Jangansa
Jangansa (Korean: 장안사; Hanja: 長安寺) was a Korean Buddhist temple on Mount Geumgang (금강산,金剛山). This temple was one of the Four Great Temples of Mount Geumgang, along with Pyohunsa (표훈사; 表訓寺), Singyesa (신계사, 神溪寺) and Yujomsa (유점사; 楡岾寺).[1] This temple is said to have been founded by monk Hyeryang during the reign of Beopheung of Silla or during the reign of Yangwon of Goguryeo.[2]
Paintings (Joseon period)
[edit]Jangansa was depicted by many Korean painters. Among them:
- Jeong Seon in the 《Sin-myo Year Pungakdo Album 辛卯年楓岳圖帖 》, 1711, watercolor on silk, approximately 36×37.4 cm.
- Kim Hong-do in the 《Geumgang Four Counties Album 금강사군첩(金剛四郡帖)》, 1788
- Kim Ha-jong in the 《Haesando Album 해산도첩(海山圖帖)》, 1815
Japanese colonial period
[edit]The volume 12 (1932) of the "Joseon historical site walk" contains several views of each temple around Mt. Geumgang, Jangansa among them. Taken during the Japanese colonial period by a well-known scholar, these pictures are precious since many of these buildings are no longer extant. Two of them are reproduced here.
Destruction
[edit]During the Korean war, the Bombing of North Korea dropped a total of 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm, on Korea.[3] "Every installation, facility, and village in North Korea [became] a military and tactical target", and the orders given to the Fifth Air Force and Bomber Command was to "destroy every means of communications and every installation, factory, city, and village".[4]
As a result, the whole site has been destroyed by the US bombings of the area. Unlike Singyesa, Jangansa was not rebuilt.[2] The ruins are classified as the #96 National Treasure (North Korea).[5]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Pratt/Diamond Mountains, p. 100.
- ^ a b Jogye 2011.
- ^ Armstrong 2010.
- ^ Conway-Lanz 2014.
- ^ NK_Heritage 2004.
References
[edit]- Pratt, Keith L.; Rutt, Richard; Hoare, James (September 1999). Korea, A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Routledge/Curzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-0464-4., 594 pages
- Armstrong, Charles K. (2010-12-20). "The Destruction and Reconstruction of North Korea, 1950-1960" (PDF). The Asia-Pacific Journal. 8 (51): 1. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
- Conway-Lanz, Sahr (4 August 2014). "The Ethics of Bombing Civilians After World War II: The Persistence of Norms Against Targeting Civilians in the Korean War". The Asia-Pacific Journal. 12 (37).
- 북한의국보유적목록 [2004_North Korea's National Heritage List]. Cultural Heritage Research Institute. 2004. The National Treasure (North Korea) page here is supposed to provide a fair English translation of this list.
- Korean Buddhist Jogye Order Headquarters, ed. (2011). 북한의 전통사찰 A B 세트 [North Korean traditional temples]. 養士齋. ISBN 9788996665908.. 10 volumes, 2800 pages. What is said about Jangansa can be accessed through this Naver link (장안사터).