This time, I would like to explain about the Four Guardian Animals that are guarding Gyeongbok Palace.

This time, I would like to explain about the Four Guardian Animals that are guarding Gyeongbok Palace.

The 4 Guardian Animals were inspired from the constellations. In the East Asia, we divided the constellations as the 3 Fences and the 28 Constellations. The 3 Fences mean the group of constellations called Jamiwon, Taemiwon and Cheonsiwon. There is the polar star in Jamiwon. People thought that the polar star is the Great Emperor. So, Jamiwon is the sky palace. They believed that the others played roles just like today's administrations. The 28 constellations are classified as feudal lords. They are assigned 7 to each of the 4 Guardian Animals as their directions. They form the shapes of the 4 Guardian Animals. These 4 gods are the Blue Dragon, the Black Turtle, the White Tiger and the Red Phoenix. They means the directions, the seasons, the colors and the Five Elements. They are called as the 5 Guardian Animals, too, including the Gold Dragon.

Gyeongbok Palace is a sky palace which is spread on the ground from the sky. Gyeongbok Palace was the top main palace during the Joseon Dynasty. In the human world, people thought that the King is the polar star. So, they built the buildings in Gyeongbok Palace to be related with astronomy, with Geunjeongjeon, the building for the King's formal ceremonies, as the center.

Then, where do the 4 Guardian Animals protect the King? First, they are protecting Hanyang, the capital from the four directions. Bukak Mountain, Nam Mountain, Nak Mountain and Inwang Mountain each mean the Black Turtle, the Red Phoenix, the Blue Dragon, and the White Tiger.

Not only this, the 4 Guardian Animals are also guarding the 4 gates of Gyeongbok Palace. The gates, Gwanghwamun, Sinmumun, Geonchunmun and Yeongchumun each has the Red Phoenix, the Black Turtle, the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger painted on the ceiling. For the rest of the stories, wait for the following post~^^

Now, we learned about the history of ancient tomb murals.

Korea has history and culture that doesn't fall behind other countries. These history and culture are still remaining in ancient tomb murals. These ancient tomb murals were first created during the Three Kingdoms Period(Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla). And Goguryeo's tomb murals are the best. Goguryeo is a country established by Jumong in 37 B.C., which was a country with the largest territory in Korea. Also, Goguryeo maintained their culture while they also accepted other country's culture.

The value of Goguryeo's ancient tomb murals are recognized and doesn't fall behind other countries.

Now, we learned about the history of ancient tomb murals. So, let's learn about the ancient tomb murals in detail.

Today, let's learn about the two which are familiar to us.

First, this is a tomb mural named as, 'Muyongdo'. It looks very exciting. It's because a lot of people are dancing. We can know that the people of Goguryeo were cheerful and optimistic. And people actually celebrated the start and the end of the year with dance and songs. As a result, there were a lot of types of dances. So, we can see some murals with a lot of people dancing.

And this is named as, 'Suryeopdo'. Hunting was a military drill as well as the most popular sport in Goguryeo. A lot of hunters are aiming their arrows at the animals. But the arrowhead has a strange shape. And this arrowhead makes a strange sound and makes the animals faint. So, it was made to catch the animals alive. And these animals were used for memorial services.

Like this, ancient tomb murals is a great heritage which shows the customs and culture of our ancestors. Thank you for listening.

'Folk Paintings'

If we go to the museum, we can see a painting of a tiger with funny face, staying close with a magpie. We call these kinds of paintings as, 'Folk Paintings'. Folk Paintings were usually created during the Joseon Dynasty. Even thought it looks crude and sloppy, it was one of the popular artistic styles at that time.

We don't actually know when we started to paint Folk Paintings. It has its origins in ancient tomb murals that were made during the Three Kingdoms Period. And they were created a lot during the Joseon Dynasty. Our ancestors usually used these Folk Paintings to decorate their houses. But, they had different meanings. Let's learn about the painting, 'The Magpie and the Tiger', in detail.

The magpie and the tiger don't harmonize well in reality. However, they have been models in our Folk Paintings. Why did our ancestors use these two animals together in paintings? There are some interpretations for that reason.

First, this 'The Magpie and the Tiger' has the tiger with a funny face talking with the magpie. The magpie was known as a bird which brings good news. And the tiger was an animal which spread the good news. So, we can think that the magpie is telling the tiger about the good news it had brought. So, this picture means that the good news is coming in this year.

And this 'The Magpie and the Tiger' has a quite different interpretation. The tiger in this picture looks like it has burst into a rage. However, the magpie is on the pine tree branch despite the tiger's rage. Normally, the tiger in this picture symbolizes the corrupt noblemen who lost their authority, and the magpie symbolizes the commoners who are mocking at those nobles.

Folk Paintings don't have topics or subject matters so, we can also create Folk Paintings. If you are interested in Folk Paintings, visit Gahoe Museum for more information.