Stone Jangseung Guardian Posts of Gwallyongsa Temple, Changnyeong

A pair of stone jangseung, guardian posts, stand on either side of the path leading to Gwallyongsa Temple. Jangseung placed at a temple entrance mark the temple's boundary, keep evil spirits from entering, and supplement the energy of a geomantically weak spot; the jangseung here serve as the temple's boundary markers and gatekeepers, and have also become guardian deities for the village people. The male jangseung on the left is 220cm tall and 70cm in girth, with a round head as if topped with a topknot, wearing an official's hat. Its bulging eyes and fist-like nose with pierced nostrils are distinctive; two wrinkles are carved on the bridge of the nose, and two canine teeth protrude from between its tightly closed lips. The female jangseung on the right is 250cm tall and 80cm in girth, set into a hole cut in a trapezoidal base stone. It too has a carved topknot shape, but unlike the male figure it wears no official's hat. Neither post bears any inscription, and their heavy build gives an overall sense of stability. It is not known when they were made, but as objects of faith combining Buddhism and folk belief, they are works that express the unaffected folk aesthetic sense well.

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Where it is

Region

Changnyeong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산