첨성대 옛 기록의 분석

Abstract

More than a dozen different hypotheses exist for the nature of Cheomseongdae, a stone structure built in the former SIlla Dynasty capital of Gyeongju 1364 years ago. The true meaning of the structure is still vague after four rounds of academic debate in 1973, 1974, 1981, and 2009. The number of conflicting hypotheses grew due to the different paradigms adopted by scholars from a variety of fields and a tendency developed among researchers not to criticize other's hypothesis. The tendency emerged after a series of brutal debates in 1970s and 1980s among researchers who believed the structure to be a celestial observatory, a religious altar, or a tower symbolizing scientific knowledge. Historians participated in the debates far less enthusiastically, as the first three debates had been sponsored by the science community. Many researchers have claimed that historical records on Cheomseongdae are scarce. Such a prejudgment precluded a through examination of the records. This paper examined some of the records and reached the following conclusions. First, Samguk Yusa, a 13th century historical text, has a hidden message indicating that Cheomseongdae was related to the death of Queen Seondeok, who reigned from 632 till 647. This finding is consistent with the 15th century historical text Samguk Sajeolyo, which states that the structure was completed on a day close to Queen Seondeok’s death. Second, an editor of Dongguk Yeoji Seungram, a 15th century text, stated that Cheomseongdae was a Buddhist pagoda and that allowing Queen Seondeok to build the pagoda was a fatal mistake for Silla. The author of Geumo Sinhwa, the first novel in Korea written in the 15th century, stated that Queen Seondeok led to the perishment of Silla Dynasty because she provided a foundation for Esoteric Buddhism to flourish in Silla. It is evident that Cheomseongdae was a Buddhist pagoda related to esoteric practices. This reinforces my assertion made in 2009 that Esoteric Buddhist monks built Cheomseongdae to send Queen Seondek's soul to Trāyastriṃśa and wish to return to Silla in her next life as a Chakravartin, or a divine earthly ruler. Third, it is very likely that Kim, Busik (1075~1151) determined not to record Cheomseongdae in Samguk Sagi, a 12th century text, for which he served as the chief editor, because he knew that it was built by Esoteric Buddhist monks. In 1136, Kim, Busik suppressed a military coup led by an esoteric monk named Myocheong. Samguk Sagi was written between 1142 and 1145. Kim, Busik knew the risks of allowing esoteric monks to get involved in political matters and did not record in his book any esoteric Buddhist practices during the Three Kingdom period.