Geungnakjeon Hall Mural and Dancheong of Silleuksa Temple, Jecheon

There is no precise record identifying who painted the murals of Silleuksa Temple or in what year. However, on the basis of technical similarities between them and the post-Buddha painting of Geungnakjeon Hall, presumed to have been made in the early 19th century, the dating rests on the inscription '嘉慶十' (Jiaqing ten-) recorded in the production record of the post-Buddha painting. The exact absolute date cannot be fixed, however, because the portion following the character for 'ten' has flaked away. Since the lowest possible number still containing that character would be 'the nineteenth year', the post-Buddha painting must have been made between 1805 and 1814. Judging by brushwork and facial types, the monk-painter who produced the murals and the post-Buddha painting of Geungnakjeon Hall is presumed to be Singyeom, active in the early 19th century. The brushwork and iconography of a 1821 post-Buddha painting by Singyeom held at the Onyang Folk Museum are judged to match those of the Silleuksa post-Buddha painting. Singyeom is known to have been directly influenced by Hongan of Daeseungsa Temple in Mungyeong, one of a group of painter-monks active in the late 18th century centred on Gimnyongsa Temple in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, and traces of this influence appear in several of his works. The interior and exterior walls, the bracket walls, and the flat and sloped ceiling panels inside Geungnakjeon Hall are all adorned with murals on a wide variety of subjects. The exterior murals have faded badly under some 200 years of weathering, and much of the surface has been retouched or overpainted, whereas the interior murals survive in very good condition. An examination of the dancheong patterns found that the interior patterns survive almost intact, while most of the exterior patterns have been so heavily retouched and overpainted that their original form is difficult to determine. The murals painted at Silleuksa Temple number 136 in all. Among those expressing the splendour of the Pure Land are, on the interior ceiling panels, paintings of the Bird of Paradise, Clouds and a Dragon, and Heavenly Beings Playing Music, and, on the cloud-pattern ceiling panels and the great beam, paintings of Twin Dragons and a Coiled Dragon; on the exterior, on the horizontal beam members, paintings of Auspicious Birds and a Coiled Dragon. There are paintings of eminent monks and great teachers - an Arhat, the Preceptor Bogak, the Patriarch Ashvaghosha, the Great Master Hyeonsu, and the Venerable Nabhan - as well as paintings of Mahesvara with Jeseok and of Brahma with Jeseok, which unconsciously reveal that the painter was himself a Seon monk well versed in doctrinal learning. Murals with an edifying, didactic meaning include Master Huike Cutting Off His Arm, Master Sameyong's Journey to Japan, King Wei Cao Cao, the Prajna Dragon Boat, and Rebirth in the Highest Grade of the Highest Level. There are also murals with a narrative, legendary character, such as a fish-spitting scene and a painting of wandering immortals. Above all of these, at the very top, are paintings depicting manifestations of the Buddha as Tathagata, and of the incarnations of the bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra as boys, together with paintings of the bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta; at the lowest level are images of Vajra guardians, expressing their role of protecting and guarding the Pure Land. Dancheong and murals have long been recognised as important material for the study of the history of decorative patterns, but because they have been treated merely as an ancillary element of timber-framed architecture, there has been little active effort to conserve them through direct heritage designation. An academic survey of the dancheong and murals of Geungnakjeon Hall at Silleuksa Temple, however, has confirmed that they retain intact the style of the late Joseon period, and they constitute important material for tracing changes in decorative patterns over time and for inferring the identity of the painter. According to its repair records, Silleuksa Temple is an old temple said to have been founded by the monk Ado in the fourth year of King Jinpyeong of Silla (582), rebuilt by Master Wonhyo in the reign of King Munmu, and rebuilt again by Master Muhak, with further reconstruction carried out by Master Samyeong in the reign of King Myeongjong of Joseon. This history is recorded in the Yeojidoseo, a Joseon-period geographical compendium. Judging from the temple's treasure, the three-storey stone pagoda of Silleuksa Temple, and from roof-tile fragments found on the site, the temple is presumed to have first been founded in the early Goryeo period. Geungnakjeon Hall is designated as a Tangible Cultural Heritage; judging from the pagoda roofstone and repurposed stylobate stones used among its foundation stones, the present building is not the one from the original founding but is presumed to have been erected in the late Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jecheon, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산