Winter 2012 Vol. 5 No. 4

2013.1.4 11:50:8 AM Vol. 5 No. 4 5 No. Vol. Winter 2012 Winter Winter 2012 Vol. 5 No. 4 ISSN 2005-0151 ISSN ��.indd 22-23 11 | 11 Quarterly Magazine of the Cultural Heritage Administration Winter 2012 Vol. 5 No. 4 Cover Black symbolizes winter. The symbolism originates from the traditional “five direc- tional colors” based on the ancient Chinese thought of wuxing, or ohaeng in Korean. The five colors were associated with seasons and other phenomena in nature, including the fate of humans. The cover design features Changdeok Palace. For more stories about the palace, see p. 44. KOREAN HERITAGE is also available on the website (http://English.cha.go.kr) and smart devices. ��.indd 4-5 2013.1.4 5:11:20 PM 2 | 32 CHA News Vignettes Korean Folk Customs Korean Empire Legation Building Repurchased Brazier and Winter Night’s Tales The Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Trust for Cultural Heritage Prehistoric dwelling sites have traces of fireplaces, concluded the repurchase of the old legation building of the Daehan (Great Korea) which developed into braziers that were widely used Empire in Washington, D.C. on October 18. The Korean royal household bought before modern heating devices were invented. Most the building in 1891 but forcibly sold it to Japan for $5 in 1910. Adhering to the Korean homes used braziers called hwaro. They were as opinions of concerned experts and the local Korean community, the building will indispensible as kitchen hearths in heating houses and be used for publicizing Korean culture and the history of Korea-U.S. relations. cooking, as well as keeping embers alive, boiling water for tea or stews, preparing snacks, or heating an iron. The braziers were diverse in material and size depending on Conference on Repatriation of Cultural Heritage usage, ranging from large cast iron braziers used in rooms Some 100 concerned experts met in Seoul on October 16-17 to discuss ways to and halls to small portable ones carried around in palanquins. Among the most increase international cooperation for the repatriation of cultural heritage. They common materials were cast iron, brass, crockery and talc. adopted the “Seoul Recommendation” to pursue legal, ethical and alternative measures concerning displaced cultural heritage. The Overseas Korean Cultural The warmth of braziers also helped fuse family bonds. During long winter nights, Heritage Foundation organized the conference with support from the Ministry of children enjoyed listening to stories told by their grandmother, sitting around a Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. brazier and eating chestnuts or sweet potatoes freshly roasted in its fire. Folk customs of bygone times suggest the practical and symbolic implications of World Heritage Forum Convened in Hwasun maintaining embers: the mother-in-law passed a brazier containing embers to her The World Heritage Forum Korea 2012 was convened on November 22-23 to seek daughter-in-law when a family changed hands for home keeping; and when a son policy measures and international cooperation for the sustainable preservation, moved out, the eldest son of the new household entered their new home ahead of management and utilization of World Heritage sites. Some 100 concerned experts, others, carrying a brazier with embers. In an upper-class home, the master would including local government officials responsible for management of World Heritage have a brazier placed near his guest to show hospitality, and in commoners’ homes sites, participated in the annual forum. The Cultural Heritage Administration jointly as well the elderly and the guest sat closer to a brazier. These age-old customs organized the forum in cooperation with South Jeolla provincial government and evolved into the common practice today of making gifts of matches or candles Hwasun County when visiting someone who has recently moved. 4 | 54 Winter 2012 Vol. 5 No. 4 CONTENTS 06 Pilgrimage to Buddhist Temples 22 Photo Gallery Life in a Buddhist Temple Daegwan and Seonja Pass Covered in Snow Daily Routines of Monasticism Trekking Trails of Pristine Beauty 10 Special Report 30 Foreigner’s View Mixing and Sharing Dongji, More Than Just a Short Day Bibimbap for Gourmet’s Pleasure 14 Human Heritage 34 Korean Heritage in the World Warm Clothing for Everyone Changdeokgung, the Most Korean Palace, Mun Ik-jeom Initiates Cotton Production and China’s Forbidden City 18 Modern Heritage 40 Intangible Heritage Seungil Bridge in Cheorwon Dance in Korean Culture Witness to Tragic History of Division Arts of Dynamism amid Stillness Pilgrimage to Buddhist Temples 6 | 76 The quiet of the mountain monastery After the service everyone except those gives two contrasting feelings: slow with special assignments tidy up the Life in a Buddhist Temple and tense, empty and full. People seek temple. tension amid the slow pace of life in Daily Routines of Monasticism a mountain monastery, and fullness The second service, for offering amid its emptiness. The monks also breakfast to the Buddha, is conducted pursue dual tasks in their daily routine: at the hour of the snake, or around Text by the Cultural Heritage Administration they arise early and pay homage to the Photos by Lee Hyung-jun & Goodimage 10 a.m. Then the monks embark on Buddha, and then meditate, eat, and practice, their primary2 mission, which work, all the while trying to empty their is called jeongjin, or viriya in Sanskrit, minds and filling the void with the laws often interpreted as “pure progress” or of the universe and nature, the smell “diligence.” Daily practice at seminaries 1. A tranquil night scene of of land and grass, and the sound of the generally consists of lectures and a temple covered in snow. wind. And to redeem the sentient beings discussions, while at Zen (Seon) centers with the life force thus acquired, they meditation is the only activity apart practice the way of the Bodhisattva. from brief meal breaks. A Day in a Buddhist Temple Sutra copying is no longer widely In a Buddhist temple the day begins at performed, but it was a regular activity 3 a.m., as the altar-tending monk sets of monks at most temples in ancient out in pitch darkness, beating a wooden times. The historic Buddha’s teachings gong and loudly chanting a hymn to and discourses with disciples were awaken the community and cleanse the orally handed down for centuries. grounds before the morning service. Around the first century B.C. they began to be written in scriptures. The Apart from the ritual meaning of Sanskrit texts were introduced to China purifying the arena, the chanting 2. A monk sweeps snow symbolizes a call for all creatures in the from a temple courtyard. universe to shed illusions and unravel entanglements. Beginning with a faint whisper, the sound of the gong gradually builds up to a high pitch, trails off and then repeats the cycle in order to gently arouse the sentient beings rather than startle them. The patrol monk’s wooden gong gives way to the four percussion instruments at the music pavilion ― the Dharma drum, the great bell, the 1 wooden fish and the cloud plate. After all of them have been played, the monks who have gathered in the main worship hall begin their solemn morning service. 2 Pilgrimage to Buddhist Temples 8 | 98 3. Monks head to a worship an important part of monasticism. have developed from special delicacies 4. A monk’s dining bowl set. hall to conduct a service. The Sanskrit word for food, ahara, offered to the Buddha on the year’s first etymologically means “fetching” or full moon day at temples of the Silla “taking in something to sustain oneself.” Kingdom. In the early Buddhist monasteries, called sangha, food was not produced but Korean monks nowadays do not practice acquired through donations from the lay alms begging, while monks in most community. Monks were supposed to Southeast Asian countries maintain eat anything voluntarily provided by lay their time-honored tradition of making followers. Staples most often available the morning rounds to gather food were dried rice, rice cooked with bean provided by laymen, which began in 4 and barley, dried grain powder, meat, the early days of Buddhism in India. clear water, and a couple of side dishes. and cake; snacks such as plant twigs The Sanskrit word pindapata, meaning After the meal, the bowls are layered 3 and leaves, flowers, fruit, milk or honey arms gathering, is a compound of one atop the other and wrapped in a were also eaten. However, monks pinda, referring to “rice ball,” and pata, via Central Asia (Dunhuang, Gaochang, cloth. following the Mahayana school in later “to fall”; hence it means “dropping a Wujin and Kucha) along the Silk Road. years were taught to refrain from eating rice ball” in a monk’s begging bowl. They were actively translated into the “five pungent vegetables,” such as The corresponding Sino-Korean Thousands of temples large and small Chinese, beginning around 167, after garlic, scallion, chive, leeks and hingu. word, takbal, literally means “relying nestle on scenic mountains throughout the arrival of the Gandharan scholar- Meat and alcoholic beverages were on a [begging] bowl” for a living, Korea, many of them founded over a monk Lokaksema (Chinese name Zhi thousand years ago during the Three also forbidden as they were regarded as or mendicancy. In the early days of Loujiachen) in the Han Dynasty. The obstacles to a clear mind and the path Kingdoms to Unified Silla periods. Buddhist monasticism, monks were Chinese-language scriptures were to Buddhahood. Gradually, monastic Monks at these temples exert persistent required to live with a minimum of introduced to Korea and Japan, where life allowed for a minimum amount of efforts to maintain their age-old possessions and not participate in they were used as main texts until simple food.

Load more