The Contents of Ancient Imdang Inscription and its Historical Background

摘要

At the beginning of the 6th century AD, the local communities of Silla were governed by local officials dispatched from the six clans of Gyeongju as well as the leading potentates living in these communities. Under such circumstances, in Yeongcheon and Daegu, water utilization projects were carried out, led by lower-ranking officials from the six clans. The ancient Imdang inscription in Gyeongsan, discussed in this paper, is considered to include records concerning water utilization projects in the 6th century. Therefore, the ancient Imdang inscription is worthy of attention as a valuable historical artifact that indicates how a group of central technicians had penetrated into local communities, the negotiations these technicians had with local potentates, and how their techniques had been transmitted. However, the ancient Imdang inscription is deemed to have been created by local potentates, and thus have slightly different characteristics from other artifacts.