CHAPTER XXI
MONUMENTS AND RELICS
IN a country whose legendary history stretches back four thousand years, one would expect to find many monuments and relics of the past, and in Korea we are not disappointed.
None of these take the form of buildings in which men lived or worshipped. The style of architecture of the whole Far East is of a kind that does not last beyond a few hundred years without undergoing such extensive repairs as to constitute a virtual rebuilding of the edifice. So, while we will not look for any temples like those of ancient Egypt, we will not despair of finding other remains of almost equal antiquity.
The oldest monument in Korea, so far as we can ascertain, is the Altar of Tangun, erected on the very summit of the highest peak on the island of Kangwha, Mari-san. The Tangun is the fabled King who began his rule in Korea over two thousand years before Christ. He is supposed to have erected this altar whereon to worship his own divine father, Whanin. It is impossible to guarantee the genuineness of the tradition ; but sure it is that all down through the recorded history of the country we read that at intervals of about a century money has been appropriated for the repair of this most ancient relic. Its immense age is beyond question. It consists of a walled enclosure thirty feet square, perched upon the sharp point of the bare, rocky mountain peak. On one side of the enclosure rises the altar, about sixteen feet square and eight feet high, the ascent to the top being accomplished by means of a stone stairway. The foundation stones and the first few courses give evidence of extreme age. They are as moss-grown and seamed by time as the native rock of the mountain from which they seem to grow. The upper
