중국 고성촌 2호 사원지 발해 팔각형 건물지 연구

Abstract

Archaeological surveys conducted at Guchengcun(古城村) in the city of Hunchun(琿春), Jilin Province from 2016 to 2022 resulted in the discovery of two temple sites where the temples were founded and renovated in the Goguryeo and Balhae periods. Guchengcun Temple Site 1 where archaeologists found a ceramic rooftile shard with inscription is conjectured to date back to Goguryeo, and Temple Site 2, to Balhae. At the second temple site, archaeologists unearthed remains showing the architectural layout of a Balhae temple, including that of an octagonal wooden pagoda, and a complete set of sarira reliquaries that are regarded as important sources for the restoration of Buddhist culture in Balhae. Similarly, the octagonal wooden pagoda site serves as a crucial source of information for the restoration of the Goguryeo-style octagonal building, which is deemed to have symbolic significance with regard to the development of wooden buildings in East Asia. The temple site is currently attracting wider attention from the Chinese academic world, fueling in-depth discussions while remaining little known among the researchers in Korea. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Guchengcun Temple Sites to Korean researchers and contribute to the effort to expand the viewpoints of research studies focusing on the sites. A study on the remains of the octagonal wooden pagoda at the Guchengcun Temple Site—conducted in preparation for this paper—revealed that the pagoda had similarities to the Goguryeo-style octagonal wooden pagoda in terms of the layout and structure of the base of the pagoda as well as building techniques. The study also showed that some of the techniques used by Goguryeo and Balhae pagoda builders were also adopted by the builders in the Liao Dynasty, although one needs more convincing proof and in-depth discussions before making a conclusive view regarding the connection between the three. It is undeniable, of course, that the Buddhist cultures in Balhae represented by the artifacts and features of Buddhism in Sanggyeongseong were also under the influence of Chinese Buddhism, particularly that of Tang, as shown by the elements of the Chinese brick pagoda. Therefore, the Balhae’s Buddhist architecture most likely featured a greater variety with the Goguryeo-style pagoda with octagonal structure, Chinese brick pagoda, and square wooden pagoda of the Southern dynasties. In other words, the building techniques adopted for the construction of pagodas in Balhae largely consisted of two: those inherited from Goguryeo and the techniques newly introduced from China. The remains of the octagonal wooden pagoda discovered at Guchengcun Temple Site 2 provide valuable clues not only for the genealogy of the techniques used for the Balhae pagoda but also for the study of Goguryeo-style octagonal wooden pagoda. In conclusion, the structure and layout of the octagonal wooden pagoda at the Gucengeun site are expected to serve as important sources for the study of the characteristics of the octagonal buildings built across East Asia in ancient times, including their function, genealogy, and exchange of building techniques. Although probably not conclusive enough, the discussions in this paper are expected to contribute to raising the interest of researchers in the topic and promoting in-depth discussions.