Brick Pagoda of Bulryeongsa Temple, Cheongdo

This is a brick pagoda standing on a spacious site atop a cliff in a narrow valley, built up using bricks made of fired clay. Five tiers of base stones were laid on the ground to form a single-storey foundation, on which a five-storey body was raised; however, since the pagoda had collapsed and lain in ruins for a long time before being rebuilt in 1968, it cannot be confirmed whether it retains its original form. A distinctive feature of this pagoda is its use of patterned bricks: it is built up with bricks bearing images of Buddha figures and three-storey stone pagodas, which decorate the whole structure. On the side of each elongated brick, three Buddha images seated on lotus pedestals and two stone pagodas are carved in relief, alternating with one another; for this reason the pagoda is also known as the "Cheonbultap" (Pagoda of a Thousand Buddhas). As it displays the carving style of the Unified Silla period, it is presumed to date from that time. Since few brick pagodas survive, and examples using patterned bricks are extremely rare, it holds very great value as a piece of cultural heritage.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산