The Letters of Silla

Please look at these small pieces of wood. These wooden tablets served as the “notepads” of Silla. Long, thin pieces of wood were used to write on instead of paper.

Paper was available in Silla at that time. Indeed, Silla used paper hundreds of years before Europe. However, these wooden tablets were used for short memos before the use of paper became widespread in Silla. They were easy to obtain and reuse after washing and shaving away the previous writing. Ancient Egypt and European countries also used papyrus stems prior to paper becoming more widely available.

The wooden tablets were used for a multitude of purposes, from making personal notes to administrative documents of the government. Thus they are an important historical aid to understanding the administration of ancient Silla society.

These exhibits document tax payments in the Silla kingdom, recording the names and addresses of taxpayers and the quantity of grain they paid as tax.

In addition, the wooden tablets also record information about palace guards, lists of medicines and their dates of manufacture, and lists of food and their dates of production. They record much valuable information about the life and society of Silla.