Bak Bu Tomb, Changnyeong

This is the burial ground of Lord Munjeong, Bak Bu, Buwongun of Milseong, and his wife, Lady Jeongbuin of the Chogye Jeong clan — jeongbuin being an honorific title granted to wives of senior-rank officials. Although it is a couple's joint burial ground, the two graves are arranged in a single front-to-back line, with Lord Munjeong's grave at the front and Lady Jeongbuin's behind it. Both are square mounds. The grave at the front, that of Lord Munjeong, measures 420 by 320 cm, with a mound about 150 cm high. Three retaining stones topped by a coping stone are set along the front, and four such stones, each with its own coping stone, run along each side. Although the earthen mound and some retaining stones have shifted slightly, the grave largely retains its original form. Stone furnishings associated with it include one memorial stele (myogal), two stone pillars (mangjuseok, ornamental pillars flanking a grave), and one stone figure. The stele stands slightly to the east of the grave and is capped with a dragon-carved head stone and set on a tortoise-shaped base. Its inscription, reading 'Grave of Lord Munjeong Nongam Bak, Buwongun of Milseong', readily identifies the occupant. The grave behind it, that of Lady Jeongbuin of the Chogye Jeong clan, has a mound measuring 590 by 410 cm and about 200 cm high, larger than that of her husband. Both corners of its retaining stones are carved with lotus-flower designs, a decorative feature for which examples are rare. Stone furnishings here include one spirit-resting stone (honyuseok), two stone pillars, two stone figures, and one stone piece presumed to be an incense-burner stand. A single flat stone that appears to have served as an offering table also lies in the surrounding woods. The stone figures, about 75 cm high today, have a distinctly folk quality unlike typical civil-official figures, which makes them unusual. The stone presumed to be an incense-burner stand, buried in front of the spirit-resting stone, bears a carved lotus-flower design, likewise a rare example. The owner of this burial ground, Lord Munjeong Bak Bu, Buwongun of Milseong, had the given name Bu, the courtesy name Gyeongo, and the pen name Nongam. The eighth-generation descendant of Taesagong of the Milseong Bak clan, he was born in 1412, the twelfth year of King Taejong, and died in 1489, the twentieth year of King Seongjong. Under King Sejong he distinguished himself alongside Kim Jong-seo and others in opening up the Yukjin, the Six Garrisons on the northern frontier, and rose to the post of Jwachamchan, Second Deputy Councillor of the State Council, of the senior third rank, receiving the posthumous title Munjeong. He was also the nephew of Bak Ik, pen name Song-eun, occupant of the recently discovered mural tomb at Gobeop-ri, Miryang; given the relationship between the two men and their dates of birth and death, this grave may well be connected to Bak Ik's mural tomb. The two graves in this burial ground are both square mounds of the early Joseon period, with clearly established occupants and dates. The memorial stele at Lord Munjeong's grave allows his life and achievements to be traced in detail. The grave of Lady Jeongbuin is unusual among square mounds for the lotus-flower decoration added to its retaining stones, and a separate stone piece presumed to be an incense-burner stand also survives. The two stone figures are notable for departing from the rigid conventions of civil- and military-official figures toward a folk-like form. That the wife's grave is larger and more elaborately decorated than the husband's, and that in the front-to-back arrangement her grave occupies the rear position that appears to be the place of honour, are important evidence for understanding the burial customs of the period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Changnyeong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물