Sillabi Monument in Bongpyeong-ri, Uljin

A Silla stele of the Three Kingdoms period. In 1988 it was turned up in reworking a rice field at Bongpyeong-ri, left lying for two or three months, then spotted and reported by a villager, Gwon Dae-seon. Long buried, it is not in good condition, but it keeps its original shape well. It is a natural stone used undressed, roughly trapezoidal overall, 204 cm long, the inscribed face 32 cm wide at the top and 54.5 cm at the bottom. The inscription, on one face only, runs to about 400 characters. The script is a regular script influenced by the Northern Dynasties of China, with traces of clerical script. It is written not in standard classical Chinese but in a distinctive Silla style, which makes it hard to follow, though its outline can be made out. It records that when the Uljin area came into Silla territory its people rose in resistance; Silla held a council of the six districts, sent officials called daein to punish them, and raised this stele so that they would not resist again. Raised as Silla pushed north-east, it is thought to date from 524, the eleventh year of King Beopheung, when Silla set up Siljik province on the east coast. Its form, a small granite stone with one face dressed, shows Goguryeo features resembling the stele of King Gwanggaeto raised in 414. It is an important historical source for re-examining Silla society, and gives clues to the promulgation of the legal code under King Beopheung, the six-district system and the reality of royal power; it confirms the Samguk sagi's records of these, which gives it great value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Uljin, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보