[The Fountain] Mystery of the Painting of Heavenly Horse

We must treasure it so it can be handed down to the next generations to come.

LEE KYOUNG-HEEThe author is the head of the JoongAng Ilbo Innovation Lab. The national treasure Cheonmado, or Painting of the Heavenly Horse, was discovered in 1973 during the excavation of the Gyeongju Cheonmachong, a royal tomb. Its original name is “Baehwasupi Cheonmado Jangni.”

A jangni refers to a saddle flap hanging on both sides of the horse to prevent soil from splashing. The jangni on Cheonmado was made by attaching layers of birch bark to make it flat and a thin strip of leather hem added around it.

A powerful flying Cheonma, or heavenly horse, was drawn in the middle, surrounded by vine patterns. Aside from the tomb murals from the Three Kingdoms period until the Silla dynasty conquered them in 676 AD, it is almost the only Silla painting from around the 5th century.

According to the testimony of Kim Jung-ki, the late head of the Cheonmachong excavation team, it was Hwangnam Daechong, not Cheonmachong, that former President Park Chung Hee ordered to excavate.

Hwangnam Daechong is a large twin tomb with a height of 22 meters (72 feet) and a length of 120 meters from the north to the south. Excavating the largest ancient tomb in Korea was risky. Kim proposed a trial excavation of the relatively small Cheonmachong, 12.7 meters in height and 60 meters in length. The Blue House accepted his proposal.

After excavations began on April 6, 1973, precious relics such as gold earrings began to be found in three months. A total of more than 10,000 artifacts, including national treasures such as golden crowns, golden caps and Cheonmado, were discovered.

Thanks to the successful excavation of Cheonmachong, the excavation of Hwangnam Daechong began. More than 58,000 artifacts, including gold crowns, were excavated from the huge tombs.

Excavations of Geumgwanchong and Seobongchong, which were done during the imperial Japanese occupation, did not produce reports, so there were problems such as the omission of investigation details.

After the liberation in 1945, we dug up the tombs of our ancestors with our hands, but the system was not properly established until the Tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju in 1971. It took only 17 hours for the tomb of the Baekje dynasty king to be excavated completely. It could not avoid the criticism that it was a hasty excavation.

The excavation of Cheonmachong — the first national excavation on our own after liberation — was a major turning point in the history of Korean archaeology. It took eight months to proceed carefully and scientifically. In the process, the system of tomb excavation was established, and professional archeological researchers were trained.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the excavation of Cheonmachong, various commemorative events will be held, including the Gyeongju National Museum’s first display of the actual “Cheonmado” in nine years.

It is a rare opportunity to see a relic that is vulnerable to light. We must treasure it so it can be handed down to the next generations to come.