Introduction

The creation of Buddhist sculptures through schools of monk sculptors during the latter half of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) was a method by which a statue was made under the lead of a head monk sculptor with several assistant monk sculptors, each responsible for a specific duty. Monk-sculptor schools, or yupa (流派), generally had a vertical hierarchy from the head down to the lowest monk sculptor, and it is thought they had two functions—training and the production of Buddhist statues. Collaborative work between schools that involved the participation of key monk sculptors from each faction was not common, except for very large-scale projects that required members from many different schools.

Within the above mentioned system of producing Buddhist sculptures during the late Joseon Dynasty, the practice of “ghost-sculpting” (代作, K. daejak) emerged in two forms or contexts. The first form involved a deputy monk sculptor performing the work of a head monk sculptor (sujogakseung) in the same school. The second form or context involved assistant monk sculptors of a particular school working with a head monk sculptor outside their school. The first form usually occurred when a changeover in the head position was imminent, so the next head monk sculptor took charge of the work in place of the current head monk sculptor. In records, the current head was still nominally in charge of the monk sculptor school, but the style of the next head sculptor dominated, bringing changes in stylistic features and in the composition of sculptors performing the work. The second form of “ghost-sculpting” happened when a monk sculptor who left his school to work independently took on assistants belonging to another school to produce a statue. In this case, the characteristics of the head sculptor’s style were almost non-apparent; rather, the style was determined by the school to which the assistants belonged, and nominally the finished sculpture was said to be the work of the school of the assistant sculptors rather than the head sculptor.

Creating Buddhist sculptures using the “ghost-sculpting” approach or sculpting in another person’s name emerged during the late Joseon Dynasty within the distinctive Buddhist sculpture production system of the time. It was not something that occurred across all schools. However, the practice of “ghost-sculpting” should be noted as an important example in studying the varied ways Buddhist sculptures were produced during that period.

“Ghost-sculpting” within the Same School

It is presumed that “ghost-sculpting” within the same school of monk sculptors occurred during the transition from the current head of the school to the next head. Although the elderly head monk sculptor was nominally recorded as the head sculptor, the deputy head—soon to be the head—was the one who took the lead in creating the sculptures. Many schools of monk sculptors are thought to have worked in this way, and this article will examine the practice of “ghost-sculpting” through the cases of the Muyeom School (無染派) and the Unhye School (雲惠派).

Muyeom and Haesim of the Muyeom School

The Muyeom School was a group of monk sculptors active in Jeolla-do Province with Muyeom (無染), Dou (道祐), and Haesim (海心) as the main figures. It is thought that the school formed between the latter half of the 1620s at the earliest and the early 1630s at the latest. The school produced Buddhist statues with Muyeom taking the central role during the first half of the seventeenth century, and with Haesim as the central figure during the mid- and latter half of the seventeenth century. The changeover from Muyeom to Haesim as head monk sculptors occurred in the first half of the 1650s, and the Wooden Seated Amitabha Triad and the Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings of Hell at Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, dating to 1651, were likely produced during this time of transition through the “ghost-sculpting” method.

The balwonmun (發願文, votive text or record of the patron’s wishes) for the Ksitigarbha statue states that it was produced by Muyeom, Dou, and others. However, the physique, face, and garments of the statue reflect the stylistic characteristics of Haesim, another disciple of Muyeom, which suggests that it was made under the lead of Haesim (Song Unsok 2007a). The first research paper to introduce and study the image and its votive text, while mentioning that the name of the third-highest monk sculptor in the Muyeom School cannot be detected on the sculpture, deduced Haesim’s participation in the project by relying solely on analysis of the style. In recent reports, however, Haesim’s name has been deciphered on the statue, which has enabled more direct discussion of Haesim’s role in its creation (Moon Myungdae et al. 2009).

Unlike the earlier sculptures crafted by Muyeom, such as the Wooden Seated Buddhas of the Three Directions at Bulgapsa Temple in Yeonggwang (1635) and the Wooden Seated Vairocana Bodhisattva of Biraesa Temple in Daejeon (1650), which have a narrow lower body, long upper body, and wide face with angled chin, the sculptures inside the Myeongbujeon (Hall of Judgement) and the Geungnakjeon (Hall of Paradise) at Sinheungsa Temple have a wide lower body and long faces (Figs. 1 and 2). Moreover, the folds of the robes on the Sinheungsa sculptures show schematic wrinkles centering on symmetrically raised lines on the left and right sides without any engraved or raised lines inside the wide folds, unlike the drapery on the statue of Vairocana Buddha at Biraesa Temple. However, similar to both the Biraesa Temple and the Bulgapsa Temple sculptures, the Sinheungsa Temple sculptures have noses jutting straight out from the base of the forehead and ears with a question mark-shaped external ear canal (triangular fossa), therefore partially showing features of Muyeom’s style (Fig. 3). In expression, the characteristics of the Sinheungsa Temple sculptures are almost the same as those seen on the only extant sculpture made by Haesim as head monk sculptor, the Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva at Munsusa Temple in Gochang, dating to 1653.1 The volume of the cheeks, chin and eyelids is well defined, and the way the nose juts out straight from the base of the forehead and the question mark-shaped external ear canal are features seen on the sculptures that Muyeom made and those at Sinheungsa Temple (Figs. 3d, 1, and 4). However, compared to Muyeom’s statues, which have a narrow lower body compared to the upper body and hence lack a sense of stability, the Ksitigarbha statue at Munsusa Temple has a wide, thick space between the knees that looks very stable, while the chin is comparatively long and rounded. This type of face and bodily proportions are almost the same as those expressed on the Amitabha and Ksitigarbha statues at Sinheungsa Temple. In addition, the folds of the robes are carved to fall over the legs in almost parallel lines, symmetrical on the left and right. The wide folds have no depth and no engraved or raised lines inside them, similar to those on the Sinheungsa Temple statues. As such, the features of the Munsusa Temple sculptures that differ from the existing sculptures made by Muyeom can all be seen in the Sinheungsa Temple sculptures. Consequently, the Mususa and Sinheungsa sculptures can be considered stylistically the same, indicating the high likelihood that Haesim, who made the Munsusa sculptures, was responsible for the Sinheungsa sculptures as well. In the first half of the 1650s, when Muyeom was on the verge of retirement as head monk sculptor of the Muyeom School, it was very likely that Haesim was slated to be the next head sculptor and took charge of producing the statues for Sinhuengsa Temple. This is one example of the “ghost-sculpting” method in Buddhist sculpture practice.

Fig. 1. Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha by Muyeom. Joseon, 1650. Gilded wood. H. 81.5 cm, Width between knees: 77.3 cm. Daejeokgwangjeon at Biraesa Temple, Daejeon

Fig. 2. Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva by Muyeom (presumed Haesim). Joseon, 1651. Gilded wood. H. 99.0 cm, Width between knees: 75.0 cm. Myeongbujeon at Sinheungsa Temple, Sokcho

Fig. 3. Comparison of the faces of statues by the Muyeom School

Fig. 4. Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva by Haesim. Joseon, 1653. H. 84.0 cm, Width between knees: 64.0 cm. Myeonbujeon at Munsusa Temple, Gochang

Unhye and Gyeongrim of the Unhye School

Unhye (雲惠) was a monk sculptor who was active during the mid- to late seventeenth century, the successor to the Suyeon School (守衍派), which was active in the provinces of Jeolla-do and Chungcheong-do during the first half of the seventeenth century. The Suyeon School was formed in the first half of the seventeenth century with Suyeon (守衍) as a head sculptor, and Yeongcheol (靈哲) and Unhye as the main assistant sculptors. When Unhye became head monk sculptor, following Suyeon and Yeongcheol, he formed the Unhye School with assistant sculptors such as Gyeongrim (敬林). The Unhye School was the most active group of monk sculptors during the mid- and late seventeenth century. Gyeongrim, the deputy monk sculptor who had trained under Unhye and was the most skilled artisan in the group, led the school in place of Unhye from the latter half of the 1660s. In the 1670s, he officially became a head monk sculptor, carrying on the lineage of the Suyeon School and Unhye School.

Unhye served as a head monk sculptor from 1650 to 1680 and made sculptures for Seodongsa Temple in Haenam, Ssangbongsa Temple in Hwasun, Dorimsa Temple in Gokseong, Baengnyeonsa Temple in Gangjin, and Donghwasa Temple in Suncheon. The earliest record of Unhye is found in the votive text that was enshrined in the Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings of Hell sculpture produced in the ninth month of 1649, originally enshrined at Gangseosa Temple in Baecheon, Hwanghae-do Province, and currently in Myeongbujeon at Hwagyesa Temple in Seoul. The votive text confirms that, at the time, Unhye was the fourth highest of the twelve monk sculptors including the head monk sculptor Yeongcheol. Unhye later succeeded the school and served as the head sculptor for thirty years, producing statues such as the Buddhas of the Three Directions at Seodongsa Temple in Haenam in 1650 and statues of Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta bodhisattvas for Dorimsa Temple in Gokseong in 1680.

The Wooden Amitabha Buddha at Dorimsa Temple in Gokseong, dating to 1665, and the Wooden Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta bodhisattvas at the same temple, dating to 1680, are both works from the latter half of Unhye’s active years as a sculptor that are believed to be products of the “ghost-sculpting” method (Figs. 5 and 6). Although the votive text says that the Amitabha triad was made by the head sculptor Unhye in conjunction with the deputy sculptor Gyeongrim and other assistant sculptors,2 this author believes the sculpture was made under the lead of Gyeongrim rather than Unhye (Choi Sunil 2004; Song Unsok 2010). The main reason is the fact that these three statues at Dorimsa Temple are different in style from the Ksitigarbha statue of Ssangbongsa Temple in Hwasun (Fig. 7), created by Unhye in 1667. Timewise, the Ksitigarbha statue falls between the statue of Amitabha made in 1665 and the two attendant bodhisattvas made in 1680. The Dorimsa Temple triad shows greater similarities to the Amitabha Triad at Dalseongsa Temple in Mokpo (Fig. 8), made by Gyeongrim in 1678. It was common for the style of later Joseon period sculptors to change over time, but there is no example of a sculptor’s style changing within a short two-year period—for example, between the Dorimsa Temple Amitabha statue in 1665 and the Ssangbongsa Temple Ksitigarbha statue in 1667—and then changing back again to the original style.

Fig. 5. Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha by Unhye (presumed Gyeongrim). Joseon, 1665. H. 126.0 cm, Width between knees: 82.7 cm. Myeonbujeon at Munsusa Temple, Gochang

Fig. 6. Wooden Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva by Unhye (presumed Gyeongrim) Joseon, 1680. H. 116.0 cm, Width between knees: 75.3 cm. Bogwangjeon at Dorimsa Temple, Gokseong

Fig. 7. Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva by Unhye. Joseon, c. 1667 H. 106.0 cm, Width between knees: 73.0 cm. Jijangjeon at Ssangbongsa Temple, Hwasun

Fig. 8. Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha by Gyeongrim. Joseon, 1678. H. 125.5 cm, Width between knees: 78.8 cm. Geungnakbojeon at Dalseongsa Temple, Mokpo

Compared to Unhye’s other sculptures made in the 1660s, the statues of Amitabha and the two bodhisattvas at Dorimsa Temple have thin bodies, narrow faces, and simple drapery. Their appearance is, therefore, rather different from the strong physique and broad faces seen on the 1661 Buddhist statue at Wolgyesa Temple on Jeju and the 1667 Ksitigarbha statue at Ssangbongsa Temple (Fig. 7). Such differences are seen not only in the body and the face but also the ears (where differences in sculptural style are easily distinguished). Unlike the Seodongsa Temple statues made in 1650, the Wolgyesa Temple statue made in 1661 and the Ksitigarbha statue at Ssangbongsa Temple made in 1667, which all have the external canal of the ears expressed as a short line, the Buddha and bodhisattvas of Dorimsa Temple made in 1665 and 1680 respectively have ears with the external canal expressed as a very long line (Fig. 9). The external ear canal on the Amitabha Triad statues in Dalseongsa Temple, made by Gyeongrim in 1678, were carved in the same exact style (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9. Comparison of the ears on statues by Unhye and Gyeongrim

The fact that the sculptural style of the Dorimsa Temple’s Amitabha triad is more similar to the Dalseongsa Temple’s triad made by Gyeongrim than the Ksitigarbha statue of Ssangbongsa Temple suggests that the deputy monk sculptor Gyeongrim played a greater role in the production of the Dorimsa Temple triad than the head monk sculptor Unhye. It seems natural to interpret the similarity of the 1665 Amitabha statue and the 1680 statues of the bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta (with the Ksitigarbha statue of Ssangbongsa Temple made during the time in between in 1667) not as a change in Unhye’s style but rather the manifestation of another sculptor’s style.

The appearance of the overall physique, the face, and the ears on the Dorimsa Temple statues of Amitabha (1665), Avalokitesvara bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta bodhisattva (1680) show greater similarity with the Amitabha Triad in Dalseongsa Temple (1678) than the Ksitigarbha statue in Ssangbongsa Temple (1667). As such, it is likely that the Dorimsa Temple statues were made under the lead of Gyeongrim rather than Unhye. Therefore, this example constitutes a case of “ghost-sculpting” within the same school of monk sculptors.

“Ghost-sculpting” in Collaborative Projects Between Different Schools

Collaboration on projects between different schools took two forms: the head monk sculptors of different schools working together with their assistant sculptors, or a sculptor monk who had left his school to work independently taking in assistants belonging to another school of sculptor monks (Song Unsok 2008). In the latter form of collaboration, the resulting sculptures reflected the style of the head sculptor (or his school) in a minimal way and mostly manifested the style of the assistant sculptors (and their school).Therefore, this form of collaboration can be placed in the category of “ghost-sculpting.” The two monk sculptors Cheongheo (淸虛) and Dou, who will be discussed below, trained in the Wono School (元悟派) and Muyeom School, respectively, in their assistant sculptor days. After becoming independent head monk sculptors, however, they worked on projects not with assistant sculptors from their own schools, but from the Cheongheon School (淸憲派) and Huijang School (熙藏派), respectively. This type of joint work veers from the tradition of saja sangseung (師資相承), which refers to a direct transmission of skills from a master to his disciple, a common practice during the late Joseon Dynasty where training took place in the process of creating a sculpture.

Cheongheo and Monk Sculptors of the Cheongheon School

The monk sculptor Cheongheo was active for forty years, from 1605 to 1645. Between 1605 and 1614, he participated in many Buddhist projects with the Wono School as an assistant sculptor under Wono (元悟) and Gakmin (覺敏). He worked under Wono on the Wooden Seated Buddhas of the Three Directions at Ssanggyesa Temple in Nonsan (1605) and the Wooden Seated Ksitigarbha and the Ten Kings of Hell at Seonwonsa Temple in Namwon (1610). Then, under Gakmin, a disciple of Wono, he worked on projects such as the Wooden Seated Vairocana Triad at Songgwangsa Temple in Suncheon (1614) (Choe 2009; Mun 2011; Jeong 2012; Choe 2013). It is presumed that Cheongheo belonged to the Wono School as there are no records showing that he took part in making sculptures with any other school (Song Unsok 2013).

However, for three of the sculptures that Cheongheo created as a head monk sculptor during the 1640s, his assistant monk sculptors came not from the Wono School, but from the Cheongheon School. In other words, the monks who worked as assistant sculptors were not members of the Wono School and disciples of Cheongheo, such as Sinhyeon (信玄) and Sinil (神釰), but rather the disciples of Cheongheon, including Beophyeon (法玄), Hyeonyun (玄允), Yeongsaek (英賾, also possibly named Yeongi [英頤]), and Naheum (懶欽) (Song Unsok 2013). No detailed records exist to shed light on why Cheongheo worked with monk sculptors from the Cheongheon School. However, as the Wono School had practically fallen apart by the 1640s when Cheongheo was a head monk sculptor, he would have had difficulty finding assistant sculptors within his own school. The Clay Seated Buddhas of the Three Directions and Four Standing Bodhisattvas at Gapsa Temple in Gongju was made in 1617 by Haengsa (幸思), who is thought to have belonged to the Wono School, like Cheongheo. The assistant sculptors for the project were members of the Wono School, including Huisun (熙淳), Gyeongnyun (敬倫), Simjeong (心淨), Eungmae (應梅), and others.3 However, it is known that Muyeom, Haesim, and other monks from the Muyeom School were assistant sculptors to Haengsa when he produced the Wooden Sakyamuni Buddha and the Left Attendant Standing Bodhisattva in 1648 at Dojangsa Temple in Haenam.4

Hence, the Buddhist sculptures produced when Cheongheo was a head monk sculptor of the Wono School were not in the style of the Wono School, but rather of the Cheongheon School, where the assistant sculptors came from. Cheongheo may have been the head sculptor, but his dominance was not enough to determine the style of the statues. Therefore, it can be understood that the statues were mostly made by assistant sculptors from the Cheongheon School. The statues created by head monk sculptors Yeongsaek, Hyeonyun, and Naheum, who had served as assistant sculptors to Cheongheo, were all made in the style of the Cheongheon School as well. Therefore, their influence would have been a factor in determining the style of Cheongheo’s sculptures.

Next, the relationship between Cheongheo and Cheongheon will be examined by comparing the works of each monk sculptor based on their stylistic characteristics.

The faces of the statues produced by Cheongheo are very similar to those on Cheongheon’s statues. The Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha enshrined in the Daeungjeon (main hall) of Gyeongheungsa Temple in Gyeongsan has an almost rectangular face that narrows very gently from the forehead down to the chin (Fig. 10). The upper eyelids are not pronounced and the lower eyelids are thin.The skin folds cover the corners of the eyes (inner canthus), forming the Mongolian eye fold. Examining the mouth, the upper lip is thick and the lower lip is thin. The philtrum below the nose is not wide and the edges are softly curved rather than being sharply defined (Fig. 11). The statues made by Cheongheon share almost identical characteristics with the Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha enshrined in the main hall at Eungseoksa Temple in Jinju (Fig. 12).

Fig. 10. Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha by Cheongheo. Joseon, 1644. H. 148.2 cm, Width between knees: 99.0 cm. Daeungjeon at Gyeongheungsa Temple, Gyeongsan

Fig. 11. Comparison of the face, nose, and ears on statues by Cheongheon, Cheongheo, and Wono

Fig. 12. Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha by Cheongheon. Joseon, 1643. H. 141.5 cm, Width between knees: 92.8 cm. Daeungjeon at Eungseoksa Temple, Jinju

On the other hand, the stylistic features of the statues made by Wono are very different to those made by Cheongheo. Like the faces on Cheongheo’s works, the faces on Wono’s statues are long, but they have a greater sense of volume than the faces on both Cheongheo’s and Cheongheon’s statues (Figs. 11 and 13). The upper eyelids are very pronounced, and—unlike Cheongheo’s and Cheongheon’s statues—the nose protrudes strongly from the flat area between the eyebrows. Similar to Cheongheo’s and Cheongheon’s works, the upper lip is thick and the lower lip is thin, but unlike their statues where the lips form almost a straight horizontal line, on Wono’s works the corners of the lips are raised to create a smiling expression. Another point of difference is that the philtrum is wide and its edges form sharp ridges (Fig. 11).

Fig. 13. Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha by Wono. Joseon, 1605. H. 190.0 cm, Width between knees: 137.0 cm. Daeungjeon at Ssanggyesa Temple, Nonsan

The hands placed low above the knees in the abhaya mudra (施無畏印, the gesture of fearlessness), is also a feature found on the statues of both Cheongheo and Cheongheon. Though there are no examples of this mudra being used by monk sculptors of the Wono School, such as Wono or Gakmin, after Cheongheon first used it on the Wooden Seated Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha of Ssanggyesa Temple in Hadong (1639), it became one of the distinguishing features of the Cheongheon School and was used frequently by Cheongheon’s disciples, including Seungil (勝日), Eunghye (應惠) and Huijang (熙藏) (Fig. 14) (Song Unsok 2004; Lee Huijeong 2005; Lee Bunhui 2006; Song Unsok 2006; Moon Myungdae 2007; Song Unsok 2010). This mudra can be seen on all of Cheongheo’s extant works: the Amitabha statue at Simusa Temple in Geochang (1640), the main icon and attendant bodhisattvas of the Sakyamuni Triad at Gyeongheungsa Temple in Gyeongsan (1644), and the main icon and attendant bodhisattvas of the Amitabha Triad at Namjangsa Temple in Sangju (1645) (Fig. 15).

Fig. 14. Wooden Seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha by Cheongheon. Joseon, 1639. H. 172.0 cm, Width between knees: 120.0 cm. Daeungjeon at Ssanggyesa Temple, Nonsan

Fig. 15. Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha by Cheongheo. Joseon, 1640. H. 112.0 cm, Width between knees: 70.0 cm. Simusa Temple, Geochang

Evidently, Cheongheo’s sculptural style was very similar to Cheongheon’s while it showed clear differences from the style of Wono. The similarity of their style would have been directly related to the fact that most of the higher assistant monk sculptors who participated in production of Cheongheo’s sculptures belonged to the Cheongheon School. Therefore, the elements of the Cheongheon School that appear in Cheongheo’s sculptures should be seen as a reflection of the style of Cheongheon’s disciples who worked on them.

Dou and the Monk Sculptors of the Huijang School

Dou was a monk sculptor living in the late Joseon Dynasty with a rather unusual career. He participated in various Buddhist projects as a member of the Muyeom School, which was active in Jeolla-do Province during the first half of the seventeenth century. One of the key figures in the school, Dou acted as the deputy head sculptor, the second-highest monk sculptor after Muyeom. However, the five sculptures that he created as a head sculptor differ in style to the works of Muyeom or the Muyeom School; rather, they are close to the style of the Huijang School. This appears to be the consequence of the fact that many of the assistant monk sculptors who worked on the statues with Dou were connected with or members of the Huijang School, and that almost no members of the Muyeom School took part in producing Dou’s statues (Song Unsok 2008).

The votive texts enshrined in the statues and the similarity in sculptural style show the close relationship that Dou maintained with the Huijang School. This is evidenced by a recently discovered votive text that states Dou served as a deputy monk sculptor under Huijang in the 1665 project to create statues of the Buddhas of the Three Generations at Ssanggyesa Temple on Jindo. It is the first case of a written record directly proving the connection between Dou and Huijang, which had only been presumed from stylistic analysis over the years. Moreover, as stated in the votive texts found inside Dou’s statues, most of the monk sculptors connected with the Huijang School were comparatively higher in rank than the participating monk sculptors from the Muyeom School (Song 2008, 197-200). Presumably, this composition of the group of sculptors taking part in the work would have influenced the style of the statues. The circumstances suggest that Dou left the school in the early 1650s, when Muyeom was approaching retirement, and Haesim—lower in the hierarchy than Dou—was appointed to be the next head sculptor. In all probability, while working independently, Dou maintained relations with the Huijang School and with the help of members of the school, he created his own sculptures in the style of the Huijang School (Song Unsok 2008).

To confirm whether the sculptures produced by Dou as head monk sculptor did indeed have little connection with the Muyeom style but were closely related to the Huijang style, the following text examines his extant works.

The fifteen statues (five sculpture projects) produced by Dou as a head monk sculptor all have similar stylistic characteristics, reflecting the style of the Huijang School in the expression of elements such as the physique, face, mudra, and robes. The head and body of the statues made by Huijang are thick from the front to the back (Fig. 16), and the same characteristic is found in Dou’s statues, including the statue of Ksitigarbha in the Geungnakjeon (Hall of Paradise) at Songnimsa Temple in Chilgok (1655), and the Seated Buddhas of the Three Worlds at Jungnimsa Temple in Naju (1664) (Fig. 17). The statues of the Muyeom School are not particularly thick by comparison (Fig. 1).

Fig. 16. Wooden Seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha by Huijang. Joseon, 1653. H. 108.0 cm, Width between knees: 76.0 cm. Daeungjeon at Neunggasa Temple, Goheung

Fig. 17. Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha by Dou. Joseon, 1664. H. 86.2 cm, Width between knees: 54.0 cm. Yeongsanjeon at Jungnimsa Temple, Naju

The facial details of Dou’s statues also reflect Huijang’s style. All the statues produced by the Muyeom School show the nose jutting straight out from the base of the forehead (Figs. 1, 3, and 4). But the nose on Dou’s statues does not protrude in the same abrupt way (Fig. 17), and the expression is closer to the works of the Huijang School. Additionally, the philtrum of the Muyeom School statues is deep and narrow, while the statues made by Dou and the Huijang School have a wide and shallow philtrum. The width of the nose and the mouth also differs. Statues of Dou and the Huijang School have the mouth wider than the nose and the lips are thin, while the statues of the Muyeom School display the mouth in a comparably narrow shape with thick lips (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18. Comparison of the mouth on statues by Huijang, Dou, and Muyeom

As mentioned before, low placement of the right hand making the abhaya mudra, right above the shin, is a feature originated by Cheongheon. The mudra was mostly used by monk sculptors of the Cheongheon School, including Seungil, Eunghye, and Huijang, and the same hand gesture is seen on statues created by Dou, including the Amitabha statue at Unheungsa Temple (1653) and the Amitabha statue at Yongyeonsa Temple (1655) (Fig. 19). All of the principal icons of Dou’s sculptures make the abhaya mudra. The only exceptions are two statues of Sakyamuni with hands making the (降魔觸地印, earth touching hand gesture), and a stone statue of Amitabha at Songnimsa Temple making the same gesture because the stone material requires it (despite this mudra being reserved for Sakyamuni). None of the statues created by the Muyeom School, however, feature the abhaya mudra, which also attests to a close connection between Dou and the Huijang School.

Fig. 19. Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha by Dou. 1655. H. 156.0 cm, Width between knees: 115.5 cm. Geungnakjeon at Yongyeonsa Temple, Dalseong

Additionally, the portrayal of the kasaya (袈裟) on Dou’s statues reflects the style of Huijang School. The statues produced by monk sculptors of the Huijang School depict the corner of the robe as sticking out on the right side at the lower part of the chest while one large fold falls straight down between the legs, with the other folds symmetrically arranged on either side. The other pointed corner of the robe is depicted on top of the left shin (Fig. 16). The robes are portrayed in the same way on nearly all of Dou’s statues, including the Amitabha triad at Unheungsa Temple (1653), the Amitabha triad at Yongyeonsa Temple (1655), the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha at Songnimsa Temple (1657), and the Buddhas of the Three Worlds at Jungnimsa Temple (1664) (Fig. 19).

As examined above, the Buddhist statues created by Dou carry the same stylistic characteristics as the statues produced by the monk sculptors of the Huijang School in almost every part, and hence differ to the statues created by the Muyeom School. Even with works Dou made as a head monk sculptor it seems he relied on assistant sculptors from the Huijang School to determine the style of his sculptures.

Conclusion

During the late Joseon Dynasty, the practice of “ghost-sculpting” as a method of producing Buddhist sculptures emerged in two forms. The first form involved a deputy sculptor who “ghost-sculpted” for the head sculptor inside the same school of monk sculptors. The second form involved assistant sculptors of a particular school working with a head sculptor outside their school. The first method explains the circumstances of what happened in the Muyeom School and the Unhye School. Additionally, it has been confirmed that “ghost-sculpting” occurred during the transition from the current head sculptor to the next head sculptor. In other words, it is presumed that when a head monk sculptor approached his later years, the head sculptor next in line took over the work and created Buddhist sculptures infused with a new style. The second form describes situations such as what happened between Cheongheo, a former head of the Wono School, and the assistant monk sculptors of the Cheongheon School. As well as the situation between Dou, former head of the Muyeom School, and the assistant sculptors of the Huijang School. When Cheongheo was an assistant sculptor of the Wono School, he trained under Wono and Gakmin, but when he became the head of his own school, he created statues after recruiting assistants not from the Wono School but rather from the Cheongheon School, presumably because the Wono School had already been dissolved and no assistant sculptors were available. Dou’s case differs from Cheongheo’s. Even after Dou’s departure, the Muyeom School remained active. Dou left when a younger monk named Haesim became the head sculptor of the Muyeom School, and later he worked independently with assistant monk sculptors from the Huijang School.

“Ghost-sculpting” cooperation between different schools of monk sculptors was practiced to a limited extent during the late Joseon Dynasty, a time when the production of Buddhist sculptures was based on the school system. However, it would not have been the dominant way of producing Buddhist sculptures. Moreover, the practice of “ghost-sculpting” cannot be considered ethically problematic as the images produced this way would not be considered as counterfeits, forgeries, or fakes in modern terms. At the time, most Buddhist sculptures were made under the auspices of a temporary office set up to supervise the project at the temple where they were to be enshrined. All the details related to making the sculptures would have been made open not only to all the monks belonging to the temple, but also to all the donors of the project, whether monks or laymen. “Ghost-sculpting” was a special case among the various methods of producing Buddhist statues during the late Joseon Dynasty, and it gives a glimpse into one of the ways the styles of monk sculptor schools were handed down.