Hwangnyongsa, or Hwangnyong Temple (also spelled Hwangryongsa) was a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism repres ...

in the city of

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Completed in the 7th century, the enormous 9-story structure was built entirely with wood with interlocking design with no iron nails. It had a standing total height of 68 m (223 ft) or 80 m (262 ft), making it one of the tallest structures in East Asia at the time of its construction. Only the massive foundation stones of the temple remain in current times. Hwangryongsa was the center of state-sponsored Buddhism during the

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 o ...

and

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

eras which were cultural beacons of Buddhism during its time. Its name means "Emperor/Imperial Dragon Temple." Archaeological excavations and other scientific studies of the temple began in April 1976 (OCPRI 1984) and continue today.

History

Hwangnyongsa was built during the

period, under the patronage of the Silla royal family, on a plain encircled by mountains near the royal palace compound of

Banwolseong Wolseong Palace Site, Gyeongju (慶州月城, literally “Half Moon Fortress”), also commonly known as Wolseong Palace, was the royal palace compound of the Korean Silla monarchy at their capital in Gyeongju during the Silla and Unified Silla ...

(Half-Moon Palace). Construction began in 553 under the reign of King Jinheung, and was not fully completed until 644. King Jinheung originally intended for the temple to be the site of a new palace but when a dragon was seen on the proposed site, a temple was commissioned instead. Hwangnyongsa was designed to be a place where monks prayed for the welfare of the nation by asking for the divine protection of the Buddha and a means to impress foreign dignitaries. Following the defeat of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

in the 660s, the Baekje architect, Abiji, was commissioned to build a nine-story wooden

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

at the site, and labored with two hundred artisans to complete the pagoda. This fact indicates that the Baekje had superior knowledge of wooden architecture. The nine stories supposedly represented the nine nations of

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

and Silla's future conquest of those states. The pagoda stood until it was burned by Mongolian invasions in 1238. No wooden architecture from the Silla people survives today but the ruins of Hwangnyongsa suggest a

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 mos ...

influence. The temple site in a valley within Gyeongju National Park near

Toham Mountain Toham Mountain or Toham-san is a mountain with a height of in Gyeongju City in southeastern South Korea. It is part of the minor Dongdae Mountains range. The mountain lies within Gyeongju National Park and is the site of a large number of histo ...

and about from

Bunhwangsa Bunhwangsa ("Fragrant Imperial Temple") is a temple complex from the Old Silla era of Korea. It is located in Gyeongju. The temple is recorded to have been built in 634 under the auspices of Queen Seondeok. Today the temple is still used by a ...

Temple, was excavated in 1972, revealing the temple layout and covering 40,000 artifacts.

Legends

Buddhism was strongly resisted by the nobles of Silla while the king personally supported the new religion. The king's Grand Secretary,

Ichadon Ichadon (501–527; Hanja: 異次頓), also known as Geochadon (Hanja: 居次頓) or by his courtesy name Yeomchok (Hanja: 厭觸) or Yeomdo (Hanja: 厭都), was a Buddhist monk and advisor to the Silla king Beopheung. Miracle Early in his reign ...

, suggested that he forge the king's royal seal and create an order that the people adopt the new religion. When the forgery was discovered by the nobles, Ichadon suggested that he be made the scapegoat, and that through his death the power of Buddha be made manifest. The king agreed to the plan. The nobles were predictably outraged when they discovered Ichadon's forgery and the king ordered his execution. Legend has it that when Ichadon was executed, a series of miracles occurred which proved the power and reality of the Buddhist faith, and the nobles converted to the new state religion. Ichadon's sacrifice was the impetus for the building of Hwangnyongsa Temple. Another legend concerns the giant golden Buddha statue that the temple possessed. It was cast in the reign of King Jinheung as the temple centerpiece. The legend states that the gold for the statue came from

King Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

of India. Ashoka had apparently attempted to cast a golden triad but failed. He then put the gold in a boat along with scale models of Bodhisattvas. Each country that received the boat was equally unable to cast the statues, and not until the boat had arrived in Silla could a statue be cast.

Dimensions

Only the massive foundation stones of the temple remain in current times. The original complex took seventeen years to complete. *The main hall was in length and in width. *The longest outer wall of the temple was 288 meters in length and the area enclosed by the outer walls covered approximately 80,000 square meters. *The temple ruins also contain pedestal stones which were for monumental Buddhist statues. One statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha was five meters tall. *The temple was originally arranged in the "three Halls-one Pagoda" style which meant that the pagoda was in the center of the complex and flanked by three main halls on the left, right, and behind the central pagoda. *The famous nine-story pagoda, which was commissioned by

Queen Seondeok Queen Seondeok of Silla ( ko, 선덕여왕 ; 595~610 – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first re ...

after the main temple was finished, was the largest Korean pagoda ever built as well as being the tallest structure in East Asia and the tallest wooden structure in the world at the time of its completion. It was reported to be tall and the body was made entirely of wood. Only its foundation stones remain today but they attest to the mammoth proportions of the original structure. The pagoda had a foundation area of , was supported by eight pillars on each side, and had sixty foundation stones.

Gallery

File:Korea-Gyeongju-Hwangnyongsa-02.jpg, A part of Hwangnyonsa remains. File:Hwangryongsateo.JPG, From a spot which once had been the main entrance to the temple. File:Old Gyeongju.jpg, A model of old

. The pagoda at Hwangnyongsa Temple towers over the city. File:Panorama of the Hwangnyongsa.jpg, Picture of the Panorama of the Hwangnyongsa. File:Nine story pagoda of the Hwangryongsa.JPG, Picture of the Nine story pagoda of the Hwangnyongsa. File:Korea-Gyeongju-Hwangnyongsa temple site-Dangganjiju-01.jpg, Stones to support a flag pole File:황룡사지 Gyeongju.jpg, File:황룡사지 Historical Site 6.jpg, File:Roof tiles in Gyeongju National Museum from Hwangnyongsa 01.jpg File:Roof tiles in Gyeongju National Museum from Hwangnyongsa 02.jpg File:Roof tiles in Gyeongju National Museum from Hwangnyongsa 03.jpg File:Roof tiles in Gyeongju National Museum from Hwangnyongsa 04.jpg File:Roof tiles in Gyeongju National Museum from Hwangnyongsa 05.jpg

Notes

References

*OCPRI (Office of Cultural Properties, Research Institute). 1984. ''Hwangyong-sa Site Excavation Report I'' wangyong-sa Temple Excavation Site Report I Three Vols. Office of Cultural Properties, Research Institute, Seoul.

External links

Asian Historical Architecture: HwangnyeongsaThe Center for Information on Korean CultureUNESCOJennyhouse Architecture and Skyscraper Community of KoreaHwangnyongsa's officials website
{{Coord, 35, 47, 20, N, 129, 13, 36, E, source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Korean pagodas Archaeological sites in South Korea Buddhist archaeological sites in Korea Buddhist temples in Gyeongju Demolished buildings and structures in South Korea Former Buddhist temples Historic Sites of South Korea Tourist attractions in Gyeongju World Heritage Sites in South Korea Pagodas in South Korea Buildings and structures demolished in the 13th century