Word: changsu
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CONFLICTING CLAIMS Chinese scholars say the glistening white pyramid perched on a bluff overlooking the Yalu River is the tomb of Koguryo's 5th century King Changsu. Some of their Korean counterparts disagree, believing their national hero to be buried in Koguryo's second capital, Pyongyang...
...region is host to the largest collection of Koguryo tombs outside of Pyongyang, including pyramidal, stepped tombs?like that of Changsu's?and more common mound tombs covered in earth and renowned for their painted murals. As some of the most impressive examples of ancient Asian art, these murals are also the latest fetish in the stolen antiquities trade. Even after 1,500 years, their colorful depictions of Koguryo life and myth still prove seductive, and there have been several reported tomb lootings. Chinese authorities assert that wealthy South Koreans are behind the thefts, an allegation backed by the sighting...
...unlike the region's more famous crypts, Changsu's boasts no colorful murals of meditating Buddhas. Instead, it inspires by its sheer size: a 20-meter-high stack of megaliths that far out-scales any other in the area...
...crypt. A bored-looking Chinese guide watches me curiously as I examine the dank and empty hulk of the pyramid's interior. In a sign of deference, Chinese and South Korean banknotes and coins are strewn across the stone slabs of what are ostensibly the sarcophagi of Changsu and his consort. It's a telling display of the two national claims on the site. Hearing of my interest in Koguryo, the guide challenges me, eager to gauge my opinion on a controversial subject. "Was Koguryo a Chinese or Korean kingdom?" she asks. Not wanting to offend...
ENIGMA IN STONE Koguryo's King Changsu, was rightly proud of his father's achievements, and filial the way a good son should be. Shortly after his father's death in battle, in 412, Changsu erected a monumental stone stela to honor the fallen King's military accomplishments. The Kwanggaet'o stela remains Ji'an's most controversial and popular attraction. Ever since the stela's rediscovery by Chinese officials in the late 19th century, the interpretation of its text has been a source of dispute between Chinese, Korean and Japanese scholars. The Japanese claim that the carefully etched script...
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