Stele of Master Jajeok at Gyeongcheongseonwon Hermitage of Myeongbongsa Temple, Yecheon

This stele, the Stele of Seon Master Jajeok's Neungun Stupa at Gyeongcheongseonwon Hermitage, records the life and achievements of the monk Seon Master Jajeok (882–939), who was active from the end of the Unified Silla period into the early Goryeo period. It was erected in the twenty-fourth year of King Taejo of Goryeo (941), on the king's order, to commemorate the master's virtue. On the back of the stele is an inscription of ten lines written in idu (a system for writing Korean using Chinese characters), recording an official document sent by the Dopyeongseong (a central government office) to the Right Dharma Master among the disciples of the Venerable Hongjun, that is, Seon Master Jajeok, together with an account of the process of erecting the stele. This document is particularly valued as an official text written in idu, providing precious evidence of the format of official documents and the use of idu in the early Goryeo period. Although part of the inscription is now missing, most of its important content can still be read; in terms of physical form, only the head of the tortoise-shaped base is missing, with the rest of the stele remaining in an almost complete state. Seon Master Jajeok, the subject of this stele, took Great Master Wongam of Goldalwon Hermitage in Yeoju as his patriarch, and, having inherited the dharma lineage of Great Master Jingyeong, the founder of the Bongnimsan school in Changwon who succeeded him, can be regarded as the one who carried the Seon lineage of the Hyemoksan school, also known as the Bongnimsan school, down into the Goryeo period. The inscription on this stele was composed by Choe Eon-wi, a renowned literary figure of the time, and its calligraphy was assembled from the handwriting of the celebrated Chinese calligrapher Ouyang Xun; since it also preserves the earliest known example of idu script from Goryeo, it is an excellent record of the literary composition and calligraphy of the early Goryeo period. This inscription is therefore an important resource for the study of Buddhist history, art history and Korean linguistics in the early Goryeo period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yecheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물