Bulguksa (불국사 / 佛國寺) and Anapji (안압지 / 雁鴨池)

Today morning I found really nice article about Bulguk Temple (불국사 / 佛國寺) and reconstructed pavilion of Silla Kingdom by the Anapji Pond (안압지 / 雁鴨池). The second structure has already been mentioned on this blog in the first post (Dancheong) in the part treating of dancheongs from the Three Kingdoms of Korea period.

Bulguksa was founded in 528 by the Beopheung the king of Silla (법흥왕) and it was a gift for his mother Yongjie. In that time the temple was called Pomnyu. The name was changed to Bulguksa after second reconstruction which had place in 751 (the first reconstruction and expansion was made in 574). Previously it had been small temple but after expansions it was changed into huge monastery which consisted of 200 wooden buildings. Despite the fact it was built in Three Kingdoms of Korea period there are no dancheongs preserved from that time. There aren't even from Goryeo period. Why is that? The answer is obvious - Imjin wars. Bulguksa was burnt to the ground by Japanese invaders in the end of 16th century. In the years 1604-1805 it was renovated 40 times! During those long lasting works it received the layout kept in the style of Choseon dancheong. Unfortunatelly it was ruined again. In 1969 the president Park Chung Hee (박정희) ordered  major restoration of the Bulguksa. The conducted works brought back the structure in the shape of monastery from Choseon period. Nowadays we can admire the results of these efforts.

I highly recommend to see the post - Gyeongju (경주), czyli początek koreańskiej przygody (in English: Gyeongju (경주) - the Beginning of Korean Adventure) which is enriched in very valuable photo material. The text of the article is in Polish but I think Google Translate will make it understandable. You can also surf the blog and see other interesting articles. Its name is "W krainie tajfunów" which means "In the Land of the Typhoons" because the blog mainly deals with Korean, Chinese and Japanese subjects.

If you want to know more about dancheong style, please click here --> Dancheong

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