Three-story Stone Pagoda in Jangha-ri, Buyeo

Baekje-style stone pagodas that imitate the style of the Five-story Stone Pagoda of Jeongnimsa Temple Site in Buyeo (a national treasure) survive in a few examples across Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, the former territory of Baekje, and this pagoda belongs to that lineage. A base stone close to natural rock is laid on the ground, and above it a three-tiered platform is built from the same stone, narrowing in width as it rises. The body of the pagoda has pillar-like carvings at the four corners that narrow toward the top, with long slab stones set upright between them to form the surfaces. On all four sides - east, west, south and north - there are niche-like shapes, which some regard as simplified renderings of corner pillars and wall stones. Niches, which frequently appear on wooden pagodas, represent chambers for enshrining Buddha images; on stone pagodas they are mostly reduced to mere carved outlines suggesting the form. This is a stone pagoda made in the Goryeo period. Overall, the body stones are tall and the roof stones excessively wide, giving it an unstable appearance. Although it is said to imitate the Five-story Stone Pagoda of Jeongnimsa Temple Site, it is markedly inferior in artistic sense and technique. In 1931, an ivory Buddha image, a wooden pagoda and fragments of a dharani sutra were found in the body stone of the first storey, and during dismantling and repair in 1962 a circular reliquary space 7cm in diameter and 12cm deep was found in the second storey, containing 41 sari (Buddhist relics). All these artefacts are now kept at the Buyeo National Museum.

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Where it is

Region

Buyeo, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물