Stele of Master Honggak at Seollimwon Temple Site, Yangyang

This is a memorial stele erected to honour the achievements of Master Honggak. It stands at the site of Seollimwon Temple and is presumed to have been erected in the first year of King Jeonggang of Unified Silla (886). A memorial stele generally consists of a turtle-shaped base, a body stone bearing the inscription, and a capstone, but on this stele the capstone rests directly on the base without a separate intervening body. The body stone, on which the inscription was carved, survives only as fragments now held at the National Chuncheon Museum; only the base and capstone had remained until the body stone was newly restored in 2008, returning the stele to its present appearance. The turtle of the base has been transformed into the head of a dragon with an upright neck, and its shell bears a hexagonal pattern. A square stone fixed to the shell marks the socket for the body stone and is carved with lotus and cloud motifs. The capstone is carved throughout with realistic clouds and a dragon, and at its centre is an inscription identifying the stele's subject as Master Honggak. Little is recorded about Master Honggak in detail, but according to surviving fragments of the stele and the Daedong geumseokseo, a compendium of Korean epigraphy, he was deeply versed in the classics and had cultivated himself so thoroughly that many followers gathered around him. The inscription was carved by a monk named Uncheol, who assembled the characters from Wang Xizhi's calligraphy gathered from other sources — valuable evidence that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy had become widespread in the late Silla period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangyang, Gangwon

Designation

Treasure · 보물