Stone Lantern at Baekjangam Hermitage of Silsangsa Temple, Namwon

Silsangsa Temple stands in a basin to the west of Cheonwangbong Peak on Jirisan Mountain. It was founded in 828, the third year of King Heungdeok of Unified Silla, when the monk Jeunggak (also known as State Preceptor Hongcheok and Patriarch Namhan) opened the Silsang school, one of the Nine Mountain Schools of Seon Buddhism. Below the southern side of Baekjangam Hermitage within the temple grounds, a fenced area protects several relics, where this stone lantern stands together with the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Baekjangam Hermitage of Silsangsa Temple, Namwon (National Treasure). A stone lantern typically has a three-tiered base beneath a fire-chamber stone (hwasaseok) that houses the light, topped with a roof stone and a finial; in this example, however, the lower part of the base is buried in the ground. The base has an octagonal pillar at its centre, and the lower and upper base stones are each carved symmetrically with a single layer of eight lotus petals. The fire-chamber stone is likewise octagonal, pierced on all four sides with windows to let the light spread outward. The roof stone is simply finished, and above it sits a large boju (a decoration shaped like a lotus bud) as the finial. The overall octagonal plan shows that the lantern retains the basic form typical of Unified Silla stone lanterns, and the detailed carving of each part suggests it was built in the 9th century, the later part of the Unified Silla period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Namwon, Jeonbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물