Bridge of Blue Clouds on Upper Side, White Clouds on Lower Side

Those who visit Temple Bulguk in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk find a pair of stone stairs in front of Gate Jaha of Daewungjeon. They are Bridge of Blue Clouds and Bridge of White Clouds, a designated national treasure (No. 23).

They are mostly called Bridges of Blue and White Clouds, but when asked “Which one is Blue and which one is White?” people there usually answer the one on the lower side is Blue Clouds and the one on the upper side is White Clouds. That’s what the information written on a board says. Is it correct?

No. In fact, the upper one is Blue Clouds and the lower one is White. According to ‘History of Foundation of Temple Bulguk’ written at the end of the 18th century, Daewungjeon is led to ‘Jaha Gate-Bridge of Blue Clouds-Bridge of White Clouds.’

Park Jong, a Confucian scholar in Yi Dynasty, also recorded ‘Blue Clouds are up there and White Clouds are down here’ in his book ‘Donggyung Yurok,’ which means an account of trip to eastside.

Shin Young-hoon, Director of the Culture Center for Traditional Korean Houses, explained, “While we see the direction from downside up, our ancestors described the direction from Gate Jaha’s viewpoints, in the order of Gate Jaha-Bridge of Blue Clouds-Bridge of White Clouds.” He continued, “We see a door or a gate as a way in, but they saw it rather as a way out.”

Then does the same go to Bridge of Lotuses and Bridge of Seven Gems (national treasure No. 22) located in front of Gate Anyang? According to the information board, the lower one is Lotuses and the upper one is Seven Gems, which is right. ‘History of Foundation of Temple Bulguk’ records the direction as ‘Gate Anyang-Bridge of Lotuses-Bridge of Seven Gems,’ and visitors can easily find the shape of lotuses carved on the lower stairs.

Kwawg-Pyo Lee kplee@donga.com