A Study on the Aesthetic Consciousness Represented in the Motif of the Flying Deities (Feitian) in Goguryeo Tomb Murals

In this study, 36 representations of flying deities (feitian) depicted in Goguryeo tomb murals were analyzed, categorized based on the presence or absence of halos, the type of upper garment, and the length of the lower garment. Through this analysis, three distinct aesthetic principles were identified: ‘vitality expressed through the beauty of dynamic lines,’ ‘the elegance of supple and delicate human forms,’ and ‘a boundless and transcendent spirit.’ Section 3.1 examines how Goguryeo feitian evoke an impression of the Buddha’s world by actively soaring through relatively open spaces, emphasizing their dynamic movement, unencumbered by objects such as flowers or musical instruments. Furthermore, it was observed that the celestial robes (天衣), serving as both a means for flight and an element enhancing their mystical aura, transform in the Gangseo Tomb murals into plant-like tendrils, visually depicted as green calyxes blooming into red flowers. This reinterpretation of inanimate textiles as living plants reflects the vibrant aesthetic consciousness of the Goguryeo people. Such an aesthetic is not confined to Goguryeo tomb murals but was inherited and further developed in later periods, as exemplified by the feitian imagery of Unified Silla. This progression culminates in the artistic refinement seen in the offering feitian of the Great King Seongdeok Bell (聖德大王神鍾). Section 3.2 explores the aesthetic consciousness derived from the depiction of the feitian’s body (semi-nude) in a soft, flexible, and intricate manner. The increasingly precise portrayal of the human body in Goguryeo tomb murals, particularly through feitian imagery, reflects the Goguryeo people’s aesthetic sensibility, which sought the source of beauty in the human form. This phenomenon may have been influenced by Indo-Western Region culture and Buddhist perspectives on the human body. Additionally, the sustained representation of semi-nude feitian figures from the 5th to 7th centuries in Goguryeo is attributed to the lack of societal aversion to revealing the human body. This acceptance, combined with cultural exchanges with Western Region, finds precedent in the tradition of using bare-bodied depictions, such as the wrestlers in hand-to-hand combat scenes from the Anak Tomb No. 3, as a means of expressing religiosity. Section 3.3 focuses on the influence of semi-nude Buddhist feitian imagery on Daoist immortal (仙 人) iconography. The semi-nude immortal motif, unique to Goguryeo, is evidence of the adaptation of the Buddhist celestial being (feitian) motif to align with Goguryeo cultural contexts rather than a wholesale adoption of Chinese feitian. Furthermore, the distinctive free-flowing movements and gestures of Goguryeo feitian, which break from the rigid symmetry often seen in other representations, are interpreted as hallmarks of Goguryeo art. These features are argued to stem from the Goguryeo people’s unbounded worldview and independent spirit.