• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.897-902
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• 2016

This study was conducted to identify wood species from main pillars of Daeungjeon Hall, the main building of Jeonghyesa Temple located in Suncheon, Jeollanamdo Province in Korea. It was known that this temple had been built in the $8^{th}$ century by Hyeso, a national master in the Unified Silla period, and was designated as Treasure No. 804 in 1984 due to its historic and academic values. The results of wood species identification showed that main pillars from Daeungjeon Hall of the Jeonghyesa Temple were made of hard pine, Korean fir (Abies spp.) and Zelkova tree (Zelkova spp.). In addition to the wood species identification, floor plan documentation was also done to help identify what wood species had been used for main pillars. These results could be applied and utilized for the conservation and restoration of Daeungjeon Hall in future. This study may help with the authenticity of conservation works.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.22-43
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• 2023

This paper deals with the stone standing Avalokitesvara statue in Jeonghyesa Temple that was created by Mangong in 1924. The stone standing Avalokitesvara statue of Jeonghyesa Temple is the earliest extant Buddha statue produced by Mangong, and symbolism was given to Jeonghyesa in the process of its reconstruction. So far, there has been no study that has approached ideas and beliefs through Buddhist studies led by Mangong and specific relics. In order to proceed with this study, Mangong's legal words and anecdotes and newspaper articles during the Japanese colonial era were used to trace the dynamics of Jeonghyesa and Sudeoksa during Mangong's reign, and to investigate the effects obtained from the creation of the large Bodhisattva statue and the meaning of its location. In addition, an interview was attempted with the descendants of master, who were in charge of the sculpture at the time, to confirm the exact construction period and the list of craftsmen. It is judged that the stone standing Bodhisattva statue of Gwanchoksa Temple has been influenced by the double covering and square crown seen in the standing stone statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of Jeonghyesa Temple, the large hands compared to the body, the proportion between the head and the body, and the sense of enormity felt in the body like a stone pillar. Therefore, we looked at how the standing stone Bodhisattva statue of Gwanchoksa Temple, which was produced in the early Goryeo Dynasty, could have influenced the creation of the Bodhisattva statue in the modern period. A multilateral analysis was attempted on how the image of the Gwanchoksa Bodhisattva statue, which was used as a symbol representing Chungcheongnam-do in the Chosun Exposition held in 1929 and the visit to Gwanchoksa Temple, which began with the laying of the railroad during the Japanese colonial period, was used from the viewpoint of the succession and transformation of the style. With this study as an opportunity, it is hoped that the understanding of the prehistoric Mangong representing the modern period and the horizon of Korean Buddhist sculpture research in the modern period will be broadened.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.98
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• pp.130-153
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• 2020

Using stylistic analysis and historical documents, this paper examines the production details of images enshrined in Myeongbujeon (Hall of the Underworld) at Magoksa Temple in Gongju, focusing on the wooden seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the stone Ten Kings of Hell. Inside Myeongbujeon, the wooden seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is placed at the center, flanked by standing images of Mudokgwiwang and Domyeong-jonja, with images of the Ten Kings and their attendants along the walls. All of these images were transferred to Magoksa Temple in the latter half of the 1930s. The wooden seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva came from Jeonghyesa Temple in Cheongyang, the other sculptures came from Sinheungsa Temple in Imsil, and a painting of the Ten Kings came from Jeongtosa Temple in Nonsan. The wooden seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is known to have been produced in 1677, around the same time as the stone sculptures of the Ten Kings. A close analysis of the details of the bodhisattva sculpture-including the facial features, body proportions, and drapery characteristics-strongly suggests that it was produced in the 1620s or 1630s by the monk sculptor Suyeon (who was active in the early half of the seventeenth century) or his disciples. In particular, the rendering of the drapery on the lower half of the body closely resembles Buddhist sculptures produced by Suyeon that are now enshrined at Bongseosa Temple in Seocheon (produced in 1619) and at Sungnimsa Temple in Iksan (produced at Bocheonsa Temple in Okgu in 1634). According to the votive inscription, the stone sculptures of the Ten Kings and their attendants were produced in 1677 under the supervision of the monk sculptor Seongil. However, these are the only known Buddhist images produced under Seongil, and no details about other monks involved in the production have ever been found, making it difficult to speculate about their lineage. Historical records do suggest that Seongil worked on other projects to produce or repair sculptures with disciples of the monk sculptors Hyehi or Unhye, indicating amicable relations between the two groups. Unlike most such images in the Honam or Yeongseo regions, the Ten Kings at Magoksa Temple are made from stone, rather than wood or clay. Also, the overall form and the drapery conform to statues of the Ten Kings that were popularly produced in the Yeongnam region. Thus, the images are believed to be the work of monks who were primarily active in Yeongnam, rather than Honam. In the future, a systematic investigation of wooden seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva images and stone Ten Kings of Hell images produced in the Chungnam region could illuminate more details about the production of the images at Magoksa Temple, and perhaps shed light on the conditions that led to the production of stone Buddhist sculptures in the Honam area during the late seventeenth century.