Books and Documents Susabon

This is a Buddhist-style gasa, a verse composed in 1795, the 19th year of King Jeongjo of Joseon: the king wrote it with his own hand and bestowed it on Yongjusa Temple as a gyeongsong, a Buddhist hymn of praise. Its original title was Eoje Hwasan Yongjusa Bongbul Gibokge, meaning "a text written to enshrine the Buddha at Yongjusa Temple on Hwasan and pray for blessings." The Gibokge consists of a preface and a main text. The preface sets out the background to the founding of Yongjusa Temple and states that the verse was composed as an offering of the three karmic actions of body, speech and mind, in repayment of bokjeon, the grace bestowed by one's parents in raising a child. The verse that follows is written in five-character quatrains and comprises ten poems in all. Yongjusa Temple preserves a manuscript copy of the Gibokge together with nine woodblocks. The manuscript exists in two volumes, one bound in paper and one in silk, one copy of each surviving. The silk-bound Gibokge in particular is wrapped in blue silk decorated with a cloud-and-treasure pattern, edged with metal fittings, and fixed with five nails, the fronts and backs of which are further ornamented with chrysanthemum-patterned plates. This is the finest style of binding, of the kind seen in royal viewing copies of uigwe, the Royal Protocols, and similar court documents. A wooden box made to hold the Gibokge has also been preserved with it, and its workmanship suggests the hand of a royal craftsman. Together these point to King Jeongjo's exceptional filial devotion and his deep bond with Yongjusa Temple.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hwaseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산