• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.74-95
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• 2024

A vast body of inscribed bricks has been found connected to the mid-fourth-century Tomb of Jang Mui in Bongsan-gun, Hwanghae-do Province. After several inspections of the bricks conducted at the National Museum of Korea in 2023, these inscribed bricks were grouped into ten types. This paper interprets in detail the phrases written on these bricks from the Tomb of Jang Mui in an attempt to understand their characteristics and intentions. This detailed interpretation facilitates a rough understanding of how each phrase relates to the others and in what order the phrases would make full sentences. In terms of their contents, these inscribed bricks are presumed to have been produced to convey information about the construction of the tomb to viewers on the outside. In particular, they relate that a narrator referred to as a Jubu official named Jo was involved in the construction of the Tomb of Jang Mui. They can be compared to the inscribed bricks created in China during the Western Jin and Eastern Jin Dynasties that were produced not by family members of the tomb occupants, but by figures who participated in the construction of the tombs based on political and social connections to their occupants. During the mid-fourth century, funeral practices in the former lands of the Nangnang and Daebang Commanderies followed Chinese traditions with the permission of Goguryeo Kingdom. Many of the artifacts found inside these Chinese-style tombs and introduced to the public, including the murals, ink inscriptions, and inscribed bricks, are related to the desire of the family members of the tomb occupants to strengthen their bonds and to share emotions and goals with settler groups. The contents of the inscribed bricks discovered from the Tomb of Jang Mui can be observed in this context.