Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze and interpret the ponds appeared in the Korean traditional temples. Summarized findings are as follows: First, it appeared that the location of ponds of the Korean traditional temples is, in general, in both the entry space and transitional space of temple. And it is considered that such configurations of the location of ponds were done intentionally in order that the ponds should have a significance as same as the concept that a natural mountain stream separates the sacred place and the secular world. Second, since the size of the ponds appeared in the temples are considered to be what is transformed from the original one, it is hard to understand the real size. However, it is judged that since ponds we see at present played an element of the total space of a temple it is deemed that no significant change of the size of ponds have happened if the size of the structure a temple itself has ever changed. Third, it appeared that the forms of the temple's ponds are diversified in a square, oval, egg-shaped one, round shape(circle), natural shape, etc. and it is identified that most of the ponds inspected for this study appeared to be in shapes of an oval, egg-shaped one, and round shape which take a typical curve. Fourth, regarding the temples whose origins are from the Baekje dynasty or Shilla dynasty among the objects of this case study, there appear some uniform styles for each temple respectively. For example, in both the Junglim Temple's twin pond(定林寺 雙池) and the Mireuk Temple's twin pond(彌勒寺 雙池) which were built in the Baekje dynasty appears a twin-pond in a square shape, and in the Bulkuk temple(佛國寺), Haein temple(海印寺), Tongdo temple(通度寺), etc. which were built in the Silla dynasty appears the ponds in an egg-shape one. Fifth, regarding the function of the ponds appeared in the temples, the ponds are characterized with a lotus pond(蓮池), reflecting pond(影池), and pond complex(蓮 . 影池). In consideration of the 20 ponds in the 15 places of this study's object, there are 8 lotus ponds(蓮池), 6 reflecting ponds(影池), and 6 ponds complex(蓮 . 影池).