Three-story Stone Pagoda at Baekjangam Hermitage of Silsangsa Temple, Namwon

Silsangsa stands west of Cheonwangbong on Jirisan, founded in 828 by the monk Hongcheok. A little to the north is Baekjangam, a plain hermitage belonging to it, and this pagoda stands on the cultivated ground below. Three storeys rise from a low base, and both the structure and the carving depart from the usual. A pagoda normally narrows and shortens as it rises; this one keeps almost the same width throughout, and the second and third storeys are much the same height. The supports under the roof stones are not stepped but a single thick band, which is also against the practice of its time. And carving covers all of it, from the base through the body to the roofs. Railings are cut into the base and the blocks the body rests on. The first storey carries bodhisattvas and guardian deities; the second, heavenly beings playing music; the third, heavenly beings seated. Lotus is carved under the roof stones, except the third, which carries a triad. Thought to have been raised late in the Unified Silla period, its free handling — ornament everywhere, and no deference to the rules of proportion — makes it one of the finest pagodas of its day.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Namwon, Jeonbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보