• Title/Summary/Keyword: Goryeo mokkan (wooden tablet)

Search Result 1, Processing Time 0.013 seconds

A study on the characteristics of Goryeo dynasty cargo tag mokkans In comparison with mokkans of the Song and Yuan dynasty (고려시대 화물표 목간의 특징에 대한 고찰 - 중국 송·원대(宋·元代) 목간과의 비교를 중심으로 -)

  • LEE, Yeonjae
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
    • /
    • v.54 no.4
    • /
    • pp.60-77
    • /
    • 2021
  • From 2007 to 2011, four Goryeo Dynasty vessels, namely the Taean treasure ship, Taean Mado Shipwreck No.1, No.2, No.3 were discovered in Taean area, Chungcheongnam-do province. From the shipwrecks, 175 pieces of mokkan (wooden tablet) were excavated. These mokkans are the only case of Goryeo Dynasty and represent the unique usage of mokkan as cargo tags, after the paper replaced the wooden tablets as writing materials. The Taean mokkans provide details, such as the year, recipient, port of origin, types of the cargo, quantity and unit, the name of the responsible person for shipment. Thus, they enable us to speculate about the characteristics of the cargo. Furthermore, through studying the writing style, form, material and manufacturing method, researchers can extract which form and characteristics were favored at that time. The Taean mokkans have no preset style for writing. Therefore, they can be written selectively and freely. And since the mokkan were attached to cargos, mokkans with furrows on upper side were favored, and efficiency and simplification of the manufacturing process were priorities in making mokkans. The Taean mokkans can be compared to those from the Shinan ship and the Quanzhou ship because those are of the same era and use. On the writing styles and information, Chinese mokkans are focused on the cargo owners, while The Taean mokkan includes more detailed information, such as the recipients. In forms, Chinese mokkans have maximum thickness of 1.0 centimeter and have pointed edges in lower parts, while mokkans from Taean do not have fixed thickness or edges. Furthermore, Chinese mokkans and Korean mokkans have different styles from manufacturing methods and material selections. These differences between Chinese and Goryeo mokkan are related to the differences between littoral-transport Goryeo ships and ocean-transport Chinese ships, such as shipping distances, types of cargo, shipping systems, packing methods, and transport operators. At the moment, because there are only small amount of data and materials of Chinese mokkan, comparative studies regarding Goryeo and Chinese mokkan can only be fragmentary. However, this article can be a base from which to expand the scope of Goryeo mokkan studies.