• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.4-19
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• 2016

Jangkei(狀啓) made to the Royal Court by Yi Sun-sin during the Japanese invasions of Korea is handed down under the names of Jangcho(狀草), Keicho(啓草), Keibon(啓本) and others depending on copying patterns of those times and later times as it was copied out by a third person. In particular, "YimjinJangcho(壬辰狀草)" which Yi drew up during his service as the director of the naval forces in Jeolla Jwasooyeong is known as the most popular Jangkei. "ChungMinKongKeicho" which has been re-located recently after loss is a national treasure level cultural property as valuable as "YimjinJangcho" and should be treated as a model of Yi Sun-sin's other Jangkeis by next generations. As of now, however it is not confirmed if it is a totally new book related to Yi Sun-sin or is supplementary to the lost Jangkei, this study decided to ascertain relevant information through a bibliographic discussion on the question. "Chungmin(忠愍)" was the title that was used after the death of Yi Sun-sin, and "ChungMinKongKeicho" was completed when Jangkei was copied in 1662. 12 books that would not be found in YimjinJangcho are included in the book and such books are also present in the Jangkei supplement which has been known lost so far. What should be especially focused on here is that the forms and contents of these (11) photographs that Japanese shot from "ChungMinKongKeicho" in 1928 turned out to be completely identical to those of the original copy. The point that Korean History Compilation Committee added the 12 books to Jangkei as referring to the book as "One Keicho(啓草) partially copied(抄寫) in separation" and that Cho Sung-do categorized the 12 books into a supplement and others can be solid proofs to make the Jangkei supplement called "ChungMinKongKeicho". In terms of "ChungMooKongKeicho", since it consists of 62 books in total, it is not reasonable to see the book as Jangkei supplement which has the extra 12 more books for itself. "ChungMooKongKeibon" in "ChungMooKongYusa" was written with a total of 16 books. In the body, Yidumun is only clearly present, and the three books in the later part are same with the original copy of "ChungMooKongKeicho". "YimjinJangcho" by Korean History Compilation Committee has been the only book in which Yidumun was observed so far but now, it is assumed that the publication date of "ChungMooKongKeibon" goes before that of the former. The counterargument to the opinion that "ChungMinKongKeicho" is the supplement to Jangkei is based on Lee Eun-sang's comment "One page of a log in the Jangkei copy supplement." At first Seol Ui-sik introduced a piece photo of the rough draft of "MoosulIlki" in a drawing form through "Nanjung Ilkicho by Yi Sun-sin" in 1953. Lee Eun-sang also added two pages of the handwritten Yilkicho in the Jangkeichobon supplement to "MoosulIlki" and for the second time, the phrase "One page of a log written during the last 10 days after the Jangkei copy supplement" and "Supplement" were used. Those views are originated from the comment "One photograph of the rough draft of "MoosulIlki"" which Seol Ui-sik introduced without knowledge of the exact source. Lee Eun-sang said, "One page of a log in the Jangkei copy supplement" because Lee mistook "ChungMooKongYusa" for a book related to Jangkei. Since it is the wrong argument different from the actual situation of the original copy, if it has to be corrected, it should be rephrased "One page of a log in ChungMooKongYusa." After all, the source of the counterargument is the mistake because there has never been the Jangkei supplement with one page of a log included. All the Jangkeis other than "YimjinJangcho" can be said as the Jangkei supplements but still, they are separated from the other Jangkeis for the extra 12 more books are present in the commonly-called Jangkei supplement. Due to that reason, the argument on how "ChungMinKongKeicho" with the 12 books added is the popular Jangkei supplement should be considered more reasonable.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.100
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• pp.50-80
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• 2021

This paper critically examines the history of the theories connected to the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda that have developed over the last 100 years focusing on the original number of stories the pagoda would have reached. Part II of this paper retraces the dynamic process of the rediscovery of the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda by Westerners who traveled to Korea during the port-opening period. Koreans at the time viewed the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda as an object of no particular appeal or even as an eyesore. However, Westerners appreciated it as a wonder or magnificent sight. Since these Westerners had almost no prior knowledge of Buddhist pagodas, they were able to write objective travelogues. At the time, these visitors generally accepted the theory common among Joseon intellectuals that Wongaksa Temple Pagoda once had thirteen stories. Part III focuses on Japanese government-affiliated scholars' academic research on the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda after the proclamation of the Korean Empire and the Japanese Government-General of Korea's subsequent management of the pagoda as a cultural property during the colonial era. It also discusses issues with Japanese academic research and management. In particular, this portion sheds light on the shift in theories about the original number of stories of the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda from the ten-story theory supported by Sekino Tadashi (關野 貞), whose ideas have held a great influence on this issue over the last 100 years, to the thirteen-story theory and then to the idea that it had more than thirteen. Finally, Part IV addresses the change from the multi-story theory to the ten-story theory in the years after Korea's liberation from Japan until 1962. Moreover, it highlights how Korean intellectuals of the Japanese colonial era predominantly accepted the thirteen-story theory. Since 1962, a considerable quantity of significant research on the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda has been published. However, since most of these studies have applied the ten-story theory suggested in 1962, they are not individually discussed in this paper. This retracing of the history of theories about the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda has verified that although there are reasonable grounds for supporting the thirteen-story theory, it has not been proved in the last 100 years. Moreover, the number of pagoda stories has not been fully discussed in academia. The common theory that both Wongaksa Temple Pagoda and Gyeongcheonsa Temple Pagoda were ten-story pagodas was first formulated by Sekino Tadashi 100 years ago. Since the abrasion of the Wongaksa Temple Stele was so severe the inscriptions on the stele were almost illegible, Sekino argued that the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda was a ten-story pagoda based on an architectural analysis of the then-current condition of the pagoda. Immediately after Sekino presented his argument, a woodblock-printed version of the inscriptions on the Wongaksa Temple Stele was found. This version included a phrase that a thirteen-story pagoda had been erected. In a similar vein, the Dongguk yeoji seungnam (Geographic Encyclopedia of Korea) published by the orders of King Seongjong in the late fifteenth century documented that Gyeongcheonsa Temple Pagoda, the model for the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda, was also a thirteen-story pagoda. The Wongaksa Temple Stele erected on the orders of King Sejo after the establishment of the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda evidently shows that Sekino's ten-story premise is flawed. Sekino himself wrote that "as [the pagoda] consists of a three-story stereobate and a ten-story body, people call it a thirteen-story pagoda," although he viewed the number of stories of the pagoda body as that of the entire pagoda. The inscriptions on the Wongaksa Temple Stele also clearly indicate that the king ordered the construction of the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda as a thirteen-story pagoda. Although unprecedented, this thirteen-story pagoda comprised a ten-story pagoda body over a three-story stereobate. Why would King Sejo have built a thirteen-story pagoda in an unusual form consisting of a ten-story body on top of a three-story stereobate? In order to fully understand King Sejo's intention in building a thirteen-story pagoda, analyzing the Wongaksa Temple Pagoda is necessary. This begins with the restoration of its original name. I disprove Sekino's ten-story theory built upon flawed premises and an eclectic over-thirteen-story theory and urge applying the thirteen-story theory, as the inscriptions on the Wongaksa Temple Stele stated that the pagoda was originally built as a thirteen-story pagoda.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.97
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• pp.14-54
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• 2020

The overall study of Samsaebulhoedo (painting of the Assembly of Buddhas of Three Ages) at Yongjusa Temple has focused on dating it, analyzing the painting style, identifying its painter, and scrutinizing the related documents. However, its greater coherence could be achieved through additional support from empirical evidence and logical consistency. Recent studies on Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple that postulate that the painting could have been produced by a monk-painter in the late nineteenth century and that an original version produced in 1790 could have been retouched by a painter in the 1920s using a Western painting style lack such empirical proof and logic. Although King Jeongjo's son was not yet installed as crown prince, the Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple contained a conventional written prayer wishing for a long life for the king, queen, and crown prince: "May his majesty the King live long / May her majesty the Queen live long / May his highness the Crown Prince live long" (主上殿下壽萬歲, 王妃殿下壽萬歲, 世子邸下壽萬歲). Later, this phrase was erased using cinnabar and revised to include unusual content in an exceptional order: "May his majesty the King live long / May his highness the King's Affectionate Mother (Jagung) live long / May her majesty the Queen live long / May his highness the Crown Prince live long" (主上殿下壽萬歲, 慈宮邸下壽萬歲, 王妃殿下壽萬歲, 世子邸下壽萬歲). A comprehensive comparison of the formats and contents in written prayers found on late Joseon Buddhist paintings and a careful analysis of royal liturgy during the reign of King Jeongjo reveal Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple to be an original version produced at the time of the founding of Yongjusa Temple in 1790. According to a comparative analysis of formats, iconography, styles, aesthetic sensibilities, and techniques found in Buddhist paintings and paintings by Joseon court painters from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple bears features characteristic of paintings produced around 1790, which corresponds to the result of analysis on the written prayer. Buddhist paintings created up to the early eighteenth century show deities with their sizes determined by their religious status and a two-dimensional conceptual composition based on the traditional perspective of depicting close objects in the lower section and distant objects above. This Samsaebulhoedo, however, systematically places the Buddhist deities within a threedimensional space constructed by applying a linear perspective. Through the extensive employment of chiaroscuro as found in Western painting, it expresses white highlights and shadows, evoking a feeling that the magnificent world of the Buddhas of the Three Ages actually unfolds in front of viewers. Since the inner order of a linear perspective and the outer illusion of chiaroscuro shading are intimately related to each other, it is difficult to believe that the white highlights were a later addition. Moreover, the creative convergence of highly-developed Western painting style and techniques that is on display in this Samsaebulhoedo could only have been achieved by late-Joseon court painters working during the reign of King Jeongjo, including Kim Hongdo, Yi Myeong-gi, and Kim Deuksin. Deungun, the head monk of Yongjusa Temple, wrote Yongjusa sajeok (History of Yongjusa Temple) by compiling the historical records on the temple that had been transmitted since its founding. In Yongjusa sajeok, Deungun recorded that Kim Hongdo painted Samsaebulhoedo as if it were a historical fact. The Joseon royal court's official records, Ilseongnok (Daily Records of the Royal Court and Important Officials) and Suwonbu jiryeong deungnok (Suwon Construction Records), indicate that Kim Hongdo, Yi Myeong-gi, and Kim Deuksin all served as a supervisor (gamdong) for the production of Buddhist paintings. Since within Joseon's hierarchical administrative system it was considered improper to allow court painters of government position to create Buddhist paintings which had previously been produced by monk-painters, they were appointed as gamdong in name only to avoid a political liability. In reality, court painters were ordered to create Buddhist paintings. During their reigns, King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo summoned the literati painters Jo Yeongseok and Kang Sehwang to serve as gamdong for the production of royal portraits and requested that they paint these portraits as well. Thus, the boundary between the concept of supervision and that of painting occasionally blurred. Supervision did not completely preclude painting, and a gamdong could also serve as a painter. In this light, the historical records in Yongjusa sajeok are not inconsistent with those in Ilseongnok, Suwonbu jiryeong deungnok, and a prayer written by Hwang Deok-sun, which was found inside the canopy in Daeungjeon Hall at Yongjusa Temple. These records provided the same content in different forms as required for their purposes and according to the context. This approach to the Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple will lead to a more coherent explanation of dating the painting, analyzing its style, identifying its painter, and interpreting the relevant documents based on empirical grounds and logical consistency.