Poseokjeong Pavilion Site, Gyeongju

Located in a valley on the west side of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju, this was a Silla-period banquet site believed to have been built in the reign of the 49th king of Silla, King Heongang (875–886). The renowned Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi once held a gathering called yusanggoksuyeon, floating a wine cup on flowing water among friends: each person had to compose a poem before the cup reached them, and anyone who failed had to drink three cups of wine as a penalty. Poseokjeong is thought to have been built in imitation of this custom. No pavilion survives today, only the winding water channel once used for such refined amusement. The channel is 22 m long, with a difference in height of 5.9 cm along its course. Turning left and right and curving as it goes, the channel produces a subtle flow that at times circles round; the time it took a cup to travel is said to have varied depending on the volume of water, the shape of the floating cup, and the amount of wine it held. Water-borne poetry banquets of this kind also existed in China and Japan, but Poseokjeong in Gyeongju is the only place where physical traces survive today, offering a glimpse of the refined taste and spirit of people of the time.

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Historic Site · 사적