• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.70-95
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• 2013

The Tejaprabha Buddha painting, located in the Korai Museum in Kyoto, Japan, was made in 1569 when Joseon Dynasty was in his $14^{th}$ year under SeonJo's ruling, and is only one of Tejaprabha Buddha paintings from the early Chosun dynasty. With its well preserved state, the painting allows clear indications of all icons and list of names that were written, and the record region also has minimal deterioration. This Buddhist painting is a GumSeonMyoHwa which is drawn with gold lining on red hemp cloth and has a relatively small dimension of $84.8{\times}66.1cm$. With the Tejaprabha Buddha in the center, the painting has two unidentified Bodhisattvas, Navagrabha, Rahu, Keto, YiSipPalSoo (28 constellation of the eastern philosophy), SipYiGoong (12 zodiacs of the western philosophy), SamDaeYookSung, and BookDooChilSung (the Big Dipper), all of which provide resourceful materials for constellation worshipin the Joseon era. This painting has a crucial representation of the overall Tejaprabha Buddhism - a type of constellation worships - from the early Joseon dynasty. Even though the composition does seem to be affiliated with the paintings from the Koryo dynasty, there are meaningful transformations that reflect changes in content into constellation worship in Joseon dynasty. As a part of the Tejaprabha Buddha, SipIlYo has become a center of the painting, but with reduced guidance and off-centered 'Weolpe (star)', the painting deteriorates the concept of SipIlYo's composition. Furthermore, addition of Taoistic constellation beliefs, such as JaMiSung (The purple Tenuity Emperor of the North Pole), OkHwangDaeChae, and CheonHwangJae, eliminates the clear distinction between Taoistic and Buddhist constellation worships. Unlike the Chinese Tejaprabha Buddha painting, the concept of YiSipPalSoo (28 constellation of eastern philosophy) in this painting clearly reflects Korean CheonMoonDo's approach to constellation which can be applied to its uniqueness of the constellation worships. The fact that the Big Dipper and ChilWonSungKoon (Buddha of the Root Destiny Stars of the Northern and central Dipper) are simultaneously drawn can also be interpreted as the increase in importance of the constellation worship at the time as well.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.52-62
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• 2011

By studying the classic poetry and prose with a theme of Plantain, I would like to study why Plantain has been planted in our traditional garden for a long time. Also, through this study, I want to find when Plantain was introduced to in our country. We use description study method for studying the classic poetry and prose with a theme of Plantain. As a result, we found a few things like below. First, the introduction of Plantain to our country traces back to unified Silla in the poetry of Choe Chi Won. Also, Plantain was planted and loved generally as a general garden plant in the middle of Goryeo through poetry and paintings. Second, the meaning of Plantain is like this. 1) It means development and enjoyment of arts of summer because the leaves of Plantain were used for drinking alcohol and writing and poetry instead of papers. 2) In Buddhism, Plantain was thought to awaken 'gong(空)', 'mua(無我)', and 'brevity' of lesson of Buddha by the special shape and the image of falling rain to the leaves. Also, it was used widely in Buddhist temples because of the story of 'Hye ga dan bi(慧可斷臂)'. 3) In Confucianism, it is the emblem of lesson 'a wise man tries to be strong and tries not to stop following to God'(自强不息). 4) The large leaf of Plantain is called 'bongmi(鳳尾)' thanks to the image of likeness with tails of Bongwhang(鳳凰). Third, design use of Plantain is like this. 1) The large leaf of Plantain was used for giving an image of freshness and brightness in the garden in summer. 2) Our ancestor thought 'the sound of falling rain to Plantain'(芭蕉雨聲) as a picturesque sound in summer. Also, Plantain was highly utilized because our ancestor thought Plantain is the best plant for implementing 'soundscape'. Thus, the most characteristic use of several design uses is 'acoustic use'. 3) Plantain was also planted in a indoor pot for viewing. 4) Plantain was used for making food and medicine in the palace and private house as a practical use. The limit of this study is that I mainly use the text translated into Korean of database of overall Korean classics. We hope the new things related to this study would be added up to this study by translating original texts into Korean more.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.33
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• pp.219-255
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• 2019

'Dao' is an important research subject as it is the main term for 'ultimate reality' in East Asian religious thought. Understanding the concept of 'Dao' is essential to reach the state of 'Perfected Unification with Dao,' the ultimate aspiration in Daesoon Thought. The meaning of 'Dao' can vary such as 'Dao' meaning 'way', which was first introduced in Jinwen. There is also the 'Dao' of yin and yang, and Dao used to mean human obligation, or Dao meaning the way of Heaven. These can also be classified into five categories: Constant Dao, Heavenly Dao, Divine Dao, Human Dao, and the Dao of Sangsaeng. Every natural phenomenon of birth, growth, and death in the universe operates under the patterns of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, Constant Dao in Daesoon Thought is the ultimate pattern underlying human action and the operations of Heaven and Earth. These apply not only to the natural and the divine world but also to the human world. It can be said that 'Rather than natural law or moral symbol of the world, 'Heavenly Dao' means the great Dao that saves the world through the Daesoon Truth of Sangje, Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven. Divine Dao can be said to be 'the Dao by which man must complete his work according to the law and the will of God,' that is, 'the Dao by which God and man are united together by Sangje's heavenly order and teaching, which aims for humanity, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.' When the world is in a state of calamity and crisis, the request for the saint's Dao can symbolized by the kings, Yao and Shun, in The Canonical Scripture (Jeon-gyeong). The saint's Dao saves the dying world and people's lives and is called 'saving lives by curing the world (濟生醫世)'. It can be regarded as a characteristic of Human Dao in Daesoon Thought, which is the human obligation to follow Sangje's order, the great Dao to save the world. The Dao of Sangsaeng is the true dharma that rectifies the world full of mutual conflict through the ethics of the Later World, which is to promote the betterment of others and to practice the human Dao that saves the world and rebuilds the Constant Dao. Thus, The concept of Dao in Daesoon Thought is Daesoon Truth which applies to and operates throughout all realms of Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and the Divine world. Dao in Daesoon Thought was influenced by the historical background in which it emerged and this can be seen in its ideological features. It embraces the traditional concept of Dao, which refers to the Chinese classics and represents the main schools of thought in East Asia: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. And it is unique in that it implies the will of Sangje as a religious object, a supreme being. It can be seen that Daesoon Thought has developed through the process of defining the concept of Dao by harmonizing both the universality and specificity of modern Korean religious thought.

• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.145-186
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• 2015

This thesis discusses and analyzes Jeju island's shamanistic myth "Samgong Bonpoori" from the perspective of analytical psychology. Similar to the "I live on my fortune"-type folktales discovered in the Korean mainland, "Samgong Bonpoori" is such a widespread myth that similar folktales are found not only in East Asian regions, including Korea, Japan, and China, but also in Ireland. The essence of the story is as follows; One day, a father asked his three daughters whose fortune they lived on. The first two daughters claimed that they owe their lives to their parents. However, the youngest daughter, Gameunjang-agi, replied, against his expectation, that "I live on my own fortune," and showed her fortune and virtue were physically embodied in the line drawn from her genitals to navel. Her answer enrages his father so fiercely that she was expelled and forced to embark on a journey with no one but a black cow carrying food to accompany her. In retaliation for telling lies against her, Gameunjang-agi transformed her two sisters into a centipede and a mushroom, while her parents were turned into beggars afflicted with blindness. Afterward, Gameunjang-agi wandered around the country and eventually found love with a Chinese yam digger. Not long after, they got married, and as a couple, they stumbled upon roots of gold in fields, which brought them an incredible amount of wealth. After this miracle has happened, Gameunjang-agi began to wonder about the status of her parents and decided to organize a party for all the beggars and the blinds in the country. She eventually found her parents and got a chance to reconcile with her sisters. The story ends with her parents regaining their eyesight and Gameunjang-agi reestablishing herself as the "Goddess of Providence." "Samgong Bonpoori" is a myth about a God. A God is ontologically a supremely perfect being; however, in this thesis, it will be discussed as a part of a folktale. Gameunjang-agi can be seen as the anima archetype of the father, which reveals the process of a paternal consciousness being transformed over time. At first, her parents deny Gameunjang-agi. However, after years of suffering from blindness, they regain their eyesight and finally recognize their daughter. This signifies that Gameunjang-agi is a being that has come into the world for a certain "purpose." Gameunjang-agi embodies the creative function of "femininity" that can renew the existing collective consciousness embedded in the patriarchal system. Such recognition of femininity matters to men to a great degree as well as to women. Without knowing their true nature (femininity), the two sisters submit themselves to their parents and conventional values. Not until they suffer from being transformed and captured into small and insignificant beings, a centipede and a mushroom, which symbolize their shadow, they fail to develop their self-awareness. Meanwhile, by reconciling with her parents and sisters--playing a significant role in reuniting the family--Gameunjang-agi turns out to be a figure that can reveal what it truly means to have self-awareness and achieve Self-realization. In conclusion, this story illustrates that recognition of femininity matters to men to a great degree as well as to women, and women's Self-realization plays a critical role in revitalizing the collective consciousness embedded in the patriarchal system.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.234-249
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• 2020

The dispute involving the construction of the Tomb of Queen Sindeok (hereinafter "Jeongreung"), King Taejo's wife in Seoul, and the moving of that tomb, represents the most clearly demonstrated case for the collision of new and old ideologies between political powers in the early period of Joseon. Jeongreung, the tomb of Queen Sindeok from the Kang Clan, was built inside the capital fortress, but in 1409, King Taejong forced the tomb to be moved outside the capital, and the stone relics remaining at the original location were used to build the stone bridge, Gwangtong-gyo. In an unofficial story, King Taejong moved the tomb outside the capital and used the stone items there to make the Cheonggyecheon Gwang-gyo so that the people would step upon the area in order to curse Lady Kang. In the final year of King Taejo, Lady Kang and King Taejong were in a politically conflictual relationship, but they were close to being political partners until King Taejo became the king. Sillok records pertaining to the establishment of Jeongreung or Gwangtong-gyo in fact state things more plainly, indicating that the moving of Jeongreung was a result of following the sangeon (a written statement to the king) of Uijeongbu (the highest administrative agency in Joseon), which stated that having the tomb of a king or queen in the capital was inappropriate, and since it was close to the official quarter of envoys, it had to be moved. The assertion that it was aimed at degrading Jeongreung in order to repair Gwangtong-gyo thus does not reflect the factual relationship. This article presents the possibility that the use of stone items from Jeongreung to repair Gwangtong-gyo reflected an emerging need for efficient material procurement that accompanied a drastic increase in demand for materials required in civil works both in- and outside the capital. The cause for constructing Jeongreung within the capital and the cause of moving the tomb outside the capital would therefore be attributable to the heterogeneity of the ideological backgrounds of King Taejo and King Taejong. King Taejo was the ruler of the Confucius state, as he reigned through the Yeokseong Revolution, but he constructed the tomb and Hongcheon-sa, the temple in the capital for his wife Queen Sindeok. In this respect, it is considered that, with the power of Buddhism, there was an attempt to rally supporters and gather the force needed to establish the authority of Queen Sindeok. Yi Seong-gye, who was raised in the Dorugachi clan of Yuan, lived as a military man in the border area, and so he would not have had a high level of understanding in Confucian scholarship. Rather, he was a man of the old system with its 'Buddhist" tendency. On the other hand, King Taejong Yi Bang-won was an elite Confucian student who passed the national examination at the end of the Goryeo era, and he is also known to have held a profound understanding of Neo-Confucianism. To state it differently, it would be reasonable to say that the understanding of symbolic implications for the capital would be more profound in a Confucian state. Since the national system that was ruled by laws had been established following the Three-Kingdom era, the principle of burial outside of the capital that would have seen a grave constructed on the outskirts of the capital was not upheld, without exception. Jeongreung was built inside the capital due to the strong individual desire of King Taejo, but since he was a Confucian scholar prior to becoming king, it would not have been accepted as desirable. After taking the throne, King Taejong took the initiative to begin overhauling the capital in order to reflect his intent to clearly realize Confucian ideology emphasizing 'Yechi' ("ruling with good manners") with the scenic view of the Capital's Hanyang river. It would be reasonable to conclude accordingly that the moving of Jeongreung was undertaken in the context of such a historic background.