Three-story Stone Pagoda of Cheongwansa Temple, Jangheung

Cheongwansa Temple was founded by the monk Tongnyeong hwasang during the reign of King Jinheung of Silla, and was so named because it enshrined a bodhisattva known as Cheongwan Bosal. Situated by the sea, the temple suffered repeated raids by Japanese pirates and its scale gradually diminished, so that today only the main hall that once enshrined the Cheongwan Bosal survives. This pagoda, standing a little apart from the main hall to its right, is a Goryeo-period pagoda with a three-story body set on a two-tiered platform. On the platform supporting the body, pillar-shaped carvings are engraved at the corners of both the upper and lower tiers. The body of the pagoda is built up with a single stone for the main body and a single stone for the roof at each story, and pillar-shaped carvings are placed at the corners of the main body stone at every story. The roof stones have thin, four-tiered eave supports on their undersides; the slope of their upper surfaces becomes gentler towards the bottom, and the four corners curve up lightly, giving a refined impression. At the top of the pagoda, a square roof-plate and a round, overturned-bowl-shaped ornament are carved from a single stone to form the finial. Overall, the pagoda has well-balanced proportions that give a sense of stability and understated elegance. The omission of the central pillar carving on each face of the platform, and the thinning of the roof-stone supports, show a somewhat degenerated technique; this is thought to reflect the process by which certain stylistic features became localised as the period shifted from Unified Silla to Goryeo. For these reasons, the pagoda is presumed to be a work of the early Goryeo period.

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Where it is

Region

Jangheung, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물