Stupa of Buddhist Monk Jingyeong from Bongnimsa Temple Site, Changwon

This is the sarira stupa of Master Jingyeong, a monk of the late Unified Silla period. It stood together with its stele at the site of Bongnimsa Temple and was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1919; it is now housed at the National Museum of Korea. Although it is a typical octagonal stupa, the surface carving is relatively sparse, which, together with the colour of the stone, gives it a refined, pure impression. The lower base stone of the pedestal, set on an octagonal ground stone, is also octagonal, its sides carved with ansang (arch-shaped niche motifs) whose base line rises in a flame shape, a feature characteristic of the period. The middle pedestal stone is drum-shaped, carved here and there with flower clusters linked by raised bands, while the upper pedestal stone bears eight carved lotus blossoms. The body of the stupa has pillar shapes carved at each corner, and the roof stone is comparatively high and large, with horizontal eaves. The thick octagonal roof ridges converge at the top, though the flower ornaments that once hung at their ends have all been broken off. At the very top is a finial made from a single stone, combining an ang-hwa (an upward-facing lotus-shaped ornament) and a bo-ju (a lotus-bud-shaped jewel). The stupa is thought to have been made in the seventh year of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla (923), the year Master Jingyeong died, though the ansang carving on the lower base stone already shows features characteristic of the Goryeo period. Compared with the low, small middle pedestal stone and the slender, elongated body, the roof stone is disproportionately large, unbalancing the overall proportions. With carving that is not especially forceful and an overall form that tends toward elongation, the stupa shows in various ways a transition from Unified Silla style toward a new style, even as it still follows Silla tradition.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물