Treasure 360: Stele of Master Wonrang from Wolgwangsa Temple Site, Jecheon - Seoul - Korean Historic Sites on Waymarking.com

This historic stele is located in the middle of the main hall of the National Museum of Korea. The museum's Path to History begins and ends at the Stele for Buddhist Preceptor Wollang. The romanized spelling varies between the website and the sign of history on site.

The posted co-ordinates represent the main entrance to the museum.

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The text is from the Cultural Heritage Administration website. Originally located at the Wolgwangsa Temple site in Dongchang-ri, Hansu-myeon, Jecheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, this stele was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1922, and now it stands in the National Museum of Korea. It records the achievements of Master Wonrang (?~866), a monk of the late Unified Silla Dynasty. He travelled to Tang Dynasty China in the 18th year of the reign of King Munseong (856), and stayed in Wolgwangsa Temple after making a tour of noted mountains over 11 years. After Wollang entered Nirvana at the age of 68, King Heongang ordered the erection of a memorial stone and called it ‘Daebogwangseon’. He also ordered Kim Yeong to compose the epitaph, and Sunmong inscribed the letters in the Ouyang Xun style in regular script. This stele consists of three parts, the pedestal, the body and the capstone. Pedestals were generally made in the form of a tortoise, while a hornless dragon was engraved on the capstone. It was the style of late Unified Silla that the tortoise shaped pedestal had quite small feet and a stretched out head and neck. The statue on the ornamental top looks quite realistic. Overall, the capstone, body and pedestal are so balanced that the stele gives a simple and stable impression. It was erected in 890, the 4th year of the reign of Queen Jinseong, after Wollang passed away.

Type of Historic Site: Treasure Official Designated Number: 360 Province or Metropolitan City: Seoul Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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