조선 전반기 제2기 불화(16세기)의 도상해석학적 연구

Abstract

This study is regarding those paintings that have historical remarks from the early Chosun dynasty, specifically around 16th century under the KingJoong-JongandSeon-Jo’sruling, and how those iconographic remarks can be interpreted using certain information. There are 89 pieces of painting, confirmed to originate during this period, and 61 of them contain at least one form of historical remarks within, while the other 38 do not. Among them, 54 have established time of production, and with this, the paintings can reveal historical information such as the time of production, original requestor, the motive/story behind the painting, and the place of storage. The data captured using those remarks can then be used to guide us through the trends of the Buddhist art and the Buddhism itself at the time, all the while serving as valuable reference for those painting that lack historical remarks. In terms of the contents, the most number of paintings have been about Sakyamuni and Ksitigarbha, and Amitabha trailing in the second place; specifically among them, the most frequently painted are Sakyamuni Preaching and Ksitigarbha and the Ten Kings. Other civilian-originated paintings include the painting of Nectar Ritual and painting of Tipitaka(SamJangBoSalDo). On the other hand, the royals have produced many painting of Buddha, and among them, the painting of Bhaisajyaguru and the painting of Preaching Buddha are the majority. The historical remarks in two parallel origins – the civilian and royal – also display significant discrepancies. The paintings with royal origin contain clear indications of production date, original requestor, reason for the request, specific content, production steps, royal blessing, witnesses’ testimony, and the location of storage. However, paintings with civilian origin typically only contain production date, related sponsors, origin of the painting, and list of involved individuals, and only very few of them have fully documented reason and contents of the painting. Although the reason for request for those paintings are very unclear in many cases, they almost always contain clear registries of offerings as well as list of names of painter, person in charge of alms, reviewer, and person in charge of general affair. Through these historical remarks found in Buddhist paintings during the King Joong-Jong’s and Seon-Jo’s ruling, it can be inferred that the Buddhism served as the belief and foundation of prayers for the prosperity and the ancestors within the royals, while through the offering registries, it served as prayers for the ancestors and personal fortune among the civilian lives.