Inscribed "Sunchi" Standing Stone Buddha, Cheongju

This Buddha statue, located in Yongjeong-dong, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, has its face and upper body carved from a stone pillar, giving it the appearance of a stone jangseung (a carved village guardian post). A large round urna — the raised curl of hair between the eyebrows that marks a Buddha's auspicious form — is carved in relief on the forehead, and the eyebrows are rendered long and large. The crescent-shaped mouth, together with the eyes, gives the whole face a smiling expression. The hands are brought together and rested beneath the chin, with both arms held horizontally, showing an unsophisticated carving technique. The lower body is left uncarved, and an inscription in the middle records that the statue was made on the sixteenth day of the eleventh month of the ninth year of Sunchi (the third year of King Hyojong, 1652). In fact, it is presumed not to have been an object of worship in a temple, but rather an object of folk belief that served as a guardian deity of the village.

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Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산