경계를 넘어서: 동아시아 시각에서 본 고구려 벽화

Abstract

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