Northeast Asian History Network

The Second Stone Prop of the Northern Wall (Side – Detailed view of the celestial being’s iconography No. 2)

This is a detailed view of a celestial being depicted on the second stone prop of the northern wall in the Great Tomb of Gangseo. A celestial being is an immortal entity, much like the immortals featured in Daoist worlds. The imagery of celestial beings adorned in Heavenly Clothes is different from the traditional East Asian immortals generally wearing Winged Clothes (clothing worn by immortals with the ends of the hems split like bird wings). Influenced by flying imagery in Buddhism, a celestial being is a variant of the immortal that originated in the Southern Dynasty of China. Celestial beings are divided into two types. One relies only on Heavenly Clothes for flight, and the other is a combination that wears Heavenly Clothes while riding birds such as the Fenghuang.
The celestial being in the image is wearing Heavenly Clothes for flight and only wearing lower garments. The elegantly fluttering Heavenly Clothes and curved figure are reminiscent of a flying Daoist fairy. The celestial being is scattering flower petals from a bowl, reminiscent of the Buddhist Flower Offering (a type of offering in which flower petals are scattered in a display of dedication to Buddha). The surrounding lotus & palmettes (decorative element resembling honeysuckle leaves) and cloud patterns emphasize the imaginative image of the immortal world.