조선 말기 興天寺와 王室 發願 불화

Abstract

Heungcheon-sa Temple in Donam-dong, Seoul was originally a royal temple in Jeongneung, the tomb of Queen Sindeok (surnamed Gang). The temple was founded during King Taejo’s reign and later relocated from Hwanghwabang (present day Jeong-dong) to Donam-dong during King Taejong’s reign. As Yi Haeung(1820-1898), the biological father of King Gojong, encouraged donations and bestowed a plaque with the temple’s name in the 19th century, the temple has been established as a royal temple for the royal family to use to wish for their peace. Henceforth, close relatives of the royal family as well as court ladies supported the temple by launching various religious projects, including the production of Buddhist paintings. This article aims to examine the features, monk paintaer in charge, and the patrons of the paintings enshrined in Heungcheon-sa Temple. The common people occasionally participated in the donations; however, the royal family was the main patron of painting projects that arose in the temple. The Buddhist paintings enshrined in Heungcheon-sa Temple mainly consist of works created upon the donations of court ladies in the second half of the 19th century, including Hanging Painting of Sinheungsa Temple (Vairocana Buddha Triad) painted in 1832, and those produced in the first half of the 20th century. This article classifies the paintings into three periods based on the prolificity and the main base of painter-monks in charge. Hence, the first period is 1800-1850, the second period is 1850-1870, and the last period is 1870-1910. The Buddhist paintings from the first period were created through the support of the close relatives of the royal family, including Kim Josun (1765-1832). Although not many works were created at that time, Hanging Painting of Sinheungsa Temple (Vairocana Buddha Triad) was the fruition of a grand project initiated by Kim, the princess and the son-in-law of Sunjo, and one of the daughters of King Jeongjo, The second period coincides with a number of projects being launched in the temple after Yi Haung bestowed the plaque. At that time, Euiwun Jawu, the monk painter who worked mainly in Gyeongsangbuk-do, moved to the Samgaksan region where Heungcheonsa was located to lead the creation of the paintings. It is noteworthy that paintings from this period were created upon the patronage of court ladies whose role was to support major royal family members. The statements on the paintings document their wishes for the peace of the royal family, King Gojong and Queen Myeongseong. This patronage continued into the third period, and the monk painters in charge at the time included Daeheo Jehun and the monks from the Gyeonggi region who worked in the areas closer to the capital. It is interesting that the patrons of the temple were court ladies with official court ranks. It is also distinctive that they continued to support the projects for their own use after completing those intended to wish for the peace of the royal family. The Buddhist paintings in Heungcheon-sa Temple are highly significant, as they were major Buddhist paintings created under the sponsorship of the royal family during King Gojong’s reign in the nineteenth century.