영통사 대방광불화엄경소제 41 변상도 = The Woodblock Print of Annotated Avatamsaka Sutra Vol. 41 by the Priest Jeongwon which had been Engraved in Yeongtong - sa at Kaeseong

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study is on the frontispiece of Annotated Avatazpsaka Sutra Vol.41 by the Priest Jeongwon(淨原法師), which had been commentated by the priest Jingkwan (澄觀), Treasure No.964. The woodblock of the text was engraved in 1087 at Hangzhou(杭州) in China and brought to Koryo, and was made by the order of the priest Uicheon(義天 ; 1055∼1101), who was the fourth son of the King Moonjong of the Koryeo Dynasty. But the original text had no frontispiece; the frontispiece was engraved and preserved in Yeongtong-sa(靈通寺) in 1372. From the attached Record of Engraving the Frontispiece(變相綠記文), we know the year of the woodblock, the name of three eunuchs Yi Michoong(李美沖), Park Seongryang(朴成亮), and Kim Sahaeng(金師辛), who had contributed to it, and also Yeongtong-sa, the place where the woodcut was engraved and preserved. The eunuchs were the special class that had power and wealth in those days. They were intimate with the monk Sindon(辛旽 ; ?∼1371) who played the leading role for the political reform during the reign of King Kongmin(恭愍王 ; 1352-1374). Sindon was belonged to the Hwaom-jong(華嚴宗), one of the major sects of Buddhism in Koryeo. And the Yeongtong-sa was the famous temple belonging to the Hwaom-jong, where were enshrined the portraits of the several kings of the Koryeo Dynasty. Therefore the temple closely connected with the royal family. This print of the frontispiece depicts the Seju-myoeum-poom(世主妙嚴品), the first chapter of Avatarpsaka Sutra(華嚴經), which is substituted for the whole contents of the Sutra. Frontispieces of most Sutras represent the first chapter of the Sutra in general. There are various deities represented in the print depicting the Buddhist mass at the Bodhi-hall. This scene may reveal one of the characteristics of Avatarpsaka Sutra that raises the importance of the deities. The iconography of this print was very important because it transmitted the frontispieces of Avatarnsaka Sutra in the Choseon Dynasty, and became the standard. Additionally, the icon of the Vairocana(毘盧遮那佛) in the Bodhisattva style in this print was popular in late fourteenth century, and also set the universal icon of the Vairocana in the Choseon Dynasty. The Avatarpsaka Sutra of the priest Jingkwan`s comment annotated by the Priest Jeongwon was reprinted several times during the Koryeo and Choseon Dynasties. That is recognized the importance in the history of Korean Buddhism because the Sutra indicates the direction of the Hwaom-jong. and also showes the characteristic of the art of the Hwaom-jong in Korea. As mentioned above, this frontispiece has important meanings not only to art history, but the Buddhist history in Korea.