Three-story Yi Hyeong Stone Pagoda of Yunpiram Hermitage, Mungyeong

The Three-story Yi Hyeong Stone Pagoda of Yunpiram Hermitage at Daeseungsa Temple, Mungyeong, is unique among stone pagodas in having no stepped cornice supports on its roof stones, bearing instead a pattern of inverted lotus petals. It is presumed to have been built in the Goryeo dynasty, and this style is a rare example. Small grooves were also cut into the four corners of each roof stone for hanging wind bells, an effort to give the pagoda a more ornate appearance; rather than two holes at each corner, there are in fact three, with an additional hole on the upper surface at each corner. The base makes use of the natural bedrock, and the upper tier of the base is smaller than the roof stones of the first and second storeys, giving the whole a somewhat unbalanced appearance. Long weathering has made the detailed form of the surface patterns difficult to identify, though soft curves were shaped into each of the four corners of the upper base, apparently in an effort to lend the pagoda a refined appearance through its ornamentation. The pagoda's members are now found separated from one another, suggesting that it collapsed at some point in the past. Pebbles roughly 10cm in size are wedged between the first-storey body stone and roof stone for support, and the poor balance between the third-storey roof stone and its body stone is a further characteristic of this pagoda. Overall, the Three-story Yi Hyeong Stone Pagoda of Yunpiram Hermitage is valuable material for gauging the diverse and original variations that stone pagodas could take beyond the common style.

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Where it is

Region

Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료