gadgets. Koreans used to eat poorly, dress
poorly and work long and hard just to survive. Now,
the countryside is laced with six-lane expressways
filled with new cars, trucks, and busses. The "Miracle
of South Korea" is entirely due to the talent, hard
work, determination, wit, and spirit of the Korean
people.
Koreans are direct. Their straightforward speech
and independent manner are quite unusual in the
Orient. Together with their adventurous spirit, this
has earned them the nickname, the "Irish of Asia."
The assertiveness of the Korean personality is
matched by the assertiveness of Korean cooking,
notable for its bold flavors, usually spiced with more
fiery hot chili peppers than Western palates can
tolerate and lots of garlic, whose taste and aroma
are everywhere in Korea.
Koreans are rugged, and so is their country.
Koreans need to be rugged to survive Korean win-
ters, with their icy Siberian winds. The land in the
Korean peninsula is also rugged: low mountains,
sparsely wooded, punctuated by huge chunks of
solid granite, with rice paddies in the flat river
valleys, surrounded by a magnificent, rocky, con-
voluted coastline.
\(^
Korean art displays these same characteristics. It
eloquently expresses the qualities of the land and
people who produced it. When free from the need to
imitate Chinese models, Korean art abounds in vital-
ity, directness, strength, joy, and a beguiling naivete.
One sees these qualities in the lively shapes and
often outrageously bright colors of Korean folk paint-
ings, for example. While Korean scholar paintings
tend to employ the muted washes of Chinese literati
paintings, other types of Korean painting often
feature acrid harmonies of bold red, bright green,
and deep blue that are completely different from the
color schemes of Chinese and Japanese paintings.
The rugged charm, vigor, striking lines, perfect
proportions, and handsome woods of Korean fur-
niture are extremely impressive. One finds these
qualities also in the bright, unpretentious richness of
Korean lacquer, or in the informal strength and
energy of Yi Dynasty ceramics. Unpretentiousness,
directness, ruggedness, spontaneity, and joy are the
qualities that give Korean art its compelling appeal as
well as its uniqueness.
CATALOG
THE CHINESE COLONY
AT LO-LANG
108 B.C.-A.D. 313
24 KOREAN ART
1. Belt Hook
Bronze
H. 2%", W.
3%"
Chinese, Han Dynasty, 2nd century A.D., from
Lo-lang, Korea
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Paul Manheim 69.125.11
The belt hook was a standard Chinese garment
fastener during the Eastern Chou Period (770-221
B.C.), the Ch'in Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), the Han
Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), and on into the Six
Dynasties Period (A.D. 220-581). A stud on the back
of the body of the belt hook engaged a hole in one
end of the belt; the hook engaged a ring, sometimes
of bronze, sometimes of jade, attached to the other
end of the belt. Since it was a separate part, the ring
is almost invariably missing today. Chou Dynasty
belt hooks tended to have a spoon-shaped body
tapering into a hook terminating in a mythical
animal head. Han Dynasty belt hooks often
represented an entire animal, with the hook
protruding from its chest, as we see here.
The crisp simplification and stylization of this
horse, with his arching, close-cropped mane, are
extremely sophisticated and appealing. They remind
one of ancient Greek depictions of horses. In fact,
there may be a distant connection. Greek art
influenced the art of Scythia and, through it, had
some impact on the Scytho-Siberian art of Central
Asia. Certain elements of Scytho-Siberian style, and
especially the horse motif, were adopted by the
Chinese at the beginning of the Han Dynasty, when
they abandoned their clumsy war chariots in favor of
the cavalry techniques of their Central Asian nomad
enemies.
The full, rounded forms and alert posture of this
horse convey a feeling of power and energy. The
surface of the bronze has a handsome apple-green
burial patina; some tomb earth adheres to the
surface. Bronze belt hooks were prominent among
the luxury goods placed in the tombs of deceased
aristocrats, who were expected to continue using
them in the spirit world. The present example comes
from the Han Dynasty Chinese colony at Lo-lang in
northwest Korea (108 B.C.-A.D. 313). This belt hook
was probably imported from China; numerous
nearly identical examples have been excavated in
China itself. But this belt hook may have been cast
by an immigrant Chinese craftsman living in the
Lo-lang colony.
THE KAYA CONFEDERACY
a.d. 42-562
28 KOREAN ART
2. Jar (Kimhae Type)
Gray stoneware
H. KM", W. IOV2"
Kaya, 3rd-4th century
Gift of Robert Anderson 82.171.8
Kaya was a confederation of tribes occupying the
central portion of the southern coast of Korea, with
Silla to its east and Paekche on the west. Karak was
the largest principality within the Kaya confederacy.
The capital of Karak was at Kimhae, across the delta
of the Naktong River from the modern city of Pusan
at the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula.
Tombs of the Karak aristocracy in the vicinity of
Kimhae have yielded a rich variety of luxury goods,
objects that were interred with the dead warrior
chieftains to serve them in the spirit world: iron
armor and helmets, bronze horse trappings, a gilt-
bronze crown, gold earrings, and quantities of gray
pottery.
Kaya pottery is of two basic types. The earlier type,
made in the 3rd and 4th centuries, consists primarily
of large, spherical storage jars like this one. They are
so characteristic that scholars, dealers, and collectors
refer to them simply as Kimhae jars. The later type of
Kaya pottery, made in the 5th and 6th centuries,
consists primarily of bowls, cups, or jars having tall,
hollow, perforated bases, (see Cat.
3)
The present jar is typical of the Kimhae type in
having a textured surface. In this case, the texture
was beaten onto the soft clay with a paddle wrapped
in matting made of twisted cords. Jars like this were
coil built, in much the same way as American Indian
pottery. The nearly completed jar was placed on a
potter's wheel; the neck and lip were thrown from
the upper coils of clay. This forming process is called
coil-and-throw. It was the standard forming
technique for globular jars during the Kaya and Silla
periods. It is entirely feasible to throw a jar this size
from a lump of clay centered on the potter's wheel,
but the old coiling technique, in existence long
before the potter's wheel was invented, continued to
be used for round jars; it had become a tradition.
Modern Korean kimch'i jars are made by coiling, but
for a different reason they are simply too large to
throw on a potter's wheel.
The texture on the surface of the present jar, and
on Kimhae jars in general, had become an inten-
tional decorative effect but was originally a by-
product of the forming process. After the potter
finished joining the coils to form the jar, he beat the
surface with a wooden paddle to make the walls
thinner and more uniform, while his other hand
held a wooden block inside the jar at the point
where the paddle struck the outside, so as to
maintain the shape of the jar and prevent it from
collapsing from the beating. The paddle was
originally carved with a pattern or wrapped with
cord to prevent it from sticking to the wet clay. In
time, the texture impressed on the clay surface by
the textured paddle came to be admired for its visual
propertes.
30 KOREAN ART
3. Pedestal Jar
Gray stoneware with deposits of natural ash glaze
H. 7%", W. 6V2"
Kaya, 5th-6th century
Gift of Nathan Hammer 74.61.8
The characteristic Silla Period ceramic type was a
gray-black stoneware pedestal bowl, a vessel
supported on a tall, hollow, flaring, and perforated
base (see Cat. 5). However, archaeological evidence
seems to indicate that this ceramic type developed in
the Kaya area first and was subsequently adopted by
Silla. Sue Ware, the dark-gray pottery of the
Tumulus Period in Japan (300-552) is nearly identical
to 5th-6th-century Kaya and Silla pottery, from
which it clearly derives. The dominant Yamato clans
of Tumulus Period Japan were close relatives of the
Kaya people, having migrated to Japan from the Kaya
area. Kaya was called Mimana by the Japanese, who
maintained a colony there from the middle of the 4th
century until 562, when Kaya was conquered by
Silla.
The present jar originally had a domical lid with a
central knob; the jar's lip was obviously intended to
fit within the rim of a lid. A very similar Kaya
pedestal jar with strap handle in the Korean National
Museum still retains its lid. The combed decoration
on the Brooklyn jar is typical of 5th-6th-century Kaya
and Silla pottery but, like the ware itself, as well as
the pedestal-vessel type, probably originated in Kaya
and was adopted by Silla.
Because of two major innovations, the potter's
wheel and the kiln, 5th-6th-century Kaya and Silla
pottery was technically advanced compared to the
earthenware of the Neolithic and Bronze-Iron Age
that preceded it. Whereas the earlier ware was
somewhat uneven and restricted in form due to
being coil built, the Kaya-Sila ware was thrown on a
fast wheel, giving it thin, even walls and permitting
complex, sophisticated vessel shapes. Neolithic and
Bronze-Iron Age earthenware was baked in an open
fire in a shallow pit, leaving it brittle and porous.
Kaya-Silla pottery was tough and completely
nonporous; it was fired at high stoneware
temperatures in efficient, large, single-chambered
kilns built on the slopes of hills to provide a good
draft for the fire.
The dark, olive-colored, lustrous surface on the
shoulder of the present jar is natural ash glaze.
Wood ash from the fire was carried through the kiln
chamber by the draft and deposited on the
horizontal surfaces of the pots, and on the vertical
surfaces facing the draft. The silica in the ash formed
a rudimentary glaze on those surfaces. The
intentional glazing of ceramic wares must have
developed from this; potters learned to mix wood
ash with water and sand and apply this preparation
to pots before firing.
THE SILLA PERIOD
313-668
34 KOREAN ART
4. Kuan Um (Avalokitesvara)
Gilt bronze
H. 4%", W.
1%"
Silla Period, first half of the 7th century
Lent by Dr. Ralph Marcove TL1984.194
The three and a half centuries between the fall of
Lo-lang in 313 and the unification of Korea by Silla in
668 is called The Three Kingdoms Period because the
northern half of the peninsula was ruled by the
Koguryo Kingdom, the southwest quarter by the
Paekche Kingdom, and the southeast quarter by the
Silla Kingdom. Buddhism was introduced into each
kingdom by Chinese monks and received enthusiastic
state support, although the old native Shamanist
beliefs were not abandoned. As in early Japan, the
rulers of the three kingdoms were eager to acquire
the advanced material culture of China. Embracing
Buddhism was seen as a way of facilitating this. The
traditional dates for the introduction of Buddhism
are 372 for Koguryo, 384 for Paekche, and 528 for Silla.
Buddhism was first brought to China by mis-
sionaries from India in the lst-2nd century. Bud-
dhism was subsequently adopted as a state religion
by the T'o-pa Tarters, who conquered northwestern
China in the late 4th century and held it until the
middle of the 6th century. Buddhism spread from
there to other parts of China and on to Korea.
Emissaries from the Paekche Kingdom introduced
Buddhism to Japan in 552.
Indian missionary monks and Chinese Buddhist
pilgrims returning from India introduced several
different sects of Buddhism into China. Chinese mis-
sionary monks, or returning student monks who had
gone to China for study, brought these various sects
to Korea and Japan. The Pure Land Sect became by
far the most popular because it made salvation very
easy for the ordinary believer. Instead of earning
one's own enlightenment (Buddhahood) by selfless
acts and rigorous spiritual discipline throughout
countless incarnations, the believer had only to utter
the formula "Praise be to Amitabha Buddha" in good
faith at least once during his lifetime, and he would
be reborn in the Western Paradise (The Pure Land)
after he died.
Avalokitesvara (Chinese: Kuan-yin; Korean: Kuan
Um; Japanese: Kannon) is the most compassionate,
and therefore the most popular, of the Bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattvas are the savior figures of Buddhism,
beings who have postponed their own salvation
(Buddhahood) until all sentient beings in the universe
have attained theirs. Bodhisattvas work diligently
and constantly to bring about the salvation of
believers. Avalokitesvara is the main Bodhisattva
associated with Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western
Paradise, and may usually be identified by a diminu-
tive seated figure of Amitabha in the front of his
diadem. That small figure is absent or obliterated
in the present image of Kuan Um. However, the
Bodhisattva is positively identified by another
attribute, the kalasa (flask) held in his right hand;
it contains the nectar of compassion. The Lotus Sutra
describes the Western Paradise of Amitabha Buddha;
chapter twenty-five deals with Avalokitesvara in
particular. The first great flowering of Pure Land Sect
Buddhism in Korea took place during the first half of
the 7th century. Many sculptures of Amitabha, and
especially of Avalokitesvara, were made at that time.
The style of the present image reflects 5th-6th-
century Chinese prototypes of the Six Dynasties
(Northern Wei) Period in its dematerialized body,
prominent head and hands, and the swallow-tail
drapery falling on either side of the legs. However,
the columnar stance and the fuller forms of the legs
reflect Chinese Buddhist sculpture of the Northern
Ch'i (550-577) and Sui (581-618) Dynasties.
36 KOREAN ART
5. Pedestal Bowl with Cover
Gray Stoneware
H. 7%", W.
5%"
Silla Period, 5th-6th century
Gift of Sir George Sansom 40.519 a&b
Large, hemispherical earthen burial mounds were
erected for deceased Silla kings. Somewhat smaller
ones were built for other important members of the
Silla aristocracy. At ground level beneath the center
of the mound was a stone-lined burial chamber. The
body was placed in a coffin near the center of the
burial chamber, wearing finery that included jewelry
made of gold and jade. The burial chamber was filled
with all sorts of luxury goods meant to serve the
dead warrior chieftain in the spirit world. We know a
great deal about the material culture of the Silla
Kingdom simply from the objects excavated from the
tombs of its leaders: gold crowns, gold earrings, gold
belts, jade jewels, steel swords, armor, bronze horse
trappings, bronze mirrors, and pottery. Even the
more modest Silla tombs were furnished with
quantities of gray-black pottery.
The most prevalent and characteristic vessel type
among Silla burial pottery is the pedestal bowl with
cover, seen here. Vessels of this type were presumably
used to warm and serve hot food at banquets. The
lid lifts off and turns upside down to become another
bowl, its central knob serving as the bowl's foot.
Surrounded by such vessels, the tomb's occupant
could continue to enjoy elegant banquets in the spirit
world. Pedestal bowls are also prevalent in Sue Ware,
the gray-black pottery of Japan's Tumulus Period
(300-552). The mound tombs that gave this period its
name are similar to those of Kaya and Silla, and their
contents of luxury goods are nearly identical to Kaya
and Silla prototypes, since the Yamato clans were
related to the Kaya people.
The present vessel is somewhat unusual in retaining
its original lid. Silla pedestal bowls coming on the art
market in recent years have usually had no lid at all,
or else a mismatched lid from another bowl.
Brooklyn's example is also unusual in having bold
incised designs on its surface. One is tempted to see
a rudimentary landscape in these designs, with the
sawtooth bands becoming mountain ranges and the
"arrowheads" becoming trees. It is more likely,
however, that this triangular zigzag pattern filled
with close-set, parallel, diagonal lines is abstract and
was originally symbolic, and that it derives from
similar ornaments on cast-bronze artifacts from
Korea's Bronze-Iron Age. The decoration on the loop
of a horse-shaped Belt Hook in the Kyongju National
Museum is almost identical to that on the Brooklyn
Pedestal Bowl.
38 KOREAN ART
6. "Jingle-Bell" Libation Cup
Gray stoneware with deposits of natural ash glaze
H. 6V2", W.
3%"
Silla Period, 5th-6th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Roger Elliot and Mr. & Mrs. Jack
Ford, In Memory of Jean Alexander 85.114.2
The characteristic Kaya/Silla pottery pedestal bowl
with cover (see Cat. 5) derived from a Chou Dynasty
(1027-221 B.C.) Chinese vessel, the tou. The Libation
Cup we see here has a tall, perforated stem like that
of a pedestal bowl. However, in this case the stem
expands into a perforated globular bell having two
hard clay pellets rolling around inside to produce a
sound. Fired in an efficient, sloping kiln, Silla gray-
black stoneware vitrified sufficiently to resonate
when struck, although it cannot ring like a bell; only
porcelain can do that.
Attached spherical jingle bells appear frequently
on horse fittings and other cast-bronze artifacts of
Korea's Bronze-Iron Age. Such jingle-bell ornament
is typical of the animal-style bronze art of nomadic
warrior tribes who roamed the steppes and forests
of Central Asia, Mongolia, and Manchuria. Various
groups of these nomads were among the ancestors
of the Korean people, as we have seen. The early
culture of Korea was a blend of nomad elements and
Chinese-derived elements; this Libation Cup illustrates
the fact perfectly.
Pottery vessels with fanciful shapes like this attest
to the skill and confidence of Silla potters. Complex
and thin-walled forms such as this were borrowed
from metalwork and were difficult to render in clay.
Silla pottery vessels with unusual shapes, including
a famous ewer in the form of a horse and rider,
can be seen in various museums in Korea but are
extremely rare in America and Europe. The turned
ridges, simple combed decoration, and deposits of
natural ash glaze on this Libation Cup are typical of
Silla pottery in general, and of the Kaya pottery that
slightly preceded it (see Cat. 3).
-1<l
7. Pair of Earrings
Gold
H. 3V8
",
W.
%"
each
Silla Period, 5th-6th century
Anonymous gift 83.195 a&b
Of all the splendid luxury goods deposited in
Silla tombs, the most spectacular are the personal
adornments made of gold. Gold crowns, gold belts,
gold necklaces, gold earrings, gold bracelets, and
gold rings have been found, as well as fragments of
clothing made of cloth woven with gold threads.
The most abundant objects in this precious hoard
are pairs of gold earrings. Men and women both
wore them. Several pairs have been excavated from
the tomb of a single individual, so it appears that
Silla aristocrats owned many pairs, more than one
of which were buried with them. Nobles of the
Koguryo Kingdom and the Paekche Kingdom also
wore earrings, but the largest quantity and generally
the best quality have been recovered from Silla
Kingdom tombs.
Earrings were worn by some women in Han
Dynasty China, but the Chinese regarded their use
as a barbarian custom. Chinese records mention that
the Koguryo aristocracy wore earrings.
The uppermost ring on every Silla earring has a
narrow slit through it, as we see here. This slit may
have engaged the lobe of the wearer's ear, which may
have been specially pierced for that purpose, but the
slit is always quite narrow, so perhaps an additional
element, such as a tied piece of string, was originally
used to attach the earring to a pierced ear.
The leaf-shaped spangles and heart-shaped finials
of the present earrings are typical of Silla earrings in
general. The studded, hollow globes also appear in
other examples, sometimes as the sole element of the
pendant portion.
The technique of granulation was used sparingly
here to produce the studs on the upper halves of the
globes. Granulation means decorating a gold surface
by the application of multiple, tiny, spherical beads
of gold. This fascinating goldsmith's technique seems
to have been invented in Mesopotamia around the
18th century B.C. It spread to Persia, then to Greece
and Etruria, then across the silk-trade routes through
Central Asia to China. Han Dynasty Chinese brought
the technique to their colony at Lo-lang in Korea. It
was used to good advantage on a famous gold buckle
unearthed from one of the tombs there. Many Silla
earrings were lavishly decorated with granulation.
THE UNITED SILLA PERIOD
668-918
42 KOREAN ART
8. Bui (Buddha)
Gilt bronze
H. 2%", W.
1%"
United Silla Period, 8th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. George Liberman 77.261
A tiny, gilt-bronze image like this was intended for
the personal household shrine of a devout believer
rather than for worship in a temple; it could even be
carried with its owner on a journey. The ample
proportions of the figure (the full, swelling forms of
the face, torso, legs, and arms) closely reflect those of
T'ang Dynasty (618-907) Chinese Buddhist images.
The T'ang Dynasty was a Golden Age of cultural
achievement in China. Nara Period (710-794)
emperors in Japan and United Silla kings in Korea
emulated T'ang styles as closely as possible. The
annual tribute missions from United Silla to the
T'ang court ensured close contact with China. As it
did in early T'ang China, Buddhism received lavish
state patronage in United Silla Korea.
The hands of Buddhist images usually assume
specific symbolic gestures called mudra. The identity
of the deity is often indicated by the gestures of his
hands. The particular combination of hand positions
seen here is the most prevalent one on standing
images of the Buddha in the Far East. It does not
identify the specific Buddha represented by the
image, however, since four different Buddhas are
often shown with this combination of mudra:
Sakyamuni (the historic Buddha, Gautama, founder
of Buddhism and an actual religious teacher and
philosopher of India who died about 483 B.C.),
Vairocana (the Cosmic Buddha), Bhaisajyaguru (the
Buddha of Healing), and Amitabha (the Buddha of
the Western Paradise).
In this mudra combination, the right hand makes
the gesture meaning "have no fear" (abhayamudra):
palm outward toward the worshiper, fingers and
thumb together, extended upward. The left hand
makes the gesture meaning "the Vows are fulfilled"
(varadamudra): palm outward toward the worshiper,
fingers and thumb together, extended downward;
it refers to the vows made by the Buddha to offer
assistance, dispense favors, and grant desires to all
sentient beings.
g&g. * -
The upper half of the pedestal on which the
present Buddha stands is in the form of an upside-
down lotus having five petals. The lotus is an
important Buddhist symbol; it refers to the purity of
his teachings, which are like a lotus rising pure white
above the muck in the bottom of a pond. The five
petals here refer to the four directions of the compass
and its center, suggesting the Buddha's dominion
over the entire universe.
9. Yaksa (Bhaisajyaguru)
Bronze
H. 7V8
",
W.
2"
United Silla Period, 8th century
Frank L. Babbott Fund 74.165
The identity of the specific Buddha represented by
this image is indicated by the attribute (laksana) held
in his left hand. It is a bowl (patra), not the alms
bowl often held by other Buddhist deities, but a
medicine bowl or jar; it is sometimes depicted with
its cover on, but here is shown with the lid removed.
Bhaisajyaguru is the Buddha of Healing. His
medicine bowl holds ointment to cure all the ills of
mankind, and it is his identifying attribute. Sickness
and injury being so common, Bhaisajyaguru was
among the most widely worshiped of all the
Buddhas.
The Sanskrit word laksana has another meaning
besides that of a symbolic implement held by a deity.
In the case of a Buddha, it also refers to the thirty-
two signs that distinguish his anatomy from that of a
mere human. Two of these thirty-two laksana are
apparent on the present image. The hemispherical
protuberance on top of the head (ushnisha) contains
the Buddha's boundless consciousness and
knowledge. The extended earlobes refer to the fact
that Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha Sakyamuni
before his enlightenment, wore the heavy earrings of
an Indian prince.
The full, if not to say plump, face of this image is a
stylistic element derived from T'ang Dynasty
Chinese Buddhist sculpture (see Cat. 8). Here the
style is based on that of the early T'ang Period: the
body has not yet developed the ponderous
massiveness characteristic of late T'ang Buddhist
sculpture. This Yaksa could pass for a late 7th-century
Korean sculpture, except that the figure is hollow
and was cast with two large, oval-shaped openings
on the back of the body and another on the back of
the head. This feature is typical of 8th-century
Korean bronze images but not of 7th-century ones.
Iconography, style, and technique aside, this little
bronze figure of Bhaisajyaguru is an extraordinarily
powerful work of religious art. The alert and
compassionate expression of the face plus the
welcoming gesture of the right hand express
perfectly the caring and healing capacities of the
Buddha of Medicine. The face of this image conveys
a profound spirituality.
44 KOREAN ART
10. Bowl and Cover
Stoneware with deposits of natural ash glaze
H. 4%", W.
5%"
United Silla Period, 8th-9th century
Gift of Sir George Sansom 40.721 a&b
The form of this Bowl is more sophisticated than
the somewhat angular forms of 5th-6th century Silla
pottery. The tall, perforated pedestal (see Cat. 5) has
disappeared, replaced with a flaring footring. The
dynamic, swelling, and harmonious shape of this
Bowl, like so much in the high culture of the United
Silla Period, reflects the pervasive influence of T'ang
Dynasty Chinese forms.
The technique, however, is a direct continuation of
earlier Silla methods: gray-black stoneware pottery
with incised and impressed decoration and deposits
of natural ash glaze. T'ang pottery was much more
advanced technically: buff pottery covered with
intentional, applied glazes either clear or in various
colors, including amber, green, and blue. Often three
different colored glazes were used on the same
piece, creating an extremely striking decorative
effect. T'ang potters also made a hard, high-fired,
porcelaneous white ware. United Silla pottery was
technically primitive by comparison.
Aside from the T'ang-inspired shape, the decoration
of this covered Bowl distinguishes it from a 5th-6th-
century Silla piece. Instead of horizontal bands of
combing or sparse, simple incised designs, the entire
exterior surface of the vessel is covered with a
textured pattern of impressed dots within partial
circles, the design perhaps meant to suggest the
scales of a dragon. The dragon is a frequent and
auspicious motif in the Far East (see Cat. 69). As
with the combed or incised designs on 5th-6th-
century Silla pottery, these circle-and-dot designs
were stamped into the leather-hard surface of the
clay before drying and firing.
The impressed decoration on United Silla pottery
is thought to have contributed to the development of
slip-inlaid decoration on Koryo and Yi Dynasty
ceramics (see Cat. 17, 61). The technique of slip inlay,
which became a Korean specialty from the 12th cen-
tury onwards, consists of painting a thick application
of white slip (liquid clay) over impressed or incised
designs, letting it set leather hard, then scraping all
the white clay off the gray clay surface, leaving the
white remaining as inlay in the recessed designs.
THE KORYO DYNASTY
918-1392
48 KOREAN ART
11. Amifa (Amitabha) Triad
Hanging-scroll painting; ink, color, and gold on silk
H. 51V4", W. 32V4
"
exclusive of mounting
Koryo Dynasty, 14th century
Gift of Prof. Harold Henderson 61.204.30
A large, elegant Buddhist painting like this would
have been a major icon in a prosperous Buddhist
temple. The most characteristic type of icon painting
used by the Pure Land Sect is seen here. Amitabha
and his two Bodhisattva assistants are shown gliding
through the sky, coming to Earth to carry the soul of
a newly deceased believer back to the Western
Paradise. The lotuses supporting the feet of the three
deities are borne along on little clouds. This theme is
understandably a very comforting one to a devout
Buddhist. Paintings of this subject were sometimes
mounted on small, three-panel screens to be placed
at the bedside of a dying believer so he could feel
himself being transported to the Pure Land.
The Bodhisattva at the right, holding the kalasa
(flask) in his right hand, is Avalokitesvara (see Cat.
4). The Bodhisattva at the left is Mahasthamaprapta;
he is a manifestation of Amitabha's spirtual wisdom,
just as Avalokitesvara is a manifestation of
Amitabha's mercy.
The present painting was acquired in Japan during
the 1950s. Its Japanese lacquered-wood storage box
has an inscription on the lid attributing the painting
to Chang Ssu-kung, a Chinese artist of the Sung
Dynasty (960-1279). Very few Koryo Dynasty Bud-
dhist paintings have survived. There are only about
five in public collections in the United States and one
in Europe. None are known to have survived in Korea.
Lee Byung-chull, founder of the Ho-am Art Museum,
recently purchased a Koryo Buddhist painting in
Japan and brought it back to Korea for his museum.
Most, perhaps all, of the extant Koryo Dynasty
Buddhist paintings were at one time preserved in
Buddhist temples in Japan. These paintings reached
Japan from Korea during the 13th through the 16th
centuries, by trade or as booty from Japanese pirate
raids on Korean coastal towns or from Hideyoshi's
invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597.
Koryo Buddhist paintings preserved in the store-
houses of Japanese Buddhist temples were nearly all
ascribed to the Sung Dynasty of China, as in the
case of the present painting. Such misattribution is
not as ridiculous as it might sound, however. Korean
Buddhist paintings of the Koryo Dynasty were based
closely on Sung Dynasty Chinese prototypes. Only
in recent years have Korean and Japanese scholars
begun to attribute the extant Koryo Buddhist paint-
ings correctly to Korea.
50 KOREAN ART
12. Ewer
Stoneware
H. 9%", W. 8V4
"
Koryo Dynasty, llth-12th century
Gift of Sir George Sansom 40.722
The Koryo Dynasty is famous for its celadon
porcelain (see Cat. 13), but celadon was expensive
and only the aristocracy could afford it. The everyday,
workhorse ceramic ware of the Koryo Dynasty was
unglazed gray-black stoneware, a direct continuation
of Silla and United Silla pottery. The techniques
remained the same as before, but the shapes changed
drastically. As with so much of Koryo Dynasty cul-
ture, the models were Chinese wares of the Sung
(960-1279) rather than the T'ang Dynasty.
The present Ewer was formerly attributed to the
Silla period simply because it is made of gray-black
stoneware instead of celadon porcelain. But the
shape, with its delicate, recurving spout and stately,
balanced proportions, is a Sung-derived shape that
simply did not exist in Silla or United Silla times.
Antique dealers in the United States still usually call
this kind of ware "Silla."
The incised design of lotus petals forming a band
around the lower body of this Ewer is another indi-
cation of its Koryo date. Whether incised, carved, or
slip inlaid, this border design is common on Koryo
celadon (see Cat. 14) but virtually nonexistent on
United Silla ware.
13. Ewer
Celadon porcelain
H. 9V4", W.
7%"
Koryo Dynasty, llth-12th century
1916 Museum Collection Fund 17.24
Throughout the world, the most famous art form,
indeed the most famous product, of old Korea
is celadon porcelain. Celadon is a high-fired,
porcelaneous ware having a gray clay body covered
with a translucent, greenish feldspathic glaze. The
green color of the glaze results from the presence of
iron oxide fired in a reduction kiln (one in which
only a limited amount of oxygen is available during
firing). The semitransparent, greenish glaze on the
light-gray clay body yields the typical gray-green
color of celadon, which ranges from olive through
gray-green to an almost turquoise blue green. The
latter color is considered the most desirable and
occurs only on the best pieces. Chinese and Korean
connoisseurs named it "kingfisher blue" after the
brilliant, iridescent plumage of this small bird.
"Celadon" is the Western term for a ceramic ware
that was developed in China at the beginning of the
Sung Dynasty (960-1279) and introduced to Korea
by Chinese potters in the lOth-llth century. The
East Asian term for "celadon" is composed of two
Chinese ideograms meaning "blue green" and
"porcelain," respectively. The origin of the European
term "celadon" is uncertain but the following
explanation seems the most plausible: by the 16th
century, Chinese celadon porcelain was being
imported into Europe, where it became a fashionable
luxury item. During the 16th century, the celadon
reached Europe in Portuguese ships; in the 17th
century, Dutch and English ships joined the trade.
Astree's lover Celadon in Honore d'Urfe's romance
L'Astree, wore a green cape. The play was extremely
popular, and its hero's name may have been
borrowed for the newly fashionable green porcelain
imported from Ming Dynasty China.
52 KOREAN ART
14. Ewer
Celadon porcelain
H. 15", W.
8%"
Koryo Dynasty, 12th century
Museum Collection Fund 57.141
This Ewer is one of the great treasures of The
Brooklyn Museum. It dates from the 12th century,
when Korean celadon porcelain was at its peak of
excellence. The glaze on the Ewer is the most
desirable color, the legendary "kingfisher blue." It is
a rich, elegant bluish-green, not heavy and opaque,
but delicate, subtle, and translucent. The shape of
the Ewer, based on that of a calabash gourd, is
sensuous, flowing, and perfectly proportioned. The
gourd theme has been picked up by the gracefully
arched handle, whose shape suggests three gourd
vines twisted into a braid and tied with a string. The
loop of "string" was meant to receive a silk cord
whose other end was fastened to a similar loop on a
tiny celadon stopper, which is now missing. The
delicate, recurved spout echoes the curve of the
handle. The surface of the spout is cut into subtle
lengthwise facets.
The decoration fits and enhances the form
perfectly. It depicts a lotus blossom, with a lotus-
petal border below and drifting clouds above. The
clouds have been rendered so as to suggest the
heads and stalks of pulloch'o (Chinese: ling chih), the
mythical Sacred Fungus of Taoism, a kind of magic
mushroom that grows in the Land of the Immortals
and bestows eternal life on those who eat it. The
pulloch'o motif was an auspicious symbol of longevity
in Korea; it appeared frequently in the decoration of
household objects as well as in paintings.
The technique employed in decorating the present
Ewer consists mainly of incised designs, that is, lines
engraved in the surface of the leather-hard clay prior
to glazing and firing. However, a little of the clay
surface above or below some of the outlines has been
carved away to make the leaves or petals stand in
low relief against the surrounding background. Thus
the technique should properly be called "incised-
and-carved decoration." The blue-green glaze takes
on a darker color where it runs thick in the recesses
of the engraved lines and carved depressions,
heightening the design, which reads as darker blue
green against the lighter blue-green background.
The lotus was an important Buddhist symbol
signifying the purity of the Buddha's teachings (the
flower rises pure white or pure pink above the muck
at the bottom of a pond). The lotus motif was not
confined to Buddhist ritual objects; it became a
frequent decorative motif on secular objects as well.
54 KOREAN ART
15. Ewer with Lid
Celadon porcelain with white and black slip decoration
H. 9%", W.
9%"
Koryo Dynasty, first half of the 12th century
Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III 56.138.1 a&b
This magnificent wine vessel is the most famous
Korean work of art in The Brooklyn Museum. It has
been illustrated in books and articles published in
England, Japan, and Korea, as well as in the United
States. Its lustrous glaze is the "kingfisher blue"
color found on only the best 12th-century celadons.
Its powerful, swelling body is boldly incised and
carved with a design of overlapping lotus petals
framing leaf sprays. The handle is in the form of a
lotus stalk bound at the top with reeds. The lid is in
the shape of an upside-down lotus flower. The lid
knob is in the form of a lotus blossom just unfurling
from the bud. A butterfly is modeled in relief on the
back of the lid. A vine leaf appears on top of the
handle. The butterfly and the leaf each originally
supported a small loop to hold each end of the silk
cord attaching the lid to the handle.
In addition to the strong, elegant shape, the
striking incised designs, and the exquisite glaze
color, this rare vessel is notable for another decor-
ative element: touches of white slip accenting its
ornamental motifs. Prior to applying the glaze, the
potter used the point of a brush to touch on dots of
white slip (liquid clay) in rows along the edges of the
leaf sprays as well as on the lotus petals of the lid
knob. A coating of white slip was painted on the
butterfly and the vine leaf; the butterfly's eyes were
touched with dots of black slip.
This kind of restrained and restricted use of
painted white slip to augment incised decoration
seems to have been an important step in the
development of slip-inlay techniques by Korean
potters during the first half of the 12th century (see
Cat. 17). Simple linear decoration painted in white
slip under the glaze appears on a few celadons from
Sung Dynasty China: a Lung-ch'uan celadon bowl
excavated in Korea has delicate, widely spaced
radiating lines of painted white slip combined with a
lobed rim to suggest the petals of a flower. The
discovery of this Sung bowl in Korea, incidentally,
verifies the fact that actual pieces of Chinese
celadon, as well as celadon production techniques,
were brought from China to Korea. For some
reason, the Chinese soon abandoned slip-decorated
celadon, while the Koreans developed slip inlay into
a national speciality.
J*
56 KOREAN ART
16. Primus Vase
Celadon porcelain with white slip decoration
H. 13%", W. 7Vi"
Koryo Dynasty, first half of the 12th century
Gift of Miss Antoinette Kraushaar 76.43
This handsome Vase, with its lyrical design of
small, scudding clouds, is a great rarity: its decoration
consists of painted white slip. Like the dots of white
slip accenting the incised decoration on the pre-
ceding Ewer (see Cat.
15),
painted white slip designs
such as we see here seem to have been a necessary
step in the development of slip-inlaid decoration
during the first half of the 12th century in Korea.
With slip inlay, the design was either impressed
(stamped) or incised into the surface of the leather-
hard clay, then painted over with white slip (liquid
clay); after the slip set leather hard, it was scraped
away to the surface of the pot, leaving white clay
inlaid in the surrounding gray clay. Slip inlay was a
more complex and expensive process than painting
the design in white slip. However, slip inlay
produced more satisfactory results: the white clay
was thicker and therefore appeared more uniform,
whiter, and more opaque through the glaze. In the
case of painted slip, if it was thinly applied, the
background gray showed through it in places; if it
was thickly applied, it looked lumpy under the
glaze. Koryo potters soon abandoned painted white
slip decoration in favor of slip-inlaid decoration. Slip
painting was revived later in the Koryo Dynasty for
a different style of decoration: underglaze iron-oxide
brown-black painted designs of floral sprays
inspired by Chinese Tz'u-chou Ware (see Cat. 21)
The shape of the present Vase is a splendid example
of one of the classic Koryo celadon vessel shapes,
the maebyong (Chinese: mei p'ing), literally "Plum
vase," considered ideal for displaying a single
branch of blossoming prunus (plum, apricot, peach,
cherry, or almond). This form of vase originated in
Sung Dynasty China. The Chinese version is gen-
erally more cylindrical, however. By constricting the
lower half of the vase, Korean potters emphasized
the swelling, globular form of the upper half, making
the proportions of the vase seem less stable but more
dynamic and powerful than the Chinese prototype.
17. Wine Cup and Cup Stand
Celadon porcelain with slip-inlaid decoration
H. 2
3
/i6"
/
W. 3V8
"
cup; H. lVs", W.
4%"
stand
Koryo Dynasty, 12th century
1916 Museum Collection Fund 17.26 a&b
The decoration on this elegant little Cup and Stand
is a classic example of fully developed slip-inlay
technique. The horizontal line below the rim was
incised, as were the black leaves and stalk of each
chrysanthemum plant. The key-fret border was
impressed, one segment at a time, using a carved
ceramic stamp; each chrysanthemum was also
impressed with a carved stamp. White slip (liquid
clay) was applied generously with a large brush over
the border pattern and the flower; black slip was
similarly painted over the leaves and stem. After it
set leather hard, the slip was scraped away, leaving
the white-and-black design inlaid in the gray clay
surface. Then the glaze was applied, by dipping the
vessel quickly into a large vat of liquid glaze,
rotating it to ensure an even coating, and allowing
the excess to run off. The glaze on this particular
Cup and Stand fired a handsome blue-gray color.
Slip-inlaid decoration on Koryo celadon was quite
sparing at first, as here; later, the designs gradually
occupied more and more of the vessel surface.
Painted-slip decoration preceded and probably
influenced the development of slip-inlaid decoration
(see Cat. 15, 16). The inlay technique produced a
more uniform and brilliant white, causing the
painted-slip technique to be abandoned. Slip-inlay
was used in China, but only very rarely. Its stylistic
derivation in China may have been from the inlaid
metalwork of the T'ang Dynasty (618-907). Korean
potters seem to have developed slip-inlay independ-
ently around the middle of the 12th century. The
technique quickly became a national specialty. Slip-
inlay decoration is the Korean potters' unique contri-
bution to ceramic art. Koryo slip-inlaid celadon
declined somewhat in quality during the 13th, and
especially the 14th century, but slip-inlay technique
was revived in the succeeding Yi Dynasty (1392-1910)
in the form of overall patterns (Punch'ong Ware,
15th-16th century, see Cat. 61).
The stamped and incised decoration on typical
gray-black pottery of the United Silla Period (see
Cat. 10) may have been instrumental in the develop-
ment of Koryo slip-inlaid decoration. United Silla
pottery recovered from tombs sometimes has light-
colored earth imbedded in the designs as a result of
burial. This effect may have inspired Koryo potters
to brush liquid clay into the incised and stamped
designs on their celadons.
The Korean term for slip inlay is sanggam, but the
word also means "inlay" in general. Bronze inlaid
with silver, and black lacquer inlaid with mother-of-
pearl were other Koryo Dynasty specialties; the
design motifs were much the same as those on inlaid
celadon. Mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer has continued
to be a famous Korean product until the present day
(see Cat. 86). Inlaid decoration in any medium
appealed strongly to Korean taste.
58 KOREAN ART
18. Wine Bottle
Celadon porcelain with slip-inlaid decoration
H. ll
3
/4
",
W. 7Vi6"
Koryo Dynasty, 12th-13th century
Gift of Paul Manheim 67.199.3
This wine-bottle shape, with an ovoid body
tapering gracefully into a tall, flaring neck, is one of
the classic vessel shapes of the Koryo Dynasty. It
occurs frequently in bronze (see Cat. 23) as well as
celadon, and also in ordinary gray-black pottery.
The decoration on the present Bottle is typical of
fully developed slip-inlaid celadon. The same
designs appear over and over on other 12th-13th
century examples. We have already encountered a
white chrysanthemum with black leaves and stem
(see Cat. 17). On the shoulder of this Bottle, where
the body becomes the neck, we see a row of small
stamped-and-slip-inlaid circles suggesting a string of
beads with three hanging tassels, as if a necklace
had been hung around the neck of the bottle. The
three single chrysanthemums on the belly of the
Bottle are each enclosed in two incised circles within
a border of stamped ju-i scepter heads, the latter a
common border design on Koryo celadons.
The ju-i scepter was an ancient Chinese ritual
implement. It had a long, lightly S-curved handle
and an inverted, ornamental, trefoil head. The ju-i
scepter was originally a symbol of the Buddha and
his doctrines, often held by the images of certain
Buddhist deities. Later, ju-i scepters of jade or
cloisonne were presented to honored Chinese lay-
men as tokens of esteem and good wishes (the two
ideograms with which ju-i is written mean "as you
wish"). The three-lobed head of the ju-i scepter was
also equated with the mythical Taoist Sacred Fungus.
19. Oil Bottle
Celadon porcelain with slip-inlaid decoration
H. 2V4
",
W.
3%"
Koryo Dynasty, 12th-13th century
Gift of David James in memory of his brother,
William James 54.10.10
Slip-inlaid decoration on Koryo celadons was quite
sparing when the technique first developed but
became more exuberant as time went on, occupying
more and more of the available surface, especially on
small pieces, as we see here. This kind of tiny, squat
bottle with a short neck and galleried mouth was
used for cosmetic oil; it was a standard item in
celadon toilet sets made for the ladies of the Koryo
aristocracy. The complex pattern of small-scale, slip-
inlaid designs filling much of the visible surface on a
small piece like this creates a rich, jewellike effect.
The subject of the decoration here is cranes flying
among clouds. Like the Sacred Fungus, the crane
was an old Chinese Taoist symbol of immortality
and became a popular motif in Korea (see Cat. 70).
Manuchurian cranes, whose adults are about five
feet tall when standing fully erect, could formerly be
seen in large numbers all over Korea, Japan, and
northeastern China. Today, only a few small flocks
have survived in certain remote areas.
Since early times, the Chinese considered cranes
the companions and messengers of the Taoist
Immortals, who were said to fly back and forth
between China and the Isles of the Blest (in the
Eastern Sea) on the backs of cranes. Here, the
auspicious symbolism of longevity and immortality
is carried even further: the trefoil heads of the little
scudding clouds on this Oil Bottle refer to the three-
lobed heads of the Sacred Fungus.
60 KOREAN ART
20. Bowl
Celadon porcelain with slip-inlaid decoration
H.
23/4",
W.
7%"
Koryo Dynasty, 12th-13th century
Gift of the executors of the estate of Colonel Michael
Friedsam 32.886
The exterior of this Bowl displays a variation on
the slip-inlay technique known as reverse inlay, in
which the background portion of the design is
carved out and filled with white slip. The elements
of the design thus consist of gray clay surface sur-
rounded and defined by a white-slip background.
The gray clay appears greenish or bluish through
the celadon glaze.
Reverse inlay was used for the floral arabesque
pattern covering most of the exterior of this Bowl.
Set within that pattern are four rondels enclosing
chrysanthemum sprays done in regular white and
black slip inlay. All the designs on the interior of the
Bowl are rendered in regular slip inlay rather than
reverse inlay. The decoration on the interior consists
of five clusters of three pomegranates surrounding a
central circle enclosing a sixth pomegranate cluster.
The central circle has a border of ju-i scepter heads
(see Cat. 18).
Both the exterior and interior have upper borders
composed of paired horizontal lines with an undu-
lating vine-scroll design between them. The exterior
shows the late 12th-13th-century tendency to fill up
more and more of the surface with inlaid designs.
The pomegranates decorating the interior of the
Bowl were an especially auspicious motif. The
pomegranate was an old Chinese Taoist fertility
symbol: its many seeds suggested numerous progeny.
The Chinese believed that a man achieved a certain
immortality by siring many sons and grandsons. A
wife's principal duty was to bear male children. The
pomegranate was also a symbol of wealth: it was
shaped like a moneybag and the seeds inside looked
like jewels. In spite of all the symbolic meaning that
accrued to it, this fruit was not native to China; it
was introduced from South Asia in 126 B.C. Pome-
granates, with their dual symbolism, became popular
design motifs in Korea, appearing frequently on
paintings and household utensils.
21. Primus Vase
Celadon porcelain with black-slip decoration
H. 8%", W.
6"
Koryo Dynasty, 13th-14th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Fomon 78.199
The reader will recall that the use of painted
white-slip decoration on Koryo celadon seems to
have preceded and influenced the development of
slip inlay (see Cat. 16). Once the inlay technique was
fully developed, painted white-slip decoration was
abandoned. Painted black-slip decoration, on the
other hand, became quite fashionable in the 13th
and 14th centuries, although the technique seems to
have been used as early as the end of the 11th
century. The designs were painted with brownish-
black slip (liquid clay containing iron oxide) before
applying the celadon glaze.
Iron-painted celadon has a completely different
look than the white-painted variety (see Cat. 16).
The designs are larger, bolder, more spontaneous,
and more energetic. Black-painted Koryo celadon
decoration was obviously inspired by Tz'u-chou
ware, a widespread northern Chinese ceramic ware
with a buff-colored clay body and vigorous dark-
brown iron-painted decoration. Tz'u-chou ware
was produced throughout the Sung (960-1279) and
Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties and well into the Ming
(1368-1644). The exuberant floral sprays and
chrysanthemum-petal border on this Prunus Vase
clearly reflect its Tz'u-chou prototypes.
Iron-painted Koryo celadons from the 13th-14th
century usually have a coarse, olive-gray, or olive-
brown glaze, as we see here. The kilns that produced
this ware were not capable of achieving the more
refined blue-green, gray-green, or gray-blue celadon
glaze colors. Also, the clay was less carefully sieved
and the throwing and trimming were less skillful.
The Mongol devastation of 13th-century Korea had
taken its toll. Compare the clumsy potting, coarse
clay, and dull olive glaze of this Prunus Vase to the
elegance and refinement of a 12th-century example
(see Cat. 16).
62 KOREAN ART
22. Kundika (Buddhist Ritual Water Sprinkler)
Bronze
H. 14%", W.
4%"
Koryo Dynasty, 12th century
Gift of Paul Manheim 74.27
The kundika (Korean: chong-byong) was a form of
kalasa (flask), the characteristic attribute held by
Avalokitesvara containing the nectar of compassion
(see Cat. 4, 11, 27, 28). Originally an Indian ritual
vessel, the kundika became a standard Koryo Dynasty
vessel type. It occurred frequently in celadon
porcelain as well as in bronze. Since extant examples
owe their survival to having been deposited in
tombs, Korean kundika either had a symbolic function
in connection with the spirit world, or they had
become secular luxury items as well as ritual vessels.
In its Buddhist context, a kundika contained the
water (or nectar) of life. The water was poured
through the vessel's tubular finial and refilled
through the covered spout on the shoulder. The
faithful worshiper was enjoined to become a
receptacle for the Buddha's Doctrine in the same
way that the kundika was a receptacle for the water
of life. In the Far East, paintings of Avalokitesvara
sometimes depict a kundika holding a willow branch.
Avalokitesvara used this willow branch to sprinkle
the nectar of compassion on his worshipers.
The filling spout on a Koryo kundika normally has
a hinged caplike lid. The lid is missing from the
present example, but the remains of its hinge may
be seen at the back of the filling spout. The graceful,
elegant lines of this Kundika seem entirely appropriate
to its use in stately Buddhist rituals. The surface of
the bronze was originally polished bright but has
developed a handsome gray-green patina from
burial in a tomb.
23. Wine Bottle
Bronze
H. 12V2
",
W.
7"
Koryo Dynasty, 13th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Robert Dickes 74.159.2
Here is a typical bronze example of the classic
Koryo wine-bottle shape; we have already seen it in
celadon (see Cat. 18). Bronzes like this were deposited
in the tombs of the Koryo aristocracy, along with
celadon porcelain, so that the deceased could con-
tinue to enjoy their use in the spirit world. Like the
Kundika (see Cat. 22), this Wine Bottle was polished
bright when it was new but has now developed a
light-green patina from burial.
The technique employed in the manufacture of
this Wine Bottle was entirely different from that of
the Kundika. The Kundika was cast; the Wine Bottle
was spun. Spun bronze involved mounting a small
bronze cylinder on a lathelike device and drawing
the malleable metal out to its final shape while it
spun at high speed. This technique permitted
thinner walls, making the vessel considerably lighter
than its cast counterpart, thus requiring less bronze.
The present Bottle was made in four sections, which
were then brazed together. The lowest section is like
a bowl with a high foot ring; the next section is
cylindrical; the two upper sections are conical. The
three joints between the sections have been accented
with incised lines to articulate visually the surface of
the Bottle. The uppermost section, the mouth of the
Bottle, was cast rather than spun; it has slightly
thicker walls than the other sections. The bottom of
the Bottle consists of a round, flat bronze disc brazed
inside the top of the foot ring.
.....
64 KOREAN ART
24. Ewer
Bronze
H. 10V4", W.
8%"
Koryo Dynasty, 13th century
Purchase 74.163.3
Once again we find a vessel shape in bronze that
we have seen before in celadon porcelain (see Cat.
13). With minor variations, Koryo vessel shapes
became standardized; they were part of the distinc-
tive Koryo Dynasty sense of form.
A ewer like this one, whether bronze or celadon,
originally came with a matching bowl that cor-
responded to the shape of the lower half of the
ewer. When not in use, the ewer nestled snugly in
the bowl; when it was used, water from the ewer
was poured into the bowl, for mundane purposes
such as washing the hands and face.
Like the bronze Wine Bottle (see Cat. 23), the body
of this Ewer was made of spun bronze. The spout
was cast and brazed to the shoulder of the vessel.
The straplike handle was hammered from a strip of
bronze and riveted to the body and neck of the
ewer. The lid and its knob, which is in the shape of
a lotus bud, were cast. The lid is hinged to the top of
the handle.
66 KOREAN ART
25. Mirror
Bronze
Diameter 5V8"
Koryo Dynasty, llth-12th century
Purchase 75.65.1
This Mirror was deposited in a Koryo Dynasty
tomb, and was not excavated until recent times.
Thus, like most ancient Chinese, Korean, and
Japanese bronze mirrors, it has a dark-green burial
patina. When new, its silvery yellow-white surface
was polished bright; the reverse side, which is
perfectly flat and smooth, formed an excellent
reflecting surface. The hemispherical boss in the
center of the obverse side has a transverse opening
for the loop of a braided silk tassel that served as the
mirror's handle. Bronze mirrors were essential items
in the toilet sets of aristocratic ladies. The mirror was
supported by a lacquered wood stand while the lady
applied her makeup.
Quantities of ancient bronze mirrors have survived
in China and Korea because of the custom of placing
them in tombs. As with other luxury goods so
deposited, the mirrors were meant to be used by the
dead in the spirit world. In the case of the mirrors,
however, there was also a special, magical reason for
burying them with the dead: Because mirrors reflect
images and light, from early times Taoists believed
that they had the power to radiate light for eternity,
thus magically illuminating the interior of the tomb.
The design cast in relief on the obverse of this
particular Mirror also involves magic. The scene
suggests longevity, and even immortality, for the
mirror's owner. The female figure seated at the left
is Hsi Wang-mu (Korean: So Wang-mo), Queen
Mother of the West and the Queen of the Fairies
(female Taoist Immortals); she is also the ancient
Chinese Taoist Goddess of Immortality. She lives
forever, ageless and beautiful, in her palace
somewhere deep in the Kunlun Mountains of
Central Asia. Phoenixes act as messengers and
steeds for her and her fairies (see Cat. 72).
The peach trees in Hsi Wang-mu's orchard bear
fruit every three thousand years; it takes another
three thousand years for the magic peaches to ripen.
Every six thousand years, Hsi Wang-mu holds a
banquet for the Taoist Fairies and Immortals at
which they partake of the magic fruit. Eating a Peach
of Immortality bestows three thousand years of life
(see Cat. 73) The clusters of leaves above Hsi Wang-
mu on this Mirror represent the magic peach trees in
her orchard.
The male figure standing at the right is Tung Fang-
so, a legendary advisor to the third Han emperor,
Wu Ti (r. 141-87 B.C.). Tung Fang-so is said to have
found his way to Hsi Wang-mu's palace and stolen
one of the Peaches of Immortality, which he ate,
causing him to live three thousand years. The rockery
below the two figures on the Mirror suggests the
lofty peaks of the Kunlun Mountains; the scudding
clouds in the border suggest the Abode of the
Immortals.
68 KOREAN ART
26. Mirror
Bronze
Diameter 5
3
/4"
Koryo Dynasty, 12th-13th century
Purchase 75.65.2
The design cast in relief on the obverse of this
Mirror depicts a ship sailing on a stormy sea. Three
male figures, one of whom holds a sword aloft,
stand in the bow of the ship. Five slightly smaller
figures stand in the stern near the steering oar. A
large dragon arises from the sea to confront the ship.
Mythical fish swim at the upper left and the right.
Clouds of spray cap the surging waves. At the top,
above the ship's banner, is a four-character
inscription in archaic seal-style script: huang pi ch'ang
ch'on (clear, vast, luminous heaven).
While an exact interpretation of the nautical myth
depicted on this Mirror is not possible today, certain
observations may be made about the scene. The
figure with the sword looks as if he were about to
smite the dragon. This is unlikely, however, since in
the Far East the dragon is benevolent, unlike his
Western counterpart, who is the embodiment of evil
slain by St. George. The Far Eastern dragon dwells
in a palace at the bottom of the sea and in the storm
clouds of the sky. He brings the rain that is essential
for the crops (see Cat. 33). The dragon on this Mirror
is probably assisting rather than threatening the
figures in the ship.
A magic boat ferries the souls of the dead across to
the spirit world; that may well be the theme
depicted here. The dragon may be guiding and
protecting the boat of souls on its way to the spirit
world.
Since there seem to be eight figures on the ship,
the motif may also refer to the Eight Immortals. The
Chinese, with their predilection for numerical
categories, codified the Taoist Immortals theme as
"The Eight Immortals" (pa hsien). There were, of
course, countless other Taoist Immortals. They were
said to dwell on P'eng Lai, the mythical Islands of
the Immortals in the Eastern Sea. The Eight
Immortals were singled out from the others because
of their special magic powers.
THE YI DYNASTY
1392-1910
72 KOREAN ART
27. Amifa (Amitabha) Triad
Hanging-scroll painting; ink, color, and gold on silk
H. 36 5/16", W.
20%" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 16th century
Source unknown X715
This triad consists of a seated Buddha and two
standing Bodhisattvas. The main deity is Amitabha,
the Buddha of the Western Paradise of the Pure Land
Sect (see Cat. 11). The Bodhisattva at the lower right
is Avalokitesvara (Korean: Kuan Um), identified by
the small figure of Amitabha on his diadem, and
by the kalasa (flask) in his right hand (see Cat. 4).
Avalokitesvara is the most compassionate, and there-
fore the most widely worshiped, of the Bodhisattvas.
In the standard Amitabha triad of the Koryo Dynasty
and later, the two Bodhisattvas were Avalokitesvara
and Mahasthamaprapta, the manifestations of
Amitabha's mercy and wisdom, respectively (see
Cat. 11).
The present painting varies the standard formula
by replacing Mahasthamaprapta with another Bod-
hisattva, Ksitigarbha (Korean: Chi'jang). Ksitigarbha
is the patron of travelers, the Buddhist St. Christopher.
Granite images of him stood along old country
roads. More importantly, however, Ksitigarbha is the
Bodhisattva who rescues the damned from Hell, the
savior of dead children in particular. He uses the
iron monk's staff in his right hand to batter down
the gates of Hell. The flaming jewel in his left hand
lights the way out of the underworld. Ksitigarbha
came to be widely worshiped. By the beginning
of the Yi Dynasty, he often took the place of
Mahasthamaprapta in Amitabha triads.
Ksitigarbha is the only Bodhisattva depicted as a
Buddhist monk. Other Bodhisattvas wear the elabor-
ate drapery and ornate jewelry of an Indian prince,
the imaginary garb of Prince Siddhartha (Sakyamuni
Buddha before his enlightenment). Ksitigarbha wears
the shaved head or close-cropped hair of a monk
rather than the crownlike diadem of other Bodhisattvas.
In the present painting, Ksitigarbha wears the com-
plex drapery and necklace of a Bodhisattva, but he is
often depicted in the simple robe of a monk.
The monk's staff held by Ksitigarbha is like the
actual staffs Buddhist monks used to carry while
walking out-of-doors. Such a staff has loose jingle
rings on its finial; the sound they made was supposed
to chase away insects in the monk's path lest he step
on one and break his vows against taking life.
74 KOREAN ART
28. Amifa (Amitabha) and The Eight Bodhisattvas
Hanging scroll painting; ink and gold on purple silk
H. 39", W.
32"
Yi Dynasty, dated in accordance with 1666
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Greenberg 86.260.1
The central deity in this complex assemblage is
once again Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western
Paradise (see Cat. 11, 27). Here, Amitabha is sur-
rounded by a group of eight Bodhisattvas in accord-
ance with The Eight Bodhisattva Mandala Sutra. A
sutra is a Buddhist sacred text. A mandala is a mystic
diagram. A Buddhist mandala is usually a magic
arrangement of Esoteric Buddhist deities who have
specific spiritual and cosmic functions. A mandala
symbolizes certain processes of the universe or
assembles certain mystical forces to fulfill a wor-
shiper's needs. Mandalas were thought to possess
potent spiritual and magical power. Korean paintings
of Amitabha and The Eight Bodhisattvas first appeared
in the late Koryo Dynasty.
Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, the two
Bodhisattvas who normally accompany Amitabha
(see Cat. 11),
stand at either side of his dais,
Avalokitesvara to the right, holding a kalasa (flask),
Mahasthamaprapta to the left, holding a book. To
the right of Avalokitesvara is Samantabhadra, a
Bodhisattva of Wisdom, holding a five-colored cloud
scepter. To the left of Mahasthamaprapta is Manjusri,
another Bodhisattva of Wisdom, holding a lotus stalk
supporting a book. In the second row, to the right of
Amitabha's halo, is the Bodhisattva Maitreya (the
Buddha of the Future). To the left of Amitabha's halo
is the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, wearing the close-
cropped hair of a monk and carrying a monk's staff
(see Cat. 27). At the far right and far left in the second
row are Vajragarbha and Vijnesvara, two little-known
Tantric Bodhisattvas, each holding a sword.
Supported by clouds in the upper right and upper
left corners, on either side of Amitabha's lotus can-
opy, are two groups of eight figures with shaved
heads and monk's robes. They are The Sixteen Ar-
hats, the principal disciples of the Buddha. Leading
the right-hand group of eight Arhats is a Buddha
triad consisting of Sakyamuni, the historic Buddha,
accompanied by two Bodhisattvas.
There is a dedicatory inscription in the rectangular
panel below Amitabha's pedestal. About two-thirds
of the inscription is effaced, but enough remains to
provide some significant information: The painting
was commissioned and dedicated in the cyclical year
Pyong-o of the Son-chong era (equivalent to 1666). It
was dedicated to Hyon-chong, the eighteenth king of
the Yi Dynasty (r. 1660-1674). The donor, whose nom
de plume was Sang-un, expressed his desire to
"become a main pillar." The dedication to King Hyon-
chong explains why gold was used for most of the
lines in the painting; gold paintings were normally a
prerogative of the Korean royal family.
76 KOREAN ART
29. Amifa (Amitabha) with Six Bodhisattvas and
Two Arhats
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on silk
H. 31%'; W. 35V4
"
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Greenberg 86.260.2
Here Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise,
is surrounded by four of The Eight Bodhisattvas who
accompanied him in the preceding painting (see Cat.
28). Avalokitesvara, holding a kundika (ritual sprinkler),
stands to the right of Amitabha's throne; Mahastham-
aprapta occupies the corresponding position to the
left. The Bodhisattva at the lower right bears no
identifying attributes but is probably Maitreya, the
Buddha of the Future, who is often paired with
Ksitigarbha (see Cat. 28). Ksitigarbha stands at the
lower left, identified by his shaved head and monk's
staff. Flanking Amitabha in the second row are two
monks, Ananda and Kasyapa, the Buddha's favorite
disciples. On either side of Ananda and Kasyapa are
two Bodhisattvas having no identifying attributes.
The Buddha and Six Bodhisattvas in this painting
also represent Ch'il Song, The Seven Star Spirits.
Confucianism was the official state religion of the Yi
Dynasty. Although the government persecuted Bud-
dhists severely, Buddhism survived in Korea as a
kind of folk religion with a large admixture of Sha-
manist and Taoist elements. Although Korea had
been a Buddhist country since the 4th-6th centuries,
the Korean people had never abandoned their
indigenous religion, Shamanism, which, in turn,
had absorbed much from Chinese Taoism. Although
Taoism, unlike Confucianism, had no temples or
shrines of its own in Korea, it maintained a powerful
influence on Korean religious beliefs and supersti-
tions. Many of its deities were adopted by Shaman-
ism and by Korean Buddhism. Taoist symbols in the
form of animals, plants, mythical creatures, and
abstract motifs, appeared constantly in Yi Dynasty
household paintings and as ornaments on utilitarian
objects (see Cat. 70).
The precincts of large Yi Dynasty Buddhist temples
often included three subsidiary shrines, in addition
to the main image hall and various other buildings.
Each of these three side shrines (sam song kak) was
dedicated to a Shamanist deity who had been adopted
by Korean Buddhism: San Shin (The Mountain
Spirit) (see Cat. 30), Tok Song (The Lonely Saint),
and Ch'il Song (The Seven Star Spirits). Tok Song,
whose name literally means "self-cultivation," was a
Chinese Taoist saint adopted by Korean Shamanism
and later embraced by Korean Buddhism. He epito-
mizes the Taoist ideal of attaining spiritual perfection,
advanced age, and, perhaps, immortality, through
the practice of solitary self-cultivation in remote
mountain forests.
Like Tok Song, The Seven Star Spirits were Taoist
deities assimilated by Korean Shamanism and subse-
quently by Korean Buddhism. A painting such as the
present one would have been the main image in the
Ch'il Song Kak (Seven Star Shrine) of a large Bud-
dhist temple. In this context, The Buddha and Six
Bodhisattvas also represents The Seven Star Spirits.
The Seven Stars are those of Ursa Major, the Big
Dipper, which is visible throughout the year from
the northern hemisphere. Several other stars and
constellations were deified by Chinese Taoists, but
the Big Dipper was the most important because it
was thought to bestow good and bad luck.
Buddhist paintings of The Seven Star Spirits usually
represent them as a Buddha flanked by Six Bodhisat-
tvas, as we see here. According to the teachings of
Mahayana Buddhism, Sakyamuni, the historic Bud-
dha, was preceded by seven earlier Buddhas, one in
each of seven earlier cycles of time. In Korea, The
Seven Buddhas of the Past were equated with The
Seven Star Spirits.
Korean shamans (mudang) also employed Seven
Star Spirit paintings, which were among the magical
paraphernalia kept in mudang houses and used in
shaman rituals (kut), usually performed outdoors.
Shamanist paintings of Ch'il Song normally depict
The Seven Star Spirits as gentlemen in imaginary
Chinese Taoist costumes rather than as Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas. Some Shamanist paintings depict the
Seven Stars as women dressed in the distinctive
costumes of mudang; most Korean shamans were
women. The most basic Shamanist representations
of The Seven Star Spirits are arrangements of seven
small discs, or else five-pointed stars, in the posi-
tions occupied by the Big Dipper's stars, with a line
connecting each disc to the next.
Seven was considered a lucky number in the Far
East. The Big Dipper's seven stars were paralleled b)-
the seven "stars" of the face: two eyes, two ears, two
nostrils, and a mouth. A person's destiny was thought
to be controlled by The Seven Star Spirits. It was
therefore important that a Korean Buddhist pay his
respects and make a monetary offering in the Seven
Star Shrine inside the compound of a Buddhist
temple. It was equally imperative that a Shamanist
believer stay on good terms with The Seven Star
Spirits through the intercession of a mudang.
78 KOREAN ART
30. San Shin (The Mountain Spirit)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on silk
H. 34", W. 24Vi" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Purchase 84.145
The Mountain Spirit was the most popular deity in
the pantheon of Korean Shamanism. During the Yi
Dynasty, his popularity forced Korean Buddhism to
adopt him into the Buddhist pantheon. Buddhism
had always tended to accommodate certain local,
non-Buddhist deities; this flexibility is one of the
reasons why Buddhism has spread over such a wide
area and endured for so long.
As we have seen, The Seven Star Spirits and The
Lonely Saint were Chinese Taoist deities absorbed
into Korean Shamanism and then borrowed by Korean
Buddhism (see Cat. 29). Two of the three side shrines
in the precincts of large Yi Dynasty Buddhist temples
were dedicated to The Seven Star Spirits and The
Lonely Saint, respectively. The third and most im-
portant side shrine was dedicated to The Mountain
Spirit. In addition to the ones within Buddhist temple
compounds, thousands of independent Mountain
Spirit Shrines were located throughout Korea,
especially at sacred sites like the Diamond Moun-
tains, where they often perched on top of cliffs.
Since The Mountain Spirit was the most popular
Shamanist deity, mudang (shaman) houses also
maintained paintings of him.
Whereas The Seven Star Spirits and The Lonely
Saint were of Taoist origin, and certain other Sha-
manist deities were of Taoist, Confucian, or Buddhist
origin, The Mountain Spirit was a pure Korean
Shamanist deity. However, his great popularity did
not result from his being native; it resulted instead
from his capacity to bestow children. A Yi Dynasty
wife's first duty was to bear male children. A barren
wife was disrespected or even rejected by her hus-
band and his family. The fault was always assumed
to be hers. If she had trouble conceiving, she went to
a Mountain Spirit Shrine and prayed earnestly to
The Mountain Spirit to grant her a baby. If the prob-
lem continued, she would hold a vigil at the shrine
night and day, a one-hundred-night vigil being the
most severe, recommended only for extreme cases.
The Mountain Spirit had a second popular function:
granting long life. Worshipers placed coins in his
offering box to assure his help in achieving a long
and happy life.
The Mountain Spirit is usually depicted as an old
man with a white beard, as we see here. He is usually
shown seated beside a pine tree accompanied by his
messenger, the Tiger. He often holds a walking staff
and fan, in this case a banana-leaf fan. The Moun-
tain Spirit is often accompanied by two perpetually
youthful attendants called Dong-ja (see Cat. 58). Here
one holds a peony, a symbol of feminine beauty and
sexuality; the other holds a pomegranate, a symbol
of abundant progeny.
When The Mountain Spirit was shown wearing a
crown, he represented Tangun. According to Korean
mythology, the ancestor of the Korean people was a
great hero named Tangun, the grandson of Hananim,
the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the Universe. Tan-
gun traditionally founded Korea in 2333 B.C. When
Tangun died, he turned into The Mountain Spirit.
80 KOREAN ART
31. O Bang Jang Kun (The Five Guardian Generals)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink, color, and gold on silk
H. 57", W.
40"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Purchase 80.76
We have noted that The Seven Star Spirits were
Chinese Taoist deities appropriated by Korean Sha-
manism and later borrowed by Korean Buddhism
(see Cat. 29). The Mountain Spirit was a pure Korean
Shamanist deity adopted by Korean Buddhism (see
Cat. 30). The Five Guardian Generals were the
reverse: Shamanist deities derived from Buddhist
ones. The Five Guardian Generals were the most
powerful of the many guardian spirits in Korean
Shamanism. They protected believers from evil
influences emanating from the five directions, that
is, the four cardinal directions plus the center.
The Five Guardian Generals are The Blue King
(Chong
Je)
of the East, The White King (Paik
Je)
of
the West, The Red King (Chu
Je)
of the South, The
Black King (Hyon
Je)
of the North, and The Yellow
King (Hwang
Je)
of the Center. The Five Generals
were usually depicted as a group rather than singly,
and they were often accompanied by other deities, as
they are here. They usually wore imaginary Chinese
armor, as in the present painting, but they were
sometimes shown in Chinese Confucian attire, or
Chinese Taoist costume, or even the Indian skirts
and scarves of Buddhist deities.
The Five Guardian Generals derive from The Four
Heavenly Kings, whom they closely resemble. The
Four Heavenly Kings were directional Guardian Gen-
erals prominent in the iconography of Chinese, Korean,
and Japanese Buddhism almost from its inception.
The Four Heavenly Kings were frequently represented
in sculpture as well as in paintings. They wore
imaginary Chinese armor. Their function was to pro-
tect the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and worshipers from
the forces of evil emanating from the four directions.
The Five Guardian Generals simply added a fifth
guardian to protect the center. The names of The
Five Guardian Generals were different from those
of The Four Heavenly Kings. The names and colors
of The Five Guardian Generals were based on an
ancient series of Chinese Taoist guardian spirits
called The Animals of the Four Directions. This series
of mythical guardian animals was mentioned in the
I Ching. Many Taoist beliefs and practices found their
way to Korea due to increasing Sinification during
the Three Kingdoms Period. The finest extant repre-
sentations of The Animals of the Four Directions are
in Korea rather than China: magnificent wall paint-
ings in 6th-7th-century Koguryo Kingdom tombs in
North Korea.
The Animals of the Four Directions are The Blue
Dragon of the East, The White Tiger of the West, The
Red Phoenix of the South, and The Black Tortoise of
the North (entwined by a snake). Each is derived
from a constellation in its respective direction of the
sky. These four cardinal spirits were considered cru-
cial in the geomancy of a building site and are still
invoked for this purpose today in China and Korea.
The four main gates of a Korean palace bore depic-
tions of their respective spirit animals to protect the
palace from evil influences. The four spirit animals
were also critical in the selection of a proper tomb
site, which must have a Blue Dragon Ridge (or at least
hill) on the east, a White Tiger Ridge on the west,
and access from the south (north is the direction
of honor).
In the present painting, The Five Generals are
accompanied by a figure in imaginary Taoist costume
to the right of the central General and another in
imaginary Confucian costume to the left of the cen-
tral General. The two figures probably represent
Lao-tzu and Confucius, the founders of Taoism and
Confucianism. Confucius holds his book, the Analects.
Above the center General are two unidentified Bod-
hisattvas, one holding a lotus, the other a stylized
peony. On either side of the Bodhisattvas are youth-
ful attendants, two females to the right, three males
and a female to the left.
82 KOREAN ART
32. Three Mudang (Shamans) and a Tiger Performing
a Kut (Shaman Ritual)
Hanging scroll painting; ink and light color on paper
H. 24%", W.
30%" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Allen & Susan Dickes Hubbard
86.264.2
A few of the extant Shamanist paintings in Korean
collections depict the shamaness herself, deified as
The Mudang Spirit. A small number of other surviv-
ing paintings depict kut (shaman rituals), but the
present painting is the only example I know of in
which a tiger participates in the mudang dance. The
tiger actually seems to be levitating, and he is not an
ordinary tiger. This Tiger is The Messenger of the
Mountain Spirit, and a potent guardian spirit in his
own right (see Cat. 54).
Most Korean shamans were women, although the
profession was not limited to them. The hat worn by
each mudang in this painting is a characteristic type
of shaman headgear. It has a close-fitting, hemispher-
ical crown; a broad, flat brim; a chin strap of large
beads; and a long peacock tail feather swinging from
the metal finial on the center of the crown. One
mudang holds an oversize folding fan (in the closed
position). The other two hold paddlelike ritual
implements. Tridents and folding fans were the
standard implements used in shaman rituals. During
a kut, which may last anywhere from an hour or so
to as long as several days, the mudang dance them-
selves into an ecstatic trance in which they mystically
become one with the spirit being invoked.
84 KOREAN ART
33. Rain Dragon
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on paper
H. 35%", W. 27
%",
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Burton Krouner 82.133
During a drought, Korean shamans invoke dragons
to bring rain. The rain-supplication ritual is one of
the most ancient and important kut (shaman rituals).
Mudang dance in front of a Rain Dragon painting and
make animal-blood offerings to the Rain Spirit person-
ified by the dragon. Mudang rain holes, cuplike depres-
sions carved in boulders, were meant to receive these
offerings and are found throughout Korea.
The dragon is the best-known and perhaps the
most ancient mythical creature in the Far East. Like
most of the other imaginary animals in Chinese
mythology, the dragon is of Taoist origin. Dragons
decorate the surfaces of bronze ritual vessels from
the Shang (1523-1028 B.C.) and Chou (1027-256 B.C.)
dynasties, often in conjunction with the Thunder
Pattern, a squared-spiral design derived from ancient
pictographs for clouds, lightning, and thunder.
Chinese depictions of dragons reached their full,
familiar form during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.
221); they were transmitted to Korea through the
Han trading colony at Lo-lang (108 B.C.-A.D. 313).
Although Taoist in origin, the dragon became
associated with all four Korean religions: Buddhism,
Confucianism, Taoism, and Shamanism.
The Far Eastern dragon is awesome but benevolent,
unlike the Western dragon, who is the embodiment
of evil, the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the sym-
bol of Satan slain by St. George. In China and Korea,
a dream about a dragon is the most auspicious of
dreams: If a man dreams of a dragon, he will achieve
success: if a woman dreams of a dragon, she will
bear a son who will be a virtuous man.
The dragon is a water spirit who controls oceans,
rivers, lakes, rain, and floods. He lives in the Dragon
Palace at the bottom of the sea or among the clouds
in the sky. When a rainstorm occurs, it is because a
dragon is ascending to the sky. He sometimes takes
human form as The Dragon King, who is also called
The Water Spirit or the Dragon Spirit, depicted as an
old man with a white beard, who is often shown
riding a dragon. The Dragon King and The Mountain
Spirit are sometimes paired in Shamanist paintings
that symbolize their dominion over mountains and
seas. As we have seen, the tiger is the messenger of
The Mountain Spirit (see Cat. 30). Similarly, the tor-
toise is the messenger of the dragon and communi-
cates between the Dragon Palace at the bottom of the
sea and mortals on land. The tiger and the dragon,
the two most powerful spirit animals, are often
paired in pujok, paper talismans pasted on the doors
or walls of Korean houses to ward off evil spirits.
The dragon is frequently shown pursuing, or
clutching in one of his front claws, the Flaming Pearl
(a magic jewel from the sea symbolizing wisdom and
immortality). Immortality was primarily a Taoist con-
sideration; wisdom was more of a Confucian theme.
In a Confucian context, the dragon came to symbolize
Heaven, as well as the virtue and authority of a king
(see Cat. 69). As a royal symbol, the dragon was
often painted yellow; as a rain symbol, he was usually
painted blue. They were a predominant theme in the
architectural decoration and ritual paraphernalia of
Korean royal palaces and Confucian temples. A five-
clawed dragon in China or Korea was usually, but
not always, restricted to royal use. Other depictions
of dragons showed only four claws, or even three,
on each foot. A scroll painting of a dragon was often
hung in a man's study to suggest his role as a vir-
tuous head of the household.
86 KOREAN ART
34. Kam Mo Yo
Je
Do (Spirit Shrine)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on paper
H. 67 5/16", W. 56
%"
Yi Dynasty, dated in accordance with June, 1811
Purchase 86.25
The paintings we have considered thus far have
been religious, either Buddhist or Shamanist. They
were icons, objects of veneration and spiritual con-
templation in Buddhist temples of Shamanist mudang
houses. They were aids to worship and meditation,
as well as the focus of religious rituals. Such paint-
ings were never displayed in ordinary homes; to do
so would have been unthinkable.
Spirit Shrine paintings, on the other hand, were
specifically intended for use in Yi Dynasty homes.
An ancestral shrine was an integral part of every
Korean house. Confucianism, the state religion of
the Yi Dynasty, held that ancestor worship was the
primary duty of every Korean family, who were
morally obliged to worship their ancestors for at least
three generations back. A wealthy household main-
tained a separate room, or even a separate building,
as an ancestral shrine. The room was equipped with
special furniture and utensils for the rituals of ances-
tor worship: altar tables and offering stands, as well
as a small but very high chair that served as a throne
for the ancestor's spirit, whose presence was indicated
by a wooden tablet inscribed with the ancestor's
posthumous name. During the ceremony, the spirit
tablet was placed on the tall chair or on an altar table
in front of an ancestor portrait of the deceased (see
Cat. 35). Lacking such elaborate paraphernalia, or
the room to house it, a family of modest means used
a Spirit Shrine painting instead.
Kam Mo Yo
Je
Do means "Shrine Where the Ancestors
Come When Worshiped." The space between the
open doors of the tile-roofed shrine in the painting
was left blank. On the anniversary of an ancestor's
death, a slip of paper inscribed with his posthumous
name was pasted temporarily on the blank space.
The present Spirit Shrine painting is larger than the
usual household variety, and the ancestors' names
are permanently inscribed in gold on the large, red
spirit tablet in the doorway where the blank space
would have been. This painting commemorates royal
ancestors. The tablet is inscribed with the spirit
names of a former king and queen. The ink inscrip-
tion in the lower right corner of the painting includes
a date: the sixth month of the sixteenth year of the
Chia-ch'ing era. Chia-ch'ing was the fourth emperor
of the Ch'ing Dynasty; he reigned from 1796 to 1820.
This yields a date of 1811 for the painting. It was
standard practice to inscribe Chinese reign dates on
18th- and 19th-century Korean paintings, since Korea
maintained close tributary ties to China at the time.
^^mi^r^M**m
- _
88 KOREAN ART
35. Portrait of Chief Minister Mun Suk-kong
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on silk
H. 28V2", W. 20V4
"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. John Lyden 86.271.7
At the royal court and in government buildings,
portraits of kings and important officials served a
significant purpose. According to Confucian theory,
the portrait of a virtuous man has an important
didactic function: it inspires correct moral behavior
in those who view it. State portraits thus constituted
an official art serving the interests of the government
in maintaining the status quo.
The three-line inscription at the upper right of the
present painting reads: "Portrait of Chief Minister
Mun Suk-kong, name Ik-mo, pseudonym Chong-
kyon-yo." The one-line inscription below reads:
"Respectfully inscribed by his seventh-generation
descendant, Sang-hak, in the last ten days of the
month, during Autumn, in the fifty-seventh cyclical
year." The year cycle recurs every sixty years. "Mun
Suk-kong" is the posthumous name of Han Ik-mo,
who was born in 1703 and became Chief Minister
in 1772.
Chief Minister Mun wears a court robe and an
official belt indicating his court rank. He wears a
black-lacquered horsehair-gauze court cap, whose
shape is another indication of his court rank. The
chief minister's face is drawn with unusual skill
and sensitivity. One feels that the portrait is a good
physical likeness and reveals something of Mun's
personality as well. In fact, the portrait was probably-
painted well after the chief minister's death. The
artist probably never saw him or knew him. Such
was usually the case with Chinese and Korean
ancestor portraits, which tended to be perfunctory.
They were virtually mass-produced to meet the
demand, ancestor worship being a moral duty of
every citizen.
Still, the extraordinary sensitivity of the present
portrait would seem to suggest that it is based on
sketches made from life. Perhaps this painting was
done as a court portrait while Mun was still alive
rather than the usual ancestor portrait painted after
his death. The drawing and brushwork are of the
highest quality, unusually so for an ancestor portrait.
The artist was obviously talented and well trained.
He must have been a court artist, a professional
painter employed by the Bureau of Painting (To-hwa-
so). Korean court painters, unlike Korean scholar
painters and Chinese court painters, were not per-
mitted to sign their work. They were called upon
primarily to paint ancestor or court portraits, com-
memorative pictures of important ceremonies and
major historical events, and decorative, symbolic
screens for the royal palace, government buildings,
or Confucian temples. Yi Dynasty court painters
came mainly from the chungin class, a small class
below the scholar officials and above the com-
moners, made up of minor government officials,
doctors, scientists, engineers, and translators.
90 KOREAN ART
36. Kuo Tzu-i's Banquet
Six-panel screen painting; ink and color on silk
H. 79W, W. 142V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of John Gruber 84.251
This magnificent screen is one of the finest
examples of large-scale Korean court painting in any
American or European collection. Within the limita-
tions of the court style (thin, even lines filled in with
bright, flat color), the high quality and decorative
splendor of this screen are unsurpassed. The theme
is a perfect expression of the Confucian ideals pre-
vailing at the Yi court: a loyal, hard-working official,
justly rewarded by his monarch, enjoying a bountiful
old age.
Kuo Tzu-i (697-781) was a T'ang Dynasty Chinese
general, a paragon of Confucian virtue whose loyal
service was amply rewarded by the four successive
emperors he served. For thirty turbulent years, Gen-
eral Kuo was "The Pillar of the Empire," suppressing
revolts within China while keeping the barbarian
hordes outside at bay. T'ang military strength was
insufficient to defend China's northern and western
borders against fierce Central Asian nomads, so Kuo
manipulated them by playing one tribe off against
another. An endless series of revolts within China
kept Kuo busy fighting the insurgents as well. Against
overwhelming odds, General Kuo brought China
safely through a series of major crises.
Emperor Ming Huang expressed his gratitude by
bestowing the title of Prince on General Kuo. The
general had eight sons and seven sons-in-law who
rose to prominence in the government. Kuo Tzu-i
lived to be eighty-four. He was eventually blessed
with so many grandchildren and great-grandchildren
that he could no longer distinguish them, so he
merely nodded when each child stepped forward
to pay his respects. Instead of depicting General Kuo
in the heat of battle or leading his victorious troops,
this screen shows him enjoying the privileges of a
well-earned retirement.
We see the happy old gentleman attended by his
sons and daughters, surrounded by their many
children, enjoying the performance of a dancing girl
amid the pavilions and gardens of a fanciful Chinese
palace. The elegant figures wear imaginary T'ang
Dynasty costumes. The garden is filled with lakes,
trees, bamboo, exotic rocks, deer, peacocks, cranes,
and mandarin ducks. Attendants perform music or
prepare food and drink while gentlemen play chess,
ladies dance, and children parade their hobby horses.
Court paintings such as this employed the finest
available materials. The painting surface is silk; Korean
screens were normally painted on paper or linen.
Brilliant mineral color was used lavishly. Called tang-
chae (Chinese colors), the mineral pigments were quite
costly; many of them had to be imported from China.
Expensive mineral colors were used much more
sparingly, if at all, on more ordinary Korean screens.
The lighter, more transparent colors one sees here
and there on this screen are vegetable dyes rather
than mineral pigments. Both types of color used
animal-glue or fish-glue binders and were mixed
with water prior to being brushed onto the surface
of the cloth or paper. Once the paint set, it was no
longer water soluble.
92 KOREAN ART
37. Scholar Contemplating a Cascade
Traditionally attributed to Yi Chong (1578-1607)
Album-leaf painting mounted as a hanging scroll;
ink on silk
H. 11%", W. 10%" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 16th century
Purchase 75.130
Most Korean court painters worked in two basic
modes. The first employed thin, even outlines filled
in with relatively bright colors. This mode was used
for portraits (see Cat. 35) and compositions involving
groups of figures (see Cat. 36). The other mode was
ink-monochrome painting, using a variety of short,
strongly modulated brushstrokes and graded areas
of ink wash. Color was sometimes added, but it was
light color, consisting of dilute washes of vegetable
dyes. The ink-wash mode was used primarily for
landscape paintings, like the present one, or for
paintings of bamboo, plum blossoms, or grass
orchids (epidendrum).
Scholar Contemplating a Cascade is traditionally
attributed to Yi Chong (1578-1607). Several genera-
tions of Yi Chong's family were professional artists in
the Bureau of Painting, starting with his grandfather,
Yi Sang-jwa (act. mid-16th century). Yi Sang-jwa was
originally a slave in the household of a scholar official,
but he developed such phenomenal artistic skill that
the king appointed him to the Bureau of Painting.
After the king's death, Yi Sang-jwa was selected to
paint the king's ancestor portrait, the highest honor
that could be accorded to a court painter.
Yi Sang-jwa's grandson, Yi Chong, was brought up
to be a painter; he was trained from early childhood
in the use of a brush. By the age of ten he had become
a competent landscape painter and was also skilled
at figure subjects. When he was eleven, Yi Chong
decided to become a Buddhist monk. He joined a
monastery in the Diamond Mountains, an area
famous for its spectacular granite pinnacles (see Cat.
43). He continued to paint throughout his short life.
He was noted for his independent ways and difficult
personality, painting only when and what he wanted
to, turning down commissions from powerful per-
sons if they did not suit him. Most of his surviving
pictures are small landscapes like this one. He died
at the age of twenty-nine.
Korean ink-wash paintings of the 16th century are
extremely rare outside major museums in Korea.
Only a handful have reached the West, usually by
way of Japanese collections. Most of these have been
misidentrfied as Chinese, since they follow Chinese
models quite closely. Shimada Shujirb has been
active in reattributing many of them to Korea.
The present painting skillfully perpetuates the
style and subject matter of the Southern Sung
Academy. The Sung court was forced to flee south
to the city of Hang-chou in 1126, when the Jurched
Tartars conquered North China. The Southern Sung
period lasted from 1127 to 1279. A new style of land-
scape painting was developed by Ma Yuan and Hsia
Kuei, two great artists at the Southern Sung Imperial
Painting Academy.
During the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), the Ma-Hsia
style was kept alive by painters in the port city of
Ning-po and elsewhere. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-
1644), the Ma-Hsia style provided the basis for a new
painting style developed by artists of the Che School.
Ming Dynasty China exerted tremendous influence
on Yi Dynasty Korea, and the Che School was the
major source for 15th- and 16th-century Korean land-
scape painters. Scholar Contemplating a Cascade follows
the Ma-Hsia/Che style quite closely. However, the
relative flatness and spatial ambiguity, as well as a
slight awkwardness in the brushwork, mark this
painting as Korean rather than Chinese.
The seal in the upper left corner reads: "To Chung-
kyon In" (The Seal of To Chung-kyon). This is not a
known art name of Yi Chong. The placement of the
seal suggests that it was added later. When a
Chinese, Korean, or Japanese artist impressed his
seal on a painting, he usually integrated it with the
composition instead of stamping it in a far corner.
94 KOREAN ART
38. Landscape and Poem
By Kim Myong-kuk (act. first half of the
17th century)
Fan Painting; ink on gold leaf on paper
H. 8
2",
W.
11"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 17th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Robert Dickes 74.81.2
The Che School was one of the two major sources
for early Yi Dynasty landscape painting (see Cat.
37). The other major source was the Northern Sung
landscape tradition. This seems anomalous, since
the Northern Sung style had become passe in China
with the development of the Southern Sung style,
which was the basis for the Che School style. How-
ever, the old Northern Sung style did not die out in
North China when the Sung court fled to the South
in 1126. The Northern Sung landscape tradition
continued to flourish in North China throughout the
Chin (1126-1234) and well into the Yuan Dynasty
(1279-1368).
Because of physical proximity and trade between
North China and Korea, the Northern Sung landscape
tradition perpetuated in the Chin Dynasty exerted
strong influence on Korean landscape painting until
as late as the 17th century. Korea was cut off from
direct land contact with Southern Sung China by the
Jurched Tartars, so the Southern Sung style did not
penetrate Korea until after China was reunified by
the Mongols. Because of Korean emulation of the
Ming Dynasty, it was primarily through the Che
School that the Southern Sung style finally became a
major source for Korean landscape painters, side by
side with the old Northern Sung style.
Many early Yi Dynasty landscape paintings
actually combined these two seemingly antithetical
styles. The hybrid style that resulted is not as
awkward as one might expect. In fact, this hybrid
style proved instrumental in the development of
15th-century ink-wash landscape painting in Japan.
It is reflected in the work of Shubun, a Zen painter-
monk who was one of the most influential Japanese
artists of his day. Shubun visited Korea in 1423-1424
to obtain a complete set of printed Buddhist scrip-
tures for his monastery's library. During his stay in
Korea, Shubun was profoundly impressed by Korean
ink-wash landscape painting. The Korean hybrid
style influenced Shubun's own style, and he in turn
passed it on to a whole generation of Japanese artists.
Landscape and Poem is a 17th-century Korean inter-
pretation of the Southern Sung landscape style as
transmitted by the Che School in the Ming Dynasty.
The Northern Sung tradition emphasized verticality:
nearby crags and peaks filled the picture from top to
bottom, blocking a view into the far distance and
leaving little of the format unfilled. The Southern
Sung tradition did just the opposite, as we see here.
It emphasized the horizontal by means of level, con-
tinuous mountain ridges in the distance. The view
extended to infinity, suggesting the continuity of a
vast universe. Much of the format was left empty.
The blank paper (or silk, or, in this case, gold leaf)
stood for water (supporting the two sailboats on the
lake) and sky (the area above the mountains). It also
suggested mist-filled atmosphere infusing the deep
pictorial space.
When painting landscapes, Kim Myong-kuk
employed the style of the Che School. The Che style
continued to be the main current of Korean landscape
painting in the 17th century, but it became increas-
ingly abbreviated and mannered. Many of Kim
Myong-kuk's surviving works are small-scale pictures,
album-leaf or fan paintings. This one is a fan (not the
folding fan, which was invented in Japan during the
9th-10th century and subsequently became popular
in China, but a traditional Chinese nonfolding fan,
whose short bamboo handle splayed out as thin
stationary ribs to support the oval paper surface).
The handle and ribs were removed from the present
fan painting when it was mounted flat and framed.
Kim Myung-kuk was one of the most famous
Korean artists of the 17th century. He was a court
painter (a member of the To-hwa-so, the Bureau of
Painting), yet we know almost nothing about his life.
This suggests that he may have been a commoner
rather than a member of the professional class to
which most court painters belonged. In spite of his
apparently humble origin, he gained the admiration
and trust of the king. In 1636 and again in 1643, he
was dispatched to Japan with Korean envoys on
important diplomatic missions. Kim Myong-kuk's
paintings were much admired by the Japanese
military aristocracy at the court of the Tokugawa
shogun. The Japanese commissioned so many Kim
Myong-kuk paintings that most of his surviving
oeuvre is in Japan. In recent years, the Korean
National Museum has been buying Kim Myong-kuk
paintings back from the Japanese.
The artist's signature appears at the lower right of
this fan painting: Ch'ui-ong (Drunken Old Man, one
of his art names). Below the signature is one of the
artist's seals; another follows the poem. The poem
was inscribed by Kim Myong-kuk himself; he may
have composed it, or he may have quoted it from
some Chinese or Korean poet. The couplet reads:
Even overlapping mountains cannot prevent
a dream from traveling a thousand miles.
The solitary moon can illuminate myriad views.
96 KOREAN ART
39. Po-dae (Pu-tai)
By Kim Myong-kuk (active first half of the 17th
century)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink on paper
H. 2OV2", W.
10%"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 17th century
Gift of Mrs. Robert van Roejen 59.26
Po-dae (Chinese: Pu-tai) was a household god, a
God of Good Fortune. He was said to be an incarna-
tion of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, and to
have been a Buddhist monk who lived in China
during the 6th century A.D. His name means "cotton-
cloth bag." He was usually represented with a big
cloth bag slung over his shoulder, as he is here. His
treasure bag contained precious things that brought
happiness and success to his devotees.
Kim Myong-kuk is best known for eccentric figure
paintings rather than landscapes (see Cat. 38). His
mythical Taoist and Buddhist figures were executed
in a bold, rough, abbreviated style with a small
number of exaggerated calligraphic brushstrokes
suggesting the form of an entire figure.
The rough, free, fluid brushwork of Kim Myong-
kuk's figure paintings no doubt contributed to the
legend of his excessive fondness for wine. So did his
choice of "Drunken Old Man" as an art name. The
signature at the lower left of the present painting
reads: Ch'ui-ong ("Drunken Old Man"). The seal
below the signature reads: Kim Myong-kuk In (The
Seal of Kim Myong-kuk). It was said that Kim
Myong-kuk loved to drink and frequently painted
while drunk. Prospective patrons hoping to commis-
sion paintings were advised to bring gifts of wine
when they came to visit him. Since early times in
China it was traditional to say that certain poets,
painters, and calligraphers

especially those who

worked in a free style

did their most inspired work

while drunk.
Kim Myong-kuk's figure paintings were enormously
popular in Japan. They reminded the Japanese of the
legendary Zen eccentrics painted by Japanese artist
monks from the 14th century on. Kim Myong-kuk's
figures sprang from the same source: Southern Sung
Ch'an (Zen) figure paintings by artist monks like
Liang K'ai and Mu-ch'i. This tradition was brought
to Japan by Zen monks who went to China for
study. The Southern Sung Ch'an figure painting
tradition was transmitted to Korea by Ming Dynasty
Che School artists, just as was the Southern Sung
Academy landscape tradition.
98 KOREAN ART
40. Grapevine
Hanging-scroll painting, ink on paper
H. 26", W. 12
3
A" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 16th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.442
While some Chinese painters were capable of
treating all types of subject matter, others tended to
specialize in one category, such as landscape, or
figures, or birds and flowers. It was not unusual for
an artist to specialize in an even more narrow subject,
such as bamboo, or grass orchids (epidendrum).
One famous artist, the monk Tzu-wen, specialized
in grapevines. His work was so celebrated in later
centuries that an entire tradition of grape paintings
in ink evolved from it. The Tzu-wen grape-painting
tradition was very influential in Korea and Japan as
well as in China. Grapevines became a popular sub-
ject with many Korean artists, including folk painters,
court artists, and scholar painters. Ink-wash paint-
ings of gnarled vines, coiling tendrils, tattered
leaves, and clusters of plump grapes have remained
a frequent subject of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
paintings throughout the centuries since Tzu-wen
developed this motif in the mid-13th century.
Tzu-wen is usually known by his art name, Jih-
kuan. Little is recorded about his life. He came from
Hua-t'ing in Kiangsu Province and lived in the Ma-
nao monastery in Hangchou. The Ch'an (Zen)
monasteries of Hangchou, the capital of the Southern
Sung (1127-1279) Dynasty, were renowned centers
of art and learning as well as spiritual training.
Many of the monks were poets, calligraphers, or
painters, and some combined all these skills. Tzu-
wen was famous for his grass script (calligraphy in
cursive, running style) as well as his paintings of
grapevines. He usually inscribed each painting with
a poem of this own composition. His calligraphy
complemented the expressive gestures of the vines
and leaves in the painting. As with so many Chinese
artists who worked in a loose, free style, Tzu-wen
was said to have been unusually fond of wine.
Grapes were not native to East Asia. The cultivation
of grapes was introduced to China from South Asia
in 126 B.C. Like bamboo, and grass orchids, grapes
lent themselves well to expressive treatment in ink-
wash paintings. The grapevines provided an oppor-
tunity for a virtuoso display of ink-monochrome
technique. The ink wash was graded from light to
dark on the plump grapes to suggest their three
dimensional volume. The ink was also variegated on
the complex, flat, tattered shapes of the leaves. The
vines themselves, with their gnarled, angular stalks
and curling tendrils, offered an opportunity for
expressive linear gestures.
tional symbolism.
The present painting has a sturdy ruggedness,
awkward angularity, and spatial flatness that readily
distinguish it from a Chinese painting of grapes. Like
so many Korean paintings, this picture possesses an
absolutely charming naivete, as well as great strength
and dignity.
Grapevine is so close in style to the painting Grapes
by Sin Sa-im-dang in the Chun Hyong-pil collection
that the two could be by the same hand. Sin Sa-im-
dang (1512-1559) was one of the few women among
well-known Korean artists of the past. Her father
was a poor but respected Confucian scholar. Unlike
other Korean women of her day, she learned to read
and write classical Chinese, studied the Chinese
classics, and became a skilled calligrapher and
painter. She also excelled at the more womanly arts
of sewing and embroidery. She married a young
government official and bore four sons, the third of
whom, Yi Yul-gok (1536-1584), was one of the greatest
Korean statesmen and scholars of the 16th century.
As a painter, Sin Sa-im-dang was said by critics of
her day to be a rival of An Kyon (b. 1418), one of
Korea's most famous landscape painters. Sin Sa-im-
dang was proficient at landscape, but the artistic
speciality for which she became famous was bird-
and-flower painting. Her flower pictures often
included butterflies. Grape paintings, for which she
became especially well known, were a subspeciality
within the bird-and-flower category.
100 KOREAN ART
41. Landscape: Boating on the Lake
Fan-shaped album-leaf painting; ink and light color
on linen
H. 8
3
/4", W.
15"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 18th-19th century
Purchase 75.125.14
Toward the end of the 17th century, an altogether
different Chinese painting tradition gradually became
influential in Korea. It was literati painting (the paint-
ings of scholar artists and literary men). By the 18th
century, literati painting had become a major Korean
tradition; it continues to be a viable and significant
style of painting in Korea today (see Cat. 100).
According to the theories of Chinese literati paint-
ing, an artist must express his own lofty spirit and
noble sentiments in his pictures and capture the
essence of the subject but avoid realistic or obviously
skillful drawing. Professional painting was not
considered art because an artist who was forced to
please a patron in order to sell his work was not free
to express his own mind. Also, professional artists
generally lacked the classical literary education that
would permit them to combine painting, calligraphy,
and poetry in their work. Many literati artists in
China, did however, rely on their paintings for a
livelihood; they simply accepted monetary "gifts"
in exchange for their pictures.
In terms of style and technique, literati artists
created paintings by the additive application of
numerous small brushstrokes rather than lines,
clear-cut strokes, or continuous areas of wash. Ink
was the primary medium; when color was present,
it was usually limited to dilute washes of indigo
(bluish, cool) and red ocher (reddish-brown, warm).
Landscape was the major theme: not the observed
landscape of nature, but an idealized landscape of
the scholar artist's mind, the sort of place where he
would like to retire

a small, isolated cottage among

mountains and streams, with trees and a bamboo
grove nearby. In the bird-and-flower category, literati
artists made a specialty of bamboo, grass orchids
(epidendrum), plum blossoms, and chrysanthemums.
In Korea, the best literati paintings were produced
by professional painters (court artists who were
members of the Bureau of Painting) rather than as an
avocation of the scholar-official class in keeping with
the Chinese ideal. Many yangban must have tried
their hands at literati painting, since painting, along
with calligraphy, literature, and history, were tradi-
tional accomplishments of the scholar-official class
in China upon which the Korean one was based.
Unfortunately, the technique of literati painting was
easily imitated by real amateurs, often with disastrous
results. However, the fine points of the style were
difficult to master. Even the most talented Korean
literati painters were unable to recreate the subtleties
of brushwork, the treatment of pictorial space, or the
philosophical depth of their Chinese models.
The introduction of the literati painting style to
Korea in the late 17th century, and its great popularity
there during the 18th and 19th centuries, were due to
the influence of a late Ming Dynasty painter, art
critic, and theorist named Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (1555-
1636), and to the dissemination of woodblock-printed
Chinese painting manuals, such as the Mustard Seed
Garden (first edition 1679-1701) in Korea.
Tung Ch'i-ch'ang codified Chinese painting theory
and criticism in an entirely arbitrary but extraordi-
narily influential way that relegated professional
painters to an imaginary "Northern School," and to
the status of mere artisans, while literati painters
were elevated to an imaginary "Southern School."
By Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's day, most of the more talented
painters in China were working in the literati style
anyhow. These scholar artists were also the art critics
of their day. Led by Tung Ch'i-ch'ang, they praised
their own style of painting and condemned other
styles as nonart.
Among the painting styles consigned to the non-
art "Northern School" were the Southern Sung
Academy tradition and its Ming Che School successors,
the prime sources for 15th-17th-century painting in
Korea. Among the artists assigned to the superior
"Southern School" were the 10th-century painter
Tung Yuan, the scholar artists of the Northern Sung
Dynasty, the Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty,
and the Wu School of the Ming Dynasty. Landscape:
Boating on the Lake is a distant but charming and
lyrical Korean reflection of landscapes by Shen Chou
(1427-1509), the founder of the Wu School.
102 KOREAN ART
42. Bamboo
Hanging-scroll painting; ink on silk
H. 50W, W.
13"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Robert Anderson 84.244.13
Bamboo had long been a favorite subject for
Chinese painters of all schools, but literati artists
were particularly fond of bamboo. The stalks and
leaves provided an ideal vehicle for virtuoso ink
brushwork. The brush, ink, water, and paper used
for ink paintings were exactly the same as those used
for calligraphy, so it was relatively easy for a Chinese
scholar official, educated in the classics and expert at
calligraphy, to become an ink bamboo painter. Literati
symbolism was associated with the bamboo theme:
bamboo bends before the wind, just as the Confucian
scholar bends before adversity, but it never breaks.
The ink used in Far Eastern calligraphy and
painting was in the form of an ink cake (also called
an ink stick), a rectangular (or sometimes round)
block of hard ink made of pine-soot carbon mixed
with fish-glue or animal-glue binder. The ink stick
was ground on the surface of a slate ink stone, which
had a depression at one end to hold some water,
until the desired water-and-ink mixture was achieved.
The mixture was applied to the paper with a brush.
Once the ink set, it was no longer water soluble.
In the literati painting tradition, even more than
other schools of Far Eastern painting, the artist fre-
quently wrote a poem on his painting. The poem's
theme, of course, corresponded to the subject of the
painting. Ideally, the poem would have been the
painter's own composition, but a well-selected
quotation from a poet of the past was acceptable.
The five-line poem on the present painting reads:
Silent bamboo is reflected on the northern window
of the retired scholar's studio.
Jade-colored moss and blue indigo plants bask in
the shade, enjoying the harmony of this
secluded retreat.
The wind-bell in front of the bed-screen tolls the
passing of two months in this pavilion beyond
compare.
Spring branches and new grass stir the memories
of an old man after a stroll in the mountains.
Leaving public affairs behind, I sit down to
contemplate the graceful beauty.
The painting/poem is signed: I-tang Ko-sa (The
Gentleman of Moral-Principles Pavilion). I-tang is the
painter's art name. His surname, Cho, is given in the
first seal
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104 KOREAN ART
43. Myong-kyong Tae (Bright-mirror Pinnacle) in the
Diamond Mountains
By Kim Ch'ang-up (1658-1721)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and light color on paper
H. 21
3
/4
",
W.
12%"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, early 18th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Charles Perera 84.141.10
The Diamond Mountains (Kumgang San) cover an
area of 160 square kilometers near the east coast of
Korea, some 60 kilometers north of the thirty-eighth
parallel. Since early times, the Diamond Mountains
have been one of the most important pilgrimage sites
in Korea, not only because of the breathtaking natural
scenery but because the area is sacred to Buddhism,
Shamanism, and Taoism.
The name Diamond Mountains is Buddhist in
origin: San means "mountain," while Kumgang is the
Korean pronunciation fo the two Chinese characters
used to translate the Sanskrit word vajra, "diamond
thunderbolt." A vajra is a Buddhist ritual implement
and the attribute of certain Buddhist deities, whose
adamantine qualities it suggests. The twelve thousand
famous, needlelike rock spires in the Diamond
Mountains suggest vajras and the magic powers with
which this implement is associated. Koreans also
equate the peaks in the Diamond Mountains with
the mountains in the Buddha's Paradise. Many Bud-
dhist temples were built in the Diamond Mountains.
In Taoist terms, Koreans equated the Diamond
Mountains with the Islands of the Immortals. The
wild ginseng that grows in the Diamond Mountains
suggested pulloch'o, the Sacred Fungus eaten by
Taoists to obtain immortality (see Cat. 70). Taoist
adepts in ancient China practiced solitary asceticism
and meditation in deep mountain forests in order
to achieve spiritual well-being, long life, and magic
power. Thus Taoist mountain mysticism and Taoist
concepts of longevity and immortality came to be
associated with the Diamond Mountains.
It is in terms of Shamanism, however, that the
Diamond Mountains played their most important
role in the spiritual life of the Korean people. Many
of the twelve thousand granite pinnacles in the
Diamond Mountains resemble human figures or
animals such as tigers or dragons. It is easy to see
why these rocks became a focus for animistic beliefs.
Hananim, the Shamanist Creator, imbued moun-
tains, rocks, trees, and animals with portions of his
spirit, making them sentient. Thus it seems quite
natural that a spirit-dwelling rock may assume the
form of a warrior, a monk, a mother holding her
child, a tiger, or a dragon. Mountain worship is a
significant aspect of Shamanism and the Mountain
Spirit is the most popular Shamanist deity (see Cat.
30). Korean animistic beliefs go back to Neolithic
times. Along with Shamanism itself, they were
brought to Korea by early peoples from the moun-
tains, forests, and grasslands of Central Asia,
Mongolia, Manchuria, and Siberia.
Paintings of the Diamond Mountains were
especially appropriate during the Tan-O Festival.
Tan-O, the fifth day of the fifth month in the old
lunar calendar, is one of The Four Happy Occasions,
the four major annual festivals of Korea. During
Tan-O, Koreans honor the spirits and ask their help
in achieving good health, long life, harmony, and
success. Throughout Korea, mudang (shamans) perform
special kut (shaman rituals) to propitiate important
local spirits such as the Dragon King of the Han
River flowing past Seoul. Many powerful spirits
dwell in the Diamond Mountains, so paintings of the
Diamond Mountains came to be associated with the
Tan-O Festival.
The three-character inscription at the upper right
of the present painting names the great rock spire in
the center of the picture: Myong-kyong Tae (Bright-
mirror Pinnacle). It was usual for Korean paintings of
famous views in the Diamond Mountains and else-
where to include the name of the site. The seal here
records the name of the artist.
Kim Ch'ang-up was born into the scholar-official
class. His father, Kim Soo-hwan, became a prime
minister. The young Kim excelled in poetry, calli-
graphy, and painting. He specialized in literati-style
landscapes. His painting style, and his choice of
actual Korean scenery (chin-gyong, "real views")
rather than imaginary Chinese scenery, were based
on the work of his friend Chong Son. Kim Ch'ang-
up kept a record, the Yeonheng Diary, when he and
his brother traveled to Peking as part of an official
Korean mission in 1713. On this trip the Kims intro-
duced Chong Son's paintings to the Chinese court.
Chong Son (1676-1759) was the first Korean artist to
create a truly national style of landscape painting, as
opposed to merely imitating Chinese models. Chong
Son came from an impoverished scholar's family.
He was appointed to the Bureau of Painting. In his
younger years, Chong Son, like other late-17th-
century Korean court painters, based his landscapes
on Chinese examples from the two major Ming
Dynasty painting traditions, the academic Che
School and the literati Wu School. Chong Son and
other Korean artists sometimes combined elements
from these two traditions in a single painting.
In his maturity, Chong Son turned away from the
imaginary views of idealized Chinese scenery that
had been the subject of Korean landscape paintings.
He began to paint recognizable views of actual
Korean scenery instead. He traveled the length and
breadth of Korea painting famous scenic views; the
Diamond Mountains became his favorite theme.
When Chong Son included human figures in his
mature landscapes, the figures wore Korean dress for
the first time, unlike the imaginary Chinese scholars
who populated earlier Korean landscape paintings.
Two important new Korean painting traditions
sprang from Chong Son's work. The first was the
depiction of native Korean landscapes. The second
was the genre painting tradition that became fashion-
able in the second half of the 18th century: scenes of
Koreans engaged in everyday Korean activities.
Bright-mirror Pinnacle follows Chong Son's lead in
its style as well as its subject matter. The long, bold
strokes outlining the crags and clustered granite pin-
nacles are based on Chong Son's mature style. The
two gentlemen sitting in conversation on the square
boulder beside the rapids are wearing Korean dress.
106 KOREAN ART
44. Young Scholar on His Way to His First Official Post
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and light color on silk
H. 10%", W. 15
%"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Purchase 75.125.12
Chong Son often depicted Korean figures wearing
Korean attire within his landscape paintings. This
was a major departure from earlier landscape paint-
ings in Korea, which were inhabited by idealized
Chinese figures wearing Chinese costume. Once
Chong Son had made this breakthrough, other Korean
artists followed his lead. The present landscape is
done in Chinese style, with a mixture of Che School
and literati painting elements. The "axe-cut" texture
strokes on the rocks derive from the Southern Sung
landscape-painting tradition by way of Ming Che
School interpretations. The horizontal, oval-shaped
dabs of ink repeated rhythmically to suggest foliage
are a standard feature of the literati style. But the real
subject of this splendid little painting is the proces-
sion of figures making their way along the mountain
road. They are all wearing typical Korean attire.
The subject of the painting represents the happiest
moment in the life of a Korean scholar official. The
young man has just passed the government civil
service examinations and is on his way to another
province to begin work at his first official post. He is
accompanied by his five retainers. Two of them play
flutes and joyfully dance along the road ahead of the
young official on his horse. The retainer leading the
procession carries a sword, an indication that the
young man is a military rather than a civil official.
A young scholar on his way to assume his first
appointment is the key event in the Peaceful Life
(Heng Nak To) theme frequently represented on Yi
Dynasty screens. Cheap, folk art versions were
produced for the homes of commoners. Even though
they had little chance of becoming scholar officials,
commoners respected and admired learning and
high office. The screen's function was edifying and
didactic in the best Confucian tradition. The screen
also lent an air of refined elegance to the room in
which it stood. More expensive versions of Heng Nak
To screens graced the houses of the scholar officials
themselves.
A Peaceful Life screen celebrates the happiest
events in the successful life of an idealized scholar
official. Typically, the first panel depicts the child's
first birthday party. The second panel shows the
young man's wedding procession. The third panel
depicts him celebrating one of the annual Korean
festivals. The fourth panel shows him traveling to
assume a high government post (the subject of the
present painting). The fifth panel depicts him cele-
brating his sixtieth birthday surrounded by his
children and grandchildren. The sixth panel shows
him happily attended by a large retinue of lesser
officials and servants.
108 KOREAN ART
45. The City of P'yongyang
Twelve-panel screen painting; ink and color on linen
H. 48", W.
162" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. Ralph Marcove TLI983. 230.1
Chong Son's innovative depictions of recognizable
views of actual Korean scenery ultimately led to
representations of vast panoramas such as we see
here. The subject of this screen is the walled city of
P'yongyang and its environs, with tiny inscriptions
naming each important building, mountain peak,
river, island, or scenic spot.
P'yongyang, now the capital of North Korea, has
a long history. Wang-hsien, the capital of the Han
Dynasty Chinese trading colony of Lo-lang (108
B.C.-A.D. 313) was located at P'yongyang. The capital
of the Koguryo Kingdom was moved to P'yongyang
from Kungnae in 427 and remained there until Silla
conquered Koguryo in 668. During the Koryo Dynasty
(918-1392), P'yongyang was one of the three secondary
capitals of Korea, the main capital being at Kaesong.
The following are some of the interesting features
of the city identified by inscriptions on the screen:
P'yongyang Song (P'yongyang Castle), reconstructed
several times from the late Koguryo Period (7th cen-
tury) to the late Yi Dynasty (18th century). Walls
divided the castle into four sections. The Northern
Keep, the highest, was last rebuilt in 1714. The Inner
Keep, last rebuilt in 1624, is a reduced version of an
earlier one. The remaining area of the earlier Inner
Keep is now called the Middle Keep. The large area
to the south of the Middle Keep is called the Outer
Keep and is crisscrossed by a rectangular grid of roads.
Yongmyong-sa (Yongmyong Temple) was originally
built by royal decree in 392 on the site of the second
palace of the Koguryo Kingdom. It was one of nine
Buddhist monasteries in P'yongyang. During the Yi
Dynasty, Yongmyong-sa became one of the thirty-six
Korean monasteries of the Son Sect (Chinese: Ch'an;
Japanese: Zen).
Tangun-chon (Tangun Shrine), was built during
the reign of Sejong (1418-1450), the fourth king of the
Yi Dynasty, for the worship of Tangun and Wang Kon
(founder of the Koryo Dynasty) as national ancestors.
Tangun is the mythical progenitor of the Korean
people; according to tradition, he founded the
Korean state in 2333 B.C.
Pu-pyok Lu (Floating Jade Pavilion), located on
Ch'ong-lyu Pyok (Clear Stream Cliff) to the east of
Mt. Kum-su near Mo-lan Peak, was one of the cele-
brated "Eight Views of P'yongyang." The Pavilion
stood like floating jade beside the Tae-tong River. It
was originally built about a thousand years ago as a
subsidiary structure of the Yongmyong Monastery. In
the 12th century, King Yejong instructed Yi An to
rename the structure "Floating Jade Pavilion."
The Eight Views of P'yongyang concept derives
from a long tradition that began in 11th-century
China with paintings of The Eight Views of Hsiao
and Hsiang. The Hsiao River, a tributary of the
Hsiang, itself a tributary of the Yangtze, joins the
Hsiang River just before the latter empties into Lake
Tung-t'ing, in the Ling-ling District of Hunan Province.
This area has been celebrated since early times for
the scenic beauty of its streams, lakes, hills, trees,
and mists. The Eight Views of Hsiao and Hsiang
were a series of imaginary landscapes involving
seasonal phenomena and times of day, all meant to
evoke poetic moods. There was no fixed order in the
series. The titles were: "Clearing after a Storm in the
Mountain Village," "Evening Bell from the Distant
Temple," "Returning Sails on the Distant Bay," "Night
Rain at Hsiao-Hsiang," "Evening Glow over the
Fishing Village," "Autumn Moon over Lake Tung-
t'ing," "Wild Geese Coming down on a Sandbar,"
and "Evening Snow on the River."
The Eight Views of Hsiao and Hsiang enjoyed a
110 KOREAN ART
considerable vogue during the Sung Dynasty but fell
into disuse in China when the academic Sung land-
scape painting tradition was replaced by the literati
landscape painting tradition in the 13th-14th century.
However, Korean and Japanese versions, substituting
famous local scenic views for the imaginary Chinese
ones, were quite popular in the 18th and 19th
centuries. In Korea the series usually involved the
scenery of a specific part of the peninsula, for
example, "The Eight Views of the East Coast," "The
Eight Views of the West Coast," "The Eight Views of
the South Coast," "The Eight Views of Cheju Island,"
"The Eight Views of Seoul," or "The Eight Views of
P'yongyang."
The present screen painting has twelve panels to
accommodate its panoramic subject. Korean screens
usually had eight panels, although ten-panel screens
were not uncommon. Korean screens were nearly
always single screens rather than pairs, whereas Japan-
ese screens, which are more familiar to Westerners,
usually consisted of a pair of six-panel screens.
The most typical type of Korean screen painting
had a separate composition on each panel (see Cat.
49). In Japanese screens, the composition usually
continued across all twelve panels of the pair. A few
Korean screens had continuous compositions (see
Cat. 36). In the present screen, the panoramic view
necessitated a continuous composition.
46. Genre Scenes: Agriculture and Household
Industries
Pair of hanging-scroll paintings; ink and light color
on silk
H. 48
V2"
W 13
V4"
each, exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Robert Anderson 84.244.8 & .9
Chong Son's innovative pictures of actual Korean
scenery established a new tradition of landscape
painting in Korea. Another important new painting
tradition evolved indirectly from Chong Son's work.
The figures wearing Korean attire that Chong Son
inserted into many of his landscapes paved the way
for the Korean genre painting of the second half of
the 18th century and later"genre" means the depic-
tion of ordinary people engaged in everyday activities.
The present two scrolls were originally two of eight
panels on a screen, the characteristic type of Korean
screen with a separate but related painting on each
panel. Six of the panels have been destroyed or lost;
these two were remounted as a pair of hanging scrolls.
Agriculture and Household Industries was a
popular Korean painting subject in the 18th and 19th
centuries. The theme is Confucian: honorable pea-
sants working diligently to support themselves and
the state. In the agrarian society of the Yi Dynasty,
agriculture was paramount. Farmers stood just below
the court nobility and land-owning scholar bureaucrats
in the social hierarchy, well above artisans and mer-
chants. In the home of a commoner, an Agriculture
and Household Industries painting provided a
didactic exhortation as well as the celebration of a
familiar way of life. In the home of a scholar official
or nobleman, such a painting expressed respect for
the occupation upon which the national economy
was based. Agriculture and Household Industries
paintings were filled with delightful, realistic depic-
tions of local customs, costumes, building types,
utensils, and scenery.
According to historical records, Sejong (1418-1450),
the fourth king of the Yi Dynasty, commissioned the
first Korean paintings of agricultural scenes, thereby
establishing the precedent for a long tradition. Other
18th-19th century Korean Agriculture and Household
Industries paintings typically depict the same activities
we see in this pair of scrolls: tilling, planting, harvest-
ing, silkworm cultivation, spinning, and weaving.
The present paintings include an additional edifying
subject: children attending class at the village school.
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112 KOREAN ART
47. Baekjado (One Hundred Children)
Six-panel screen painting; ink and color on paper
H. 24%", W.
13"
each panel, exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 18th-19th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Allen & Susan Dickes Hubbard
86.264.1
While the Agriculture and Household Industries
subject (see Cat. 46) was Confucian, One Hundred
Children was a Taoist theme. Since early times, the
Chinese liked to create numerical categories and
associate them with magic power and symbolic
meaning. Among these mystical categories, "one
hundred" and "ten thousand" were auspicious
numbers signifying abundance. Screen-paintings of
One Hundred Children were popular in 18th-19th-
century Korea. The screens usually had eight panels.
Twelve or thirteen children were depicted on each
panel, for a total of one hundred. Two of the original
eight panels of the present screen are missing.
A Baekjado screen was especially appropriate for
display in the bedroom of a newly married couple.
The screen's purpose was more than decorative. It
was meant to inspire the bride to conceive: Seeing a
hundred children on the screen in the bedroom
every day, she could hardly fail to bear children of
her own. Boys were preferable, so all one hundred
children on the screen are boys. A Yi Dynasty wife's
first duty to her husband and his family was to bear
male children.
Baekjado screens were also displayed at first-birthday
parties. In China, Korea, and Japan, a child is con-
sidered one year old at birth. The traditional Korean
first-birthday party was held one hundred days after
the baby's birth. The delay was necessitated by the
high rate of infant mortality during the Yi Dynasty.
The first-birthday party was a joyous event. Friends
and neighbors joined the family celebration and
brought lavish gifts.
Unlike the hard-working peasants in Agriculture
and Household Industries paintings, who wore
ordinary Korean clothing (see Cat. 46), the little boys
in One Hundred Children screens wore imaginary
Chinese court costumes. The setting in which they
pursued their elegant pastimes was not an ordinary
Korean household; it was an imaginary Chinese
palace garden, with pavilions, balustrades, trees,
flowers, streams, ponds, and exotic garden rocks.
Depicting the children as members of the Chinese
court nobility was meant to symbolically ensure
achievement by the actual children of the household.
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese screens, hand-
scrolls, and painting-albums "read" from right to left,
the opposite of the Western method. This is based
on the fact that the vertical lines of Far Eastern
writing progress from right to left. The princely
pleasures enjoyed by the little boys on the present
screen consist of: a cock fight, gathering branches of
blossoming plum, bathing in a lotus pond, watching
a baby chick, wrestling, fishing.
114 KOREAN ART
48. Hunting Scenes
Two panels from an eight-panel screen painting; ink
and color on linen
H. 46V2" W.
16"
each, exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.40.4&.5
Screen paintings of hunting scenes were considered
especially appropriate for the quarters of military
officials. Most Yi Dynasty military officers were
members of the land-owning scholar-official class.
The finest Yi Dynasty hunting screens were painted
by court artists for the royal family or high-ranking
government officials. The present panels, while well
drawn, lack the sophistication of court artists' work.
As for technique, expensive mineral colors were
used very sparingly, and hemp cloth was used rather
than silk. These scenes were probably painted for a
middle-level official. Folk-painting versions of the
subject are marked by unskilled brushwork and
more naive treatment; they were painted by itinerant
artists for use in the homes of commoners. Like most
Korean screen-painting themes, hunting scenes were
available to all but the lowest classes of society.
Korean hunting screens traditionally depict gallop-
ing horsemen armed with spears, bows, swords,
matchlock guns, and falcons, chasing after tigers,
bears, wild boars, deer, rabbits, and game birds.
Surprisingly, the hunters on these screens wear
Mongol costume rather than Korean or Chinese
attire. The landscape setting is meant to suggest the
barren plains, sandy hills, and desolate mountains of
Mongolia. Given the animosity the Koreans had for
these people after their brutal occupation of Korea in
the 13th century, it seems odd that the horsemen in
Korean hunting screens are shown as Mongols.
However, Mongol Hunters had been a traditional
subject of Chinese paintings for several centuries. The
tradition began with Ch'en Chu-chung, a Southern
Sung court artist active during the Chia-t'ai era (1201-
1204). Ch'en Chu-chung was a court artist of the
Imperial Painting Academy in Hang-chou. The
court had fled south in 1127 when North
conquered by the Jurched Tartars. Northei
southern China were both conquered by the Mongols
in 1279.
Even though they were enemies, the Chinese
greatly admired the equestrian skills of the Tartars
and Mongols. The nomads were expert horsemen
since early times. Their derring-do in hunting and
fighting on horseback was legendary. By the 3rd cen-
tury B.C., the Chinese were forced to abandon their
cumbersome war chariots and adopt the cavalry
techniques of their nomad enemies.
Ch'en Chu-chung became famous as a painter of
horses. He was compared to Han Kan, the most
famous horse painter of the T'ang Dynasty. Ch'en
Chu-chung usually depicted horses in the setting of
a Mongol hunt or encampment. The paintings proved
so popular that they became the basis for a tradition.
This became a standard treatment for the hunting
theme in Chinese painting.
Romantic fascination with the exotic played a con-
siderable role in the popularity of such paintings.
Ch'en Chu-chung and other artists of his day liked to
illustrate "The Eighteen Songs of Wen Chi." These
poems were said to have been written by Lady Wen
Chi, a Chinese noblewoman captured by the
Hsiung-nu Tartars in A.D. 195. She was carried off to
Mongolia, where she lived for twelve years as the
wife of a Hsiung-nu chieftain, for whom she bore
two children. Her poems expressed her sorrow at
having to leave her Tartar husband and children when
she was finally ransomed and returned to China.
The chieftain had treated her with great kindness
and became despondent over losing her. Paintings
based on Wen Chi's poems were fashionable in China
from the early 13th century onward. The artists took
delight in depicting the costumes, tents, banners,
weapons, horse trappings, and other exotic para-
phernalia of the Tartars and Mongols.
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116 KOREAN ART
49. Hwacho (Birds and Flowers)
Ten-panel screen-painting; ink and color on linen
H. 47%" W. 11Weach panel, exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Mrs. Peter Durgin L76.2
Korean Buddhist paintings (see Cat. 11, 27, 28, 29)
were painted by highly trained artist monks. Painter
monks endured long, rigorous spiritual discipline as
well as lengthy apprenticeships in Buddhist painting
techniques. Those who failed to complete the train-
ing sometimes became itinerant artisans who painted
and repainted the elaborate, brightly colored decora-
tion on the columns, beams, brackets, and eaves of
Buddhist temples. Exposed to the weather, this
decoration required almost constant renovation.
Korean court paintings (see Cat. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
40, 47) and the finest Korean literati (scholar) paint-
ings (see Cat. 41, 42) were executed by highly trained
professional artists who belonged to the Bureau of
Painting. Their patrons were the court nobility and
the land-owning scholar bureaucrats.
Korean folk paintings, on the other hand, were
produced for commoners (farmers, artisans, and
merchants). The present screen, and the other Yi
Dynasty paintings to follow, are folk paintings
(see Cat. 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56). The professional
painters who produced them were completely dif-
ferent from the artists who belonged to the Bureau
of Painting. Folk painters were itinerant artisans who
traveled from village to village. They were called
"passing guests" because they lodged at a villager's
house while painting whatever pictures his family
needed. When a folk painter finished his work for
one family, he moved on to another house in the
village. When he had painted all the pictures the
village required, he moved on to another village.
Folk painters used much cheaper materials than court
artists, and had much less formal training. Toward
the end of the Yi Dynasty, itinerant resident folk
painters were gradually replaced by artist peddlers
who displayed their pictures for sale in the village
square and painted pictures to order on the spot.
Their wandering, independent existence gave
Korean folk painters a kind of artistic freedom. The
highly traditional, conservative nature of Yi Dynasty
society resulted in a standardization of folk-painting
functions and themes. However, the anonymous folk
artists painted these stock themes in infinitely varied,
personal, and unself-conscious ways. Their work has
a compelling directness, energy, and naivete.
Korean folk paintings enhanced everyday life
in several ways: as bright, joyous decoration, as
auspicious symbols, and as talismans. Until modern
times, the latter functions were as important as the
first. The symbolism had a practical, magical pur-
pose: attracting good fortune and repelling evil.
Most of the subjects of Korean folk paintings were
intended to promote long life and good fortune or
to offer protection against evil spirits.
Prior to the 20th century, the meanings of the
various symbols were understood, indeed taken for
granted, by Koreans of all classes. The symbols con-
sisted of mythical creatures as well as certain animals,
birds, fish, plants, objects, and ideograms. The sym-
bolism was derived from animism, the belief that
animals, birds, trees, mountains, rocks, and blades of
grass are imbued with sentient spirits. Most of the
symbolism in Korean folk art came from Taoism.
Korean Shamanism evolved from the same early
sources as Chinese Taoism. Shamanism provided a
deeply felt belief in animism that gave Taoist symbols
great immediacy in Korea.
During the latter part of the Yi Dynasty, screen
paintings were used by all but the poorest class of
Korean society, from the royal court and the scholar
officials to the farmers, artisans, and merchants.
Screen paintings were displayed in the main rooms
of most Korean houses. Koreans were continually
surrounded by screen paintings. Hanging-scroll
paintings, door-panel paintings, transom-panel
paintings, and horizontal-scroll paintings were also
displayed in Korean homes, but screen paintings
were more ubiquitous.
In a purely physical sense, Korean screens helped
keep drafts away from the occupants of the house,
who sat on small cushions on the floor. Avoiding
drafts was an important consideration in Yi Dynasty
houses. Korea is extremely cold in the winter. Snow-
fall is generally light, but an icy wind from Siberia
howls through the land, chilling everything in its
path. Thick, weighted felt hangings were placed over
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the interior side of windows specifically to stop drafts.
Because of the bitter cold, Korean houses had few
windows. The large areas of unbroken wall space
provided an ideal setting for screen paintings. During
the winter, screens created a cozy sense of enclosure
within a room. They also provided paintings of
flowers during the season when flowers do not bloom.
In the summer, screens standing in front of windows
were folded up and put away. The windows were
opened for a view of the blossoming trees and
shrubs in the garden beyond the veranda.
Hwacho (Birds and Flowers) screens were the most
prevalent type of Korean screen paintings. The Birds
and Flowers category of painting subjects was
established early in the history of painting in China.
The category includes small animals, insects, and
woody plants, as well as birds and flowers proper.
Korean hwacho screens nearly always depict the
animals and birds as pairs. Each pair of animals or
birds serves as a symbol of happy marriage and
marital fidelity. A hwacho screen could be used in
almost any room of a Korean house but was especially
appropriate for the wife's bedroom or sitting room.
The subjects and inscriptions of the ten panels of
the present screen are as follows (from right to left):
A pair of cranes on the trunk of a pine tree,
inscribed, "A pine tree lifts the cranes on high." Cranes
are the companions, messengers, and vehicles of the
Taoist immortals and thus symbolize longevity and
immortality. Pine trees also symbolize longevity
because they live many years, resist harsh weather,
and stay green through the winter (see Cat. 70).
A pair of magpies on the branch of a blossoming
plum tree, inscribed, "Magpies announce the first sign
118 KOREAN ART
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of spring." Magpies are the messengers of The Village
Spirit and often bring good tidings (see Cat. 54).
A rooster and hen beside a banana plant, inscribed,
"The tall crown (of the banana plant) is adorned with
jade; the (rooster's) red plumage rivals the brightness
of the flowers." A rooster is a symbolic household
guardian. A painting of a rooster wards off evil spirits,
just as a rooster's crowing at dawn drives away the
spirits of the night.
A pair of ducks beside lotus plants, inscribed,
"Unnoticed by all, the lotus becomes an umbrella for
ducks in the rain." Ducks mate for life and so became
symbols of fidelity and marital bliss (see Cat. 59).
A pair of white doves beside peonies and garden
rocks, inscribed, "In the royal garden, the elegance
is pleasing and the layout is skillful, but the rain and
dew belong to everyone." Peonies are symbols of
feminine beauty and female sexuality; upright
garden rocks suggest male potency (see Cat. 53).
A carp swimming among river grass, inscribed,
"When a carp swims upstream past Dragon Gate, his
pleasure turns the Sok-chong River to spray." Carp
symbolize courage and perseverance because they
leap over waterfalls and swim through rapids on
their way upstream to spawn (see Cat. 56).
A pair of deer beside a pine tree, inscribed, "Where
Sacred Fungus and mysterious rocks are found,
flowers on the blue mountain make a deer's antlers
grow." Deer are companions and messengers of the
Taoist Immortals; they symbolize long life and
immortality (see Cat. 70).
A hawk on a blossoming plum tree, inscribed,
"The hawk sees all national boundaries." Hawk
paintings are talismans against fire, flood, and wind
(see Cat. 55).
A pair of quail beside chrysanthemums and gar-
den rocks, inscribed, "When red and purple flowers
blossom at the end of spring, 'tis the season when
flying flowers (the quail) bloom."
A pair of wild geese flying above a third goose
standing beside reeds, inscribed, "When the rose-
mallows sway and the China-grass flowers are full,
the west wind on the river brings the wild geese."
Wild geese mate for life and so became symbols of
happy marriage and marital fidelity (see Cat. 59).
The painter's seal appears after each inscription; it
bears his art name, Yu-ryong (The Sound of Lapis
Lazuli Jewels)
.
50. Hwacho (Birds and Flowers)
Four panels from an eight-panel screen; scorch on
paper
H. 38%", W.
11%"
each, exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Purchase 75.65.3-.6
Birds and Flowers was the most prevalent subject
of 18th-19th-century Korean screen paintings (see
Cat. 49). Some screens were done in techniques
other than painting. One alternate technique was
embroidery. Embroidered screens are still used as
household decoration in Korea today. Another
technique was wood-block printing, either black and
white, or with color added by hand over block-printed
outlines. The latter type is almost indistinguishable
from paintings. Yet another technique was pyrography
("scorched pictures"), which was quite popular in
Korea during the latter part of the Yi Dynasty. The
four panels we see here were originally part of an
eight-panel pyrography screen.
Pyrography "paintings" seem to be unique to Korea.
Called indu kurim, pyrography consists of pictures
drawn on paper with a heated metal stylus whose
dull point scorches lines on the surface. In China the
technique was used to decorate small bamboo objects
such as folding-fan frames. In Korea indu kurim was
used to decorate bamboo items such as fan frames,
brush holders, cups, arrow quivers, combs, and
tobacco pipes, as well as to draw pictures on paper.
Like the pictures themselves, the poetic inscrip-
tions on the present panels were scorched rather
120 KOREAN ART
than written with a brush and ink. The subjects and
the inscriptions are as follows:
A wagtail on the branch of a blossoming peach
tree, inscribed, "Flaming blossoms compete with
each other. Branches droop like combed hair. Where
can I find the Peach Blossom Spring beside the white
stream? Look, it has jumped into my painting!" The
Peach Blossom Spring was a well-known story by a
famous Chinese poet of the Six Dynasties Period,
T'ao Yuan-ming (365-427). It concerned a fisherman
who accidently discovered a hidden valley where
everyone lived in blissful harmony. After the fisher-
man returned to his own village, he was never able
to find the hidden valley again.
Grass orchids (epidendrum) growing on a cliff,
inscribed, "Orchids spend their lives cultivating
fields. Living without troubles, they are really little
Immortals." Here the epidendrum serve as metaphors
for retired scholars or Taoists, living in the bosom of
Nature.
A kingfisher and lotus, inscribed, "When the color
of the midnight moon fills the pond, red lotus buds
quietly exude a subtle fragrance." The lotus is an old
Buddhist symbol of purity (it rises pure white or pure
pink from the black muck at the bottom of a pond).
The kingfisher is admired for his brightly colored,
iridescent plumage.
A bush-warbler, chrysanthemums, and a garden
rock, inscribed, "Under the round window, two
stalks of chrysanthemum have already bloomed. My
house is the home of chrysanthemum-mindedness."
Chrysanthemums have been admired by the Chinese,
Koreans, and Japanese since early times.
Each panel is signed (in pyrography) with the
artist's pen name, Un-p'o (Cloud-beach).
122 KOREAN ART
51. Ch'aekkori (Books and Scholar's Utensils)
Six-panel screen-painting; ink and color on paper
H. 39V8", W. 10
5
/s" each panel, exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of H. O. Havemeyer 74.5
While the symbolism implicit in Birds and Flowers
screens (see Cat. 49, 50) is Taoist in origin, Books and
Scholar's Utensils is a Confucian subject. Ch'aekkori
screens were still-life paintings of furnishings from
an idealized scholar's study. The word ch'aekkori
means "books and scholarly paraphernalia." Paintings
of this subject were usually eight-panel screens with
separate arrangements of Chinese-style books and
scholars' accoutrements on each panel. Most of the
books were depicted closed and stacked in slipcases,
so ch'aekkori screens are often called "book-pile
screens" in English.
Ch'aekkori screens were unique to Korea, although
they were based on a Chinese decorative-arts motif
called "precious things," which consisted of imagin-
ary bronze vessels, porcelain vases, jade scepters,
polished coral, and the like, sometimes including
books. Similar luxury items normally accompany
the books and scholars' utensils depicted in ch'aekkori
screens. The scholars' utensils usually include writ-
ing brushes, ink stones, ink sticks, water containers,
rolls of paper, and stone or ivory seals.
Since playing the ch'in (Chinese zither) was one of
the polite accomplishments cultivated by an ideal Con-
fucian gentleman, zithers were often depicted on
ch'aekkori screens. Other luxury items frequently de-
picted include eyeglasses (for reading), fans, tobacco
pipes, and the utensils for preparing steeped green
tea: teapot, small cups, and charcoal brazier. Motifs
from Birds and Flowers screens occasionally found
their way into Books and Scholar's Utensils screens:
peonies, chrysanthemums, epidendrum, or lotus,
(shown potted or in vases), peaches or pomegranates
(in a bowl), or pairs of goldfish (in a glass bowl).
A ch'aekkori screen was considered ideal for display
behind the desk in a scholar's study, where it conveyed
an air of dignity, luxury, and reverence for scholar-
ship. Folk-painting screens of Books and Scholar's
Utensils were popular in commoners' homes as well.
An elaborate Confucian education and the luxury
goods illustrated in ch'aekkori screens were not avail-
able to most commoners, but the sense of gentility
and the Confucian ideal of self-improvement con-
veyed by these screens were appreciated by common-
ers as well as scholar officials. Ch'aekkori were also
meant to instill scholastic diligence in the children
of the household.
The present screen seems to have been all too
successful in achieving this goal: The children of the
household have written pencil and crayon graffiti
consisting of Chinese ideograms all over the screen!
One frequently encounters children's graffiti on
Korean folk-painting screens. These screens were not
treasured as great works of art; they were used as
everyday household furnishings. When they wore
out, they were thrown away, and new ones were
commissioned from an itinerant painter the next
time one came through the village.
Like most other types of Korean screen paintings,
ch'aekkori also functioned as talismans. A Books and
Scholar's Utensils screen displayed in the home was
supposed to promote virtue and harmony in the
household, just as the observance of proper Con-
fucian moral responsibilities by persons of all classes
was supposed to ensure harmony in the state.
Earlier and more usual versions of ch'aekkori screens
depicted separate arrangements of books and uten-
sils against plain backgrounds on each panel. A bold
variation of this treatment appeared toward the end
of the Yi Dynasty. The variant type had a continuous
composition across the eight panels of the screen.
The books and utensils were arranged on the shelves
L
f
of a continuous bookcase. The shelves and compart-
ments of the bookcase were rendered in exaggerated
perspective. The perspective was not Western-style
one-point perspective. It was reverse perspective, the
type used in China since the T'ang Dynasty (618-907)
or earlier.
The perspective and three-dimensional shading in
"bookcase ch'aekkori" could have come from Western
art indirectly, by way of China. Father Giuseppe
Castiglione (1688-1768), an Italian Jesuit painter, went
to China in 1715 and remained there until his death.
He served as court painter to the Ch'ien-lung
emperor and took a Chinese nom de plume, Lang
Shih-ning. His paintings were immensely popular
in China. They combined Chinese technique and
subject matter with Western perspective and model-
ing in light and shade. Castiglione and his Chinese
pupils had hundreds of followers. His style even
influenced the designs on late 18th-and 19th-century
Chinese porcelain and other decorative arts. Reflec-
tions of his style were probably transmitted to Korea
on Chinese decorative objects.
124 KOREAN ART
52. Munjado (Pictorial Ideographs: 'The Eight
Virtues")
Seven panels from two different eight-panel screens;
ink and color on paper
H. 30V4" W. I6V2" each, exclusive of mounting
(77.97.1-.4)
H.
18", W. 11Vb" each, exclusive of mounting
(TL1986.183.1-.6)
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Arthur Wiesenberger 77.97.1-.4
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.183.1-.6
Korea has had its own phonetic alphabet, hangul
(also called onmun), since 1443, when it was invented
by the scholar official Chong In-ji at th< ommand of
King Sejong. Nevertheless the prestige 1 Chinese
ideographs remained very strong in Korea. During
the Yi Dynasty, men of learning wrote with Chinese
characters; this was one of the attainments upon which
the yangban class prided itself. Hangul was used by
women and the lower classes. Modern written Korean
is usually a mixture of Chinese characters and hangul.
Throughout the Yi Dynasty, inscriptions on paintings
were in Chinese. This was even true of folk paint-
ings. Commoners who were illiterate in Chinese still
had respect and admiration for Chinese learning.
Munjado screens superimposed depictions of
symbolic animals, birds, fish, plants, and even
narrative scenes onto Chinese ideographs. Munjado
conveyed "The Eight Virtues," that is, the eight
cardinal principles of Confucian morality. Each
principle was represented by a single Chinese
ideograph on each panel of a screen. It was a con-
venient coincidence that the number of cardinal
principles was the same as the number of panels
in the usual Korean screen.
The Eight Virtues (P'al Dok) represented the
paramount principles of Confucian morality. In
traditional order, they were: Filial Piety (honor one's
parents), Brotherly Love (love one's siblings), Loyalty
(be loyal to king and state), Sincerity (be trustworthy),
Benevolence (do good), Duty (perform one's duty),
Honor (uphold honor), and Humility (be humble
and modest). Combining panels from two incom-
plete sets, the series shown here is complete except
for "Duty."
There were two basic types of munjado screens.
In the first and more common variety, depictions of
symbolic animals, birds, fish, plants, or objects were
substituted for certain strokes of the ideographs, for
example, a fish in place of the four brushstrokes
comprising the lower half of the character for "loyalty,"
or a bird in place of the upper stroke of the right half
of the character for "trust." While the virtues for
which the ideographs stand were Confucian, the
symbolism of the pictorial embellishment was Taoist.
In the second type of munjado screen, narrative
scenes involving groups of figures performing
exemplary acts were superimposed upon the strokes
of the ideogiaphs, the strokes having been written
extra wide to accommodate them.
126 KOREAN ART
53. Wedding Screen
Four panels of the original eight-panel screen-painting;
ink and color on paper
H. 69%", W.
76"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Robert Anderson 84.244.11
Korean Wedding Screens always depicted peony
plants in full bloom, sometimes accompanied by
garden rocks. They were magnificently decorative
and luxurious. Their foremost function was to
provide the setting, visual as well as symbolic, for
a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. Wedding
Screens were taller and wider than other Korean
screens. On each of the eight panels was a nearly
identical composition of gigantic peonies painted in
outrageously bright colors and arrayed from top to
bottom. The overall effect was one of ostentatious
splendor; the feeling of richness and abundance
was almost overwhelming.
Koreans call the peony "the queen of flowers."
Peonies provide spectacular natural beauty in the
courtyard of nearly every Korean home. The peony
was traditionally regarded as a symbol of wealth,
happiness, nobility, purity, spring, love, feminine
beauty, and female sexuality. In full bloom, sur-
rounded by an abundance of leaves, it was con-
sidered an auspicious harbinger of good fortune.
During the Yi Dynasty, weddings usually took
place outdoors, in the main courtyard of the house.
The ceremony was performed in front of a Wedding
Screen; the screen was an essential accessory. A
family too poor to own or buy one borrowed a screen
from a more affluent family in the village. After the
ceremony, the Wedding Screen was placed in the
bride and groom's bedroom. The sexual symbolism
of the screen's subjects was highly significant. The
peonies suggested the bride's beauty and sexuality;
the garden rocks suggested male potency.
The present Wedding Screen has lost four of its
original eight panels. It includes a lotus (second
panel from the right) among the traditional peonies.
The lotus here symbolizes a bride's purity.
128 KOREAN ART
54. Tiger and Magpie
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on paper
H. 34%" W. 16V2" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Florence Selden L81.18
Siberian tigers (Panthera Tigris Altaica) used
to roam the entire Korean peninsula, from the
mountain forests in the northeast to the rugged
seacoast of the southwest. The last recorded capture
of a tiger in South Korea was in 1922; the species is
probably extinct there today. There may still be a few
tigers in the wilderness of the Mt. Paektu region in
North Korea. The original habitat of the Siberian
tiger included northeastern China and Siberia as
well as Korea. Tiger claws, teeth, whiskers, and other
parts were considered essential in certain Chinese
and Korean folk medicines. In Korea, tiger bones
were used to make a liquor called hogolju.
Tiger and Magpie paintings are among the most
delightful of all Korean folk art. They were displayed
in Yi Dynasty households at New Year's in order to
protect the family against evil throughout the coming
year. The tiger is the most powerful of the many evil-
repelling animals in Korean mythology.
In a Tiger and Magpie painting, the tiger sits on
his haunches looking angry and frustrated while the
magpie chatters at him disapprovingly from the
safety of a pine tree. Satirical humor is implicit in
this juxtaposition: the magpie tormenting the tiger
suggests commoners taunting corrupt and oppres-
sive government officials.
On a less satirical level, the magpie is the mes-
senger of the Village Spirit and is traditionally the
bearer of good tidings. The tiger is the messenger of
the Mountain Spirit. Paired with the tiger in a New
Year's painting, the magpie portends good fortune
for the coming year.
Visitors to Korea will understand why magpies are
considered birds of good omen associated with
villages. Korean magpies are huge black-and-white
birds who seem almost tame in their wild state and
prefer to live as close as possible to human habitation.
If a row of tall trees stands beside a village, the mag-
pies always choose the trees closest to the houses as
the site for their gigantic nests.
tfvV'V
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55. Sam Jae Bu (Three-headed Hawk)
Amulet painting; ink on paper
H.
25", W.
18"
exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Purchase 85.170
"Pujok" is the generic term for Korean amulet
pictures, including those that invite good fortune
as well as those that repel evil spirits. A subtype,
munbae (door talismans), were hung on doors or
gates to keep evil spirits out of buildings. Pujok were
hung on walls, pillars, doors, ceilings, or storage
chests. Smaller pujok were carried by individuals for
protection away from home.
Pujok, like screen paintings, were used by Koreans
of every class, from the royal family through the
scholar officials to the farmers, artisans, and mer-
chants. Pujok were subjected to rough use, displayed
day in and day out, then discarded annually when
new ones were hung up. Their magic power was
only supposed to last for a year. Not many pujok have
survived, but those that have are among the most
delightful examples of Korean folk art.
Tan-O, The Festival of the Spirits, on the fifth day
of the fifth month in the old lunar calendar, was one
of the two traditional times to renew household
pujok; the other was New Year's. For optimum
magical efficacy, pujok were supposed to be printed
or painted with red ink made from chusa, an expen-
sive powdered stone imported from China for use in
traditional medicine. Pujok were purchased from
Buddhist monks, from mudang (shamans), or from
fortune-tellers.
Even the king participated in the custom of
renewing pujok during the Tan-O Festival. A large
amulet painting of Chi U (Chinese: Chih Yu) was
pasted on the entrance gate of the royal palace. Chi
U is a mythical barbarian chieftain of ferocious mien
who protects households against evil spirits and the
nation against foreign invasions.
Most evil-repelling pujok depicted symbolic, or
sometimes strictly mythical, animals, for example:
tigers, roosters, dogs, or haet'ae (mythical lions).
Good-fortune-inviting pujok depicted such things as
the sun, the moon, stars, pomegranates, or one of
The Four Animals of Good Luck: the dragon,
phoenix, tortoise, and kylin.
The Three-headed Hawk (Sam Jae Bu) was a
popular subject for munbae intended to be hung in
the main doorway of a house to protect the occu-
pants from misfortune. Sam Jae Bu munbae were
traditionally renewed at New Year's so as to ensure
protection throughout the coming year. The Sam Jae
Bu's three heads signify his special powers to guard
against fire, flood, and wind, as well as his ability to
bestow good forune for a period of three years. In
the present painting, the Three-headed Hawk is
accompanied by two Shamanist Guardian Generals,
a dragon, a tiger, and a kylin.
130 KOREAN ART
56. Three Jumping Carp
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and light color on paper
H. 25W, W.
15%" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Burton Krouner 82.79
Carp were a very special and extremely popular
subject in Yi Dynasty painting and decorative arts.
Korean carp legends came for China, but the carp
motif was more prevalent in Korea, perhaps because
of the deep-seated Korean belief in Taoist/Shamanist
animistic magic.
Carp have long been popular pets in China, Korea,
and Japan. They grow quite large and become tame
enough to eat out of one's hand. Brightly colored
ones are especially prized and can be remarkably
expensive today. Since carp were considered
auspicious, fishermen who caught them were
supposed to throw them back. Nevertheless, carp
meat is a popular delicacy throughout the Far East,
and carp soup is taken as a tonic to restore vigor.
Traditional carp symbolism was based on observed
reality. Like salmon, carp swim upstream to spawn.
They struggle against the current, fight their way
through rapids, and leap over waterfalls along the
way. In attempting to ascend waterfalls, they leap
again and again until they either succeed or die.
Because of this, carp came to signify courage,
perseverance, endurance, vigor, and success. In
Korea, a painting of a carp was hung in a boy's room
to inspire these qualities in him.
According to an ancient Chinese legend, the carp
in the Yellow River who managed to swim all the
way upstream past the rapids at Lung Men (Dragon
Gate) turned into dragons. Korean folk paintings of
carp usually show them leaping out of the water,
sometimes turning into dragons or becoming
composite carp-dragons.
Beyond the edifying symbolism mentioned
above, a Jumping Carp painting served a magical,
Shamanist purpose in a Yi Dynasty household.
When a Jumping Carp painting was hung on the
wall above a bride's bed, it was supposed to cause
her to dream of leaping carp, or of a dragon. Having
dreamt this, she was supposed to give birth to a son
who would be virtuous and successful. This magic
function of Jumping Carp paintings cannot be
overestimated, since bearing sons was a Yi Dynasty
wife's highest duty.
132 KOREAN ART
57. Tomb Guardian
Granite
H. 53", W.
14"
Yi Dynasty, 15th-16th century
Caroline A. L. Pratt Fund 85.18
Korea is a land of rocks. On nearly every moun-
tainside, rugged masses of exposed granite swell up
among the sparse covering of trees. The famous
granite peaks partially surrounding the city of Seoul
are typical of this phenomenon.
Koreans respect and enjoy rocks. Shamanist
animism attributed sentient sprirts to rocks,
especially unusually shaped or unusually situated
ones. Fantastic rocks became the subjects of local
legends. The twelve thousand granite spires of the
Diamond Mountains (see Cat. 43) are the best-
known examples. Many such rocks were named
according to their imagined shapes: tiger rock,
dragon rock, demon rock, monk rock, old-woman
rock, or even mother-holding-baby rock
Following long-standing practice in China, Koreans
liked to place large rocks in strategic locations in their
gardens (see Cat. 47). A garden rock was usually a
craggy, upright, convoluted boulder, often perforated
in several places, whose form suggested a mountain
with grottoes, like the fairy peaks on the mythical
Islands of the Immortals.
Since early times, Korean granite has proved an
ideal architectural material. The buildings themselves
were of wooden post-and-lintel construction with
plaster walls and tile roofs, but large, rectangular
blocks of granite were used for the foundation
platforms. Monuments such as pagodas were often
built entirely of granite. Tombs consisted of huge,
hemispherical mounds of earth, but large granite
blocks often formed a retaining wall around the base
of the mound. The tomb chamber, at ground level
beneath the center of the earth mound, was often
lined with granite slabs.
Korean granite was also an excellent material for
outdoor sculpture, tough enough to withstand the
weather for centuries. Granite guardian figures and
guardian animals stood near royal tombs. Granite
pagodas and stone lanterns stood in Buddhist temple
compounds. Commemorative tablets made of granite
stood here and there in the countryside. Such a
tablet usually consisted of a large, upright granite
slab bearing an incised inscription and supported by
a granite tortoise. Some of these tablets commemorated
kings, but many of them commemorated virtuous
villagers, humble, selfless men elected to this honor
by members of their own villages after their deaths.
Commemorative tablets were usually enclosed by
small, tile-roofed, red-painted wood pavilions called
"spirit houses."
This Tomb Guardian is typical of the standard type
of Yi Dynasty granite guardian figure from the tomb
precinct of a king or other important personage.
Based on Ming Dynasty practice in China, a Yi
Dynasty royal tomb had several pairs of large
guardian figures and animals arrayed on either side
of the Spirit Way, the avenue leading to the tomb.
The figures or animals of each pair stood facing one
another on opposite sides of the avenue. Silla
Dynasty royal tombs employed similar granite
figures, based on T'ang Dynasty Chinese precedent.
Koryo royal tombs did likewise, following T'ang and
Sung Dynasty Chinese examples.
The present Tomb Guardian represents a high-
ranking court minister standing fully frontal in an
attitude of reverence. He is a civil official rather than
a military one. He wears Confucian court costume
consisting of a full-length robe with pendant sleeves
and a boxlike court hat. The toes of court shoes
appear beneath the edge of his robe. A ceremonial
apron indicating court rank hangs from his belt. His
hands are clasped before his chest holding a wooden
baton of office of the type carried at an audience
with the king. A stone image such as this was meant
to serve symbolically the deceased king as a loyal
court minister in the spirit world.
134 KOREAN ART
58. Dong-ja (Altar Attendants)
Pair of polychromed wood figures
H.
19"
(.1),
20"
(.2),
W. 3V2
"
each
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Wallace 83.174.1 & .2
These delightful painted wooden figures are
splendid examples of Korean folk sculpture. A pair
of Dong-ja like this usually stood on the altar table in
front of a painting of The Mountain Spirit (see Cat.
30) or other deity in one of the subsidiary shrines of
a Yi Dynasty Buddhist temple. Taoist in origin, Dong-
ja were immortal youths who never aged. They usually
wore imaginary Chinese court costume and plaited
their hair in two balls on top of the head, in the
fashion of noble children in T'ang Dynasty China.
The left Dong-ja in the present pair looks like a
waiter with a white napkin over his arm carrying a
tray of food with a domed cover. Actually the "tray"
represents a porcelain bowl and the "cover" repre-
sents The Peach of Immortality (see Cat.
25),
pre-
sented as an offering to whatever deity these
attendants served.
The right Dong-ja in this pair holds a turtle with a
head like a dragon. This is the mythical tortoise, the
messenger of the Dragon King. Large sea turtles
sometimes lived for several centuries, so the tortoise
was an auspicious symbol of longevity offered by the
Dong-ja. The tortoise was one of the Shipjangsaeng
(The Ten Symbols of Long Life), which, singly or in
groups, appeared frequently in Yi Dynasty paintings
and decorative arts (see Cat. 70).
A tortoise entwined by a snake is one of The
Animals of the Four Directions (Korean: Sa Shin),
ancient Chinese Taoist guardian spirits mentioned in
the / Ching: The Blue Dragon of the East, The White
Tiger of the West, The Red Bird of the South, and
The Black Tortoise of the North. The Tortoise is also
one of the Four Animals of Good Luck (Sa Ryong):
the dragon, phoenix, tortoise, and kylin.
Yi Dynasty geomancers continued to invoke The
Animals of the Four Directions when selecting sites
for buildings or tombs, but the Sa Shin were seldom
represented in Yi art. The Four Animals of Good
Luck, on the other hand, were frequent subjects of
Yi Dynasty paintings and decorative arts. Hexagonal-
diaper patterns, based on the natural markings of
tortoise shells (for example, the pattern painted on
the back of the tortoise held by this Dong-ja) also
served as longevity symbols in China, Korea, and
Japan.
The tortoise was among the most ancient of Taoist
symbolic animals. Tortoise shells were used by
Chinese diviners during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-
1027 B.C.) to answer questions about future events by
reading the cracks produced when a hot poker was
applied to the back of the shell. The tortoise was
sometimes shown carrying books, in reference to the
legend about the tortoise who delivered the Eight
Trigrams (magic writings) to Fu Hsi (Korean: Pok
Hi), the primordial man. A huge stone figure of a
tortoise was the standard support for a commemor-
ative tablet in China and Korea.
Korean representations of the tortoise in any of his
various mythical roles usually depicted him with the
head and horns of a dragon to indicate that he was
not a mere turtle. In either mythical or naturalistic
form, the tortoise was an ubiquitous Yi Dynasty
symbol of long life, good luck, and protection against
evil. The tortoise's power to repel evil derives from
his role as the guardian of the north among The
Animals of the Four Directions. In this protective
capacity the tortoise lent his form to Yi Dynasty
wooden door latches.
136 KOREAN ART
59. Kirogi (Wedding Duck)
Wood with traces of ink
H. 9V2", L. 13V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of the Guennol Collection 86.140
Wild geese and mandarin ducks mate for life. The
Chinese and the Koreans have used depictions of
ducks or geese as symbols of fidelity and happy
marriage since early times. Pairs of wild geese and
ducks appeared frequently on Yi Dynasty hwacho
(birds and flowers) screens (see Cat. 49).
A carved wooden duck or goose was an essential
accessory at Korean weddings until Western-style
weddings became fashionable in recent times. A
Wedding Duck (kirogi) was a slightly less than life
size, simplified wood figure of a duck (short neck) or
a goose (long neck). Wedding Ducks were a nation-
wide Korean custom; the style of carving and
painting varied from one district to another or even
from one village to another. Some kirogi were rough
and primitive, little more than a section of tree
branch for a body and an upright stick for a head
and neck. Other kirogi were more detailed. Some
were simply stained dark brown; others were
elaborately painted in bright colors. Kirogi made for
the upper classes tended to be the more ornamental
type, those for the lower classes the more primitive.
Some kirogi were carved by professionals, others
were amateur work by local villagers or even by the
groom himself.
The kirogi custom originally involved the use of
a live wild goose. Wooden versions were later sub-
stituted due to the increasing difficulty of obtaining
a live wild goose for the purpose.
Traditionally, the groom carried the kirogi to the
house of the bride's family on the morning of the
wedding. He placed it on a tray before the bride's
mother and made a vow to be faithful to the bride
for the rest of his life. The bride's mother symbolically
offered some noodles to the kirogi to indicate her
acceptance. The groom then returned to his own
house carrying the kirogi. Sometimes the bride and
groom held the kirogi during the wedding ceremony.
The expression "feeding noodles to the goose"
became a Korean euphemism for "marriage."
Many old kirogi, like the present one, are superb
pieces of folk sculpture, warm and compelling in
their directness and naivete. The surface of the wood
has taken on a rich, dark patina. The stylized form
conveys the essence of the actual bird yet seems
almost modern in its simplicity.
138 KOREAN ART
60. Primus Vase
Transitional ware of inlaid celadon type
H. 10%", W.
7"
Koryo-Yi Dynasty, late 14th-15th century
Lent by Dr. & Mrs. Robert Dickes TL1984.355
Around the beginning of the Yi Dynasty, a rather
abrupt change took place in Korean ceramics, an
unusual phenomenon, since art styles, especially in
the decorative arts, tend to change gradually, more
or less independently of political developments. The
change was from elegant, refined celadon porcelain,
produced for the court and the aristocracy, to coarse,
vigorous stoneware, produced for general use by
commoners as well as for the court the court pieces
being only slightly less coarse.
This change took place at the end of the Koryo
Dynasty and the beginning of the Yi Dynasty,
between about 1350 and 1450. Some of the kiln sites
in central and southern Korea have yielded shards
and wasters of both late celadon and early punch'ong
ware, indicating that the transition was accomplished
smoothly, that is, without one tradition being
destroyed and replaced by another.
A few rare pieces, greatly admired by connoisseurs
in Japan, included elements of both the old tradition
and the new; they are therefore called "transitional
ware." The present Vase is a handsome and character-
istic example of this type. The shape is an exaggeration
of the classic Koryo maebyong (see Cat. 16); the upper
portion has become slightly more bulbous. The glaze
is a somewhat glassy late celadon glaze. The white-
slip inlay technique is the same as that of inlaid
Koryo celadons (see Cat. 18). However, the decora-
tion has become more of an overall pattern. Koryo
inlay designs such as lotus petals and ju-i scepter
heads have been supplemented with space-filling
patterns of parallel lines and stippled dots. The latter
were primary elements of the new Yi Dynasty
ceramic ware, punch'ong ware (see Cat. 61).
140 KOREAN ART
61. Punch'ong Ware Bowl
Glazed stoneware with inlaid-slip decoration
H. 3V4", W. 7V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 15th century
Gift of Paul Manheim 67.199.16
Punch'ong ware was the predominant Korean
ceramic ware of the early Yi Dynasty, a period of two
hundred years from the founding of the dynasty in
1392 until the Japanese invasions of 1592 and 1597.
Punch'ong ware was produced in numerous kilns
throughout central and southern Korea. Compared
to Koryo Dynasty celadon porcelain, punch'ong ware
is a coarse product. However, its strength and vigor
often make up for its lack of refinement. It was
produced in large quantities for everyday use by
commoners, yet it cannot be called folk pottery, since
it was also used at the royal court. The present Bowl,
for example, has a two-character, inlaid inscription
that reads naesom, the palace office in charge of food
service. Yet the technical quality of this Bowl is hardly
better than that of the average punch'ong ware used
by commoners; the clay, the glaze, and the designs
are the same. Koryo celadon was quite different,
having been produced exclusively for the aristocracy.
A small amount of white porcelain, a very limited
quantity of early blue-and-white porcelain, some rare
black-glazed stoneware, and a few vessels with under-
glaze iron-brown or copper-red painted decoration
were produced during the early Yi period, but the
overwhelming majority of ceramics from the first two
centuries of the Yi Dynasty were punch'ong ware.
Punch'ong (Chinese:
fen
ch'ing) means "pale blue
green." Punch'ong ware glaze is of celadon type.
When thick enough and fired at the proper degree
of reduction, it looks exactly like the Koryo celadon
glaze from which it derives. However, the production
of huge quantities of punch'ong ware for the masses
precluded the precise firing control necessary to
achieve blue-green celadon color. The gray clay
used for punch'ong ware was very similar to the gray
clay in Koryo celadon, but it was considerably
coarser in texture.
The identifying characteristic of punch'ong ware was
overall white-slip decoration. The decoration was
produced in a variety of ways (see Cat. 62, 63, 64, 65,
66). The most typical kind was the stamped and
inlaid type we see here. The designs were stamped
(impressed) in the surface of the leather-hard clay
after the Bowl was thrown and trimmed. Then white
slip (liquid clay) was painted on liberally with a large
brush. After the slip set, the surface was scraped free
of slip, leaving the stamped designs filled with white
clay in the surrounding gray clay surface. The
technique was basically the same as that used for
inlaid celadon but was done with much less care.
The visual effect is quite different, however, because
punch'ong ware has repeat patterns over most of the
surface, while Koryo inlaid celadon has separate
designs isolated in the blue-green ground. Punch'ong
glaze sometimes developed a blue-green color where
it ran thick, but normally was fairly transparent, so
the gray clay usually looks gray through the glaze
rather than blue green.
Punch'ong ware has been highly admired in Japan
since the mid-16th century, when Japanese tea masters
first selected punch'ong ware rice bowls for use as tea
bowls in the Japanese tea ceremony. The Japanese
term for punch'ong ware is mishima (also used for
inlaid slip in general). The term mishima is often
used by potters and collectors in the West as well.
The origin of the term mishima is obscure. It is
thought to be derived from woodblock-printed
almanacs sold at Mishima Shrine in Izu Province
(modern Shizuoka Prefecture) during the 16th and
17th centuries. Mishima was the principal town of
Izu Province; it was one of the fifty-three stations on
the Tokaido highway between Edo (modern Tokyo)
and Kyoto. Hiroshige's famous 1833 series of Tokaido
prints included a depiction of the Shrine gateway in
the view of Mishima. The Shrine almanacs were a
meibutsu (famous local product) of Mishima.
Travelers bought them as souvenirs and circulated
them throughout Japan. The overall pattern of slip-
inlaid decoration on punch'ong ware was thought to
resemble the vertical rows of minute ideographs on
the woodblock-printed almanacs.
The designs on the present Bowl are typical
punch'ong ware designs. One finds them repeated in
various combinations on thousands of other bowls.
The interior of this Bowl has a round central field
filled with stylized, daisylike flowers suggesting the
small, wild chrysanthemums that grow on Korean
hillsides. Beyond the central field is a border of
radiating petals. The sides of the Bowl, interior and
exterior, have a continuous band of close-set vertical
wavy lines known by the Japanese-derived term
"rope-curtain pattern." The rim design, inside and
out, consists of stylized grasses.
142 KOREAN ART
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62. Mold for Inlaid-slip Decoration
Gray stoneware
Thickness at center %", Diameter 3
4"
Yi Dynasty, 15th century
Gift of Robert Sistrunk 74.105
The chrysanthemums on the preceding Bowl (see
Cat. 61) were stamped into the leather-hard clay
individually, one flower at a time. The rows of large
petals and wavy-line "ropes" were stamped with
molds having four or five petals or "ropes" per mold.
For small dishes and bowls, a single mold was used
to stamp the entire interior design in one pressing.
Then, white slip was brushed on, allowed to set, and
wiped away, leaving the white clay inlaid in the gray
ground. The present Mold is of this type it is a rare
example of an early Yi Dynasty potter's tool, perhaps
the only one of its kind in the United States.
The raised designs on the Mold are typical punch'ong
ware designs: patterns of dots and repeated U forms
suggesting flower petals in the central rondel and
dragon scales in the border. The same motifs appear
on the opposite side of the Mold in a slightly
different arrangement. The Mold is hollow and made
of the same coarse gray clay as punch'ong ware itself,
but without glaze or slip.
Similar but larger pottery molds were used to press
the molded designs of peony petals and other motifs
on the interiors of Koryo Dynasty molded celadon
bowls. The bowl was thrown and trimmed in the
usual way and then pressed onto the mold to
produce the low-relief designs.
63. Punch'ong Ware Bowl (Muji-hakeme Type)
Glazed stoneware partially covered with white slip
H. 3%", W. 7W
Yi Dynasty, 15th-16th century
Gift of John Lyden 82.184.1
It may seem odd that a Korean peasant rice bowl,
devoid of decoration, is presented here as a work of
art. Modern American potters undertand why: the
Korean potter's direct and unself-conscious response
to the clay was in complete harmony with his
medium. In a bowl like this, clay was used as clay,
with no extraneous decorative elements to get in the
way, with no attempt to refine away the natural
coarseness of the clay, allowing the clay instead to
speak for itself.
There is also an historical reason why certain
punch'ong ware bowls were celebrated as works of art.
Japanese interest in folk art goes back to about 1920;
Korean interest in folk art (as art rather than ethno-
graphy) only goes back to about 1960. However, the
artistic merits of Korean peasant rice bowls were
recognized in Japan as early as the first half of the
16th century. The great tea master Takeno
J6-6
(1502-1555) selected certain Korean peasant rice
bowls for use as tea bowls in the Japanese tea
cermony. Prior to
J6-6,
Japanese tea-ceremony
utensils had consisted of elegant, expensive Chinese
luxury items such as Sung Dynasty celadon and
Ming Dynasty carved lacquer.
J6-6
changed all that
by selecting utensils that reflected the Zen Buddhist
ideals on which the tea-ceremony aesthetic was
based: profound spiritual beauty embodied in
humility, frugality, and unpretentiousness. He
selected rough, utilitarian ceramics from punch'ong
ware kilns in Korea and rural kilns in Japan.
Because 16th-17th-century Japanese tea masters
were the first to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of
common punch'ong ware bowls, the designations they
used for the different types of punch'ong ware have
144 KOREAN ART
continued to carry considerable weight. Westerners
and even Koreans use the Japanese terms for lack of
a consistent Korean terminology.
The present Bowl, for example, is punch'ong ware of
muji-hakeme type. Muji (literally, "no ground") is the
Japanese term for "no design." Hakeme (literally, "the
marks of a flat-edged brush") means "painted white
slip with the brush marks showing" (see Cat. 64).
The white slip on the present Bowl was applied by
dipping the upper half of the bowl in a vat of liquid
white clay, allowing it to fill the interior, then
pouring off the excess. Because brushed white slip
was preferred by the Japanese, this type was called
"no-design brush mark," even though the slip was
dipped on rather than brushed on.
Korean slipware, like most other slipware, stains
easily from use. Numerous minute crackle fissures
and pinholes in the glaze permit tea or soy sauce or
other dark, thin liquids to penetrate the glaze and
stain the white slip underneath. Due to the influence
of the tea ceremony on the Japanese sense of beauty,
the Japanese traditionally admire the effects of wear
and age on objects. The stains acquired by slipware
during years of use were a source of aesthetic
pleasure to the Japanese.
64. Punch'ong Ware Bowl (Hakeme Type)
Glazed stoneware partially painted with white slip
H.
3",
W. 7
3
/i6"
Yi Dynasty, 15th-16th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Robert Dickes 82.173
Japanese tea masters' nomenclature for the various
types of punch'ong ware is used in the West and in
Korea as well as in Japan (see Cat. 63). This Bowl is a
characteristic example of hakeme, a technique much
admired and imitated in Japan. A hake is a flat-edged
brush, as opposed to a fude, the usual writing brush,
which comes to a point. The brush marks showing
in the painted white slip on this type of punch'ong
ware reminded the Japanese of paint applied with a
hake. The brush used to apply this type of slip was
not a hake, however, but a large, coarse, round brush
made from the upper ends of rice straw.
The usual explanation for the use of painted slip is
that slip does not adhere well when dipped on, but
adheres better when brushed on. This theory seems
faulty, since the slip on muji-hakeme bowls was
dipped on and has usually adhered quite well (see
Cat. 63). Hakeme has the advantage aesthetically,
however. The linear tracks of the coarse brush give
direction, gesture, energy, and vibrancy (gray
showing through the white) to the brushed slip.
Hakeme has been extensively imitated by Japanese
potters from the late 16th century until today.
However, Japanese potters have never been able to
achieve the sense of freedom, speed, and control in
their brushed slip that even the most routine Korean
examples display. The difference is that Korean
potters were not striving for a visual effect but
simply working quickly, spontaneously, and unself-
consciously. Japanese potters imitated the technique,
but their determination to achieve the visual effect
prevented the spontaneous quality that makes
Korean hakeme so appealing.
146 KOREAN ART
65. Punch'ong Ware Wine Bottle (Hori-hakeme Type)
Glazed stoneware with white-slip decoration
H. 8%", W.
7"
Yi Dynasty, 15th-16th century
Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund 75.61
This Bottle looks so modern that one is surprised to
learn it was made five hundred years ago. As a work
of ceramic art, it is unsurpassed. Form, decoration,
color, and texture work together in perfect harmony.
More bold and energetic than Koryo celadon, good
punch'ong ware like this is the crowning achievement
of the Korean potter's art. This fact is well recognized
by modern potters in the West, and particularly in
Japan, where this type of punch'ong ware has been
very influential. Hamada Shoji (1894-1977), the great
20th-century Japanese potter, was an avid admirer
and collector of early Yi Dynasty ceramics. Hamada
often imitated the bottle shape we see here, thrown
spherical, then gently pressed flat on two sides
(called henko in Japanese). Through Hamad's work
the henko shape entered the form vocabulary of
contemporary ceramics in Japan and the West. Early
in his career, Hamada also imitated this type of slip
decoration.
Called hori-hakeme (carved hakeme), it involved paint-
ing the surface of the vessel with white slip, then
carving away the slip to produce the design, here
consisting of a bold peony blossom surrounded by a
profusion of leaves, with a radiating chrysanthemum-
petal border around the neck. The technique of
carving decoration through slip to a contrasting clay
beneath is known as "sgraffiato" in the West. It has
been used independently in various parts of the
world for many centuries. The inspiration for hori-
hakeme decoration on punch'ong ware was certainly
the sgraffiato decoration on certain types of Tz'u-
chou ware in China.
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148 KOREAN ART
66. Punch'ong Ware Bowl (E-hakeme Type),
Keryong-san Kiln
Glazed stoneware with painted slip decoration
H. 3V8
",
W.
7"
Yi Dynasty, 15th century
Anonymous gift 83.32.5
In 1927 the Japanese ceramics scholar Nomori Ken
excavated some of the kiln sites at Keryong-san. He
uncovered the remains of more than twelve punch'ong
ware kilns. They were situated near two villages in a
valley among the eastern foothills of Keryong-san.
This famous cluster of mountain peaks in south
Korea has been celebrated since early times for its
spectacular natural beauty. Keryong-san is about
twelve miles west of the city of Taejon, which is
roughly halfway between Seoul, on the middle of
the west coast, and Pusan, at the southeastern tip
of the peninsula.
Because of Keryong-san's magnificent scenery,
King T'aejo, the founder of the Yi Dynasty, had
originally intended to build his capital there. A
census of Korean pottery kilns conducted for King
Sejong in 1424-1425 recorded the Keryong-san kilns.
It is believed that the kilns were founded by Buddhist
monks who were forced to seek a livelihood when
the new Yi government suppressed Buddhism in
favor of Confucianism. Flourishing Buddhist mon-
asteries at the foot of Keryong-san were forced to
close at the beginning of the Yi Dynasty.
The Keryong-san kilns were active until the
Japanese invasions of 1592 and 1597. At that time
production ceased abruptly and was never revived.
Some of the Keryong-san potters may have been
among many villages of Korean potters abducted by
the Japanese and forced to relocate in Kyushu. The
ceramics industry of Japan was permanently altered
by the massive influx of Korean potters at the end of
the 16th century.
Keryong-san kilns produced all of the different
varieties of punch'ong ware; some of them also made
white porcelain and black-glazed stoneware. However,
the style for which Keryong'san is famous today
consists of iron-black painted decoration over brushed
white slip. The present Bowl, with its design of
scrolling grasses, is a characteristic example. The
spontaneous energy of the painted decoration
reflects the vitality of the Korean people.
This style of Keryong-san ware is much admired in
Japan, where it is designated e-hakeme ("e" meaning
painted design, "hakeme"meaning "brushed white
slip"). The painted designs are black rather than the
brown of most other underglaze iron decoration. The
color apparently results from manganese inclusions
in the iron-bearing rock from which the black slip
was prepared.
150 KOREAN ART
67. Storage Jar
White porcelain with a clear glaze
H. 11%", W.
11"
Yi Dynasty, 17th century
Gift of John Lyden 84.262.8
The Korean ceramics industry was irrevocably
changed by the Japanese invasions of 1592 and 1597.
Punch'ong ware, the standard early Yi Dynasty
ceramic type, went out of production altogether.
When the ceramic industry was revived after the
invasions, new styles came into vogue. The principal
Korean ceramic ware of the 17th, 18th, and 19th
centuries was blue-and-white porcelain. Highly
refined blue-and-white was produced at government
kilns for use in the royal palace. At the other end of
the economic scale, large quantities of coarse, grayish
blue-and-white were produced for use by commoners.
Between these two extremes there was a range of
technical and artistic quality. The painted designs on
the less technically accomplished blue-and-white are
often more lively and appealing than the relatively
tight decoration on pieces made for palace use.
Along with blue-and-white porcelain, 17th-19th-
century Korean kilns also produced plain white
porcelain, brown-glazed ware, underglaze iron-
painted ware, underglaze copper-painted ware, and
vast quantities of plain, gray-glazed kitchenware.
The large white porcelain storage jars of the middle
Yi Dynasty have long been admired by Japanese and
Korean collectors. These big jars are like pieces of
abstract sculpture. Their powerful, swelling forms
have great presence; their slightly irregular lines
make subtle sculptural gestures. Lacking ornament
and having only their off-white color and semi-mat
surface, these jars must succeed or fail on the basis
of form alone.
These large white porcelain storage jars were made
in two parts, an upper half and a lower half, thrown
separately like two huge bowls, then joined rim-to-
rim at the belly of the jar. The process is usually
apparent in the jar's profile, as it is here. The glaze
on these jars is slightly bluish where it runs thick. It
has an orange-pink blush where it pulls thin or
where oxygen has reached the clay through minute
openings in the glaze. These subtle nuances of color
add to the aesthetic appeal of these jars, even though
they were unintentional on the part of the potter.
Modern Japanese and Korean connoisseurs have
raised a utilitarian 17th century vessel to the status of
a work of art, and the judgment seems eminently
deserved.
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152. KOREAN ART
68. Storage Jar
White porcelain with iron-brown painted decoration
under a clear glaze
H. 12%", Diam
14%"
Yi Dynasty, 17th century
Gift of the Oriental Art Council 86.139
Iron-painted Dragon Jars are among the rarest and
most spectacular Korean ceramics. Their powerful,
swelling, dynamic shapes provide a perfect format
for their eccentric, amusing, mysterious dragons. The
ivory-white porcelain, blushing light bluish where
the glaze runs thick, makes a perfect complement for
the warm, brown-black, iron-oxide pigment, which
burns reddish through the glaze in the places where
it was painted most thickly.
These big storage jars were thrown in two halves,
like two huge bowls, then luted together, rim-to-rim,
at the belly of the jar. The technique tended to result
in a diamond-shaped profile that is much more
interesting than a mere globular shape. Japanese
connoisseurs admire this profile and call it a soroban-
dama (abacus bead) shape.
"Official" dragons on blue-and-white porcelain jars
used for court ceremonies and Confucian rituals (see
Cat. 69) were based closely on Ming Dynasty
Chinese prototypes. These "official" dragons are
more detailed, more fully realized, and more
tangible than the "folk" dragon we see here. The
"official" dragon is certainly awesome and majestic,
but his very palpability makes him less mysterious,
less the spirit creature he is supposed to be. The
"folk" dragon on the present Jar is more imaginative,
more spiritlike. After all, no one has ever seen a
dragon. I am tempted to think that a dragon would
look more like the "folk" than the "official" version.
The present Jar was for utilitarian rather than ritual
use. The dragon's function was to protect food inside
the jar from evil spirits. The potters who made this
Jar belonged to one of the lowest classes in Yi
Dynasty society. They were extremely poor and were
required to manufacture good, serviceable pots as
quickly as possible just to eke out a living. Their pots
were completely natural, direct, and spontaneous,
free from any pretense or self-consciousness. The
dragon is naive and whimsical, yet strangely moving,
awesome, and spiritual. The clouds in which the
dragon dwells, suggested by a few loose, wavy lines,
are more compelling than the decorative ones on the
"official" Blue-and-White Jar.
The irresistible freedom and naivete of the iron-
brown dragons has led some scholars to suggest that
they were painted by children. The theory seems
plausible. Because the potters were impoverished,
every member of the family toiled in the workshop.
Children were unable to perform the more physically
demanding tasks of wedging clay, coiling, throwing,
trimming, loading, or firing, but they were quite
capable of painting the designs.
154 KOREAN ART
69. Blue-and-White Porcelain Dragon Jar
White porcelain with cobalt painted decoration
under a clear glaze
H. 20", W.
13"
Yi Dynasty, 18th-early 19th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Wallace 80.120.1
We have previously encountered the dragon in
his role as the Rain Dragon in a Shamanist rain-
supplication painting (see Cat. 33) and as an evil-
repelling Taoist spirit (see Cat. 68). Here we see the
dragon in a Confucian context, where he is a symbol
of Heaven, and of a virtuous king. The dragon was
an ubiquitous motif in the architectural decoration
and ritual paraphernalia of Korean royal palaces and
Confucian temples. Dragon jars like the present one
were made in pairs to stand before the altar of a
Confucian temple or in the throne room of a royal
palace. The dragon on this particular Jar has four
claws on each foot. In both China and Korea, the
image of a five-clawed dragon was usually reserved
for royal use, thus the present Jar was probably
intended for Confucian rituals.
The dragon is one of the Sa Shin, The Animals of
the Four Directions, ancient Chinese Taoist guardian
spirits mentioned in the I Ching: The Blue Dragon of
the East, The White Tiger of the West, The Red Bird
of the South (The Phoenix, see Cat. 72), and The
Black Warrior of the North (a Tortoise entwined by a
Snake). Each of these four spirit animals was based
on a constellation in its respective direction of the sky.
The dragon and the tiger (see Cat. 54) were paired
in Shamanist munbae (door talisman) paintings for Yi
Dynasty houses. A blue dragon and a white tiger
were pasted on the front door, the tiger to repel evil
spirits, the dragon to attract good fortune. In the
Taoist/Confucian cosmology of China, a dragon and
a tiger constituted a duality corresponding to yang
and yin. The dragon represented yang, the masculine,
positive principle in nature, characterized by activity,
light, heat, dryness, and height. The tiger represented
yin, the feminine, negative principle in nature,
characterized by passivity, darkness, cold, wetness,
and depth. Yang and yin combined and interacted in
all the myriad activities of the universe.
A dragon paired with a phoenix (see Cat. 72)
formed a similar yang/yin dua he phoenix
representing the feminine principle. The dragon and
the phoenix were symbols of the king and queen
respectively, or of the groom and bride at the
wedding ceremony.
70. Blue-and-White Porcelain Wine Bottle
White porcelain with cobalt painted decoration
under a clear glaze
H. 11%", W. 6V4
"
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Gift of Stanley Herzman and Mr. & Mrs. Milton
Rosenthal 84.10
Korean screen paintings of shipjangsaeng, The Ten
Symbols of Long Life, were fairly common. It was
unusual, however, to depict all ten symbols on a
piece of porcelain. Due to the size and shape of the
vessel, only two or three of the symbols normally
appeared on a ceramic. The Ten Symbols were: sun,
clouds, water, rocks, deer, cranes, tortoises, pines,
bamboo, and Sacred Fungus. Shipjangsaeng is a Taoist
theme and came to Korea from China. Deer, cranes,
tortoises, pines, and Sacred Fungus, individually or
in various combinations, appeared frequently on
traditional Korean household objects, including
paintings, ceramics, lacquer, metalwork, wooden
utensils, bamboo ware, and embroidery.
Sun, clouds, water, and rocks appear to last
indefinitely, so they seemed appropriate as symbols
of long life. Deer were the companions and
messengers of the Taoist Immortals, auspicious,
sacred animals who always repaid favors. After a
mythical deer had lived a thousand years, its coat
turned gray; after fifteen hundred years, it turned
white; after two thousand years, its antlers turned
black and it became an Immortal, a Fairy Deer. When
depicted in pairs deer were symbols of conjugal bliss.
Cranes were also the companions and messengers
of the Taoist Immortals, as well as the mounts on
which Immortals flew to and from the Islands of the
Immortals (Chinese: P'eng Lai; Korean: Pong Nae) in
the Eastern Sea. Cranes were said to have magic
powers. By the age of six hundred years, cranes
156 KOREAN ART
could subsist on water alone. At the age of two
thousand, a crane turned black and became an
Immortal. Cranes, like deer, were emblematic of
a happy marriage. The female crane was very pro-
tective of her young and set a good example for
human mothers.
The tortoise lived ten thousand years. The tortoise
was the messenger of the Dragon King, who dwelt
in the Dragon Palace at the bottom of the sea. Pine
trees remain green throughout the year, resisting
wind, rain, and snow. Bamboo stays green through
the winter; it is hard and durable, bending before the
wind but never breaking.
The Sacred Fungus (Chinese: ling chih; Korean:
pulloch'o) was one of the most popular decorative
motifs in the arts and crafts of Korea. The Sacred
Fungus, or Fungus of Immortality, was a magic
mushroom that grew in the Land of the Immortals.
It bestowed eternal life on those who ate it. In
ancient times, Chinese Taoist adepts searched the
forests for Sacred Fungus. Many Taoists must have
become intoxicated on hallucinogenic fungi; others
perhaps died from eating poisonous mushrooms.
The Chinese emperor Ch'in Shih Huang Ti
(246-210 B.C.) sent an expedition of three thousand
men across the Yellow Sea to find the Islands of the
Immortals and bring back some Sacred Fungus. The
expedition never returned. Many Koreans believe it
reached Korea and remained there, escaping Ch'in
Shih Huang Ti's oppressive rule. The notion of
Sacred Fungus was reinforced by an abundance of
wild ginseng (insam) in the mountains of Korea.
Korean ginseng was traditionally equated with
Sacred Fungus. Ginseng root is still valued in China
and Korea as a tonic thought to restore vigor and
potency. Ginseng is a famous Korean product, but
today much of the ginseng sold in Korea is grown in
the north-central United States.
71. Porcelain Wine Bottle
White porcelain brushed with cobalt under
a clear glaze
H.
6", W. 4V4
"
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.56.1
Blue-and-white ceramic ware, with cobalt-oxide
painted designs covered with clear glaze, seems to
have been invented in Iraq during the 9th century.
The technique was imitated in Iran at the time on a
very limited scale, since the cobalt mined in Iran
seems to have been controlled by the regime in Iraq.
For some reason, blue-and-white died out soon after
its initial development. It was revived in the llth-12th-
century and spread throughout the Islamic world,
where it has been widely used ever since.
The blue-and-white technique was brought to China
from Iran in the 13th century as a result of the Mongol
conquests. Iraq and Iran fell to the Mongols in 1219-
1220. North China fell in 1222. The Mongols conquered
the rest of China in 1279, putting them in control of
the territory from Eastern Europe through Central
Asia and China to Korea. Goods and ideas flowed
across that vast area more freely than ever before.
There was a flourishing ceramic industry in north-
central Iran during the 13th century. Blue-and-white
was one of the standard decorating techniques used.
The technique was brought from there to China in
the 13th century. At first, the cobalt oxide was
imported from Iran and referred to by the Chinese as
"Mohammedan blue." But soon cobalt was being
mined in China to meet the demand. Blue-and-white
porcelain became the standard Chinese ceramic ware
of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and has remained
popular in China ever since. The production of blue-
and-white porcelain spread from China to Korea in
the 15th century and from Korea to Japan in the early
17th century.
The present Wine Bottle is a rare type of Korean
blue-and-white in which cobalt was brushed over the
entire surface rather than on the design only. This
type is called ruri-yu (lapis lazuli glaze) by Japanese
connoisseurs. It was a Korean attempt to imitate
Chinese blue monochrome porcelain of the K'ang-hsi
reign (1662-1722), whose cobalt was either mixed into
the glaze or blown onto the clay surface prior to
glazing. The Korean blue monochrome looks
smeared compared to the even blue of the Chinese
pieces. Nevertheless, the uneven color and random
patterns of the casual Korean brushwork give ruri-yu
a sense of spontaneous vitality that the Chinese
pieces lack.
158 KOREAN ART
72. Storage Jar
White porcelain with underglaze blue and red
painted decoration
H. 8%", W. 6
3
/4
"
Yi Dynasty, 18th-early 19th century
1916 Museum Collection Fund 17.25
The phoenix was almost as ubiquitous in China
and Korea as were the dragon and the tiger. The Far
Eastern phoenix was not related to the Western one
except by name. In the West, it was a symbol of
resurrection (it rises anew from its own ashes).
The Far Eastern phoenix was a large, graceful, ele-
gant bird said to appear in times of peace and pros-
perity and to dwell in lands with virtuous rulers. The
phoenix thus became a highly auspicious symbol. It
was said to nest in paulownia trees, so the paulownia
tree was also considered a good omen. The phoenix
was mythical, but the trees actually exist; paulownia
trees grow in the United States as well as Asia.
The Far Eastern phoenix had a rooster's head,
human eyes, a serpent's neck, a tortoise's back, bright
rainbow plumage, and a very long tail. The five colors
of its feathers represented the five virtues: upright-
ness, honesty, fidelity, justice, and benevolence.
Phoenixes were the messengers and mounts of Hsi
Wang-mu (Korean: So Wang-mo) and her retinue of
Taoist fairies (see Cat. 25).
In Korea, use of the phoenix motif was originally
restricted to royalty and high officials. During the
second half of the Yi Dynasty, the restriction was no
longer enforced. The present Storage Jar depicts a
phoenix flying among small clouds. Underglaze
copper red was used to supplement the cobalt blue.
Copper oxide was mixed with water and painted on
the vessel prior to glazing, just like cobalt blue or
iron brown. The copper-red color turned to muddy
gray if the firing was not controlled carefully; some-
times it simply blurred away under the glaze. When
all went well, however, the copper yielded a hand-
some color ranging from peach blossom pink
through deep red to blackish green. On the present
Jar, copper red was used effectively for the bird's
comb and for the dark accents on the clouds.
73. Porcelain Water Dropper in the Shape of a Peach
White porcelain with underglaze iron, cobalt, and
copper decoration
H. 4V4
",
W. 3V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 18th-early 19th century
Lent by Robert Anderson TL1984.106.1
This jewellike porcelain utensil for a scholar's desk
is shaped like a peach, life-size, with a twig coiled
below as a footring. The twig extends up the front as
a small spout; a leaf from the twig is attached to each
side. Water droppers were made of either bronze or
porcelain, often in fanciful forms such as animals,
birds, or fish. A water dropper was essential in
preparing the ink used for writing and painting. An
ink cake made of pine soot carbon and animal-glue
binder was ground on the surface of a slate ink stone
having a shallow depression at one end to hold some
water, until the desired ink/water mixture was
obtained. A water dropper was used to replenish
water in the ink stone as it was used up.
The peach represented here is, of course, not an
ordinary peach. It is The Peach of Immortality, also
called The Fairy Peach, an ancient Taoist symbol of
longevity used frequently as an auspicious motif in
Korean arts and crafts (see Cat. 25).
As depicted in Chinese and Korean art, The Peach
of Immortality conveyed certain Taoist sexual symbol-
ism related to the concept of immortality. According
to Taoist notions, a man achieved a kind of immortal-
ity by fathering many sons, who in turn sired many
grandsons. Potency was therefore seen as a means of
immortality. So it was that representations of The
Peach of Immortality tended to exaggerate its form so
that the cleft suggested a vulva and the pink tip sug-
gested a nipple. Some artists and craftsmen intention-
ally turned this exaggeration into humorous parody.
The present Porcelain Water Dropper is something of
a technical tour de force in having all three underglaze
colors: cobalt blue (on the leaves), iron brown (on
the stem) and copper red (on the tip of the peach.)
160 KOREAN ART
74. Blue-and-White Porcelain Water Dropper
White porcelain with cobalt painted decoration
under a clear glaze
H. 2%", W.
2%"
Yi Dynasty, early 19th century
Gift of Dr. John Lyden 79.273.2
Among the many fanciful shapes in which Korean
water droppers were made (see Cat. 73), a square
shape was fairly common. The standard square
water dropper was low, however, usually about one-
third the height of the present example. The foot at
each corner, and the outline around each panel, give
this little vessel great dignity. Its sides, top, and
bottom were formed from flat slabs of clay.
7
tiny hole in the middle of the top to admit air, and a
small spout high up on one side. The spout is
shaped like a single joint of bamboo.
Each of the four sides has a bold, abbreviated
rendition of a peony in full bloom. Peonies have
been a favorite Korean motif since early times. On a
Wedding Screen (see Cat.
53),
peonies symbolized the
beauty and sexuality of the bride. On this Water
Dropper, the peonies symbolize abundance, wealth,
happiness, and nobility of spirit.
The abbreviated landscape on top of the Water
Dropper was one of the standard designs used by the
official government kilns at Punwon-ni. It depicts the
scenery of the area near the kilns: boats sailing on
he Han River, with granite hills in the background.
75. Garden Seat
White porcelain with cobalt and iron decoration
under a clear glaze
H. I8V2", W.
9%"
Yi Dynasty, early 19th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Greenberg 86.260.3
From a tiny porcelain Water Dropper for a gentleman
scholar's desk (see Cat. 74), we move to a large
porcelain Seat for a gentleman scholar's garden. Its
carved, openwork decoration depicts grapevines,
grape leaves, and clusters of grapes. The surface of
the grapes was painted with underglaze iron-brown
wash. Stylized "precious things" (coins, jewels,
treasure bags, and the like), a traditional Chinese
motif, were drawn in underglaze cobalt blue on the
border below the grapes.
Grapes were a popular subject in the paintings
(see Cat. 40) and decorative arts of Yi Dynasty Korea.
Ink-monochrome paintings of grapes first became
fashionable in China during the Southern Sung
(1127-1279) Dynasty. The 13th-century Chinese grape-
painting tradition was very influential in Korea and
Japan, as well as on subsequent generations of
Chinese artists. In Korea, court painters, scholar
painters, and folk painters all tried their hands at
grape painting.
The grape was not native to China, Korea, or
Japan. Its cultivation was introduced into China from
South Asia in 126 B.C.. Unlike most of the other
animal and plant motifs in Korean art, grapes had no
auspicious or protective symbolism.
162 KOREAN ART
76. Blue-and-White Porcelain Jar
White porcelain with cobalt painted decoration
under a clear glaze
H. 5%", W. 7W
Yi Dynasty, mid-19th century
Purchase 76.119
Blue-and-white porcelain was first produced in
Korea during the reign of King Sejo (1455-1468). The
cobalt was imported from China. A cobalt deposit
discovered near the south coast of Korea in 1464 failed
to yield sufficient mineral of usable quality, so cobalt
continued to be imported from China for the duration
of the Yi Dynasty. This made it an expensive com-
modity, especially during the 15th through the 17th
century. A royal decree in 1461 restricted blue-and-
white porcelain to use by the court and aristocracy.
The Japanese invasions of 1592 and 1597 disrupted
ceramic production throughout Korea; many of the
kilns were destroyed or abandoned. As late as 1618,
official records indicate there were insufficient funds
to import cobalt from China. In 1636 the Manchus
invaded Korea in retaliation for Korea's stubborn
loyalty to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) . Korea was
forced to become a vassal state of the Ch'ing Dynasty
(1644-1912) established by the Manchus in China.
Korean relations with China did not normalize again
until about 1700. Korean porcelain production
expanded rapidly during the 18th century.
The official Punwon porcelain kilns were a subsidi-
ary of the Sa'ong-won, the government department
responsible for preparing and serving food at the
royal court. The Punwon kilns were established at
Kumsa-ri in 1718 and moved to Punwon-ni in 1752.
Punwon-ni is located near the confluence of the
Han and the Pukhan rivers, some twelve miles east
of Seoul. Boats sailing down the Han River with
firewood for Seoul were required to pay a tax at
Punwon-ni; this revenue helped support the
government kilns.
The majority of the blue-and-white porcelain pro-
duced in Korea during the second half of the 18th
and the 19th century came from the Punwon kilns.
Their capacity was such that large quantities of
ordinary blue-and-white porcelain for use by com-
moners were manufactured there each year after the
government quotas of porcelain for royal and official
use had been met. About two-thirds of the production
at the Punwon kilns consisted of blue-and-white
porcelain.
The present Jar is typical of official pieces made at
the Punwon kilns in the 19th century. The color of
the blue is quite good because by that time well-
refined cobalt was being imported from China in
quantity. The glaze is clear and glossy; the porcelain
clay is pure white. However, by the middle of the
19th century, a certain slickness, stiffness, and
artistic sterility had set in. The decline is especially
evident in official pieces such as this one. Vessel
shapes became somewhat mechanical, and the
painted designs became rather stereotyped. The end
came in 1883 when the Yi government concluded
that the Punwon kilns were too expensive to main-
tain and cut off their state support. The kilns survived
as a private enterprise, but porcelain technicians
brought from Arita and Kutani in Japan introduced
the ugly blend of Japanese and Victorian styles
prevalent in Japanese ceramics at the time.
On the base of the present Jar is a two-character
underglaze blue inscription: Un-hyon (Cloud Hill).
The Un-hyon Palace in Seoul was the private
residence of Prince Yi Ha-ung, better known by his
title, Taewongun (Prince Regent). His son, King
Kojong, the twenty-sixth monarch of the Yi Dynasty,
was born in the Un-hyon Palace.
The prince regent directed sweeping reforms of
government administration and national finances in
1863 that were designed to strengthen royal authority.
Yi Ha-ung was adamantly opposed to foreign com-
mercial interests that were infiltrating Korea at the
time. In 1866 he ordered a severe persecution of
Korean Catholics. France reacted by sending a fleet
ip the Han River to attack Seoul.
164 KOREAN ART
77. Honey Jar
Gray stoneware with a caramel-brown glaze
H. 8V4
",
W.
7%"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Robert Anderson 84.244.5 a&b
This plebian brown-glazed Jar stands at the opposite
pole in the 19th-century Korean ceramic hierarchy
from the official Blue-and-White Porcelain Jar (see Cat.
76). Still, the brown Jar is a more aesthetically
satisfying pot than the blue-and-white one. It is
honest and unself-conscious. Its form is powerful
and well proportioned. Its twelve facets, which were
cut with a bamboo potter's knife, add a sculptural
quality to its otherwise globular shape. The famous
20th-century Japanese potter Hamada Shbji (1894-1977)
admired the cut facets on Korean ceramics and
imitated them in his own work. Through Hamada,
Korean-style faceting entered the work of several
contemporary potters in the West.
In addition to their decorative effect, Korean facets
had a utilitarian function. They made it easier to
bind the jar with straw rope to hold the lid on tight
and preserve the honey or other foodstuffs inside.
Extra-tight packing is still called "honey packing"
in Korea today. Faceting was also used on Korean
wine bottles, but purely for visual effect. The walls
of the vessel were thrown extra thick to allow the
facets to be cut.
Black-glazed ceramic wares were first made in
Korea in the early 12th century. Examples of Koryo
Dynasty and early Yi Dynasty black-glazed ware are
extremely scarce today. It has a rather thick glaze
with very little luster. By the 18th century, Korean
black glazes had become glossier and varied in color
from reddish brown through olive brown to dark
brown and black. The color derives from iron oxide
and/or manganese oxide in the glaze, fired in an
oxidizing kiln atmosphere (one in which an
abundance of oxygen is available inside the kiln
during firing).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, most of the
black-glazed pottery made in Korea was utilitarian.
It was produced by families of potters in small,
remote pottery villages. When the local supply of
clay or wood was exhausted, the village moved to
another location. The principal product of these kilns
was onggi (food-storage jars). Onggi came in various
sizes, including extremely large ones; they were
formerly used by every Korean family to preserve
kimchi (pickled cabbage laced with hot chili pepper)
and other foods during the winter months when
fresh produce was not available. Today, refrigerators
and industrial products like plastic and aluminum
are rapidly replacing the once ubiquitous brown-
glazed onggi jars.
Many of the onggi potters were Roman Catholics.
Their low social status permitted them to move about
more freely than other Yi Dynasty Koreans. Their
isolation and anonymity made it possible for most of
them to survive the severe government persecutions
of Korean Catholics, which began in 1795 and con-
tinued until 1866. The last one was directed by Prince
Regent Yi Ha-ung (see Cat. 76). Some of the onggi
potters died as martyrs during the persecutions.
166 KOREAN ART
78. Three-level Chest (Samch'ung Chang)
Red and black lacquer on wood; zelkova burl panels;
brass fittings
H. 63%", W. 44
3
/4
"
Yi Dynasty, early to middle 19th century
George C. Brackett Fund 34.530
This magnificent Chest was made for the women's
quarters in the home of a member of the royal family.
The elaborate style, with a multiplicity of panels and
moldings, and the almost excessive exuberance of the
ornamental hardware, indicate that it was intended
for the women's quarters (anch'ae). The strict tenets of
Confucianism required upper-class Yi Dynasty men
and women to maintain separate living quarters
within the same house. They ate separately and slept
separately, although husbands could visit their wives
during the night.
Chests decorated with red and black lacquer were
normally restricted to royal use. The edge of the
overhanging top of the present Chest is in red
lacquer. The main frame and most of the moldings
are in black lacquer, as are the five low panels across
the bottom. The frames of the upper and middle
pairs of doors are in red lacquer; so are the moldings
framing the openings for the lower two pairs of
doors, as well as the legs and stretcher.
The door panels, the fronts of the four small drawers
across the top, and the other main front panels are
zelkova burl wood with an oil finish. The complex,
swirling grain of zelkova burl suggested coiled
dragons to Koreans, so they called it "dragon wood"
(yong-mok). The side panels and back panels of this
Chest are made of pine and are undecorated. Korean
chests were always placed against a wall of the room,
so little attention was paid to the sides and back.
Unlike Japanese chests (tansu), which were kept in
a separate fire-resistant storehouse (kura) behind the
garden, Korean chests were displayed prominently
in the main rooms of the house. Chests in the
women's quarters had elaborate designs, showy
woods, and ornamental fittings. Chests in the men's
quarters were more subdued in both style and
materials. A chang, the type of chest we see here, had
one or more levels within a single frame. Tall, two- or
three-level chang for clothing storage were the most
prevalent; this example is a three-level (samch'ung)
chang. As with nearly all Korean chests, each level
here consists of a single, boxlike compartment with-
out any shelves, divisions, or drawers inside. The
interiors of most Korean chests were originally
papered. Certain chang, lower in height and quite
subdued in style, were used for storing books rather
than clothing. In either case, the folded clothing or
soft-cover, Chinese-style books were simply stacked
inside the empty compartment on each level of the
chest. Chang were used to store frequently needed
items, whereas nong (see Cat. 79) were meant
primarily for long-term storage of seasonal clothing.
Nearly all Korean chests had legs or removable
stands that supported them well above the floor.
The floors in the main rooms of Korean houses were
heated during the winter. The heating system, ondol,
was unique to Korea and completely different from
types of heating used in China and Japan. Ondol
worked on the same principal as modern radiant
(panel) heating, yet it was invented about a thousand
years ago. Korea is very cold in winter, especially the
mountainous northern part of the peninsula, where
Kaesong (Songdo), the capital of the Koryo Dynasty
(918-1392) was located. The ondol heating system was
developed in the capital and quickly spread through-
out Korea. It had become standard in upper-class
Korean houses by the year 1200.
A stone and clay firebox was built into one outside
wall of the house at ground level, often adjacent to
the kitchen; the same firebox sometimes served as a
stove to heat the big iron cooking kettles. The space
between the stone-and-clay floors of the sitting and
sleeping rooms and the surface of the ground below
served as the flue for the firebox, conducting smoke
and heat under the rooms and heating their floors.
The earth surface beneath the house was sloped
upward slightly from the firebox to the chimney on
the other side of the house to provide a better draft
for the fire. Polished, oiled paper was glued to the
^ay flooring, creating a smooth, shiny, tough floor
W5W=w
168 KOREAN ART
surface. Ondol floors remained warm and dry through-
out the winter, unlike the cold, damp floors of
traditional Chinese houses.
The brass fittings on the present Chest are unusually
elaborate. The hinges, latch plates, drawer pulls, and
corner fittings all have complex, ornamental open-
work. In addition, purely decorative brass plaques
depicting potted plants and songbirds were applied
to each main panel on the front. This extraordinarily
uncommon feature, along with the red and black
lacquer on the frame and moldings, indicates the
Chest was made for royal use.
79. Two-unit Stacked Chest (Ich'ung Nong)
Lacquer inlaid with tortoise shell, on wood; brass
fittings
H. 49%", W.
29%"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. John Lyden 83.168.1 a&b
A nong is a Korean clothing chest consisting of two
or more separate units (usually two) stacked on top
of one another, an entirely different arrangement
from a chang, which has one or more levels of com-
partments within a single frame (see Cat. 78). A
chang was intended for frequently needed clothing,
or sometimes books; a nong was meant for long-term
storage of such items as seasonal clothing. The two
units of a nong were nearly always identical and
sometimes interchangeable. In the present example,
the stand (legs and stretcher) is permanently affixed
to the lower unit. Other examples have removable
stands (see Cat. 80). A nong never had an overhang-
ing top; it was composed of two simple, rectangular
boxes. Each unit had a central pair of double doors.
As with nearly all Korean chests, there were no
shelves or drawers inside.
The present Chest must have been made for a mem-
ber of the yangban class (the land-owning aristocracy).
Colored lacquer, especially with inlay, was expen-
sive; it was seldom used on anything larger than
small boxes. If this Chest had been made for the royal
palace, the dragons on its doors would have had five
claws on each foot rather than four. The dragons are
composed of tortoise-shell and brass-wire inlay on
reddish-brown lacquer. Iron oxide was added to
natural lacquer to produce this color.
The dragons on this Chest were meant to be viewed
in a Confucian (see Cat. 69) rather than a Shamanist
context (see Cat. 33). In Confucianism, the dragon
was a symbol of Heaven and of a righteous king. The
eight Chinese characters inlaid along the stretcher of
this Chest represent The Eight Virtues (P'al Dok) of
Confucianism (see Cat. 52). From right to left: Filial
Piety, Brotherly Love, Loyalty, Sincerity, Benevolence,
Duty, Honor, and Humility.
The inlaid design on the upper center of each unit
represents The Eight Trigrams, an ancient set of Tao-
ist symbols suggesting patterns of change. The Eight
Trigrams formed the basis for the J Ching (Book
of
Changes), the most venerated and inscrutable of the
Chinese classics. Taoism taught that only change itself
was unchanging. The Eight Trigrams were employed
in divination and geomancy. They were said to
embody the metaphysical principles of the universe.
The Eight Trigrams consist of eight different com-
binations of three horizontal lines. Each line is either
continuous or broken in the middle. The continuous
lines are male (yang); the broken ones are female
(yin). Each of the eight combinations is associated
with certain specific phenomena, as follows: Three
solid lines suggest Heaven, sky, father, strength,
horse, south. One broken line above two solid lines
suggests lake, marsh, mist, pleasure, satisfaction,
goat, southeast. One broken line between two solid
lines suggests fire, light, sun, brightness, elegance,
pheasant, east. Two broken lines above a single solid
line suggests thunder, moving, exciting, dragon,
northeast. Two solid lines above one broken line
suggests wind, wood, flexible, penetration, rooster,
southwest. One solid line between two broken lines
suggests water, moon, peril, difficulty, pig, west.
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170 KOREAN ART
One solid line above two broken lines suggests
mountain, resting, dog, northwest. Three broken
lines suggests earth, mother, submission, ox, north.
The Eight Trigrams were said to have been invented
by the legendary Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi in 2852
B.C. He based them on the markings on tortoise
shells that were used for divination. Wen Wang
(1231-1135 B.C.), the founder of the Chou Dynasty,
wrote an explanation of The Eight Trigrams while he
was in prison. Further interpretations written by his
son Chou Kung were combined with Wen Wang's
explanation to form the 1 Ching.
80. Two-unit Stacked Chest (Ich'ung Nong)
Split-bamboo basketry on wood; brass fittings
H. 48", W. 33V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Robert Anderson 84.244.3 a-c
The sides, top, and front panels of this Chest are
covered with woven split-bamboo basketry. This is a
highly unusual feature. Bamboo slats glued to the
front surface of a chest in parallel rows were more
common, but few examples have survived, since the
bamboo tended to crack, warp, and detach due to
changes in temperature and humidity.
Unlike the preceding Nong (see Cat. 79), this one
has a detachable stand. However, the two units are
still not interchangeable, as they are on some nong;
the upper unit here has a row of four small drawers
across the top.
The latch plates and hinges on this Chest are in the
form of butterflies. They are made of yellow brass,
the most common material for fittings on Korean
furniture. Iron fittings were also used frequently (see
Cat. 82). White brass fittings (brass having a high tin
and nickel content) were sometimes used, especially
on late pieces (those from the end of the Yi Dynasty
and the beginning of the Japanese annexation).
Butterflies were often depicted on Korean hwacho
(Birds and Flowers) screens, either painted or
embroidered (see Cat. 49). Like the deer, geese,
ducks, cranes, fish, and other creatures on hwacho
screens, the butterflies were shown in pairs. The
pairs of animals and birds were auspicious symbols
of a happy marriage.
Butterflies were often represented in simplifed
silhouette as brass fittings on Yi Dynasty furniture,
where they had another auspicious meaning:
longevity. The Chinese word for "butterfly" (tieh)
was pronounced the same as a word that meant
"seventy to eighty years of age" (the ideographs for
the two words were, of course, altogether different).
Homophonic symbolism like this was not unusual in
China. Ironically, in China the butterfly symbolized
long life, exactly the opposite of its meaning in the
West, where it referred to the brevity of life.
Bats seldom appeared in paintings, but they were
frequent motifs in the decorative arts of China and
Korea. The conventionalized silhouettes of bats
appear frequently as brass fittings on Korean
furniture, especially as drawer pulls or drawer-pull
plates. One also encounters the bat motif on blue-
and-white porcelain, and as mother-of-pearl inlay on
black or red lacquer, or as embroidery. Like the
butterfly, the bat owes its symbolic meaning to a
homophone in Chinese: the ideograph for "bat" was
pronounced
fu,
the same pronunciation as another
ideograph meaning "good fortune."
In Korea, swallows were also considered auspicious.
Like magpies, swallows preferred to live in the midst
of human habitation. They built their mud nests
under the eaves of houses and darted about looking
for scraps of food. Swallows were abundant in
Korea; they came to be regarded as omens of success
and prosperity. Swallows were seldom depicted in
Korean paintings, but long, V-shaped hinges on
Korean furniture suggested their forked tails and
conveyed the auspicious meaning (see Cat. 78 for
this type of hinge.)
172 KOREAN ART
81. Chest (Chang)
Red lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, on wood;
brass fittings
H.
32%" W.
30%"
Yi Dynasty, late 18th-early 19th century
Lent by Mr. & Mrs. David Drabkin TL1984.83 a&b
This type of low, single-level chest was called a
morijang (literally, "headside chest"). It was placed
close to the mat where a woman sat during the day
or slept during the night. A morijang was intended
for storing clothing needed frequently, such as
nightclothes. Most Korean furniture was built low, to
be accessible to a person seated on a cushion on the
floor. Notable exceptions were two- and three-level
clothing chests (see Cat. 78) and two-unit stacked
chests (see Cat. 79, 80).
No chairs were used in Korea until modern times.
(Royal thrones and high, narrow chairs for spirit
tablets used in ancestor worship were exceptions.)
Koreans sat on mats or cushions on the floor. In spite
of 20-century Western influence, they still prefer to
do so at least part of the time. This is somewhat
surprising, considering the pervasiveness of Chinese
influence on Korea, because chairs have been in
general use in China since the 8th century. Korea's
unique ondol heating system was no doubt part of
the reason. The ondol floor and the space just above
it were the warmest, coziest part of a Korean house
during the winter (see Cat. 78). The other reason was
simply preference. Though profoundly influenced by
Chinese culture, the Japanese also lived without
chairs until modern times.
The present Chest was probably built for the royal
family or a high-ranking member of the scholar-
official class. Colored lacquer and mother-of-pearl
inlay were very expensive. They were normally used
for small boxes. The red color of the lacquer on this
Chest resulted from cinnabar (mercuric sulfide)
mixed with the natural lacquer. Lacquer was made
from the juice of the Oriental sumac tree, which is a
different species from the American sumac, but the
sap of both is poisonous. Chinese, Korean, and
Japanese lacquer craftsmen gradually built up an
immunity to the toxin, which causes severe skin
irritation. Lacquer is messy stuff, difficult to work
with. It will not dry in a dry atmosphere, so a special
wet-room with ultra-high humidity was required.
Several coats of lacquer were normally applied, and
each coat had to be polished before the next one was
brushed on.
Mother-of-pearl inlay on lacquer has been a Korean
speciality for centuries and remains a popular luxury
item in Korea today. Several mother-of-pearl inlaid
lacquer boxes from the Koryo Dynasty have survived;
the earliest ones date from the 12th century. The
technique was brought to Korea from China. Shell-
inlaid lacquer flourished in China during the T'ang
Dynasty (618-907) and has been produced there ever
since. The technique appeared in China at almost
the beginning of lacquer working; examples from the
Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500-1027 B.C.) have recently
been excavated.
The mother-of-pearl inlay on the present Chest is
quite pictorial. Instead of the more usual formal
designs consisting of floral scrolls (see Cat. 86) or
geometic patterns, we find a series of fully realized
landscape vistas. These landscapes successfully
capture the soft, fluid, spacious feeling of ink-wash
paintings, yet they employ the hard, brittle medium
of pearl shell. Like the paintings on which they were
based, the landscapes on the Chest depict idealized
Chinese scholar sages enjoying imaginary lakeside
scenery of the sort to which a scholar official might
hope to retire some day. The upper front panel of the
Chest is inlaid with grapevines and squirrels, which
were also an ink-painting subject (see Cat. 40). The
inlay on top of the Chest depicts flowering plants and
a garden rock.
Much of the mother-of-pearl used for lacquer
inlay in China, Korea, and Japan actually came from
Okinawa. Pearl shell processed for such use was one
of the standard exports of the Ryukyu Islands
(Chinese: Liu-ch'iu; Okinawa, the largest island of
the Ryukyu chain, has given its name to the entire
archipelago). For five hundred years (1372-1879), the
Ryukyus were a nominally autonomous maritime
174 KOREAN ART
kingdom. Their location between the Pacific Ocean
and the East China Sea was ideal for three-way trade
with China, Korea, and Japan. They also provided a
maritime link to the Philippines and Indonesia in the
south. Okinawan merchant ships sailed as far as
Southeast Asia and even to the Persian Gulf, where
they made contact with Arab and Portuguese
traders, among many others.
82. Chest (Bandaji)
Zelkova wood front, top, and sides; pine back; iron
fittings
H. 25
3
/4
",
W.
30"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Source unknown X652.3
Chests with elaborate brass fittings and multipaneled
fronts (see Cat. 78) and chests coated with red or
black lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl (see Cat.
81) were meant for the women's quarters (anch'ae) of
upper-class Yi Dynasty houses. Their decorative
exuberance conveys a feeling of elegant gaiety.
Furniture for the men's quarters (sarang-ch'ae) was
much more sober in style, with simpler designs,
more subdued woods, less lacquer, and relatively
plain fittings, for which black-patinated iron often
was used instead of brass. Chests for the men's
quarters had quiet dignity, monumental strength,
and surprisingly modern-looking lines. Here, the
Korean furniture craftsman was at his best. His
feeling for wood was unsurpassed. He let the
material speak for itself in the most eloquent way.
He selected, sawed, and planed the planks to take
advantage of patterns in the grain, almost as if he
were painting abstract pictures with wood. The iron
fittings never concealed nor competed with the
wood; they enhanced it with their contrasting color
and texture.
Although he sometimes used natural (clear) lacquer,
the Korean furniture craftsman usually gave his
wood a rubbed oil finish. The oil brought out the
richness of the color and grain and created a smooth,
semimat surface. Perilla oil (tul kirum) was normally
used. Perilla is a genus of Asiatic mint; the oil was
derived from its nutlets. Several coats of oil were
rubbed into the surface of the wood with a soft cloth.
The bandaji was the most common type of Korean
chest. Almost every Yi Dynasty household owned
one. Most bandaji were intended for storing clothing;
a few were meant for books. The panel along the
upper two-fifths of the front of a bandaji was hinged
along the bottom and kept closed by a latch at top
center. Bandaji means "half closing." Like other types
of Korean chests, bandaji normally had no shelves,
drawers, or dividers inside. Korean antique dealers
and American collectors called bandaji "blanket
chests," but in fact they were never used to contain
blankets. The misnomer probably derives from the
fact that sleeping mats were sometimes folded and
stacked on top of a bandaji during the day when they
were not in use.
Zelkova is the most beautiful of the many hand-
some woods used to make Korean chests. Zelkova is
sometimes mistakenly called "elm"; it is similar in
appearance and belongs to the same family, Ulmaceae.
Zelkova, however, has more pronounced grain and
more of an orange color than elm. Zelkova was
prized for chests in Japan as well as Korea; Japanese
call it keyaki, Koreans, kwemok.
Zelkova was expensive and was normally used
only for the front panels of a chest; common woods
such as pine were used for the top and especially for
the sides and back. The present Chest was certainly a
luxury item; thick planks of zelkova were used for
the top and sides as well as the front. Only the back
is made of pine. Korean chests were always placed
against a wall, so the back was never seen. Korean
furniture craftsmen often let the joinery show, as in
the dovetail joints between the lower front panel and
the sides here. This kind of unself-conscious direct-
ness is characteristic of Korean art in general.
Two of the motifs in the openwork decoration of
176 KOREAN ART
the hardware on this Chest appeared frequently on
the fittings of Korean chests, in brass as well as in
iron. The first was the key fret, or meander pattern.
Key-fret designs were ubiquitous in the traditional
decorative arts and architecture of China and Korea.
The motif derived from an ancient Chinese design
called the "thunder pattern," which was a repeat
pattern of small, squared spirals. In the decoration
on Bronze Age Chinese ritual vessels, the thunder
pattern usually formed a background for depictions
of spirit animals. The thunder pattern was based on
archaic pictographs representing clouds and thunder.
Its depiction on ancient ritual vessels expressed a
desire to propitiate the spirits of nature, especially
those involved with rain, which was so essential to
early agriculture. The subsequent Taoist (and Korean
Shamanist) Dragon-in-Clouds motif (see Cat. 33)
evolved from ancient representations of spirit
animals surrounded by thunder patterns, and they
served the same purpose.
The second inanimate symbol that was especially
popular for openwork decoration on the iron and
brass fittings of Korean chests was the swastika. In
Asia, the swastika was originally a Buddhist symbol.
It represented the Cosmic Buddha at the center of
the universe, with the universe revolving around
him and constantly returning to the center, hence the
four radiating spokes bent at right angles. In Korea,
the swastika gradually became a secular symbol of
harmony and happiness.
83. Rice Chest (Ssal tuiju)
Pine; iron fittings
H. 22", W.
23%"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.40.3 a&b
The preceding chests (see Cat. 78-82) were intended
to be used in the main rooms of upper-class Yi
Dynasty homes. Such rooms had heated ondol floors.
Rice chests, on the other hand, were meant to stand
on the wood-floored veranda adjoining the kitchen.
The veranda floor was on the same level as the ondol
floors but was not heated. The kitchen floor was at
ground level and made of packed earth.
Since they were kitchen furniture, rice chests were
made of inexpensive wood, usually pine, and had a
minimum of fittings, just an iron latch and latch
plate. Some rice chests have subtle refinements, such
as the bands of parallel grooves articulating the front
panel and legs on the present example. The horizontal
elements of rice chest frames extend outward at the
upper corners, conveying an impression of architec-
tural strength and solidity, like overhanging beams
in a post-and-lintel building.
Access to the interior of a rice chest is through the
front three-fifths of the top. The cover lifts forward
and off when the latch is free. The latch is a hinged
bar that drops through the front of the lid to engage
a pair of loops on the upper front panel. A padlock
was used to secure the loops and bar.
The underside of the removable lid of the present
Rice Chest bears a three-character inscription written
directly on the wood with a brush and ink: cha-ri-pu
(literally, "self-illness-contracting amulet"). The
inscription was a talisman meant to protect the
family against illness and misfortune. Rice was the
staple of the Korean diet. Rice chests were important
symbolically as well as physically. The wife always
kept the key to the rice chest, both for practical
reasons and as a symbol of her authority within the
household. A Yi Dynasty family's income was
measured in rice.
178 KOREAN ART
84. Scholar's Desk (Ch'aeksang or Soan)
Paulownia wood; brass fittings
H. 12", W. 24V2
"
Yi Dynasty, late 18th-early 19th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. John Lyden 85.281.2
Chairs were not used in Korea until modern times.
The master of the house sat on a large, thick, rec-
tangular mat directly on the ondol (heated) floor.
Guests sat on individual square cushions on the
floor. The furniture was built low to accommodate
persons seated on the floor (tall clothing-storage
chests were an exception).
This little Desk is a splendid example of an essential
piece of furniture for a Yi Dynasty gentleman. When
the master sat on his mat, his back was toward a wall
furnished with an array of stationery cabinets and
display shelves. His small desk always stood in front
of him, and an armrest was placed at his side. Book-
storage chests were arranged along the side wall. An
eight-panel screen painting stood directly behind the
gentleman. The screen's subject had to be one that
was considered appropriate for the men's quarters of
the house, such as hunting scenes or a landscape.
The colors in the painting were muted, or ink-wash
alone was used. Screens for the women's quarters,
on the other hand, used bright, joyous colors and
usually had birds-and-flowers subjects.
This Desk has three small drawers in the upper
register and one full-width drawer in the lower register.
The small drawers are for reading and writing
utensils such as eyeglasses, ink stones, and water
droppers; the larger drawer is for writing brushes
and rolls of paper.
Paulownia wood is quite soft, but it resists cracking
due to changes in temperature and humidity, a prob-
lem that afflicts harder woods. Paulownia was ideal
for small, essential pieces of furniture like this Desk.
Paulownia wood is nearly white in its natural state;
here, it has been stained dark brown with animal
blood and given a natural (clear) lacquer finish.
The lines and proportions of this Desk are extremely
handsome. It has a monumental presence belying its
small size. The upturned ends of the top give the
impression that the Desk is about to soar into flight.
The same impression was conveyed by the upturned
corners of the eaves on traditional Korean tile roofs.
The upturned ends of desktops and book-chest tops
had a practical purpose: to keep scrolls and brushes
from rolling off.
The stepped-out stand of this Desk repeats the
overhang of the top. The subtle curves of the legs
echo the curves of the top; so do the scrolling con-
tours of the stretchers between the legs. Unlike a
Korean chest, which was always placed against a
wall, a Korean desk stood in the middle of the room.
The back and sides of a desk.were made of the same
wood as the front, and they were given the same
kind of finish.
The carved, fleur-de-lis ornaments on the lower
drawer, sides, and back of this Desk are stylized
representations of the Sacred Fungus (Chinese: ling
chih, Korean: pulloch'o), one of The Ten Symbols of
Long Life (see Cat. 70),
and an ubiquitous motif on
Korean paintings and household objects. Taoists
believed that the Sacred Fungus bestows immortality
on those who eat it. The trefoil tips of brass or iron
fittings on Korean chests referred to the upper part
of the Sacred Fungus. So does the carved, trefoil
ornament we see here. It was fairly common, especially
on book-storage chests. It was meant to be an
auspicious symbol of long life and happiness for
the gentleman who owned the Desk.
180 KOREAN ART
85. Ink-stone Box (Yonsang)
Persimmon wood and pine
H. 8%", W. 14V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. John Menke 86.136
An ink-stone box usually stood beside a gentle-
man's desk (see Cat. 84). Ink-stone boxes had two
compartments in the upper section, each with a
separate lid. One compartment was for the ink stone
itself, the other for ink sticks and a water dropper.
Below the pair of compartments was a full-width
drawer for brushes. The open tray at the bottom was
for rolls of paper. Every Yi Dynasty gentleman was
supposed to be something of a scholar, calligrapher,
and poet. Writing paraphernalia was therefore
essential in his room.
Persimmon wood was prized for its dramatic two-
tone grain. The furniture craftsman selected sections
of two adjoining boards sawed from the same log to
achieve the dark and light configurations on the
nearly identical lid panels of this Desk; they were
meant to suggest a landscape with steep mountains
rising above the mist. For the front, side, and back
panels, he reversed adjacent boards above and below
to achieve a diagonal stripe of dark grain within light
grain or light within dark. The effect is bold yet
harmonious. Mirror-reversing neighboring or
opposing panelswhich allowed the grain patterns
to repeat themselves in reversewas a standard
decorative technique for the multipaneled fronts of
Korean chests. The technique was indicative of the
Korean furniture craftsman's fondness for and
inspired use of wood.
86. Jewelry Box (P'ae-mul ham)
Black lacquer and mother-of-pearl, over hemp cloth,
on wood; brass fittings
H. 7V2
",
W.
10%"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Karel Wiest 81.59
This elegant box is a quintessential example of a
characteristic Korean decorative technique: black
lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Red and black
lacquer were expensive; their use was normally
limited to small items such as boxes and trays. Large
chests finished in black or red lacquer inlaid with
mother-of-pearl were the exception rather than the
rule (see Cat. 79, 81). The Koreans often decorated
red lacquer with inlaid mother-of-pearl (see Cat. 81),
but black lacquer was more usual.
Modern trays, boxes, screens, and small tables
done in red or black lacquer inlaid with mother-of-
pearl are popular luxury items in Korea today. Black
lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay has been a well-
known Korean speciality for centuries. Koryo Dynasty
examples are extant, the earliest ones datable to the
12th century. The technique came to Korea from
China, perhaps during the United Silla Period,
which was profoundly influenced by the culture of
T'ang Dynasty China. Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-
pearl flourished in China during the T'ang Dynasty.
Several T'ang examples have survived in the Shoso-
in storehouse at Todaiji, a Buddhist temple in Nara,
Japan. They were deposited there by Emperor
Shomu's widow, Empress Komyo, in 756.
Shell-inlaid lacquer has had a long history in China.
Examples dating from the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500-
182 KOREAN ART
1027 B.C.) have been excavated. The earliest-known
lacquer dates from Shang times, so shell inlay seems
to go back to the very beginnings of the lacquerer's
craft. Painted lacquer and lacquer inlaid with gold
and silver were more prevalent than shell-inlaid
lacquer during the Chou Dynasty (1027-221 B.C.) and
the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). Lacquer inlaid
with mother-of-pearl achieved prominence during
the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) and remained in favor
during the subsequent Sung, Yuan, Ming, and
Ch'ing dynasties. Mother-of-pearl-inlaid Chinese
lacquer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was a major
source of inspiration for Yi Dynasty Korean lacquer.
The shell-inlaid designs on the front, back, top,
and sides of this Box depict stylized peonies. Roped
(twisted) brass wire forms the curvilinear stalks of
the blossoms. Peonies have been a favorite Korean
decorative motif since early times, incised or molded
on the interior of 12th-century celadon bowls,
painted on 18th-19th century blue-and-white jars,
rendered in lacquer, stitched in embroidery, depicted
in both ink-wash paintings and brightly colored folk
paintings (see Cat. 53).
Koreans love peonies. They grow in the courtyard
of nearly every house there. Peonies bloom in the
spring, when nature renews itself with fresh leaves
and grass, and they are among the largest and
most luxuriant flowers. In Korea, peonies came to
symbolize richness and abundance, wealth and
happiness, nobility and purity, spring and sexual
love. What could be more appropriate than peonies
to decorate a lacquer box in which a wife kept her
jewelry and incidentals?
87. Ox-horn (Hwagak) Document Box (Soryu Ham)
Back-painted ox horn, on wood; brass fittings
H. 5V8
",
L.
16%"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.40.2
Bright, gay colors, dominated by an orange-red
background, and lively bird-and-flower designs
make painted-horn objects the most joyful of all
Korean folk art. Painted-horn items were made for
the women's quarters (anch'ae), where loud colors
and happy, auspicious motifs were the norm. Some-
how the gaudy colors and multiplicity of designs on
horn boxes never became vulgar or excessive, never
overwhelmed the integrity of the harmonious,
almost severe, rectangular forms of the boxes. This is
true of Korean art and crafts in general; garish colors
and crowded designs somehow remained subordinate
to the forms of the objects on which they appeared.
Back-painted ox-horn (hwagak) was a characteristic
Korean technique. The horn was soaked in warm
water to soften it, then pressed into flat sheets,
peeled in thin layers, cut into small rectangular
panels, and polished to make it transparent. The
designs were painted on what would become the
reverse side of each panel, with the final lines and
accents done first and the colors added on top of
them, like Western or Chinese back-painted glass
pictures. Each panel was glued to the box, painted
side in. The horn formed a tough, lustrous surface
and protected the painted designs from abrasion.
Typically, each panel on the present Box has its
own separate composition, like an individual folk
painting in miniature. With characteristic Korean
casualness, some of the paintings on the Box are
horizontal and others are vertical. The brass latch-
plate, which is original, was nailed right over the
heads of the tiger and dragon!
The various designs on the Box constitute a virtual
compendium of Korean folk-art motifs: peonies,
lotuses, flowers, pairs of ducks and birds, a tiger, a
dragon, cranes, deer, pine trees, rabbits, goats, and
a male child. Most of these animals and plants are
auspicious symbols. The tiger wards off evil. The
dragon attracts good fortune. The cranes symbolize
long life, as do the deer and the pine trees. The
peonies suggest abundance and beauty. The lotuses
stand for purity. The pairs of ducks and birds are
emblematic of happy marriage. The male child is a
joyous omen that the woman who owns the box will
bear male children.
The shape and size of this Box indicate that it was a
document box (soryu ham). The documents it contained
would have been in the form of scrolls. The back-
painted horn technique was more commonly used
on boxes for women's incidentals, which were not as
long and narrow as document boxes. Occasionally,
larger pieces of furniture were covered with Invagak.
The technique had one serious drawback: The horn
panels tended to crack and curl due to changes in
temperature and humidity, permitting moisture to
damage the paintings underneath.
184 KOREAN ART
88. Stationery Box (Mungap)
Painted and cut paper, on papier-mache
H.
4",
L. 13V4
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of Dr. Kenneth Rosenbaum 84.203.10 a&b
Paper with painted and applied cut-paper designs
was another characteristic Korean decorative tech-
nique. The paper was usually glued to papier-mache
to make small objects such as boxes; for larger items
such as storage chests, it was glued onto wood. The
paper surface was protected by an oil finish. The
colors were predominantly bright red and yellow.
The oil finish gradually darkened, making the colors
look more muted.
These brightly colored, paper-covered items were
made for the women's quarters of the house. The most
typical pieces were sewing boxes, which were either
high-sided square trays or deep, octagonal boxes with
removable lids. The designs on the latter type were
usually very similar to the designs on this Stationery
Box. These designs were created with cut-paper
applique, stenciled paint, and hand-applied paint.
The central motif on the top, sides, front, and back
of this Box is a circle enclosing three curving, comma-
shaped elements. This is a variant on the pair of
circled commas representing yang and yin. The
circled-comma symbol is called t'aeguk in Korean.
It was originally an ancient Chinese Taoist device
meant to suggest the operating principles of the
universe. Two interlocking commas formed a circle.
One comma represented yang, the male, positive
principle; the other represented yin, the female,
negative principle. The myriad activities of the cos-
mos derived from the interaction of yang and yin,
which were opposite but mutual and inseparable.
Turning together in a circle, the two commas symbol-
ized endless cycles of movement and flux through-
out the universe. Nothing was ever the same again;
only change was unchanging.
The circled-comma motif was often combined with
The Eight Trigrams (see Cat. 79). United in a single
mystic diagram, these two sets of symbols formed a
powerful talisman that was said to prevent misfortune,
assure prosperity, and promote happiness. Under-
standably, this diagram appeared frequently in the
folklore and decorative arts of China and Korea. The
Eight Trigrams were usually arranged in a circle
around the pair of commas. The South Korean flag
uses a variant with the commas in the center of each
side flanked by four of The Eight Trigrams, for a full
complement of eight on the two sides of the flag.
89. Hatbox (Kwansang) and Hat (Kat)
Hatbox: black lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, on
papier-mache; hat: black-lacquered horsehair mesh
Hatbox: H. 6
3
/4
",
Diam. 12%"; Hat: H. 4V4
",
Diam. 9
3
/4
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Source unknown Hatbox: X923.1 a&b; hat: X923.2
Until recent times, every well-dressed Korean man
twenty years of age or older wore a hat (kat). Modern-
ization and Westernization have taken their toll on
traditional Korean headgear, but an occasional
elderly gentleman in the countryside still wears a kat.
During the Yi Dynasty, the kat was worn indoors as
well as out. If the wearer was a high official, he wore
an official's cap (t'ang-gon) under his kat; the shape
and material of the cap denoted his rank.
The form of the traditional Korean hat is very
distinctive. There is nothing quite like it in China or
Japan. It has a tall, cylindrical crown tapering slightly
toward the top and a lightly arched brim of medium
width. The brim did not encircle the forehead and
temples like one on a Western hat. The crown has a
short extension below the brim, so the hat sat well
up on the head. Black silk ribbons tied under the
chin kept it in place. Only a few traditional hatmakers
have survived in Korea.
As an important article of daily attire, a gentleman's
hat required an appropriately elegant box to store it
in. The present Hatbox employs the characteristic
Korean technique of black lacquer inlaid with mother-
of-pearl (see Cat. 86). Here, the lacquer was applied
on a papier-mache core rather than on wood. The
decoration includes several of The Ten Svmbols of
Long Life (see Cat. 70): deer, cranes, pine trees,
bamboo, Sacred Fungus, sun, and clouds.
The circle in the center of the lid encloses a stylized
form of the Chinese character meaning "long life."
Around it are leafy branches bearing Peaches of
Immortality (see Cat. 73), as well as flying cranes
carrying peaches in their beaks. On the far side of the
box are peonies (symbols of beauty and abundance),
grass orchids (symbols of a gentleman scholar's
nobility of spirit), and phoenixes (see Cat. 72).
186 KOREAN ART
90. Rectangular Tray Table (Haeju-ban)
Wood
H. 11", L. 18V4"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.107.2
Because chairs were not used in Korea until
modern times, daily activities such as eating, sleep-
ing, reading, writing, and conversation took place at
floor level. The master of the house sat on a large,
rectangular mat in the sitting room of the men's
quarters. His wife had a similar mat in her sitting room
in the women's quarters. Guests and other members
of the family sat on individual square cushions. The
mats and cushions were placed directly on the
heated ondol floor of each sitting room.
At night, sleeping mats, which had been folded
and stacked on top of bandaji chests during the day,
were spread on the ondol floors of the sleeping rooms
located behind the sitting rooms in the men's and
women's quarters. The husband did not normally
see his wife during the day. He could visit her
bedroom during the night.
The women of the household ate their meals in
the women's quarters; the men ate in theirs. Small
children remained in the women's area of the house.
Each person was served his or her meal on an indi-
vidual tray table while seated on a cushion or mat on
the ondol floor of a sitting room. The standard size
tray table we see here was used to serve a full meal.
Smaller tray tables were used for drinks and snacks.
Whereas Korean chests usually had an oil finish,
Korean tray tables usually had a lacquer finish or a
combination lacquer-and-oil finish to prevent spilled
food and beverages from staining the wood.
A swastika appears as a reticulated ornament on
the supporting panel at each end of the present Tray
Table. The swastika motif also appeared frequently in
the openwork decoration of the brass or iron fittings
on Korean chests (see Cat. 82), and in embroidered
designs on Korean costumes and other textile items
(see Cat. 98). Swastika designs developed indepen-
dently in different parts of the ancient world. In
China and Korea the swastika was originally a symbol
of the Cosmic Buddha. Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
images of the Buddha, in both paintings and sculp-
ture, were often emblazoned with a swastika on the
Buddha's chest. Ming Dynasty China was the major
source of influence for Yi Dynasty Korea. Yi Buddha
images frequently had similar chest swastikas.
Confucianism was the state religion of the Yi
Dynasty. Buddhism, its state support withdrawn,
suffered occasional persecution by the government
and declined rapidly. By the late Yi Period, the
swastika motif had been largely secularized. Although
most Koreans were probably still aware of its original
Buddhist meaning, the swastika had become an
ubiquitous ornament on household objects having
no connection with Buddhism. The swastika simply
became an auspicious symbol of harmony and
happiness.
188 KOREAN ART
91. Tray Table (Soban)
Wood
H.
11"
Diam. 15V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.107.3
Korea is hot and humid in summer but extremely
cold in winter. The space immediately above the
heated ondol floors in the sitting rooms or sleeping
rooms of Korean houses was the warmest, most
comfortable, most convivial place to be during the
winter. Windows were few, and they were high on
the walls to keep cold drafts away from people
seated on the floor. During the summer, when the
ondol floor was not heated, its smooth, shiny, oiled-
paper surface was cool and pleasant to sit or sleep
on. The lower part of the room remained cooler than
the upper part.
Koreans ate their meals on individual tray tables
while seated on cushions directly on the ondol floor
(see Cat. 90, 92). Twelve-sided tray tables with
cabriole legs were the most typical. The standard size
we see here was used for full meals; smaller versions
were used for drinks and snacks. The cabriole leg
was called a "tiger leg" (hochok) in Korean.
The curve in the top of the present Tray Table was
not the result of a subtle refinement in the design;
the wood has simply warped quite badly. With
characteristic nonchalance, Korean furniture crafts-
men routinely used wood that was not adequately
dried or seasoned. The dynamic lines, harmonious
proportions, and solid workmanship of Korean
furniture convey a satisfying sense of strength and
reflect an admirably direct response to wood, so one
scarcely notices the warping and cracks that often
occurred. After all, the tendency to warp and split is
an inherent characteristic of wood. Korean furniture
is direct, natural, and rugged.
92. Round Tray Table (Chaeban)
Wood
H. 7V2
",
Diam. 15V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.107.4
Korean craftsmen have been especially admired for
their skills at wood turning. Cups, bowls, trays, tray
tables, and other household items were made of
turned wood. They were usually stained and finished
with lacquer or lacquer and oil. Korean turned-wood
objects develop a wonderfully mellow patina after
years of use.
Wood turning is still a viable craft tradition in
Korea today. One is startled to find that the crafts-
men turn wood that has not been dried completely,
wood that is almost green. One would expect objects
turned from green wood to warp, split, and self-
destruct. Yet somehow, Korean turned-wood items
usually remain intact: there is some warping, but not
as much as one would expect, and some cracks
inevitably appear but are usually not severe enough
to interfere with function or visual appearance.
The present Tray Table has virtually no warping and
only tiny radial cracks on the edge of the base. This
is really quite remarkable; it attests to the skill and
experience of the wood-turning craftsman who
produced the Table. The tray portion and the tall,
hollow pedestal are all turned from one large piece
of wood. The lines and proportions are extraordinarily
harmonious and pleasing, imbuing the piece with a
sense of strength and grandeur, despite its simple,
functional form. The pair of incised horizontal lines
on the pedestal, three-fifths of the distance below
the top, as well as the turned ring and small circle in
the center of the top, serve to articulate those other-
wise plain surfaces in a most appropriate way. This
Table is a beautiful, simple, and functional object, like
contemporary 20th-century design at its best.
190 KOREAN ART
93. Rice-washing Bowl
Wood
H. 6V4" Diam. 16y4
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.107.1
Since it was a kitchen utensil, this large wooden
Bowl is very informal, not as carefully shaped and
finished as the preceding Tray Table (see Cat. 92), for
example. Unlike the Tray Table, the Bowl was not
turned on a lathe. It was chopped out and carved by
hand from a large block of wood, using an adze,
chisels, and draw knives. The tool marks were allowed
to remain visible on the surface. Rice-washing bowls
were rough, utilitarian vessels used in every Korean
kitchen, yet they are aesthetically satisfying as well
as perfectly suited to their mundane task. Even the
most humble Korean wooden utensils have charm
and dignity.
The Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese have always
preferred white (polished) rice. In the pas
sometimes resulted due to the thiamine in the brown
hulls having been removed in the "polishing"
process. Dietary customs are difficult to change.
East Asians preferred the taste and consistency of
white rice and associated brown rice with poverty
and low social status.
After the rice had been harvested and hung on
racks to dry, it was threshed with wooden flails and
winnowed in shallow baskets to eliminate the chaff
(the seed coverings of the rice grains and other
debris). In Japan, the bran (the seed coatings on the
rice grains) was removed by polishing machines
operated by rice merchants. In Korea, housewives
bought brown rice and polished it themselves with
rice-washing bowls like the one we see here. The rice
was mixed with enough water to form a heavy, thick,
wet mass. The mix was kneaded up and down across
the hard edges of the horizontal grooves on the
inside of the bowl, like washing clothes on an old-
fashioned washboard.
94. Hand Mill
Granite
H. 15
3
/4
",
L.
19"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.40.1 a&b
The Korean peninsula is full of granite, and since
early times, it has been used for the foundations of
important buildings there. Korean granite also proved
ideal for the construction of monuments such as
pagodas, lanterns, and commemorative tablets. Tough
and hard, Korean granite withstands the weather for
centuries. Quantities of large-scale outdoor sculpture
were also carved from it (see Cat. 57).
Here we see a household utensil made of granite,
a Hand Mill for grinding rice or beans. The form is
functional and the finish is rough, chisel marks
having been left on the surface. Still, there is such a
sense of Tightness about this Mill, such a feeling of
inevitability, that one cannot help admiring it aesthet-
ically. As in the case of Korean wooden objects, the
granite has been worked in a remarkably direct and
appropriate way.
The disclike grinding head fits onto the round
grinding platform at the top of the mill. A short,
stout wood dowel formed the axis. There is a slot on
the upper edge of the grinding head for a wooden
crank. Toward the opposite side of the top is a conical
hole. Rice or dried beans were poured slowly through
this hole as the grinding head was cranked round
and round. The rice flour or bean meal fell into the
groove around the grinding platform and moved
along the spout until it dropped into a waiting
container below.
192 KOREAN ART
95. Small Brazier (Hand Warmer)
Slate
H.
6", W.
11"
Yi Dynasty, 18th-19th century
Gift of Dr. John Lyden 82.50.11
Korean granite (see Cat. 57, 94), being extremely
hard and tough, was ideal for architectural use, as
well as for outdoor sculpture, and for utensils that
had to endure rough service, like grinding mills.
Granite working became a celebrated Korean craft
tradition. There was also another well-known Korean
stone-working tradition utilizing soft stone. Items for
the scholar's desk, such as ink stones, water
droppers, brush containers, paper holders, and
incense burners, were made from soft stone. So were
household objects such as braziers, hand warmers,
pots, pans, casseroles, teapots, basins, flatirons,
fulling blocks, and small boxes with lids, either
round, octagonal, or rectangular.
Some of the more prestigious items (brush
containers, water droppers, or covered boxt s) were
occasionally made from light-colored stone such as
soapstone or alabaster. The more utilitarian items
were made from dark-gray slate (pencil stone, black
soapstone), which was almost black when its surface
was polished smooth. The best ink stones were
made from lavender-colored slate, the more ordinary
ones from black slate.
The most characteristic product of this soft-stone
craft tradition m the Yi Dynasty was the portable
brazier (hand warmer) of dark-gray slate, such as we
see here. Today these little fire pots are greatly
admired by collectors in Japan as well as in Korea.
The shape, color, and texture of this Small Brazier
have a compelling visual and tactile appeal. As with
so many traditional Korean objects, the form and the
material suited the object's function perfectly. Yet the
aesthetic appeal goes well beyond mere functionalism.
Subtle refinements of the Brazier's design, such as the
exterior facets, the corresponding interior vertical
grooves, and the slight upward curve of the handles,
^ive it a simple elegance comparable to that of, say,
^temporary Scandinavian furniture.
96. Suit of Armor for a Deputy Commander
(Tujong-gap)
Wool flannel lined with silk and edged with fur;
lacquered leather; gilt-copper fittings
Helmet: H. 32%", W. 8"; Coat: H. 43", W.
52"
Yi Dynasty, 18th-19th century
1913 Museum Expedition X957.1 a&b
This elegant Suit
of
Armor was not meant to be
worn in battle. It was intended for the colorful
processions and other ceremonies held throughout
the year by the royal court. Although it incorporates
the finest materials and workmanship, this Armor
was strictly for show. The gilt-copper rivets arranged
in neat vertical and horizontal rows on the coat
and on the neck guards of the helmet are merely
ornamental. Their function on a suit of battle armor
would have been to secure small, overlapping steel
plates between the outer and inner layers of cloth.
The steel scales afforded protection against swords
and arrows. Likewise the helmet bowl, which would
have been made of steel on fighting armor, is made
of black-lacquered leather.
The various motifs depicted in the elaborate open-
work gilt-copper fittings on the helmet are part of
the standard Yi Dynasty repertoire of auspicious
symbols. The dragon was a symbol of the king,
and of Heaven (see Cat. 69). When paired with the
194 KOREAN ART
dragon, the phoenix was a symbol of the queen (see
Cat. 72). The dragon protected the nation from
calamity by repelling evil spirits, while at the same
time inviting good fortune. The phoenix dwelt only
in lands where there was peace and prosperity. The
swastika, originally a Buddhist motif, became a
secular symbol of success.
The Chinese ideograph on the nose guard of the
helmet means "virtue," Confucianism's summum
bonum. Shamanism was not ignored, however. The
trident (on the helmet finial) is an attribute of Shaman-
ist Guardian Generals (see Cat. 31). The central
Guardian General in the painting holds a trident.
Moreover, his helmet has a red-plumed trident finial
just like the one on this Armor. An iron trident is one
of the standard implements used by mudang (Korean
shamans) performing kut (shaman rituals).
The articulated, gilt-copper dragons forming the
epaulets on this Armor are among the liveliest depic-
tions of this creature to be found anywhere. They are
magnificent sculpture in miniature; their dignity and
energy belie their small size. Oak leaves, here repre-
sented by small, gilt-copper plaques around the neck
area of the coat, were Yi Dynasty symbols of valor,
an appropriate emblem for the costume of a military
officer.
97. Helmet
Steel; leather
H. 19", W. 8V2"
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
1913 Museum Expedition X957.5
Because the Suit
of
Armor (see Cat. 96) was made
for ceremonial use rather than battle, its helmet bowl
is lacquered leather. The bowl of the present Helmet
is made of steel; it was meant to be worn in battle. A
sturdy, ribbed band of steel riveted to the front and
back of the bowl provides vertical reinforcement. The
small visor, the hemispherical finial, and the tubular
plume socket are also made of steel. The intentional,
gray-black chemical patina on the steel helped
prevent rust and provided a handsome, dark finish.
The domical finial, the reinforcing bands, and the
visor are decorated with lotus-scroll designs in silver
damascening. The silver has tarnished a blue-black
color not unlike that of the surrounding steel, so the
decoration is now somewhat difficult to see. When
the silver was polished bright, its whiteness contrasted
sharply with the blue-black steel around it.
Damascening is the technique of decorating steel
with overlaid designs of softer metal of contrasting
color, usually silver or gold. The surface of the steel
was scratched with crisscross file marks wherever
the design was to appear. A strip or small sheet of
thin silver was hammered onto the surface. The
underside of the soft silver was forced into the burrs
and edges of the file marks by the hammering and
held the silver in place.
Damascening was used widely in the Arab world;
the term derives from the city of Damascus. The craft
of damascening also became a Korean specialty.
Household items, such as small covered boxes, port-
able braziers (hand warmers), candle stands, and
padlocks, were decorated by this process.
The neck guards of the present Helmet are made
of tough, gray leather lined with light-brown leather
and edged with snakeskin. They are decorated on
the outside with embroidered floral-scroll arabesques
in brightly colored silk thread that has now faded
somewhat.
196 KOREAN ART
98. Two Pairs of Mandarin Squares (Hyungbae)
Silk embroidery
H. 9V4
",
W. 8
3
/4
"
each (Cranes)
H. 7%", W.
7"
each (Tigers)
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
1913 Museum Expedition X960.1&.2 (Cranes);
X903.1&2 (Tigers)
The art of embroidery is another famous Korean
specialty. During the Yi Dynasty, robes, jackets,
skirts, caps, purses, eyeglass cases, and pillow ends
were often decorated with embroidery. But the most
spectacular examples were embroidered screens.
< hey were full-size, eight-panel screens, exactly like
^reen paintings except that they were embroidered
rather than painted, an extremely complex, time-
consuming process. Birds and flowers were the most
popular subject for embroidered screens, just as they
were for painted ones (see Cat. 49). Elaborate
compositions of figures in landscape settings were
sometimes embroidered on screens.
Every high-ranking government official wore a pair
of mandarin squares on his court robe, one on the
chest and one on the back, following Ming Dynasty
practice in China. Details of the designs indicated
the court ranks and duties of the officials. Cranes
indicated civil officials; tigers indicated military
officials. Two cranes indicated a higher rank than
one crane; two tigers did likewise.
MODERN KOREA
AFTER 1910
200 KOREAN ART
99. Mountain Landscape in Moonlight
By Kim Ki-chang (born 1914)
Ink and color on silk
H. 19%", W.
21%" exclusive of mounting
Dated in accordance with 1975
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Peter Reimann 81.124
Kim Ki-chang is perhaps Korea's best-known living
artist. He was born in Seoul in 1914. A childhood
illness permanently impaired his hearing and speech;
he communicates by exchanging written notes. At
the age of sixteen, he became a pupil of the painter
Kim Un-ho. During the 1930s, Kim Ki-chang's
paintings won several important awards, including
the coveted grand prize at the Choson Art Exhibition.
Soon after the end of World War II, Kim Ki-chang
married Pak Nae-hyon, a leading artist in her own
right. As is the custom in Korea, Pak retained her
maiden name after their marriage. Kim and Pak held
a number of joint exhibitions. After the Korean War,
Kim Ki-chang began to show his paintings abroad as
well as in Korea. His work has been exhibited in the
United States, France, and Brazil.
Kim Ki-chang's painting style progressed from
skillfully drawn, realistic figure paintings in the early
1930s through bold, free ink paintings of horses,
figures, and landscapes in the 50s and 60s, to color
abstractions in the late 60s, and on to calligraphic ink
abstractions in the 1970s.
In the present painting, a pair of mandarin ducks,
symbolic of happy marriage, fly among boulders,
cliffs, and wind-blown pine trees, with blue mountain
peaks in the distance and the moon rising at the
upper left. The inscription at the lower right begins
with a cyclical date equivalent to 1975, then the
characters for "early spring," then Un Po (Mr. Cloud),
one of Kim Ki-chang's art names. The upper seal
reads, "Seal of Kim Ki-chang"; the lower one repeats
his art name, Un Po.
2.02 KOREAN ART
100. Flowers of the Four Seasons
By Park Sang-yol (b. 1923)
Eight-panel screen painting; ink and color on paper
H. 17%", W.
13%" each painting, exclusive of mounting
Dated in accordance with 1980
Gift of Harold Glasser 82.176
Park Sang-yol was born in 1923 and currently lives
in Seoul. He studied painting under Pae Lyom and
Chang Wu-song. He works in the traditional literati
style. In addition to numerous exhibitions in Korea,
he participated in group shows in Tokyo and Osaka
in 1976. He had a one-man show in the United States
in 1977.
T
~-
:r
i.
1
Reading from right to left in the customary manner,
the subjects of the paintings on this screen are as
follows: Pine Bough and Moon; Forsythia; Morning
Glories; Peonies; Lotus; Persimmons; Daffodils;
Camellias. Each painting is signed "Ko-tang," one of
Park Sang-yol's art names. Each painting except the
Daffodils bears a cyclical date equivalent to 1980. Two
are inscribed "Spring"; five are inscribed "Summer."
The Forsythia is inscribed with a title, "Early Spring."
The Camellia likewise bears a title, "Flower of the
Southern Provinces."
SELECTED BIBILIOGRAPHY
Choi Sunu
5000 Years
of
Korean Art
Seoul, Hyonam, 1979
Covell, Alan
Shamanist Folk Paintings: Korea's Eternal Spirits
Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Seoul, Hollym
International Corp., 1984
Covell, Jon
Korea's Cultural Roots
Salt Lake City and Seoul, Moth House and Hollym,
1981
Gompertz, G. St. G. M.
Korean Celadon and Other Wares
of
the Koryo Period
New York, Thomas Yoseloff, 1964
Gompertz, G. St. G. M.
Korean Pottery and Porcelain
of
the Yi Period
London, Faber and Faber, 1968
Kim Chewon and Lee Lena Kim
Arts
of
Korea
Tokyo, New York, and San Francisco, Kodansha
International, 1974
McCune, Evelyn
The Arts
of
Korea
Rutland and Tokyo, Tuttle, 1962
McCune, Evelyn
The Inner Art: Korean Screens
Berkeley and Seoul, Asia Humanities Press and
Po ChinChaiCo., 1983
The National Museum of Korea (ed.)
Folk Art
of
Korea
Seoul, The National Museum of Korea, 1975
The National Museum of Korea (ed.)
Masterpieces
of
500 Years
of
Korean Painting
Seoul, The National Museum of Korea, 1972
Sayers, Robert
Potters and Christians: New Light on Korea's First
Catholics
Korean Culture 6
(2),
1985: 26-35
Wichman, Michael
Korean Chests: Treasures
of
the Yi Dynasty
Seoul, Seoul International Tourist Publishing Co.,
1978
Wright, Edward and Pai Man-sill
Korean Furniture: Elegance and Tradition
Tokyo, New York, and San Francisco, Kodansha
International, 1984
Zozayong (pseudonym of Cho Cha-yong)
Guardians
of
Happiness: Shamanistic Tradition in Korean
Folk Painting
Seoul, Emileh Museum, 1982
Zozayong
The Humor
of
Korean Tiger
Seoul, Emileh Museum, 1970
Zozayong
Introduction to Korean Folk Painting
Seoul, Emileh Museum, 1977
Zozayong
Spirit
of
the Korean Tiger
Seoul, Emileh Museum, 1972
COLOR PLATES
<*.
7. Pair of Earnings
Gold
H. 3Vs", W.
%"
each
Silla Period, 5th-6th century
Anonymous gift 83.195 a&b
11. Amifa (Amitabha) Triad
Hanging-scroll painting; ink,
color, and gold on silk
H. 51V4
",
W. 32V4
"
exclusive
of mounting
Koryo Dynasty, 14th century
Gift of Prof. Harold Henderson
61.204.30
15. Ewer with Lid
Celadon porcelain with
white and black slip decoration
H. 9%", W. 9V2
"
Koryo Dynasty, first half of the 12th century
Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III 56.138.1 a&b
30. San Shin (The Mountain Spirit)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on silk
H. 34", W. 24V2" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Purchase 84.145
31. O Bang Jang Kun (The Five Guardian Generals)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink, color, and gold on silk
H. 57", W.
40"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Purchase 80.76
34. Kam Mo Yo
Je
Do (Spirit Shrine)
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and color on paper
H. 67 5/16", W.
56%"
Yi Dynasty, dated in accordance with June, 1811
Purchase 86.25
36. Kuo Tzu-i's Banquet
Six-panel screen painting;
ink and color on silk
H. 79%", W. 142V2
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of John Gruber 84.251
40. Grapevine
Hanging-scroll painting, ink on paper
H. 26", W. 12
3
A" exclusive of mounting
Yi Dynasty, 16th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.442
54. Tiger and Magpie
Hanging-scroll painting; ink and
color on paper
H. 34
y
4
",
W. 16%"
exclusive of
mounting
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Florence Selden L81.18
58. Dong-ja (Altar Attendants)
Pair of polychromed wood figures
H.
19"
(.1),
20"
(.2), W. 3V2
"
each
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Wallace 83.174.1 & .2
59. Kirogi (Wedding Duck)
Wood with traces of ink
H. 9%", L. 13%"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Gift of the Guennol Collection 86.140
71. Porcelain Wine Bottle
White porcelain brushed with
cobalt under a clear glaze
H. 6", W. 4V4
"
Yi Dynasty, 18th century
Lent by Dr. John Lyden TL1986.56.1
81. Chest (Chang)
Red lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl,
on wood;
brass fittings
H. 32
5
/8
",
W.
30%"
Yi Dynasty, late 18th-early 19th century
Lent by Mr. & Mrs. David Drabkin TL1984.83 a&b
87. Ox-horn (Hwagak) Document Box (Soryu Ham)
Back-painted ox horn, on wood; brass fittings
H. 5V8
",
L. 16
5
/8
"
Yi Dynasty, 19th century
Lent by Dr. John
Lyden TL1986.40.2
83. Rice Chest (Ssal tuiju)
Pine; iron fittings
H. 22",
W. 23%"
Yi Dynasty,
19th century
Lent by Dr.
John Lyden TL1986.40.3
a&b
98. Two Pairs of Mandarin Squares (Hyungbae)
(detail)
o
nu
.*
\
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KOREAN ART
Based on The Brooklyn Museum's magnificent collection of Korean art -one of the
most extensive in the United Statesthis is a lavishly illustrated introduction to the
art of Korea, its history and aesthetics.
With striking reproductions of 100 fine objects, this volume covers every major
category of Korean art: painting, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, lacquer,
textiles, embroidery, stone, paper, basketry, and folk art. The text by Robert
J.
Moes,
an eminent Oriental scholar, interprets each object with regard to iconography,
meaning, usage, and techniques of production. In his introduction, Mr. Moes
addresses the history and unique aesthetics of Korean art during periods ranging
from the Neolithic c. 3000 B.C. through the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910).
ROBERT
J.
MOES is curator of Oriental art at The Brooklyn Museum, New York,
and has published many works on the subject, among them, Mingei: Japanese Folk
Art (Universe, 1985) and Auspicious Spirits: Korean Folk Paintings and Related Objects.
UNIVERSE BOOKS
381 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
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ISBN 0-87663-516-8