Korea
Korea is a northeast Asian peninsula that shares borders with China
and Russia and faces the islands of Japan (MAP7-1). Korea’s pivotal
location is a key factor in understanding the relationship of its art to
that of China and the influence of its art on that of Japan. Ethnically,
the Koreans are related to the peoples of eastern Siberia and Mongo-
lia as well as to the Japanese. At first, the Koreans used Chinese char-
acters to write Korean words, but later they invented their own pho-
netic alphabet. Korean art, although frequently based on Chinese
models, is not merely derivative but has, like Korean civilization, a
distinct identity.Three Kingdoms Period
Pottery-producing cultures appeared on the Korean peninsula in the
Neolithic period no later than 6000 BCE, and the Korean Bronze Age
dates from ca. 1000 BCE. Bronze technology was introduced from the
area that is today northeastern China (formerly known as Man-
churia). About 100 BCE, during the Han dynasty, the Chinese estab-
lished outposts in Korea. The most important was Lelang, which be-
came a prosperous commercial center. By the middle of the century,
however, three native kingdoms—Koguryo, Paekche, and Silla—
controlled most of the Korean peninsula and reigned for more than
seven centuries until Silla completed its conquest of its neighbors in- During this era, known as the Three Kingdoms period (ca.
57 BCE–688 CE), Korea remained in continuous contact with both
China and Japan. Buddhism was introduced into Korea from China
in the fourth century CE. The Koreans in turn transmitted it from the
peninsula to Japan in the sixth century.
SILLA CROWN Tombs of the Silla kingdom have yielded spec-
tacular artifacts representative of the wealth and power of its rulers.
Finds in the region of Kyongju justify the city’s ancient name—
Kumsong (“City of Gold”). The gold-and-jade crown (FIG. 7-27)
from a tomb at Hwangnamdong, near Kyongju, dated to the fifth or
sixth century, also attests to the high quality of artisanship among
Silla artists. The crown’s major elements, the band and the uprights,
as well as the myriad spangles adorning them, were cut from sheet
gold and embossed along the edges. Gold rivets and wires secure the
whole, as do the comma-shaped pieces of jade further embellishing
the crown. Archaeologists interpret the uprights as stylized tree and
antler forms believed to symbolize life and supernatural power. The
Hwangnamdong crown has no counterpart in China, although the
technique of working sheet gold may have come to Korea from
northeast China.
Unified Silla Kingdom
Aided by China’s emperor, the Silla kingdom conquered the
Koguryo and Paekche kingdoms and unified Korea in 668. The era
of the Unified Silla Kingdom (688–935) is roughly contemporary
with the Tang dynasty’s brilliant culture in China, and many con-
sider it to be Korea’s golden age.
BUDDHIST SOKKURAMThe Silla rulers embraced Bud-
dhism both as a source of religious enlightenment and as a protec-
tive force. They considered the magnificent Buddhist temples they
constructed in and around their capital of Kyongju to be supernat-
ural defenses against external threats as well as places of worship.
Unfortunately, none of these temples survived Korea’s turbulent
history.202 Chapter 7 CHINA AND KOREA TO 12797-26Zhou Jichang,Lohans Giving Alms to Beggars,Southern Song
period, ca. 1178. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, 3 7 –^78 1 8 –^78 .
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
In this hanging scroll made for a Buddhist monastery, Zhou Jichang
arranged the fore-, middle-, and background vertically to elevate the
lohans in their bright attire above the ragged, dirt-colored beggars.consistent with Xie He’s principles (see “Xie He’s Six Canons,” page
191), Zhou Jichang used color for symbolic and decorative pur-
poses, not to imitate nature or depict the appearance of individual
forms. The composition of the landscape—the cloudy platform and
lofty peaks of the lohans and the desertlike setting of the beggars—
also distinguishes the two spheres of being.1 in.