Wind Streamer Pedestal of Changgyeonggung Palace

A wind streamer pedestal is a stand on which a flag was raised to judge the direction and strength of the wind. This example is made of granite and stands 228 cm high: a base carved with a figure supports an octagonal column decorated in relief with cloud patterns. At the centre of the top of the octagonal column is a hole for inserting a flagpole, and beside the column below it a drainage hole has been bored. The length of the flagpole is not known for certain; a narrow, long streamer was tied to its tip, and the direction in which it flew showed the wind direction, while the way it fluttered indicated the wind's strength. Wind direction is thought to have been recorded in twenty-four points, and wind speed classified into around eight grades according to its intensity. Measuring wind direction was indispensable observational data for agriculture, and it is thought that this had become institutionalised from the reign of King Sejong onward. As with the water gauge used to measure river levels, it is presumed that the wind streamer pedestal was originally shaped like the flagpole supports found at Buddhist temples. The streamer itself is now lost and survives only in paintings, but this pedestal remains as tangible evidence of a Joseon-period observation instrument, occupying a pioneering place among meteorological instruments.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물