{{Infobox Korean name,
hangul=해동고승전,
hanja={{linktext, 海, 東, 高, 僧, 傳,
rr=Haedong goseungjeon,
mr=Haedong kosŭngjŏn
The ''Haedong Goseungjeon'' (translated most commonly as the "Lives of Eminent Korean Monks") was a compilation of mostly
Korean Buddhist
Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...
hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
, notably of famous monks from the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period of
Korean history
The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korea, Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago.
Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825.
The e ...
.
It was compiled by the monk Gakhun (각훈, 覺訓) (dates unknown) by order of the
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...
king Gojong in 1215. Though Gakhun was working in the tradition of
Chinese Buddhist
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including Chinese art, art, politics, Ch ...
historiography (which had a long tradition of compiling lives of eminent monks), as was the case with the compilation of the
Samguk Sagi
''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...
and
Samguk Yusa
''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...
, the composing of the ''Haedong Goseungjeon'' was meant to promote native exemplars, in this case of Buddhist piety. It also served to bring prominence and merit to the court that ordered its compilation.
The work, along with the
Samguk Sagi
''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...
and the
Samguk Yusa
''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...
, comprises one of the most important sources for the Three Kingdoms period. The monk Iryeon consulted the work some half a century later when compiling his
Samguk Yusa
''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...
.
It was long thought that the work was lost, until portions of it were rediscovered at a Buddhist temple in
Seongju
Seongju County (''Seongju-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. This largely agricultural area is located immediately west of the metropolitan city of Daegu. The capital of the county is the town of Seongju.
Lotte Skyhill ...
in the early twentieth century. Only two of probably more than ten volumes survive. The extant volumes include biographies of eighteen famous and not–so–famous Buddhist monks from
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...
and
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
, as well as
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Unfortunately, some of the most famous of Three Kingdoms period Buddhist figures are not included (namely
Wonhyo
Won Hyo (617 – April 28, 686) was one of the leading thinkers, writers and commentators of the Korean Buddhist tradition. Essence-Function (), a key concept in East Asian Buddhism and particularly Korean Buddhism, was refined in the syncretic ...
), though they were presumably included in the missing volumes.
Not much is known of the work's chief compiler, except that he served as the chief abbot of Yeongtongsa, i.e. the Yeong Tong Temple (영통사, 靈通寺) in the city of
Kaesŏng
Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...
, North Korea, which was then the capital city of Goryeo. His deeds go unrecorded in the ''
Goryeosa
The ''Goryeosa'' (), or ''History of Goryeo'', is the main surviving historical record of Korea's Goryeo dynasty. It was composed nearly a century after the fall of Goryeo, during the reign of King Sejong, undergoing repeated revisions between ...
'' (History of Goryeo).
The work was translated into English by Peter H. Lee in 1969.Lee, Peter H. ''Lives of Eminent Korean Monks: The Haedong Kosŭng Chŏn''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969.
Contents
The surviving portion of the ''Haedong Goseungjeon'' contains the biographies of the following monks (native place):
#Sundo 順道 (unknown; China?)
#Mangmyeong 亡名 (
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
)
# Ado 阿道 (unknown; India?)
#Beopgong 法空, a.k.a. King Beopheung of Silla (
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
Korean Buddhist temples
Buddhist temples are an important part of the Korean landscape. This article gives a brief overview of Korean Buddhism, then describes some of the more important temples in Korea. Most Korean temples have names ending in ''-sa'' (사, 寺), which ...