Stele of Buddhist Monk Jingong at Heungbeopsa Temple Site, Wonju

This stele stands at the site of Heungbeopsa Temple and was erected to honour the Buddhist monk Jingong (869–940), who was active from the late Unified Silla period into early Goryeo. The body stone, which bears the inscription, is broken and is now kept at the National Museum of Korea; only the pedestal and capstone remain at the site. Jingong became a monk under Seon Master Jangsun, studied in Tang China, and returned home during the reign of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla in 918, after which he became the king's teacher. Even after the founding of Goryeo, King Taejo was moved by his teachings and wished him to remain as his own teacher, but Jingong declined and withdrew to Sobaeksan Mountain to continue his practice. He died in the twenty-third year of King Taejo's reign; King Taejo personally composed the epitaph, and Choi Gwang-yun then assembled the stele's characters from the calligraphy of the Tang Emperor Taizong. The stone tortoise that once bore the stele has a head closer to a dragon's than a tortoise's; it holds a cintamani, a mythical wish-fulfilling jewel, in its mouth and plants its four feet firmly on the ground. Its neck is short, and the pattern on its shell is close to a regular hexagon, within which a swastika motif (卍) and lotus flowers are carved. The capstone bears the name of the stele carved at the centre of the front face, surrounded by carvings of dragons writhing amid clouds. Two dragons glare fiercely at one another, while the other two look sideways from the corners. On the back, four more dragons keep watch in every direction; the carving is at once grand in feeling and delicate in execution, revealing the high artistic standard of the period. The body stone now in the National Museum of Korea is broken into several pieces, making parts of the inscription difficult to read, but it is said to record, in broad terms, the monk's life and achievements.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Wonju, Gangwon

Designation

Treasure · 보물