Monument for Liu Renyuan of Tang China, Buyeo

This is a monument erected to commemorate the achievements of Liu Renyuan, a general of Tang China. It had lain on Busosan Mountain broken into three pieces and scattered about; a pavilion was built on the site to restore it, and after Liberation it was moved to the Buyeo National Museum. The front of the body stone is somewhat chipped away, and the capstone is also partly broken; the inscription is carved on the front and back of the body stone, but it is so badly worn that it is difficult to read. The body stone and capstone are formed from a single piece of stone, and the head section is rounded, without angles. The capstone in particular has very realistic carvings of six dragons: three rise from each side, their bodies intertwined, contesting for a wish-fulfilling jewel at the centre — a passage that also shows the ornate technique typical of the early Tang period. The inscription falls into two parts, on Liu Renyuan's lineage and on his life; the section on his life mainly records his activities after he was chosen by Emperor Taizong of Tang. He distinguished himself in 645, when Emperor Taizong attacked Goguryeo, and in 660, together with Su Dingfang, he attacked and destroyed Baekje, afterwards also suppressing the Baekje restoration movement. His later activities can no longer be traced, as the inscription beyond this point has been worn away. The Daedong Geumseokseo states that Liu Renyuan himself wrote this inscription, but this claim is not accepted. The monument was erected in 663, the third year of King Munmu of Unified Silla, three years after the inscription was carved on the Five-story Stone Pagoda at Jeongnimsa Temple Site in Buyeo, a National Treasure. Although it is a monument to the achievements of a Tang general, the inscription records the fact that King Uija, the crown prince, and over 700 officials were taken captive to Tang, along with important details of the restoration movement and the state of the ruined capital, making it valuable evidence of the circumstances of the time.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buyeo, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물