• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.57-66
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• 2022

Since the discovery of the inscriptions engraved with the "Chinese characters of Empress Wu(則天文字)" at 251 and 256-1, Seonjin-ri, Sacheon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do in 2003, researchers from the Gyeongnam Institute of Cultural Properties, Kwak Seung-Hoon, and Kim Chang-Gyeom have attempted to read and interpret the inscriptions. However, there are still different theories as to the origin of the "Chinese characters of Empress Wu" appearing in the inscriptions and the use of Idu(吏讀)-type notation. This study aims to clarify, this inscription was erected by the king of Silla in the late 7th and mid-8th centuries to commemorate his participation in the Sacheon and Jinju patrols and Buddhist activities, and it is revealed that the main character of the inscription is likely to be King Seongdeok who has visited southern countries. In addition, in the case of "上了言", which has been interpreted as a human name, it should be understood as an Idu-type notation or a 變體漢文 because of the use of the proposition 了, and it should be interpreted as a character that means the end of a specific act. Although it is not a religious text like 『Mugujeonggwangdaedaranigyeong (The Great Dharani Sutra)』, the reason why the "Chinese characters of Empress Wu(則天文字)" was used is that in the process of accepting the Huayan school, the royal family of Silla came into contact with the Buddhist scriptures of the period of the Empress Wu, which is closely related to the rise of the Huayan school in the Middle Ages, and it appears to have learned and used in this process.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.37
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• pp.445-469
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• 2004

The Avatamsaka Sutra copied in ink on the white paper of Shilla Period is the oldest manuscript in korea. This Avatamsaka Sutra is volume 1-10 and 44-50 of the 80 volume's transcription. According to the postscript, written with 528 letters at the end of the volume 10 and 50, this sutra is made during A.D. 754-755, for six months by the order Master Yon-gi(綠起 法師) who founded Hwaumsa Temple(華嚴寺.) It explains the procedure of the ritual and production method of the sutra-copying, and also shows the 19 participants with their name, address, official title, and etc. When the sutra was founded, volume 1-10 were so congealed that we could not open the volumes. And volume 44-50 was prohibited to take photograph for preservation. According to the recent examination, it proved that this sutra is the treasure for the study of the characters made by Empress Wu Zetian(則天武后.) The characters made by Empress Wu Zetian(A.D. 625-705) are new shape of chinese characters which is different from the traditional characters. After the demise of the Queen, the characters were not used any more officially, but privately some people used the characters for personal tastes and interest. The characters in the sutra includes 512 characters of 13 kinds of Empress We Zetians'. Compared to the Tun-huang version of the sutra, this is far better treasure for the study of Empress We Zetians' characters in terms of the number of the character and the their use of frequency. The Avatamsaka Sutra of Shoso-in(正倉院) in japan copied in A.D. 768 does not use the Empress We Zetians' characters. In this respect, this Shilla Avatamsaka-Sutra is a unique one preserves the original forms of Chinese translation at that time.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.234-257
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• 2024

Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light (Gwi) (LKH 10703) donated by the family of the late Lee Kun-Hee to the National Museum of Korea in 2021 is a calligraphy album consisting of sixty-two leaves compiled using butterfly binding. It contains Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light, "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong," a postscript by Kim Jeonghui, and an appreciation record by Oh Sechang. This paper has revealed that this album is identical to the material that Suematsu Yasukazu introduced in Volume 15 of the journal Cheonggu hakchong in 1934 and that it includes elaborate copies of Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light and "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong" on yellow Chinese paper, both of which were excavated from inside the Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju in 1824. It has also reconfirmed that it is highly probable that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light that Jo Byeongsun, the former director of the Seongam Old Books Museum, unveiled in 1998, is a transcription of the original sutra excavated from Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju. Moreover, it has concluded that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light owned by Park Cheolsang is likely to be another example of copying the transcription of the original sutra excavated from the Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju. In the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee KunHee, six of the Chinese characters promulgated by Empress Wu were used fifteen times in total. Four of the characters of Empress Wu were utilized ten times in the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light (national treasure, Bulguksa Temple collection) found among the reliquaries from the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju and were also seen in the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee. The use of the same characters of Empress Wu and other variant characters suggests that both the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee and the Bulguksa sutra were based on an edition distributed in the Unified Silla Period during the eighth century. Kim Jeonghui confirmed the exchange of calligraphy between Korea and China through studies on bronze and stone epigraphs. He believed that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light and "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong" excavated from Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple were authentic materials showing the elegant calligraphic styles that prevailed before the Ouyang Xun style. Thus, the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee holds great historical and artistic significance in that it is a rare example of Kim Jeonghui's evidential study of a transcribed sutra and an original record of the production of a pagoda from the Unified Silla period.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.61-73
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• 2016

Objectives : Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu is a book that strongly influenced the following generations' theory of five Circuits and six Qi. It is understood that Wangbing authored the book during the Tang dynasty, but another theory suggests that a nameless author devised the book falsely in Wangbing's name. A comprehensive research is greatly significant in the development of the theory of five Circuits and six Qi. Methods : The study will focus on the analysis on the truth about Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu, its impact on the following generations' theory of five Circuits and six Qi, the contents and comparison of Suwen's xuanzhumiyu, and the 17 books and 27 chapters of xuanzhumiyu. Results & Conclusions : First, xuanzhu was authored by Wangbing sometime around 762 AD, and Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu was written in 690 during the rule of Empress Wu Zetian, meaning that Wangbing is not the author of Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu. Second, Wangbing's style of writing is regular yet elegant, and keeps itself within the range of medical style of writing, but Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu is written in a very rough style, and finds itself within the range of Tao literatures and books on trickery. Third, Wangbing's xuanzhu is a commentary on Suwen, whereas Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu is consisting of the theory of five Circuits and six Qi, and trickeries predictive picture. As such, the two books have entirely different characters. Theories that received relatively significant impacts to the following generations' the theory of five Circuits and six Qi include Gandeokbu, Jeongwhadaewha, and the Calculation method of normal Qi. Suwen's chapter on the theory of five Circuits and six Qi and Suwenliuqixuanzhumiyu have many inconsistent and differing theories, leading the scholars to believe that they are dealing with different theory of five Circuits and six Qi which derived from separate schools of beliefs.