Mireuksa
| Mireuksa | ||||||||
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 A reconstruction of the eastern stone pagoda, known as Dongtap. It is 30 meters in height. | ||||||||
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Mireuksa was the largest Buddhist temple in the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje, which fell in the 7th century. Its site was excavated in 1980 in Iksan City, North Jeolla Province. The excavation disclosed many hitherto unknown facts about Baekje architecture. The stone pagoda at Mireuksa is one of two extant Baekje pagodas. It is also the largest as well as being among the oldest of all Korean pagodas.
The legend of the creation of Miruke-sa is told in the Samguk Yusa. King Mu and his queen were said to have seen a vision of the Maitreya Buddha at a pond on Mount Yonghwasan. The King promptly had the pond drained to establish the Mireuksa temple complex. The nine-story wooden pagoda that once stood in the center of the complex is said to have been the work of Baekje master craftsman Abiji.
Designated South Korean Historic Site No. 150, Mireuksa has been partially restored and now includes a museum.
Layout
The complex included a central wooden pagoda flanked by two stone pagodas. A causeway seems to have led to the outer entrance of the walled complex. Miruksa temple had a unique arrangement of three pagodas erected in a straight line going from east to west, each with a hall to its north. Each pagoda and hall appear to have been surrounded by covered corridors, giving the appearance of three separate temples of a style known as "one Hall-one Pagoda."
The pagoda at the center was found to have been made of wood, while the other two were made of stone. The sites of a large main hall and a middle gate were unearthed to the north and south of the wooden pagoda.
National Treasure No.11
The stone pagoda at Mireuksa (Mireuksa jiseoktap) was designated as a national treasure of Korea on December 20, 1962 and is the oldest and largest stone pagoda that has survived till modern times. This pagoda was the western pagoda. It is believed to have been built during the reign of King Mu who ruled from 600 to 640 C.E. The pagoda is architecturally significant because it shows how the Baekje adopted their knowledge of wood working to stone. An example of wood pagoda building techniques being adapted to stone is the fact that the base of the pagoda is low and only one story, like a wood pagoda. From this stone pagoda, scholars can clean wood working techniques which is especially useful because many Korean wood pagodas have not survived the ravages of time and war. Currently, the pagoda has six floors. However, scholars are uncertain of how many stories the pagoda would have actually reached. Each side of the first story is divided into three sections, and the middle section contains a door which lead into the pagoda. Walking into the center of pagoda, one can observe a massive pillar. There are also corner pillars and stone supports which mimicked wood supports of a wood pagoda. The corners of the roof of the pagoda were slightly raised up and each progressive storey was smaller than the one that preceded it.
Treasure No.236
Also surviving at Mireuksa are flagpole supports of the temple site (Mireuksa Jidang Ganjiju). These two massive stones are set 90 centimeters apart. During special celebrations, a flagpole would sit and be supported by the two stone pillars. There were three holes for flags per pillar. The first pair of holes were square while the other two pairs were round. The base of the flagpoles have not survived. The undecorated nature of the pole, save for horizontal stripes carved on the exterior of the two poles suggests that the poles were created during the Unified Silla period.
Preservation and Restoration
In 1910, only a part of the west pagoda (South Korean National Treasure No. 11) was still standing. In 1914, the Japanese government supported it with a concrete backing. In the late twentieth century, Korean archaeologists conducted extensive excavations, laying the foundation for a partial reconstruction and the interpretive center. The west stone pagoda's concrete support has been removed beginning in 1999, and the entire structure was dismantled. It is undergoing restoration, expected to be completed in 2009.
Archaeological Importance
Among the many finds at the temple complex have been stone lanterns and the foundation stones for the columns and terraces on which the temple structure stood. Private houses were simple structures with wooden floors. One record indicates that these houses were reached by ladders. Archaeologists excavating the Mireuksa and Imgangsa temple sites have exhumed tall foundation stones on which wooden floors would have rested. It would appear that this feature was adapted from private houses. The raised floor and heating system later became a characteristic structure of the Korean house.
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of Baekje-related topics
- Korean architecture
- Korean Buddhist temples
- National treasures of Korea
External links
- Mireuksa Temple Site. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- Cultural Heritage: National Treasures No.11]. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- Cultural Heritage: Treasures No.236. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- Cultural Heritage: Historic Sites No.150. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- Cultural Heritage: Cultural Properties Materials No.171 (Jangheung-gun). Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- Korea and the Korean People: Architecture. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- Korea - Three Kingdoms Period. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
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