Sillabi Monument in Jungseong-ri, Pohang

The Sillabi Monument in Jungseong-ri, Pohang, found in May 2009 at Jungseong-ri, Heunghae-eup, Buk-gu, Pohang, North Gyeongsang, is the oldest surviving Silla stele. An inscription of 203 characters in twelve lines of up to twenty is incised on one face of an irregular granite stone. Only part of the top and part of the right side have broken away, and most of the inscription is in good enough condition to read. It tells of the political, economic and cultural conditions of Silla: the formation of the rank system, the internal structure of the six districts, local rule and the procedure for settling disputes, the meaning of gung (palace), and measures to prevent a dispute recurring after judgement. It is regarded as of great historical and scholarly value. The script is classed as clerical — an archaic clerical script akin to the stele of King Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo, with a frankness peculiar to Silla. The horizontal strokes stay level, with almost no slant, marking it as clerical; the traces of regular-script brushwork it shows are a forerunner of the transition to the archaic regular script of the Danyang Jeokseong stele; and it is even more Silla in character than the Naengsu-ri and Bongpyeong steles, which adds to its value. It predates the Sillabi Monument in Naengsu-ri, Pohang (503, the fourth year of King Jijeung) by two years, the oldest Silla stele. The later Sillabi Monument in Bongpyeong-ri, Uljin (524, the eleventh year of King Beopheung) was designated a national treasure in 1988 and the Naengsu-ri stele in 1991, so on its historical, artistic and scholarly value this stele too was designated a national treasure.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보