Buddhism has played an important role in the historical development of Korean performing arts, and Korea's spiritual culture has been deeply rooted in Buddhism since its introduction to Korea in the late 4th century A.D. Thus, the Buddhist music of Ko...
Buddhism has played an important role in the historical development of Korean performing arts, and Korea's spiritual culture has been deeply rooted in Buddhism since its introduction to Korea in the late 4th century A.D. Thus, the Buddhist music of Korea is today one of the most important genres in Korean traditional music. Mahayana, the main sect of Korean Buddhism, soon became integrated into the Korean peoples' life, and the practice of Buddhist ritual performing arts was thoroughly institutionalized. As a result, Buddhist ritual music and dance have played an essential role in intensifying religious experience in the daily Buddhist rites.
In today's Buddhist rites of Korea, various types of chant and hymn, instrumental music and ritual dance are indispensable constituents. In the vocal music of Korean Buddhism used in present temple ceremonies, for instance, there are two kinds of Buddhist vocal music, i.e. traditional Buddhist chant (po˘mp'ae 梵唄), and newly composed Buddhist hymns (ch'anbulga 讚佛歌).
The traditional Buddhist chant may be subdivided into two main types: one, melismatic sutra chanting in Sanskrit and Chinese; and the other, secular chanting in a folk style in vernacular Korean. Three different ritual dances have a significant role in further elaborating the Buddhist ceremonies. Performing ritual dances in Buddhist temple ceremonies is unique to Korean Buddhism, for only Korean Buddhist rites now include ritual dances, in spite of the other common traits and close relationships of Buddhist practices seen in China, Korea, and Japan.
Because of the significance of Buddhist chant (po˘mp'ae), the most important genre of traditional Buddhist's vocal music, a great number of studies on the Korean po˘mp'ae have been published by such literary scholars and musicologists as An Hwak 安廓 Lee Hye-ku 李惠求 [Yi Hye-gu], So˘ng Kyo˘ng-nin 成慶麟 Hong Yun-shik 洪潤植, Lee BYo˘ng-Wo˘n 李秉元 [Yi Pyo˘ng-wo˘n], Hahn Man-young 韓萬榮 [Han Man-yo˘ng], and others. Their studies, however, have made a contribution to the under-standing only a part of Korean Buddhist chant. This study is, therefore, an attempt to examine the musical source materials to be found in the original Buddhist sutras (Taejanggyo˘ng 『大藏經』) and to investigate the acceptance and the historical development of Buddhist music in Korea. Although it has such a deep-rooted tradition and has exerted much historical influence on other musical traditions in Korea, this kind of study has been very little explored in the field of Korean Buddhist studies, even amongst the Buddhist scholarly community.
Due to a lack of direct historical sources for the study of Korean Buddhist music, Chapter Ⅱ and Ⅲ of this work draw mainly from various existing research materials by the above musicologists and literary scholars. Chapter Ⅰ is, however, based upon musical source materials in the original Buddhist sutras (Taejanggyo˘ng), and Chapter Ⅳ on other literary sources, drawing mainly from personal observations, interviews with composers of modern Buddhist hymns (ch'anbulga), and analysis of musical examples of the representative ch´anbulgr of the 20th century.
The main point of this study lies on the following areas: first, what Buddhist music all about; second, the historical transmission and acceptance of Buddhism into Korea; and third, from the historical standpoint of Korean Buddhist music, a critical examination of newly composed Buddhist hymns of the 20th century, both in traditional style and in western style. The contents of this work are as follows:
INTRODUCTION
Ⅰ. Buddhist Music Recorded in the Original Buddhist Sutras
1. Buddhist Music Materials in the Buddhist Sutras
2. Musical Instruments in the Buddhist Sutras
3. Musical Terms and Their Meanings in the Buddhist Sutras
4. Summary
Ⅱ. Historical Transmission of Buddhist Music
1. Transmission of and Changes in Buddhist Chant (po˘mp'ae)
2. Literary Sources for Chinese Buddhist Chant
3. The Buddhist Music of Korea
4. Hwach´o˘ing, a Buddhist Chant in Vernacular Korean
5. Summary
Ⅲ. Historical Development of Korean Buddhist Music
1. Hyangga as a Type of Buddhist Vocal Music
2. Buddhist Music in the Choso˘n Period
3. The Koreanization of Buddhist Music
4. Summary
Ⅵ. Newly Composed Buddhist Hymns (ch'anbulga)
1. Historical Background of ch'anbulga Composition
2. First Period (1920-1945) of ch'anbulga Composed by Buddhist Monks
3. Second Period (1960-1980's) of ch'anbulga Composed by Buddhist Devotees
4. Third Period (1990's) of New ch'anbulga Movement for Koreanization
5. Reminiscence and Future Growth of ch'anbulga
CONCLUSION
Chapter Ⅰ traces the original Buddhist music and musical instruments recorded in the Buddhist sutras (Taejanggyo˘ng) in order to clarify the origins of Buddhist music as the basis of this study. The various records related with performing arts of the original Buddhism have been investigated. On the basis of records of the Buddhist sutras, the essence and use of Buddhist music, the ideological background of the birth of Buddhist music, and the positive and negative characteristics of Buddhist music are intensively examined.
Chapter Ⅱ is concerned with the historical transmission of Buddhism, and its introduction to China and Korea. The original Buddhist music from India approached Korea by the way of the Silk Road and the northern part of China. Before Buddhism itself was introduced to China, Buddhist music made vivid exchanges with the local music of China-bordered countries such as Kutcha 龜玆國. After the Buddhist music of India spread into the China-bordered countries and the northern part of China, the rhythmic aspect of Indian Buddhist music underwent changes, i.e., the Buddhist music was localized, and this resulted eventually in Chinese-style Buddhist music. After Buddhism was introduced into the Korean Three Kingdoms (Koguryo˘ 高句麗, Paekche 百濟, and Shilla 新羅), the Buddhist music of China was itself changed into a different type of Buddhist music in Koreanized style, this being by now far removed from the original Buddhist music style of India. In the summary of this chapter, it is pointed out that the Koreanization of Buddhist music was unavoid-able in the course of the historical transmission into Korea.
Chaper Ⅲ deals with the acceptance of Buddhist music into Korea, i.e. the continuing Koreanization of Buddhist music from the Three Kingdoms' period onwards. This chapter examines several hyangga 鄕歌 pieces which seem to have been related to Buddhist music in the Unified Shilla 統一新羅 and early Koryo˘ 高麗 periods. On the basis of a literary source, Sari yo˘ngu˘nggi 『舍利靈應記』, by Kim Su-on 金守溫 (1410-1481), this chapter includes also an investigation of Buddhist music during the reign of King Sejong the Great 世宗大王(1418-1450). Such Buddhist music of the late Choso˘n 朝鮮 period (1592-1910) onwards as Yo˘ngsan hoesang 靈山會相, Sanyo˘mbul 山念佛, and Boryo˘m 布念, is examined from the historical standpoint of Koreanized Buddhist music. The summary of this chapter offers the conclusion that a close interrelationship between Koreanized Buddhist music and Korean traditional music has been unavoidable in the course of the historical development of Korean culture.
Chapter Ⅳ includes an analysis of the early Buddhist hymns (ch'anbulga) by such eminent Buddhist priests as Paek Yo˘ng-So˘ng 白龍城, Cho Hag-yu 曹學乳, Kwo˘n Sang-no 權相老, and Kim Cho˘ng-muk 김정묵 in the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945). Also inlcuded is an analysis of various modern Buddhist hymns (1945-present) composed by such musicians as Cho˘ng Un-mun 鄭雲門, Ch'u Wo˘l-So˘ng 추월성, Cho˘ng Min-so˘p 정민섭, Yi Ch´an-u 이찬우, Pan Yo˘ng-gyu 반영규, So˘ Ch´ang-o˘p 서찬업 Kim Hu˘i-jo 金熙祚, Hong Wo˘n-gi 洪元基, Ch´oe Yo˘ng-ch´o˘l 최영철, Kim Yong-ho 김용호, and Park Bum-hoon 朴範薰 [Pak Po˘m-hun]. Composers such as Kim Hu˘i-jo, Hong Wo˘n-gi, and Park Bum-hoon [Pak Po˘m-hun] have composed new Buddhist hymns based on the rhythmic and melodic elements of Korean traditional music, whereas the other composers have created new Buddhist hymns based on Christian hymn style. In the summary of this chapter the author suggests that most of these Buddhist hymns influenced by Western music should not be accepted as a desirable Korean Buddhist hymns for the 21th century - most of the recent Buddhist hymns in Western style are no more than imitations of Christian hymns in major and minor keys, so that they are undesirable examples of Koreanized Buddhist hymns, which should be based instead on the rhythmic and melodic elements characteristics of Korean traditional music.
In the Conclusion, the author suggests that the Buddhist hymns of the 21th century must be based upon the rhythmic and melodic elements of Korean traditional music. The reason is already pointed out in Chapter I, which tells us that the Koreanization of Buddhist music was characteristic, unavoidable, and indispensable in the entire course of the historical development of Korean culture ever since the initial acceptance of Buddhism in the Korean peninsula.