Gwanggaeto Stele, Historic stele in Ji'an, China
The Gwanggaeto Stele is a historic granite monument in Ji'an that rises 6.39 meters tall and carries classical Chinese characters on all four sides, totaling 1802 characters. The monument sits in Taiwang, close to a royal tomb, and preserves an ancient inscription from the early fifth century.
In 414 King Changsu had the monument built to honor the deeds of his predecessor Gwanggaeto. The Goguryeo dynasty used this inscription to record military successes and the greatness of their ruler for future generations.
The four sides carry ancient characters that tell Goguryeo's origin story and name the guards assigned to watch over the nearby royal tomb. Today this inscription stands as one of the oldest surviving records about the kingdom in northeast Asia.
A full replica of the monument stands at the War Memorial in Seoul, while text copies are kept at several locations in China and Japan. Visitors can see the original stele on site in Taiwang, where it has stood for over 1600 years.
The stele lay hidden for centuries under thick vegetation until it was rediscovered in 1876 during the Qing dynasty colonization of Manchuria. A local official named Guan Yueshan stumbled upon the stone block during work and uncovered one of the most important documents about Goguryeo.
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