• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.101
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• pp.12-46
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• 2022

Completed in 1467, the Thirteen-story Stone Pagoda of Wongaksa Temple is the last Buddhist pagoda erected at the center of the capital (present-day Seoul) of the Joseon Dynasty. It was commissioned by King Sejo, the final Korean king to favor Buddhism. In this paper, I aim to examine King Sejo's intentions behind celebrating the tenth anniversary of his enthronement with the construction of the thirteen-story stone pagoda in the central area of the capital and the enshrinement of sarira from Shakyamuni Buddha and the Newly Translated Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (圓覺經). This paper provides a summary of this examination and suggests future research directions. The second chapter of the paper discusses the scriptural background for thirteen-story stone pagodas from multiple perspectives. I was the first to specify the Latter Part of the Nirvana Sutra (大般涅槃經後分) as the most direct and fundamental scripture for the erection of a thirteen-story stone pagoda. I also found that this sutra was translated in Central Java in the latter half of the seventh century and was then circulated in East Asia. Moreover, I focused on the so-called Kanishka-style stupa as the origin of thirteen-story stone pagodas and provided an overview of thirteen-story stone pagodas built around East Asia, including in Korea. In addition, by consulting Buddhist references, I prove that the thirteen stories symbolize the stages of the practice of asceticism towards enlightenment. In this regard, the number thirteen can be viewed as a special and sacred number to Buddhist devotees. The third chapter explores the Buddhist background of King Sejo's establishment of the Thirteen-story Stone Pagoda of Wongaksa Temple. I studied both the Dictionary of Sanskrit-Chinese Translation of Buddhist Terms (翻譯名義集) (which King Sejo personally purchased in China and published for the first time in Korea) and the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment. King Sejo involved himself in the first translation of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment into Korean. The Dictionary of Sanskrit-Chinese Translation of Buddhist Terms was published in the fourteenth century as a type of Buddhist glossary. King Sejo is presumed to have been introduced to the Latter Part of the Nirvana Sutra, the fundamental scripture regarding thirteen-story pagodas, through the Dictionary of Sanskrit-Chinese Translation of Buddhist Terms, when he was set to erect a pagoda at Wongaksa Temple. King Sejo also enshrined the Newly Translated Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment inside the Wongaksa pagoda as a scripture representing the entire Tripitaka. This enshrined sutra appears to be the vernacular version for which King Sejo participated in the first Korean translation. Furthermore, I assert that the original text of the vernacular version is the Abridged Commentary on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (圓覺經略疏) by Zongmi (宗密, 780-841), different from what has been previously believed. The final chapter of the paper elucidates the political semantics of the establishment of the Wongaksa pagoda by comparing and examining stone pagodas erected at neungsa (陵寺) or jinjeonsawon (眞殿寺院), which were types of temples built to protect the tombs of royal family members near their tombs during the early Joseon period. These stone pagodas include the Thirteen-story Pagoda of Gyeongcheonsa Temple, the Stone Pagoda of Gaegyeongsa Temple, the Stone Pagoda of Yeongyeongsa Temple, and the Multi-story Stone Pagoda of Silleuksa Temple. The comparative analysis of these stone pagodas reveals that King Sejo established the Thirteen-story Stone Pagoda at Wongaksa Temple as a political emblem to legitimize his succession to the throne. In this paper, I attempt to better understand the scriptural and political semantics of the Wongaksa pagoda as a thirteen-story pagoda. By providing a Korean case study, this attempt will contribute to the understanding of Buddhist pagoda culture that reached its peak during the late Goryeo and early Joseon periods. It also contributes to the research on thirteen-story pagodas in East Asia that originated with Kanishka stupa and were based on the Latter Part of the Nirvana Sutra.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.230-246
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• 2023

The wooden fence(木柵), which began to appear in the Bronze Age and is presumed to be the oldest defense facility in human history, was used as a fortress for the purpose of further strengthening military defense functions until after the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592 in the Joseon Dynasty(壬辰倭亂). As it was established as the concept of a fortress or a fence installed outside a fence castle(城柵) or barracks fence(營柵), its importance as an essential facility for defense was further highlighted. This study is the result of exploring wooden fence that were used as official facilities during the Joseon Dynasty, focusing on literature surveys such as 『Annals of the Joseon Dynasty』 and 『New Jeungdonggukyeojiseungram』 In this study, in particular, the conclusion of this study is as follows, focusing on the use and function of Nokgakseong(鹿角城), underwater wooden fence, installation methods, and materials of wooden fences, is as follows. The conclusions of this study, which focused on the materials of the wooden fence, are as follows. First, as invasions by foreign enemies became more frequent in the late Goryeo and early Joseon Dynasty, wooden fences played a major role as a major out-of-castle defense facility((防禦施設). In addition, wooden fences were modified and installed into various types such as wooden fences(木柵城), Nokgakseong, a fence made up of large branches in the shape of a deer antler, and underwater wooden fences(水中木柵) according to the circumstances of the times, government policy, and location environment. Second, wooden fences were installed in strategic locations in defense facilities for military purposes, such as mountain fortress(山城), fortresses(營), camps(鎭), forts(堡), and castles(邑城) in strategic locations, and were used for defense in case of emergency. According to the urgency of farming, it was installed in accordance with the non-farming season, when it is easy to mobilize manpower to avoid the busy farming season. The size of the wooden fence of the Joseon Dynasty, which are confirmed through literature records, was converted into Pobaekchuk(布帛尺), and the circumference was very diverse from 4,428chuk(2,066m) to 55chuk(25m). Third, Nokgakseong is an efficient combat support facility that is more aggressive than a general wooden fence, and the records of Nokgakseong in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty appeared during the King Sejong period the record was 20 times, the most. By region, it was found that it was mainly installed in coastal rugged areas such as Pyeongan and Hamgildo(12), which are the 6-jin areas of the 4th Army. Fourth, in the early 15th century, as the royal court established a maritime defense strategy for the coastal area of the southern coast, after the Sampo Invasion(三浦倭亂), riots by Japanese settlers in Sampo in 1510, major military posts including eupseong(邑城), camps, and forts were established. The installation of underwater barriers around various government facilities rapidly increased as a defense facility to block the warships of Japanese pirates around various government facilities. Fifth, between the 15th and 17th centuries before and after the Japanese Invasion of Korea in Sampo, underwater fences were installed in the Southern coast and Ganghwa Island. In particular, in the 15th century, underwater fences were intensively installed in coastal areas of Gyeongsangnam-do, such as Jepo. Pine trees and Oaks are the main materials used for underwater fences, but other materials such as Oldham's meliosma, Loose-flower hornbeam and The vines of arrowroots were also used as materials for wooden fences.