Twelve Zodiac Animals: Rat

Description

Rubbings of twelve zodiac
animals from the tumulus of
General Kim Yu-sin (595–673):
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit
Korea, 20th century
Ink on paper
Stone reliefs: Unified Silla
period (676–935)
Transfer from the Slide and
Photograph Collection, Department
of the History of Art, UA1980.49.1–4

The practice of using ink rubbing to record historic images and
calligraphy carved in stone was introduced from China to Korea
in the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). These rubbings are taken from
the reliefs on the guardian rocks (hoseok) around the tumulus of
General Kim Yu-sin (595–673), who helped to unify the Korean
Peninsula under the Silla in the seventh century. They show the
twelve signs of the zodiac, composed of animal heads on human
bodies, each representing a time and direction. While in China
and Japan objects with the signs of the zodiac were buried
inside tombs, in Silla period Korea people covered the exteriors
of their tombs with rocks depicting the zodiac figures, arranged
as if they were guarding the deceased. The twelve guardians in
this ink rubbing, clad in armor and holding similar weapons,
look to their right, the coherence and repetition of their
gestures creating a rhythmic balance.

To make these rubbings, damp paper was laid onto the stone
surface. A small brush or cotton cloth was used to press the
paper into the depressions in the stone. After ink was brushed
or pounded onto the paper, the areas pressed into the stone
were left white, so that the original design stood out against
a black background.

2021 Gallery Rotation
__________

Copies and Invention in East Asia (August 17, 2019 - January 5, 2020)
The practice of ink rubbing was probably introduced to Korea from China in the Goryeo period (918–1392). These rubbings are taken from the reliefs on the guardian rocks (hoseok) around the tumulus of General Kim Yu-sin (595–673), who helped to unify the Korean Peninsula under the Silla during the seventh century. The reliefs are decorated with the twelve signs of the zodiac, comprised of animal heads on human bodies; each one represents a time and direction. The signs of the zodiac were a common decoration for tombs throughout East Asia. In China and Japan objects with the signs of the zodiac were buried inside tombs, but the people of the Silla period in Korea covered the exteriors of their tombs with rocks depicting the zodiac figures, arranged as if they were guarding the deceased. The twelve guardians on this ink rubbing, clad in armor and holding similar weapons, look to their right, the coherence and repetition of their gestures creating a rhythmic balance. The ink rubbings offer a better sense of the vibrant details of the shallow, delicate carving than original reliefs.

These rubbings are taken from the twelve Chinese zodiac animals carved in relief on the surface of guardian rocks placed around the burial mound of General Kim Yusin (595–673) on Songhwasan Mountain in Gyeongju, the capital during the Unified Silla period. The zodiac animals are commonly associated with a cycle of twelve years, and each relates to both a cardinal direction and a time of day. The placement of the animals around the tomb corresponded to the position of the sun. For example, the rabbit, which represents the east, faced the sun when it rose between five and seven in the morning; the rooster (not on display) represents the west and sunset, which happened between five and seven in the evening. The twelve rocks also prevented erosion of the burial mound by wind and water coming from the animal’s direction. The practice of representing twelve zodiac animals in burial mounds originated in China and had spread to the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago by the seventh century.
To make these rubbings, paper was dampened and laid onto the stone surface. A small brush or cotton cloth was used to press the paper into the depressions in the stone. After ink was brushed or pounded onto the paper, the areas pressed into the stone would be left white, so that the original design stood out against a black background. The technique was commonly used by scholars in China to record historic images and calligraphy carved in stone.