Memorial Stele of Guryongsa Temple, Cheongju

The Memorial Stele of Guryongsa Temple stands in front of the south gate of Sangdangsanseong Fortress and records the founding of Guryongsa Temple and the reconstruction of Sangdangsanseong Fortress. It was erected in 1764, the fortieth year of King Yeongjo, with the inscription composed and carved by the lay Buddhist scholar Eunjae. The stele's title is "Memorial Stele of Guryongsa Temple." The inscription records that Guryongsa Temple was founded in 1720, the forty-sixth year of King Sukjong, when the military commanders Yi Tae-mang and Hong Seo-il built new garrison buildings and dug a pond, and states that the temple had originally been founded by the monk Docheon, with its Daebanggwang Geungnakbojeon Hall completed in 1743. It also records that in 1716, the forty-second year of King Sukjong, the military commander Yu Seong-chu rebuilt Sangdangsanseong Fortress and made it a strategic stronghold of the three southern provinces. According to the inscription, Guryongsa Temple stood inside the southwest hidden gate of Sangdangsanseong Fortress, though no building now survives. The stele itself stands in front of the fortress's south gate; its shaft is 133 centimetres high, 56 centimetres wide and 23 centimetres thick, topped with a capstone. The pedestal measures 101 by 55 centimetres and the capstone 85 by 49 by 32 centimetres. It is in a fairly good state of preservation. It is a very valuable heritage item for examining both the reconstruction of Sangdangsanseong Fortress and the history of the temple within it.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산