South and North Three-story Stone Pagodas and Stone Lantern of Borimsa Temple, Jangheung

Borimsa, on the southern slope of Gajisan, was founded in 860 by the monk Chejing at King Heonan's urging. It went on to flourish, with some twenty ancillary buildings, most of which burned in the Korean War. In the front yard two pagodas and a lantern stand in a row. The two pagodas, set north and south, are identical in structure and size: three storeys on a two-tier base with a finial above, the standard Unified Silla form. The upper tier of the base is large against a small lower one, and the top slab of the upper tier is very thin. Each body stone and roof stone is cut from one piece, with corner columns carved on the body stones — faint on the second and third storeys. The roof stones have five stepped supports beneath, and their eaves are thin and flat like the top slab of the base, lifting so sharply at the four corners that the slope above looks steep. The finials sit complete, one element above another in order. The lantern is likewise typical of Silla: a square ground slab, an octagonal lower support carved with lotus, a slender shaft, an upper support, and the housing for the flame. The housing is octagonal with openings cut in four faces only, under a broad roof stone with a flower ornament at each corner, and ornaments above. All three survive entire, and complete pagoda finials are rare enough to make these especially valuable. A record found inside the pagodas dates them to about 870, and the lantern is thought to be of the same time.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jangheung, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

National Treasure · 국보