Songgwangsa Buddhist painting promoted to national treasure

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Monday that it had designated Yeongsanhoesangdo and Palsangdo at Suncheon Songgwangsa Temple as a national treasure. It is a promotion to national treasure, about 21 years after it was designated as a treasure in 2003.

The Buddhist paintings enshrined at Songgwangsa Temple in Suncheon City of South Jeolla Province are comprised of nine paintings, including one painting of ‘Yeongsanhoesangdo,’ which depicts the Buddha preaching Buddhism at Yeongchwisan Mountain, and eight paintings of ‘Palsangdo’ depicting the life of Buddha. The Palsangdo of Songgwangsa Temple depicts major events in the life of Buddha with eight themes, including the scene of Buddha descending from Dosolcheon to the world of Saba on an elephant and the scene of Buddha’s birth from the side of Maya in the Lumbini Garden. The records remaining in the painting clearly show that it was painted by monk Ui-gyeom and others in 1725, during the reign of King Yeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty (reign 1724-1776), making it of great academic value. It is known to have high artistic value, naturally depicting the transition of time and space according to events while maintaining unified strokes and colors throughout each painting.

“This is the earliest work in which Yeongsanhoesangdo and Palsangdo were created and enshrined in one hall at the same time,” said an official with the Cultural Heritage Administration. “It holds cultural significance in that it presents the diversity of Yeongsanhoesangdo in the late Joseon Dynasty and presents a new model for Palsangdo.”


사지원 기자 4g1@donga.com