East Three-story Stone Pagoda in Suljeong-ri, Changnyeong

Changnyeong, where this pagoda stands, was Silla territory from the Three Kingdoms period and became a political and military centre from King Jinheung's reign onward. Three storeys rise from a two-tier base, the usual Unified Silla form. Columns are carved at the corners and the middle of each face of both tiers of the base, and the body stone of each storey likewise carries columns at its corners. The roof stones run level and lift slightly at the four corners, plainly done, with five steps of support beneath. When the pagoda was taken apart and rebuilt in 1965, a lidded bronze cup-shaped reliquary and other objects were found in the third storey, and it emerged that a course of kerbstones had been set around the base. It was raised in the middle of the eighth century. The body stones diminish at a well-judged rate as they rise, which gives it both stability and grace, and the detailing is precise enough to bear comparison with the three-storey pagoda at Bulguksa. Given that Changnyeong had been Silla ground since the Three Kingdoms, it also shows how the pagoda-building of the capital spread into the provinces, which is a large part of its value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Changnyeong, Gyeongnam

Designation

National Treasure · 국보