Cheonbuljeon Hall of Gwangdeoksa Temple

Gwangdeoksa Temple was founded in 643, the twelfth year of Queen Seondeok of Silla, by the monk Jajang-yulsa, and was rebuilt during the reign of King Heungdeok by the monk Jinsan-josa. Before it burned down in the Japanese invasions of 1592, it is said to have been one of the largest temples in the Gyeonggi and Chungcheong regions. The Daeungjeon Hall and the Cheonbuljeon Hall are said to have been rebuilt after the war, and the present Cheonbuljeon Hall is a restoration completed in 1975, when the old building was completely dismantled and reassembled. It measures five kan, a bay between pillars, across the front and three kan along the side, with a hipped-and-gabled roof that forms the shape of the character 八 ('eight') when viewed from the side. The bracket sets that support and decorate the eaves are arranged in the dapo style, with brackets placed not only above the pillars but also between them. Inside, a wooden statue of Vairocana Buddha is enshrined at the centre, flanked by statues of his disciples Kasyapa and Ananda. The Vairocana Buddha draws the eye for its hand gesture, in which the fingertips of the left hand press down over the fingers of the right hand. Behind the three statues once hung three Buddhist paintings depicting a thousand buddhas. These paintings already appeared old by 1680, the sixth year of King Sukjong of Joseon, when Gwangdeoksa Temple's historical record was compiled, and are thought to have been made even earlier, but they were destroyed by fire in December 1999.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheonan, Chungnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료