Hotaiwang Stele (好太王碑)

The Hotaiwang Stele, also called the Gwanggaeto Stele, is a monumental granite inscription erected in 414 AD by King Jangsu of Goguryeo in memory of his father, King Gwanggaeto, who had died two years earlier. It stands in Taiwang Town on the eastern edge of Ji'an in Jilin province, close to the Yalu River, and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom inscribed in 2004. The monument is a roughly rectangular, unshaped column of tuff-like granite about 6.4 metres high, carved on all four faces with around 1,775 characters in Chinese classical script. The text opens with the mythical origins of the kingdom, then recounts the campaigns and conquests of Gwanggaeto, and ends with regulations for the care of the royal tomb by designated tomb keepers. Because it is one of the longest surviving contemporary inscriptions from the period, it is a primary source for the history of Goguryeo and for relations among the early states of Korea, Japan and northeastern China, and some passages remain the subject of scholarly debate. The stele was rediscovered in the late 19th century, after centuries of being overgrown, and rubbings were soon circulated widely. Today it is protected inside a glass-walled pavilion built in 1982 to shield it from weathering, with the inscription visible through the glass rather than touchable. The surrounding precinct is small and paved, with a courtyard, signage and ticket office. The nearby Tomb of the Great King, reached by a short path, is covered by the same ticket. A visit takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and is best combined with the Ji'an Museum, which displays rubbings and related finds.