Stone Guardian Post of Chungsin-ri, Sunchang

A stone jangseung is a guardian deity that protects a village, also known as a dangsan or beoksu. The Stone Guardian Post of Chungsin-ri, Sunchang was carved on one face of a massive, square natural stone into the shape of a jangseung. The head is carved sloping to the left, and, unlike other jangseung, the eyes are carved small. The tip of the triangular nose has been bluntly cut off; this appears to be because village women who wished to bear sons broke pieces from it, following a folk belief that a jangseung's nose was effective in helping women conceive sons. Bumps protrude on the forehead and both cheeks; the one on the forehead recalls the baekho, the tuft of white hair between the eyebrows on Buddhist statues. The tongue, sticking out between smiling lips, gives the post an unassuming, friendly look. Stone jangseung usually bear inscriptions identifying them as male or female posts, but the Chungsin-ri post carries no such inscription; despite its endearing appearance, it is traditionally regarded as a male post. Believed to have been erected during the Joseon period, this post embodies the villagers' wish to protect the village and ward off evil, and represents one form of folk belief. Note: The stone jangseung, formerly standing beside the main road in Chungsin-ri, Sunchang-gun, was relocated in December 2004, together with the Stone Guardian Post of Namgye-ri, Sunchang (a national folklore cultural heritage), to the rear yard of the Sunchang Cultural Centre beside the Sunchang–Namwon road.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sunchang, Jeonbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산