Daeseongjeon Hall of Changpyeonghyanggyo Local Confucian School, Damyang

Changpyeonghyanggyo Local Confucian School in Damyang has undergone several repairs since its founding, and repair records show that its present form was established in 1689, the 15th year of King Sukjong. The school's layout is distinctively arranged in a square ("ㅁ"-shaped) plan: a courtyard in front of the Daeseongjeon Hall, the shrine to Confucius, is enclosed by a wall, with the Dongjae and Seojae (east and west dormitories) placed outside the wall to either side, and the Myeongnyundang lecture hall set slightly off the central axis. The teaching area follows the "hall in front, dormitories behind" layout characteristic of hyanggyo in the Honam region, but because the site is narrow, the east and west dormitories stand very close to the Daeseongjeon Hall, appearing almost as if they occupy the position of the dongmu and seomu (side shrine halls) found at other Confucian schools. The bracket set (gongpo) of the Daeseongjeon Hall is unusual among hyanggyo architecture for its heotcheomcha, an auxiliary bracket arm whose underside is shaped like a raised, bun-like curve. Because of this heotcheomcha, the bracket arm above it is set apart by the height of a soro (small supporting block), distinguishing it from ikgong-style bracket sets in which the members are joined directly together. A soro block is placed on top of the outer end of the heotcheomcha to support the haenggong cheomcha (a horizontal bracket arm), and above the first bracket arm is an ornamental, cloud-shaped bracket attached to the outer purlin. This heotcheomcha construction resembles that of the Daeungjeon Hall of Sudeoksa Temple, the Gaeksamun Gate of the Guest House in Gangneung, and the Hasadang Hall of Songgwangsa Temple, and the overall bracket structure of the Daeseongjeon Hall of Naju Local Confucian School is likewise similar to that of the Daeseongjeon Hall of Changpyeonghyanggyo. In addition, the upper parts of the columns are joined by a changbang tie beam, and between the changbang and the supporting timber beneath the eaves purlin a single hwaban, a flower-shaped support block, is placed in each bay; a distinctive feature is that all of these are carved in a delicate and ornate wave-scroll style.

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Where it is

Region

Damyang, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물