Baek In-geol Tomb

This is the tomb of Baek In-geol (pen name Hyuam, 1497-1579), a Confucian scholar of the mid-Joseon period renowned as a cheongbaengni, an official celebrated for integrity and incorruptibility. The burial ground takes the form of a danbun, a single mound, in which he was interred together with his wife, Lady An of the Sunheung Ahn clan. The grave marker is of the wonsubangbu type, a stele with a rounded capstone and a square base, and the inscription, written in clerical script, is exceptionally elegant. The stone lantern is of a simple square form but has a well-balanced composition. The stone figures of boy attendants have their hair tied in the ssanggye style, with two topknots rising upward, and are adorned with the shoulder ornament known as pigyeon and the waist ornament known as podu, an iconography typical of the mid-Joseon period. The stone figures of civil officials are carved in the bokdugongbok style, wearing the bokdu cap and official robes of a civil minister, and are fine works with dignified, handsome features. The shaft of the stone pillars bears a carved gwi, an ear-shaped handle ornament, characteristic of the mid-Joseon period and a clear marker of its date. At the entrance to the burial ground stands a sindobi, a stele erected beside the approach road near a tomb to commemorate the lifetime achievements of a king or high official; the text was composed by Song Si-yeol, the calligraphy written by Song Jun-gil, and the title inscribed in seal script by Kim Su-hang, showing that leading figures of the 17th century all took part in its making. It is of the isubangbu type, a stele with a dragon-patterned capstone and a square base, and the dragon carvings on the front and back of the capstone are outstanding, with an unusually deep sense of volume. This burial ground preserves the original form of its tomb complex intact, offering a rare instance in which the elaborate 16th-century arrangement of stone lantern, boy attendants, civil official figures and sindobi can all be seen together, and its stone furnishings possess high artistic value of great academic significance.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물