• Title/Summary/Keyword: unified memory

Search Result 52, Processing Time 0.017 seconds

Landscape Composition Based on Placement and Harmony in the Namgea Suhwon (치(置)와 화(和)의 개념으로 분석한 남계서원의 경관짜임)

  • Rho, Jae-Hyun;Shin, Sang-Sup
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
    • /
    • v.37 no.4
    • /
    • pp.72-85
    • /
    • 2009
  • This study attempts to examine the principles of landscape composition for a 'Suhwon(書院)' and the meaning and value of its traditional landscape architecture, in order to apply the results to the design of modern landscape architecture. A 'Suhwon' is a vital space containing the form and meaning of human activity. This study analyzes the characteristics of landscape composition in the construction of the Namgea Suhwon, located in Hamyang, by examining the form and meaning of its area and composition. The Namgea Suhwon was constructed with a suitable configuration and harmony in a good location, neither field nor mountain, and which encompasses transcendence and a return after passage through a period of birth and abundance. Its appearance means 'life existence and hidden death(生居死幽)'. Its spatial system is a reflection of the idea of Samshinoje(三神五帝: The three abilities of Providence and its five subjects) connected with Ilsangje -Samshin -Ohje. It was built based on the idea of Biryebudong(非禮不動) meaning that one should follow only good decorum and avoid discourtesy, complying with "the frame of decorum" developed by the family rites of Chu Hsi. The environmental design of the Namgea Suhwon was interrupted by the material confrontation between mountains and water and a binary code system, such as front to rear, length to breadth, and movement to stillness. The design did not adhere to stiff axes, but pursued the harmonic principles of asymmetric balance in the building and the yard, which are very naturalistic. The name 'Namgea Suhwon' is closely related with the view of placement(置) and harmony(和), which are unified with the function and meaning formed by connecting Sung Confucianism with the Pungsu-Sasinsa structure in the layout of the grounds. When examining the D/H ratio of the building and yard, it can be seen that the spaces of Ganghak, Yusang and Jehyang were built appropriately, according to the natural characteristics of each space, such as a sense of openness, enclosure, tension, relief, enhancement, and hierarchical order. The spaces also reflect human scale concepts that take advantage of auditory features. The transition process after the construction of 'Namgea Suhwon' reveals the intentions of the builder to create an ecological landscape composition based on Placement and Harmony. Placement embodies' a purposeful space in which nature and the building are connected naturally, 'incomplete open space pursuing completion', and 'potential beauty in which tension and relaxation are repeated'. Harmony embodies 'order and continuity having a sense of unity with the natural environment' and the 'sharing of daily life and memory'. 'Namgea Suhwon' contains many ideas for landscape planning, land use and the design of a campus environment.

Dedicatory Inscriptions on the Amitabha Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva Sculptures of Gamsansa Temple (감산사(甘山寺) 아미타불상(阿彌陁佛像)과 미륵보살상(彌勒菩薩像) 조상기(造像記)의 연구)

  • Nam, Dongsin
    • MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
    • /
    • v.98
    • /
    • pp.22-53
    • /
    • 2020
  • This paper analyzes the contents, characteristics, and historical significance of the dedicatory inscriptions (josanggi) on the Amitabha Buddha and the Maitreya Bodhisattva statues of Gamsansa Temple, two masterpieces of Buddhist sculpture from the Unified Silla period. In the first section, I summarize research results from the past century (divided into four periods), before presenting a new perspective and methodology that questions the pre-existing notion that the Maitreya Bodhisattva has a higher rank than the Amitabha Buddha. In the second section, through my own analysis of the dedicatory inscriptions, arrangement, and overall appearance of the two images, I assert that the Amitabha Buddha sculpture actually held a higher rank and greater significance than the Maitreya Bodhisattva sculpture. In the third section, for the first time, I provide a new interpretation of two previously undeciphered characters from the inscriptions. In addition, by comparing the sentence structures from the respective inscriptions and revising the current understanding of the author (chanja) and calligrapher (seoja), I elucidate the possible meaning of some ambiguous phrases. Finally, in the fourth section, I reexamine the content of both inscriptions, differentiating between the parts relating to the patron (josangju), the dedication (josang), and the prayers of the patrons or donors (balwon). In particular, I argue that the phrase "for my deceased parents" is not merely a general axiom, but a specific reference. To summarize, the dedicatory inscriptions can be interpreted as follows: when Kim Jiseong's parents died, they were cremated and he scattered most of their remains by the East Sea. But years later, he regretted having no physical memorial of them to which to pay his respects. Thus, in his later years, he donated his estate on Gamsan as alms and led the construction of Gamsansa Temple. He then commissioned the production of the two stone sculptures of Amitabha Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva for the temple, asking that they be sculpted realistically to reflect the actual appearance of his parents. Finally, he enshrined the remains of his parents in the sculptures through the hole in the back of the head (jeonghyeol). The Maitreya Bodhisattva is a standing image with a nirmanakaya, or "transformation Buddha," on the crown. As various art historians have pointed out, this iconography is virtually unprecedented among Maitreya images in East Asian Buddhist sculpture, leading some to speculate that the standing image is actually the Avalokitesvara. However, anyone who reads the dedicatory inscription can have no doubt that this image is in fact the Maitreya. To ensure that the sculpture properly embodied his mother (who wished to be reborn in Tushita Heaven with Maitreya Bodhisattva), Kim Jiseong combined the iconography of the Maitreya and Avalokitesvara (the reincarnation of compassion). Hence, Kim Jiseong's deep love for his mother motivated him to modify the conventional iconography of the Maitreya and Avalokitesvara. A similar sentiment can be found in the sculpture of Amitabha Buddha. To this day, any visitor to the temple who first looks at the sculptures from the front before reading the text on the back will be deeply touched by the filial love of Kim Jiseong, who truly cherished the memory of his parents.