• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.136-161
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• 2014

This paper investigates the Buddhist sculpture and wall-painting enshrined in the halls of Bunhwangsa (Bunhwang temple) at Gyeongju in the mid-Silla period, which are thoroughly unknown to us except through textual records of Samgukyusa compiled by Priest Ilyeon in the late thirteenth century. According to Samgukyusa, a clay portrait-sculpture of Monk Wonhyo, made by his son Seolchong, was placed in Bunhwangsa. This image faced to the side, because he turned his body toward Seolchong when Seolchong bowed to this image. This story suggests that the portrait image of Wonhyo was most likely made after the Vimalakirti images, which were popular in China from the Six Dynasties period on, especially the Vimalakirti images of the early Tang period, turning his head and body toward Bodhisattva Manjusi seated opposite. The Vimalakirti image of Seokkuram might show the portrait image of Wonhyo. A wall-painting of a Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara who has a thousand arms with a thousand eyes, called by the name 'Great Mercy with a Thousand Hands', was enshrined on the north wall of the left hall of Bunhwangsa. During King Gyeondeok's reign, Himyeong and her five-year-old blind child prayed before this image, and the blind child gained eyesight. While praying, they sang a song pleading for one of the thousand eyes which the Bodhisattva had in his hands. This song implies that Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara had a thousand eyes, one painted on each hand. The fact that Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara of Bunhwangsa was called 'Great Mercy with a Thousand Hands' indicates that this painting was based on the scripture Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara Sutra translated by Bhagavaddharma in about 655, in the Tang period, which also has 'Great Mercy' in its title. In the year 755, a gilt bronze image of Medicine Buddha was made in Bunhwangsa, using nearly 61 tons of bronze to cast. The huge amount of bronze suggests it includes not only the Buddha statue but many other images such as two attendant Bodhisattvas of Suryaprabha and Candraprabha, Eight Great Bodhisattvas, or Twelve Guardians. Seven images of Medicine Buddha might have been made in accordance with the scriptural text of Seven Medicine Buddha Sutra translated by Monk Yijing. Textual evidence and recent excavation have revealed that seven images of Medicine Buddha and their whole attendant images based on Seven Medicine Buddha Sutra were made in the Nara period from 751 to 762 when Queen Gomyo contructed Sinyakusiji temple for the recovery of her husband Shomu. It is fair to assume that one or seven Medicine Buddhas and a whole group of his (their) attendant images were made for the main hall of Bunhwangsa temple in 755.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.25
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• pp.145-187
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• 1992

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.7-17
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• 2024

Bunhwangsa Stone Brick Pagoda, constructed in 634, is Korea's oldest stone pagoda. As a prototype of the Silla Stone Pagoda, the pagoda was constructed using flagstones. Since it was constructed with flagstones, it has been known to be a pagoda that replicates the brick pagoda until now. The latest research suggests that it copies the India Stupa or the Stacked Stone Pagoda more than the Brick Pagoda. However, the Bunhwangsa stone brick pagoda has a significant difference in terms of construction technique and shape compared to Brick Pagodas, India Stupas, and Stacked Stone Pagodas. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the stone building technique used in Silla. Through this study, I would like to clarify that the Bunhwangsa stone brick pagoda is a stone pagoda that creatively reflects the existing Silla stone building techniques such as stone fortresses and stone chamber tombs.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.19-26
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• 2017

This paper aimed to identify the architectural characteristics of the chimi excavated from ancient ruins, especially middle gate remains of Bunhwangsa Temple in the Unified Silla period. Middle gate had planned $3{\times}2$ with 295mm measuring unit and gabled building. Detailed study of the shape of chimi of the middle gate restored by related field experts reveals as follows. 1) Height of chimi is 4.5(130.6cm) of Tang's system of measurement classified as large one. 2) The front and back side square hole is made for transverse timber placement. 3) Position of chimi is not the end of the ridge of roof, it moved toward the center. 4) Construction method of chimi is structured with smaller beam and center column. 5) Width and height of the ridge is less than 38cm and 54cm to be approximately, Width and height of the gabled ridge is less than 38cm and 50cm. 6) This chimi is considered to be very unique when compared to existing ancient restored chimis, it is designed to be advantageous to the chimi construction.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.35
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• pp.57-71
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• 2014

As results of this study about the restoration and production techniques of the ridge-end roof tiles excavated from middle gate site in Bunhwangsa Temple, the ridge-end tile was considered that can be combined with four distinguished parts such as a body with upper and lower portions, a back, a belly, and a wing. And also some patterns can be verified. The body and the wing were piled up the coil clay and the back-side was bonded. The pileup process was assumed that three types of wood tools were applied to bond the facing surfaces. After the completion of the pileup process, the entire exterior was retouched by hand. For touching the inside, bare hands or some tools like a wooden branches were used to scratch and to re-face a clay plasterwork. And also, the stamped patterns which produced by framework were bonded to the body. The results from the XRD and the TG-DTA, Tridymite which shows the phase transition in more than $867^{\circ}C$ could not be identified, and also the endothermic reaction peak at $1063^{\circ}C$ showed the result that the alkali feldspar such as the albite was changed into a different mineral at $1050^{\circ}C$. Therefore, the ridge-end tiles can be considered that the firing temperature was below $867^{\circ}C$.

• 한국문화재보존과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.48-55
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• 2005

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.39-54
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• 2011

The Bunhuangsa stone pagoda, constructed in AD. 634, National Treasure no. 30, has been named as 'brick-copied pagoda' since the Japanese-ruling period by scholars. It is said that the Chinese brick pagoda was its precedent model, however the Bunhuangsa Pagoda is the oldest of all the Chinese-style brick pagodas except one, the Sungaksa Pagoda. The Chinese pagoda cannot have been a precedent model to copy due to its complex detail of wood vestige, as the Bunhuangsa pagoda is simple form without ornament. Domestic brick pagodas cannot have been a precedent model to copy as well, because all the domestic brick pagodas are younger than the Bunhuangsa Pagoda. Therefore, the terminology 'brick-copied pagoda' is a fallacy; it is rather that later brick pagoda copied the precedent the Bunhuangsa stone pagoda. The Bunhuangsa Pagoda is simply a piled-up pagoda of thick or thin, big or small slates of stone, facing only one smooth side and therefore needing nothing to relate to brick. The originality of the pagoda is more related to simple piled-up Indian stone stupa rather than Chinese brick pagoda. The roof form of its gradually stepped projection comes from the harmika of the summit of Indian stupa. Contrary to general history, old Silla Dynasty imported Buddhism directly from India by sea. From written national history and by temple foundation history, the Indian Buddhism evangelist possibly made influence to the erecting of temple and pagoda. The original wrong terminology has made a harmful effect gradually to the naming of mass-styled stone pagoda of only carved stepped-roof form after brick-copied pagoda. The false term 'brick-copied pagoda' should be discarded, which comes with superficial observation based on toadyism to China and colonialism to Japan. Instead of the fallacious term, this paper suggests multi-storied 'piled-up pagoda with slate stone.'

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.17 s.17
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• pp.73-82
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• 2005

The Bunhwangsaseoktop is the oldest stone brick pagoda in Silla Period. The pagoda body is made by piling small brick-shaped stones trimmed from black andesite and the first-story core has a shrine, which is made by granite. In 1915 it was repaired on a large scale, but now is severely damaged. Many kind of the stone decay like flaking, granular disintegration have occurred especially on the granite surface of the pagoda. In this study have been investigated the stone decay type and its cause in relation to efflorescence on the body part. Various analysis show that the deterioration on the granite is due to the same materials that lead to efflorescence on the body stone surface. The soluble salt like sodium nitrate, calcium sulfate and sodium sulfate come from white joint mortar. This salt solution is recrystallized in the outside of the pagoda, but most of them flow down with rain. In This process the porous granite absorbes the dissolved salts with moisture into the inside by capillary action. In order to reduce this problem, therefore, white joint moral is changed with other less soluble materials. And it is necessary to take steps to prevent water from seep into the inside of the stone, because this water dissolves the white joint mortar.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.18 s.18
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• pp.19-32
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• 2006

The stone pagoda of the Bunhwangsa temple made by piling small brick-shaped stones. The major rock forming stone bricks are andesites with variable genesis. Rock properties of the pagoda roof stone suffer partly including multiple peel-offs, exfoliation, decomposition like onion peels, cracks forming round lines and falling off stone pieces. The stylobates and tabernacles in all the four directions the pagoda are mostly composed of granitic rocks. Those rock properties are heavily contaminated by lichens and mosses with the often marks of inorganic contamination by secondary hydrates that are dark black or yellowish brown. Within the four tabernacles and northern pagoda body situated to relatively high humidity. There are even light gray precipitate looking like stalactites between the northern and western rocks of the body Their major minerals are calcite, gypsum and clays. The stone lion standing in the southeast and northeast side are alkali granite, while that in the southwest and northwest lithic tuff. Total rock properties of the pagoda are 9,708 pieces, among the all properties, fractured blocks are 11.0%, fall out blocks are 6.7% and covered blocks by precipitates are 7.0%, respectively. The pagoda has highly deteriorated the functions of the rock properties due to physical, chemical and biological weathering, therefore, we suggest that this pagoda has need to do long term monitoring and synthetic conservation researches.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.149-159
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• 2018

The Gyeongju Bunhwangsa Stone Brick Pagoda, which was built with bricks of andesite, is the oldest brick stone pagoda of Silla period. The damage patterns in the stone pagoda are pollutants such as white crust, black crust, discoloration, soil adsorption, and microorganisms, and repair materials. The damage pattern of structural factors in the Stone Brick Pagoda is a bulging phenomenon. According to the X-ray diffraction analysis, white crust are mainly consist of calcite ($CaCO_3$) and thermonatrite ($Na_2CO_3{\cdot}H_2O$) that evaporite finds in nature. Damage pattern varies depending on location of stone pagoda. The pollutants are first story body of pagoda. The microorganisms are confirmed at base, lion statues, first and second story capstone, and repair materials observed at base. The bulging phenomenon appeared on the first story body of the pagoda. Occupancy rates by damage type were higher in the order of microorganisms, pollutants, repair material, bulging phenomenon, and peeling. The highest percentage of individual damage patterns were black microorganisms (39.3%), followed by lichen (17.9%), discoloration (8.0%), white crust (5.5%), cement mortar (5.1%) and peeling (3.1%).