Concerning the Shilla (新羅) Stele Recently Found in Pongp'yeong-ri 鳳坪里, Korea

Abstract

In April 1988 a stele dating from the Shilla Kingdom was found in Pongp'yeong-ri, Chukpyeon-myeon, Uljin-gun, Kyeongsang-bukto Province 慶尚北道 蔚珍郡 竹辺面 鳳坪里, Republic of Korea. It is the Shilla Kingdom's earliest stone monument, built in 524 under the reign of King Peopheung-wang 法興王 (514-540). The findings from the primary research made by the members of the Cultural Properties Committee were reported in several newspapers, and number of research studies have already been published. On the basis of these reports the author offers a new interpretation of the inscription in order to further the study of its contents, its purpose, and its contribution to the historical understanding of Shilla. The inscription has 399 characters, and according to the author's opinion, it consists of the following four parts : i.King Peopheung issued an order to thirteen high officials. ii.The king ordered the inhabitants of two villages named Keobeol-mura (居伐牟羅) and Nammiji-ch'on (男弥只村), who had been formerly subjects of the Koguryeo (高句麗) Kingdom and were called Pon-noin (本奴人), to keep the main roads in repair around Uljin in conformity with a previous order. The king also made an on-site inspection for himself. iii.The names of government officials and eight heads of four villages who were flogged for violating of the king's orders about participating in sacrificing cattle to heaven. The names of the stele-builders are then listed. iv.The two heads of Keobeol-mura, attended by their 398 villagers, swore an oath in the name of heaven that they should obey the king's orders. Uljin, where the stele stands today, was located on Shilla's northern border, which was a special militarized zone liberated from Koguryeo's control and thus strengthening Shilla's own political rule. The inscription tells us how Shilla controlled and managed this zone in the year 524. There is also the importance of the stele in throwing light on the history of Shilla legal institutions. i.It has proved that corporal punishment by flogging was carried on at that time. ii.The law called Noin-beop (奴人法), which is regarded as a set of regulations for dealing with Koguryeo people newly subjugated by Shilla, gives us some clues to the origin of Shilla's laws and the historical background of the kingdom's social status system. iii.In addition to the king's orders and sanctions the inscription tells of sacrificial rites for worshipping heaven and of swearing in the name of heaven. These magical rites cannot be ignored in searching for the primitive norms underlying Shilla's legal system. The inscription is also a valuable source in studying Shilla's folkways. Moreover, it should be interpreted in the context of the long-standing political, social and cultural relations between Shilla and Koguryeo.