Twin Lion Stone Lantern in Front of the Stupa of Buddhist Monk Muhak at Hoeamsa Temple Site, Yangju

Hoeamsa Temple was founded in 1328, during the reign of King Chungsuk of Goryeo, by the monk Jigong. His disciple Naong later carried out construction work at the temple, turning it into a large-scale monastery. King Taejo of Joseon, Yi Seong-gye, took a special interest in the temple, and he is famously said to have lived here even after abdicating the throne, spending his days in religious devotion. On the eastern ridge of the temple site, the stupas of Jigong, Naong and Muhak stand in a row running north to south, and this stone lantern stands at the southern end of that row. The base stone and the lower pedestal stone were carved as a single piece, and above them the middle pedestal stone bears a pair of lions, following a form that goes back to Silla. The two lions have their chests and bellies fused together, giving them no sense of volume, and their haunches touch the ground in an unnatural way. Eight lotus-flower motifs are carved on the upper pedestal stone. The firebox stone (hwasaseok), where the light was lit, is made of two stone pieces set to left and right, and the gap between them forms two openings that serve as windows. The roof stone is thick, its eaves curving upward in a semicircular line underneath, and its sloping surfaces are clearly marked by thick, raised ridges at the four corners. At the top of the roof stone, a round stone supports a bead-shaped ornament (bojiu) in the form of a lotus bud. It is notable that the basic form is square, departing from the octagonal stone lantern shape that had been standard since the Three Kingdoms period. Its style resembles that of the lion stone lantern in front of the Stupa of State Preceptor Bogak at Cheongnyongsa Temple Site in Chungju, and since the two are thought to have been made around the same time, this lantern is presumed to date from the early Joseon period.

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Where it is

Region

Yangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물