The Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology

Introduction

Reflecting the conservative nature of religious art, Buddhist sculptures and paintings produced in the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty (1392‒1910) maintained considerable iconography and conventions transmitted from earlier periods. However, the emergence of Buddhist sculptures and paintings with new elements brought about changes in Korean Buddhist art. The conservative nature of religious art and the new trends in Buddhist sculpture and painting introduced at the time have respectively been attributed to the traditional skills handed down to monks who became artisans and the personal qualities that they demonstrated while leading their independent artisan groups. However, from a religious perspective, the production of Buddhist sculptures and paintings with new iconography, conventions, and techniques and their enshrinement in Buddhist halls cannot be explained solely by the attitudes and actions of the individual monk artisans involved. Previous studies on the production background of Buddhist sculptures and paintings from the late Joseon Dynasty have centered on particular monk artisans. This article, however, aims to examine the field by focusing on monk artisans’ relationships with their fellow monks who oversaw the production of Buddhist art and commissioned monk artisans for the projects.

During the late Joseon Dynasty, divergent monastic lineages (門中) were descended from Samyeong Yujeong (四溟惟政, 1544–1610), Soyo Taeneung (逍遙太能, 1562–1649), and Pyeonyang Eongi (鞭羊彦機, 1581–1644), all of whom were disciples of Cheongheo Hyujeong (淸虛休政, 1520–1604), or from Byeokam Gakseong (碧巖覺性, 1575–1660), a disciple of Buhyu Seonsu (浮休善修, 1543–1615). These lineages stayed at major temples throughout the country for generations. In the early seventeenth century, disciples of these noted monks gathered at major temples that had been destroyed or damaged during the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592–98) and embarked on rebuilding projects. Even after completing these projects, they stayed at the temples and increased the influence of their particular lineages by leading new Buddhist projects, such as the repair of buildings and the production of Buddhist sculptures and paintings. Members of particular lineages forged close bonds with each other. These bonds impacted how members of a given monk lineage gained consent from other members from the same lineage for preparing and proceeding with the production of Buddhist sculptures and paintings. The bonds also influenced the selection and invitation of specific monk artisans to produce the Buddhist art. This suggests that the jeungmyeong (證明, the monk supervising a Buddhist project and ensuring that it properly corresponds to Buddhist doctrine) and the hwaju (化主, fundraising monks soliciting donations from devotees for a Buddhist project) who participated in the production of Buddhist sculptures and paintings were not just high-ranking monks from a Buddhist order with financial resources, but monks from the same lineages as the artisans involved in a project. Accordingly, the production of Buddhist sculptures and paintings during the late Joseon Dynasty needs to be examined based not simply on monk artisans, but also on their relationships to the lineages that impelled Buddhist projects. Moreover, the emergence of Buddhist sculptures and paintings using new iconography, conventions, and production techniques should be investigated in terms of the faiths and ideas of the high-ranking monks who led these Buddhist projects. Previous studies have shed light on the patronage relationship between Byeokam’s monastic lineage and monk artisans working in the fields of architecture and Buddhist sculpture in the seventeenth century when a number of rebuilding projects were launched at temples after periods of warfare. However, these studies only partially address the artistic activities of monk artisans. They have not discussed the ideology of respective monk lineages that were reflected in the creations.

This article intends to explore the relationship between monk artisans, particularly the monk sculptors Daneung (端應) and Takmil (卓密) and the monk painter Toeun Singyeom (退雲信謙) and the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage (鞭羊門中) to which they belonged. These monk artisans were active from the late seventeenth century through the nineteenth century, a period during which perceptions of factions within monk lineages began to be shaped and the influence of monk lineages over Buddhist projects at temples was extended. Daneung and Takmil charted a new format in the late seventeenth century by applying sculptural techniques to Buddhist painting and inventing a wooden altarpiece depicting Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land (also known as a wooden Amitabha Buddha altarpiece, 木刻阿彌陀如來說法像). In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Toeun Singyeom created ingenious Buddhist paintings stretching the boundaries of previous iconography and conventions. After he entered nirvana, his portrait was produced and he was honored as a Seon (meditation) master.

In this article, I will discuss the high-ranking monk Soyeong Singyeong (昭影神鏡) who led the Buddhist project which had Daneung and Takmil produce a wooden altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land and allowed this experimental piece to be enshrined in a Buddhist hall. Soyeong Singyeong, Daneung, and Takmil are known to have established a relationship as a jeungsa (證師, project supervisor monk and verifier) and monk sculptors, but this paper proves that they were also in a teacher-student relationship. Moreover, it attempts to explore the relationships between high-ranking monks and monk artisans that started to change in the late seventeenth century by comparing the Buddhist projects led by Soyeong Singyeong to those by his teacher Hwanjeok Uicheon (幻寂義天). In addition to working as a monk painter, Toeun Singyeom dedicated his life to practicing in the Buddhist priesthood, as demonstrated by materials related to his involvement in yeombulgye (念佛契, fraternities for Buddha recitation) and hand-copied sutras that he transcribed over the course of years. These materials help with the understanding of the background against which Toeun Singyeom was able to consolidate his position as a head monk painter, create new Buddhist paintings, and enshrine them at temples. This article explores Toeun Singyeom’s artistic activities within the personal networks built by his old teacher, Gwalheo Chwiyeo (括虛取如), It also scrutinizes how the depictions of Ucchusma (穢跡金剛, the Vajra-being of Impure Traces) in his Buddhist paintings are related to the thinking of the Hwanseong monk faction in the Pyeonyang sub-lineage. Furthermore, it investigates how Toeun Singyeom’s involvement in yeombulgye and his sutra transcriptions are linked to his creation of Buddhist paintings and how the life of Toeun Singyeom, who long served as a Buddhist monk and practitioner, changed the status of monk artisans in the monk lineages to which they belonged.

Trends in the Buddhist Projects Led by Hwajeok Uicheon and Soyeong Singyeong from the Pyeonyang Monastic Sub-lineage and Their Relationships with Monk Artisans

In the early seventeenth century, the distinctions between any factions within a monastic lineage were so blurry that Seosan Hyujeong’s disciples, Samyeong Hyujeong and Soyo Taeneung, and Buhyu Seonsu’s disciple Byeokgam Gakseong recognized one another simply as fellow monks. At the time, Byeokam Gakseong led major Buddhist projects throughout the nation instead of the local monks who had lived for generations at the temples where the projects took place. Many monk artisans invited him to construct temple buildings and create Buddhist sculptures. However, in the late seventeenth century, monks who operated temples became keenly aware of monk lineages and their factions. Moreover, rather than renowned monk artisans, monk artisans who belonged to particular monk lineages were entrusted with a building’s construction or production of paintings and sculptures, thus encouraging their growth. Such changes in the relationship between the monks leading Buddhist projects and monk artisans can be inferred from the production of Buddhist sculptures commissioned for their private worship by Hwanjeok Uicheon (1603–1690), a disciple of Pyeonyang Eongi, and Soyeong Singyeong (?–1706), a disciple of Hwanjeok Uicheon.

Buddhist Projects Led by Hwanjeok Uicheon and His Relationship with Monk Artisans

After being authorized by Pyeonyang Eongi to become his disciple at Jeongyangsa Temple on Geumgangsan Mountain at the age of fourteen, Hwanjeok Uicheon practiced ascetic disciplines on multiple famous mountains. He gained high esteem over his life and, after entering nirvana, he was recorded in the Beomeumsanbojip (梵音刪補集, Edited Collection of Sanskrit Sounds) as a head monk who practiced the discipline of contemplating the mind and not eating grain (觀心辟穀). Baengryeonam Hermitage at Haeinsa Temple holds a portrait depicting Hwanjeok Uicheon as a Seon (meditation) master who strove to practice such discipline (Fig. 1).1 According to his biography2, Hwanjeok Uicheon founded hermitages in ten places and participated as a jeungsa in the production of a Buddhist sculpture at Domyeongsa Temple on Nakyeongsan Mountain in Goesan in 1643 and in the production of sculptures of the Ten Kings of Hell at Bongamsa Temple in Mungyeong in 1666. He also commissioned the production of Seated Manjusri Bodhisattva at Sangwonsa Temple in 1661 (Fig. 1) and Seated Maitreya Buddha at Bongamsa Temple in 1663 (Figs. 2 and 3) to worship privately. These two sculptures which were authorized by Hwanjeok Uicheon reflect his selection of monk artisans and his views on faith.

Fig. 1. Portrait of Hwanjeok Uicheon. Joseon, 1750. 93.5 × 59.8 cm. Ink and color on hemp cloth. Baengnyeonam Hermitage at Haeinsa Temple

Fig. 2. Wooden Seated Manjusri Bodhisattva at Sangwonsa Temple. Joseon, 1661. H. 117 cm. Sangwonsa Temple

Fig. 3. Rock-carved Seated Maitreya Buddha at Bongamsa Temple. Joseon, 1663. H. 442 cm. Bongamsa Temple

It has been believed since the Three Kingdoms period (三國時代, 57 BCE–668 CE) that Manjusri Bodhisattva lived at Sangwonsa Temple on Odaesan Mountain in Gangwon-do Province. Hwanjeok Uicheon led the third reconstruction of Sangwonsa Temple, commissioned the production of a seated sculpture of Manjusri Bodhisattva, and enshrined it in the temple for his private worship. The monk artisans responsible for reconstructing the temple and producing the sculpture were Singyeom (信謙) and Hoegam (懷鑑). Singyeom is believed to have been born in Cheongju. He was a monk painter who created the gwaebul (掛佛, large-scale Buddhist paintings hung outside a Buddhist hall during rituals and large assemblies) paintings of the Vulture Peak Assembly at Bosalsa Temple (1649), the Vulture Peak Assembly at Ansimsa Temple (1652), and the Vulture Peak Assembly at Biamsa Temple (1657). Hoegam was a monk sculptor who produced the sculptures of Seated Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva and Ten Kings of Hell at Muwisa Temple (1666) and the sculpture of Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha at Buljisa Temple (1666). Although not identified by name in the balwonmun (發願文, votive text or record of the patron’s wishes) for the Buddhist projects at Sangwonsa Temple, Singyeom is presumed to have worked on the dancheong (丹青, the traditional decorative coloring) for the temple buildings and Hoegam appears to have produced the sculpture of Manjusri Bodhisattva. The monastic lineages to which these two monk artisans belonged have not been identified. However, it seems that they were closely linked to the Byeokam sub-lineage rather than the Pyeonyang sub-lineage. Singyeom produced Buddhist paintings for temples where the Byeokam sub-lineage stayed and held a clerical position as a monk general guarding the Sangdangsanseong Fortress. Considering that Hoegam was active in Jeolla-do Province where the Byeokam sub-lineage was influential, he could have been related to it. Thus, the monk artisans invited to join the Buddhist projects led by Hwanjeok Uicheon at Sangwonsa Temple in Gangwon-do Province consisted of people who had established a reputation in their specialized fields and were highly skilled, regardless of their affiliated monk lineages. The high-ranking monk’s selection of monk artisans for the Buddhist project, his invitation of them to take part in the project, and his manner of commissioning the project illustrated by the case of Sangwonsa Temple can be commonly observed in seventeenth-century Buddhist projects.

Seated Manjusri Bodhisattva at Sangwonsa Temple (1661) and Seated Maitreya Buddha at Bongamsa Temple (1663) reflect the faith to which Hwanjeok Uicheon adhered when he commissioned them for his private worship. Each of these two sculptures holds a flowering branch as an attribute. Their associated votive texts and records identify them as Manjusri Bodhisattva and Maitreya Buddha, respectively. Around the time when Hwanjeok Uicheon commissioned the production of these two sculptures, a new ritual manual entitled Ojong-beomeumjip (五種梵音集, The Collection of the Five Categories of Sanskrit Sounds) (1661) was published. Banun Jiseon (伴雲智禪) compiled the manual, and his teacher Byeokam Gakseong proofread it. In the manual, five types of procedures for geobul (擧佛, entreating Buddhist deities) were replaced by a single beophwa geobul (法華擧佛, calling on Buddhas based on the Lotus Repentance). These five types are as follows: beophwa geobul hwaeom geobul (華嚴擧佛, calling on Buddhas based on the Hwaeom Repentance), chamgyeong geobul (懺經擧佛, calling on Buddhas based on the Compassion Repentance), mitacham geobul (彌陀懺擧佛, calling on Buddhas based on the Amitabha Repentance), and jijanggyeong geobul (地藏經擧佛, calling on Buddhas based on the Kshitigarbha Sutra). Ojongbeomeumjip also pointed out that it was wrong to perform the Yeongsan jakbeop (靈山作法, Vulture Peak Rite) in the Maitreya Hall at Beopjusa and Geumsansa Temples in order to avoid invoking Maitreya Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha in a confusing way. This viewpoint reflected the experiences of Byeokam Gakseong and Banun Jiseon, both of whom stayed at Beopjusa Temple on Songnisan Mountain and its affiliated Jungsajaam Hermitage in the 1740s. In the seventeenth century, a vast body of gwaebul featuring a Buddha in the manifestation of a bodhisattva holding a flower were created in Chungcheong-do Province.3 In the gwaebul paintings at Muryangsa Temple (1627) and Janggoksa Temple (1673), the deity depicted is Maitreya Buddha (Fig. 4). Other gwaebul paintings created in the same period, including the Hwaeomsa Temple example (1653), whose production Byeokam Gakseong participated in and those at Bosalsa Temple (1649) and Ansimsa Temple (1653), whose production his disciples participated in, feature Shakyamuni Buddha making the bhumisparsha (earth-touching) mudra as the main Buddha (Fig. 5).

Fig. 4. Gwaebul Painting of Janggoksa Temple. Joseon, 1673. 809 × 566 cm. Ink and color on hemp cloth. Janggoksa Temple

Fig. 5. Gwaebul Painting of Hwaeomsa Temple. Joseon, 1653. 1,009 × 731 cm. Ink and color on hemp cloth. Hwaeomsa Temple

In the period during which the emergence of new rituals resulted in a mixture of Maitreya and Shakyamuni Buddhas, Hwanjeok Uicheon maintained traditional views on the matter rather than embracingthe new changes. Hwanjeok Uicheon enshrined the sculpture of Manjusri Bodhisattva at Sangwonsa Temple based on the faith in Manjusri that had been followed since the foundation of the temple. Similarly, he commissioned the production of a rock-carved seated Maitreya Buddha holding a flower on a standing stone in Baegundae Terrace at Bongamsa Temple where Hwanjeokam Hermitage was built for him to stay. The production of this Maitreya Buddha at Bongamsa Temple was related to the Maitreya faith that had been upheld at Beopjusa Temple on Songnisan Mountain at the time of Hwanjeok Uicheon’s entry into the Buddhist priesthood. After joining the priesthood at Bokcheonsa Temple on Songnisan Mountain, he went to other temples to study Buddhism and practice ascetic disciplines. However, he visited Songnisan Mountain at the ages of twenty-seven, thirty-four, thirty-eight, and sixty-four, and stayed there for periods ranging from six months to three years. Bokcheonsa Temple is a mountain hermitage affiliated with Beopjusa Temple. When Hwanjeok Uicheon joined the priesthood, it seems he naturally embraced the Maitreya faith that had been practiced at Beopjusa Temple since its establishment. In his old age, he built Hwanjeokam Hermitage (which was named after his dharma name) near Bongamsa Temple on Huiyangsan Mountain close to Songnisan Mountain. There, he enshrined Maitreya Buddha for his private worship based on the Maitreya faith that had been passed on to him at the time of his entry into the Buddhist priesthood. As demonstrated by the titles of Seated Manjusri Bodhisattva at Sangwonsa Temple and Seated Maitreya Buddha at Bongamsa Temple, these sculptures commissioned by Hwanjeok Uicheon for his private worship were objects of reverence that reflected traditional belief systems sustained since the foundation of the temples rather than any new ideologies.

Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land Produced by Soyeong Singyeong and the Monk Sculptors Daneung and Takmil

Soyeong Singyeong, a disciple of Hwanjeok Uicheon, was active at the Gounsa and Gapjangsa Temples. After he entered nirvana at Gounsa Temple, a stele was erected there for him in 1706 and a stupa was installed at Namjangsa Temple. His portrait is enshrined in Gwaneumseonwon Hall at Namjangsa Temple along with a portrait of his teacher, Hwanjeok Uicheon (Fig. 6). Soyeong Singyeong was renowned for absorbing himself in the practice of ascetic disciplines and never leaving the mountain. Together with other renowned monks of the time, including Hwanjeok Uicheon, his name was recorded in Beomeumsanbojip.

Fig. 6. Portrait of Soyeong Singyeong in Gwaneumseonwon Hall at Namjangsa Temple. Late Joseon. Current location unknown.

Soyeong Singyeong was actively engaged in Buddhist projects at temples. Particularly, he assumed full charge of supervising many projects where the monk sculptors Daneung and Takmil produced Buddhist sculptures. The relationship between Soyeong Singyeong and Daneung and Takmil has been identified as a jeungsa with monk sculptors and also as a commissioner with creators. Recently, votive texts for the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa Temple (1684) and the Portable Shrine with an Amitabha Triad at Yeongjosa Temple (1694) have been discovered. These written prayers indicate that Soyeong Singyeong, Daneung, and Takmil maintained a rather close relationship and that Soyeong Singyeong exerted considerable influence over the production of the Buddhist sculptures. According to the votive text (1694) for the Portable Shrine with an Amitabha Triad at Yeongjosa Temple that Soyeong Singyeong commissioned for his private worship, “As [I] planned the production of sculptural images of several deities, such as Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva, and ordered members of the lineage [to produce them], those with dexterity crafted [the sculptures] with all their hearts.”4 It also names the monk sculptors Daneung, Takmil, Boung (普雄), and Jongin (宗印) as skillful members of the lineage (善手門人) (Figs. 7 and 8).5 This record suggests that Daneung and Takmil created Buddhist sculptures by reflecting the desires of their teacher, Soyeong Singyeong, more as disciples than as monk sculptors.

Fig. 7. Wooden Portable Shrine with an Amitabha Triad at Yeongjosa Temple. Joseon, 1694. 22.5 × 16.9 × 17 cm. Yeongjosa Temple

Fig. 8. Votive Text for the Wooden Portable Shrine with an Amitabha Triad at Yeongjosa Temple. Joseon, 1694. 12.7 × 25.9 cm. Paper. Yeongjosa Temple

Soyeong Singyeong, Daneung, and Takmil, who had formed a relationship as a teacher and disciples, launched a new Buddhist project at Yongmunsa Temple as high-ranking monks. The results of this project are the Seated Amitabha Triad and the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land from 1684 (Fig. 9). One day, Soyeong Singyeong accidently stopped at Yongmunsa Temple and felt sorry that the temple possessed no main hall.6 Accordingly, a project to build a hall was initiated. Soyeong Singyeong’s disciples Hongtaek (洪澤) and Jeongsim (淨心) served as hwaju and Daneung and Takmil took charge of the production of images for the main hall (Fig. 10). 7 A painting is conventionally hung behind the main sculpture for worship in a Buddhist hall. The Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land set behind the sculpture of an Amitabha Triad enshrined at the altar here was a new practice in that it replaced the painting with a sculptural piece. Given that this was a novel undertaking, there must have been a number of issues regarding selecting the appropriate sculpting techniques, producing the image, and enshrining it in the hall. Despite these challenges, the creation of the altarpiece was possible since the Buddhist project was initiated by Soyeong Singyeong and the hwaju and monk sculptors who participated in the production of the objects for worship were all his disciples. Therefore, Soyeong Singyeong’s beliefs and views on ascetic practices are presumed to have been reflected in the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa. Daneung and Takmil appear to have given a visual form to their teacher’s intentions.

Fig. 9. Wooden Seated Amitabha Triad and Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa Temple. Joseon, 1684. H. 85 cm (Amitabha triad), 265 × 218 cm (Altarpiece). Yongmunsa Temple

Fig. 10. A Record on the Construction of the Main Hall at Yongmunsa Temple. Joseon, 1684. 110.5 × 73.3 cm. Yongmunsa Museum

Hwanjeok Uicheon, the teacher of Soyeong Singyeong, practiced the discipline of contemplating the mind during his lifetime, and Soyeong Singyeong is also thought to have been deeply interested in this discipline. One of the characteristics of the Buddhist sculptures produced by Daneung and Takmil is their illustration of the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (觀無量壽經, the Sutra on the Visualization of the Buddha Amitayus) that emphasized methods of contemplation. What is particularly intriguing in the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa Temple (1684), from the perspective of this contemplation, is the two Chinese characters reading “myeongsim” (明心, luminous mind or illuminating the mind) engraved in the center of the bottom frame (Fig. 11). They are located below the nine lotuses representing the grades of rebirth upholding the preaching Amitabha Buddha. This inclusion seems to indicate viewing the nine graded lotuses in the pure land of Amitabha Buddha with a luminous mind, which is not so different from Hwanjeok Uicheon’s practice of contemplating the mind. The word myeongsim can be found in the work of these artists only in the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa Temple. The depiction of nine graded lotuses, however, is observed in the wooden altarpieces with the same theme at Daeseungsa (1675) and Gyeongguksa (1684) Temples, which are believed to have also been produced by Daneung and Takmil. Furthermore, it appears as a symbol of rebirth in the pure land in the lower section of the mandorlas of the Seated Amitabha Triad at Seonseoksa Temple, another work by Daneung and Takmil. Thus, the depiction of nine graded lotuses in the Buddhist sculptures created by Daneung and Takmil is presumed to have been impacted by Soyeong Singyeong’s views on Buddhist ascetic practice.

Fig. 11. “Myeongsim” (明心) in the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa Temple. Joseon, 1684. Yongmunsa Temple

It is unlikely that all high-ranking monks and monk artisans from the late Joseon period worked on projects that accorded with the monastic lineages to which they belonged as shown by the case of the monk sculptors Daneung and Takmil and their teacher Soyeong Singyeong. Nevertheless, their monastic lineages might have partially influenced monk artisans’ artistic activities. As monk sculptors did, monk painters maintained close relationships with their monastic lineages while producing Buddhist paintings. This is demonstrated by the fact that Wondam Naewon (圓潭乃圓) and Geumam Cheonyeo (錦巖天如), monk painters active in the Jeolla-do region in the nineteenth century, were lineal descendants of Seosan Hyujeong, and that Toeun Singyeom and Uiun Jau (意雲慈雨), monk painters active in the Gyeongsang-do region, were from the Hwanseong Jian faction in the sub-lineage of Pyeonyang.

Toeun Singyeom, a Seon Master and Monk Painter, and Support from the Hwanseong Faction in the Pyeonyang Monastic Sub-lineage

Like Buddhist sculptures, Buddhist paintings strongly manifest conservative nature through iconography distinctive to religious paintings and traditional conventions. The conservative qualities of Buddhist paintings are preserved through rough drafts or preparatory drawings, but works with novel iconography and conventions are also invented through these rough drafts or preparatory drawings. For a new Buddhist painting produced by a monk painter to be enshrined in a Buddhist hall as an object for worship, the roles played by the operating agents for the project, including a jeungsa and hwaju are significant. Rather than being led by individuals, Buddhist projects in the eighteenth century began to be led by monastic factions connected through the same dharma lineage. Monk painters from the same monastic lineages came to frequently assume full charge of producing Buddhist paintings and adding dancheong (traditional decorative coloring). Among several head monk painters who created Buddhist paintings with support from their monastic lineages, Toeun Singyeom earned his reputation as a skilled monk painter by participating in numerous Buddhist projects and producing masterpieces. He was also revered as a Seon master, and his portrait was enshrined at Gimryongsa Temple after entering nirvana (Fig. 12).

Fig. 12. Portrait of Toeun Singyeom. Joseon, 19th century. 103.4 × 77.2 cm. Ink and color on silk. Gimryongsa Temple

The Thinking of the Hwanseong Faction Reflected in the Buddhist Paintings of Toeun Singyeom

Toeun Singyeom led the Sabulsan school of painting (四佛山畫派), one of the late Joseon Dynasty monk painter groups operating in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He carried out Buddhist projects such as the production of Buddhist paintings, traditional decorative coloring, and regilding of Buddhist sculptures. Particularly when creating Buddhist paintings, he displayed his distinctive style by departing from the existing conventions and devising rough drafts that experimented with new iconography and compositions. Toeun Singyeom’s attempt to employ new iconography and conventions was based on the ideology of and support from the monastic lineage to which he belonged.

Unlike other paintings of Guardian Deities from the eighteenth century, Guardian Deities at Gimryongsa Temple produced by Toeun Singyeom in 1803 added Vajra-being of Impure Traces (穢跡金剛) and Eight Vajra-beings (八金剛) as new deities amongst the assistant devas to Brahma and Indra and assistant Eight Legions to Skanda (Fig. 13). This painting is the earliest example of a painting depicting Guardian Deities from the late Joseon period. The source on which Toeun Singyeom based the iconography of Vajra-being of Impure Traces with a face and multiple arms is unknown. However, the religious background of the addition of this iconography to his painting of Guardian Deities is related to Jebanmun (諸般文, Protocols of Buddhist Rituals) (1769) at Bongjeongsa Temple.

Fig. 13. Guardian Deities in Daeungjeon Hall at Gimryongsa Temple. Joseon, 1803. Ink and color on silk. 237 × 279 cm. Current location unknown.

Toeun Singyeom is well-known as a head monk painter from the Sabulsan school of painting and is recorded in the Genealogy of Dharma Lineage as a fourth-generation descendant of the Hwanseong faction in the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage. More specifically, he was a disciple of a disciple of Gwalheo Chwiyeo (括虛取如, 1720–1789), who was a descendant of Powol Chomin (抱月楚玟), a disciple of Hwanseong Jian (喚醒志安). Gwalheo Chwiyeo was revered in the Gyeongsang-do region in the eighteenth century. At that time, disciples of Powol Chomin were dispersed in Andong, Mungyeong, and Sangju in Gyeongsang-do Province but undertook a large-scale Buddhist project of publishing Buddhist books and scriptures at Bongjeongsa Temple in 1769 in collaboration with other descendants of Hwanseong Jian. This project by a collection of Hwanseong Jian’s disciples and descendants, including Hamwol Haewon (涵月海源), Waun Sinhye (臥雲信慧), and Namak Yeongo (南嶽暎焐), involved the publication of Buddhist books and sculptures needed by the monastic lineage.8 One of the ritual manuals published at the time is the Jebanmun of Bongjeongsa Temple (Fig. 14). This manual contains new procedures for the Sinjung jakbeop (Guardian Deities Rite) that depart from the conventional organization of the Protocols of Buddhist Rituals that had been followed since the sixteenth century. The procedure for the Guardian Deities Rite in the Bongjeongsa Jebanmun places Vajra-being of Impure Traces and Eight Vajra-beings as the heads of the Guardian Deities and describes in detail the names and characteristics of numerous Guardian Deities. In the Guardian Deities painting that Toeun Singyeom produced for Gimryongsa Temple in 1803, he set Vajra-being of Impure Traces and Eight Vajra-beings in the composition based on the procedures for the Guardian Deities Rite distributed and shared in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province in the late eighteenth century. This painting, with its depictions of new deities, could be enshrined at the Altar for Guardian Deities in Daeungjeon Hall at Gimryongsa Temple since the agents of the Buddhist project at Gimryongsa Temple and the commissioners of the production of the painting were members of the Hwanseong faction who understood the presence of Vajra-being of Impure Traces. Except for the Gimryongsa Temple example, no other paintings of Guardian Deities including Vajra-being of Impure Traces and Eight Vajra-beings were produced by Toeun Singyeom. Nevertheless, Toeun Singyeom continued to work under the influence of the procedure of the Guardian Deities Rite from the Bongjeongsa Jebanmun. Even the beginning of his transcription of An Outline of the Lotus Sutra (妙法蓮華經要解) from 1824 expounds on the assembly of Guardian Deities, including Vajra-being of Impure Traces, which is not included in the original Lotus Sutra (Fig. 15).

Fig. 14. Printing Woodblock for Jebanmun (Protocols of Buddhist Rituals) at Bongjeongsa Temple. Joseon, 1769. (reengraved). 22.5 × 55.5 cm (main board). Bongjeongsa Temple

Fig. 15. An Outline of the Lotus Sutra transcribed by Toeun Singyeom. Joseon, 1821–1823. Horim Museum

Activities of Toeun Singyeom and the Changes in His Status within the Hwanseong Faction in the Pyeonyang Monastic Sub-lineage

The relationship between Toeun Singyeom and his monastic lineage was a significant factor in supporting his activities as a monk painter and in enshrining the Buddhist paintings he produced featuring new iconography and conventions. This can be inferred based on the portraits of eminent monks that Toeun Singyeom created. Since most portraits of eminent monks from the late Joseon period do not bear inscriptions, their production dates and creators remain unknown. However, there are eleven dated portraits produced by Toeun Singyeom. He created portraits of monks who founded temples, monks known for their great achievements in the Buddhist world, and former teachers in monastic lineages who managed temples, starting with the portraits of National Preceptor Beomil (梵日) and Great Master Samyeong at Yeongeunsa Temple in Gangwon-do Province in 1788 during the early stages of his career. He also produced the Portrait of Great Seon Master Poheodang Damsu (抱虛堂曇秀) at Daegoksa Temple in Uiseong in 1795, the Portrait of Great Seon Master Chimundang (枕雲堂) at Hwajangam Hermitage of Gimryongsa Temple in Mungyeong in 1795, and the Portrait of Great Master Naong (懶翁) at Myojeokam Hermitage of Daeseungsa Temple in Mungyeong in 1803. Among the eleven dated portraits by Toeun Singyeom are those of Gwalheo Chwiyeo, a direct lineal teacher of Toeun Singyeom, and senior monks of the Hwanseong faction, including Namak Yeongo and Yeongpa Seonggyu (影波聖奎, 1728–1812) (Figs. 16, 17, and 18). Toeun Singyeom’s production of portraits of senior monks from the Hwanseong faction who stayed at Gimryongsa Temple, the base for his activities, suggests that he held a prominent position in the Buddhist network of the Hwanseong faction.

Fig. 16. Portrait of Gwalheo Chwiyeo. Joseon, late 18th century. 98 × 64 cm. Ink and color on silk. Gimryongsa Temple

Fig. 17. Portrait of Namak Yeongo. Joseon, late 18th century. 99.4 × 65.6 cm. Ink and color on silk. Jikji Museum

Fig. 18. Portrait of Yeongpa Seonggyu. Joseon, 19th century. 108.4 × 80 cm. Ink and color on silk. Jikji Museum

Starting from the position bestowed upon him when he entered the Buddhist priesthood, Toeun Singyeom distinguished himself among the monk painters of the Sabulsan painting school from early on and produced Buddhist paintings in his own style. At the same time, he established a network not only with monks from the Hwanseong faction, but also with members of other monastic lineages. He maintained a close relationship with Hyewol Gyeu (慧月戒友), a disciple of a disciple of Namak Yeongo from the same Hwanseong faction. Toeun Singyeom served as a member of the yeombulgye led by Hyewol Gyeu at Daeseongam Hermitage of Gimryongsa Temple. Toeun Singyeom and Hyewol Gyeu met each other as a monk painter and the commissioner of the painting of Guardian Deities for the Daeseongam Hermitage at Gimryongsa Temple in 1806. In addition to monks from the Hwanseong faction, members of several other monastic factions and lineages scattered across the north-central region of Gyeongsang-do Province, including Ilam Gyeongui (一庵警誼) from the Soyo monastic sub-lineage (逍遙門中) based in Eunhaesa Temple and Milam Daeseong (密庵大成) from the Sangbong faction (霜峰門中) of the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage, participated in the yeombulgye led by Hyewol Gyeu. Through this fraternity, Toeun Singyeom could communicate with monks from other factions and lineages active in Gyeongsang-do Province. From 1803 through 1822, Milam Daeseong regularly joined Toeun Singyeom in producing Buddhist paintings for Gimryongsa Temple along with Hyewol Gyeu and Daeeun Hoyeong (大隱護韺). Ilam Gyeongui was entrusted with ensuring that the artworks corresponded to Buddhist doctrine during the production of two Buddhist paintings by Singyeom in 1822 and 1825 (one currently housed at the Onyang Folk Museum and the other at Jibosa Temple). The yeombulgye of Daeseongam Hermitage at Gimryongsa Temple, which was intended to allow monks to support the temple and practice ascetic disciplines, greatly helped Toeun Singyeom create art and form a network.

While involved in yeombulgye activity, Toeun Singyeom transcribed the eighty volumes of Commentary and Sub-commentary on the Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) Sutra (大方廣佛華嚴經疏鈔) from 1807 through 1815 in a book format (Fig. 19). Between 1821 and 1823, he copied the seven volumes of An Outline of the Lotus Sutra in the format of an accordion book in two editions (Fig. 20). Toeun Singyeom transcribed sutras in order to accumulate merit for the rebirth of his deceased parents and other family members in the nine grades of Amitabha Buddha’s pure land. Since it required a considerable amount of time to transcribe these works, many monks joined Singyeom as donors to help with his sutra transcription and accumulate their own merit.9

Fig. 19. Commentary and Sub-commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra transcribed by Toeun Singyeom. Joseon, 1807–1815. 21 × 14 cm (half). Ink on paper. Eunhaesa Temple

Fig. 20. An Outline of the Lotus Sutra transcribed by Toeun Singyeom. Joseon, 1821–1823. 32.1 × 13.5 cm (a folded section). Cheongryangsa Temple

In 1815, the year when the transcription of Commentary and Sub-commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra was completed, disciples of Gwalheo Chwiyeo and lineal descendants of Namak Yeongo at Gimryongsa and Yongmunsa Temples participated in Singyeom’s transcription project as major donors. A preface to this transcribed sutra that extoled the merit of transcription was written in 1824 by Daeeun Hoyeong, a disciple of a disciple of Yeongpa Seonggyu who stayed at Hwajangam Hermitage in Gimryongsa Temple. During the process of transcribing in 1813, Uiam Hodeung (義巖好澄) and Soeun Seongi (韶隱善己) from Gounsa Temple joined the project as donors. These two monks later participated as the project supervisor and verifier monks when Toeun Singyoem produced the Assembly of the Buddhas of the Three Ages at Juwolam Hermitage in Uiseong in 1819. In particular, Soeun Seongi is presumed to have played an important role in allowing Toeun Singyeom to settle in Gounsa Temple in his latter days by acting as an assistant to Singyeom in 1820 when Singyeom founded Baengnyeonam Hermitage at Gounsa Temple and stayed there as the eldest monk. While residing at Gounsa Temple, in 1828 Toeun Singyeom created preparatory drawings and finished paintings of Forty-two Armed Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and Ten Kings of Hell with Messengers to be respectively enshrined in its Daeungjeon Hall and Myeongbujeon Hall (Figs. 21 and 22). In 1829, he had one of the two transcribed editions of An Outline of the Lotus Sutra stored at Gounsa Temple.10

Fig. 21. Preparatory Drawing for Forty-two Armed Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva at Gounsa Temple. Joseon, 1828. 219 × 208 cm. Ink on paper. Tongdosa Museum

Fig. 22. Forty-two Armed Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva at Gounsa Temple. Joseon, 1828. 228 × 200 cm. Ink and color on paper. Gounsa Temple.

Monks who had participated in the transcription of Commentary and Sub-commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra also joined Toeun Singyeom in transcribing An Outline of the Lotus Sutra. However, there were a number of monks who took part in helping Singyeom to transcribe An Outline of the Lotus Sutra for the first time. Each edition of An Outline of the Lotus Sutra transcribed by Singyeom consists of seven accordion-format books. Because it was transcribed in gold on indigo paper, the project required a fair amount of money. Accordingly, each volume records in detail the donors who supported the sutra transcription. The fifth among the seven volumes document how disciples of Toeun Singyeom, including Hoam Choeseon (虎巖最善), Seolsong Jangin (雪松仗仁), Seonam Taejong (仙巖泰宗), Yonggye Dalok (龍溪達玉) or Wonun Dalok (願雲達玉), and Jisun (志詢), formed a mundogye (門徒契, fraternity of disciples) and prepared the expenses needed for their teacher’s sutra transcription (Fig. 23). The mundogye consisted of twenty-four disciples who received dharma (受法) from and were ordained (受戒) by Toeun Singyeom. Among them, Duchan (斗贊), Jisun, Jeonggyu (定奎), Jeongsun (正淳), and Chiseong (致成) served as assistant monk painters when Singyeom produced Buddhist paintings. As shown in the case of the mundogye composed of his dharma-disciples and ordained disciples, Toeun Singyeom had already secured his position at the time as a Seon master with disciples who would succeed his dharma lineage like the old teacher Gwalheo Chwiyeo, surpassing his role as a head monk painter.

Fig. 23. An Outline of the Lotus Sutra transcribed by Toeun Singyeom. Joseon, 1821–1823. Cheongryangsa Temple

Among Toeun Singyeom’s dharma-disciples, Hoam Choeseon served as a jijeon (持殿, an assistant monk to a ritual officiator) when Singyeom stayed at Baengnyeonam Hermitage in Gounsa Temple as the eldest monk. He held power as a principal monk at Gounsa Temple to such a degree that his portrait was eventually enshrined there (Fig. 24). The imposing presence of Hoam Choeseon at Gounsa proves that Toeun Singyeom was not merely a monk painter but a Seon master whose disciple came to be highly acknowledged in Gyeongsang-do Province Buddhist circles. As Hoam Choeseon assisted Toeun Singyeom at Gounsa Temple, another disciple Yonggye Dalok assumed the role of helping Singyeom maintain his position at Gimryongsa Temple. Yonggye Dalok joined the yeombulgye at Daeseongam Hermitage along with Toeun Singyeom and Singyeom’s foundation of the Hwajangam Hermitage in Gimryongsa Temple. He also trained some Sabulsan school monk painters, including Uiun Jau and Yeongun Changryul (影雲敞律), who inherited the dharma and painting lineage of Singyeom. After Singyeom entered nirvana, his disciples living at Gounsa and Gimryongsa Temples are thought to have played a leading role in enshrining the portrait of Singyeom as a Seon master in Yangjinam Hermitage at Gimryongsa Temple.

Fig. 24. Portrait of Hoam Choeseon. Late Joseon—modern era. 112 × 76.6 cm. Ink and color on silk. Gounsa Temple

The sixth and seventh volumes of An Outline of the Lotus Sutra record the names of monks from temples in different regions as donors. They include Gyeongsang-do temples such as Gimryongsa, Yongmunsa, Eunhaesa, Gounsa, and Yeongdamsa in Andong, Gangwon-do temples like Geonbongsa in Goseong and Ganjangsa in Samcheok, and Chungcheongbuk-do temples like Silleuksa in Jecheon. The monks that participated in the transcription of the sixth and seventh volumes took on the role of operating agents for the Buddhist projects when Toeun Singyeom worked in the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Gangwon-do. They also appear to have allowed Toeun Singyeom to take full charge of the Buddhist project at Jungheungsa Temple in the Bukhansanseong Fortress in 1828.

As discussed so far, Toeun Singyeom tried to faithfully perform his role as a member of the Hwanseong faction by establishing a fraternity for Buddhist recitation and the Baengnyeonam Hermitage. His methods of practicing ascetic disciplines and faith in accumulating merit by transcribing sutras over the course of fourteen years provided other monks active at the time with an opportunity to assemble around him. This aspect of Toeun Singyeom as a Buddhist practitioner might have allowed a perception of Singyeom not just as a monk painter but as a Seon master who inherited the dharma lineage of Gwalheo Chwiyeo. The dharma lineage of Toeun Singyeom was sustained through his dharma-disciples Hoam Choeseon and Yonggye Dalok until the late nineteenth century. When Singyeom entered nirvana, his disciples produced a portrait depicting him as a great Seon master and enshrined it in Daeseongam Hermitage at Gimryongsa Temple where the portrait of Gwalheo Chwiyeo was also enshrined. To the monks in the Hwanseong faction, Toeun Singyeom inspired the perception that monk painters could hold an administrative position, serve as a sutra lecturer, and be a Seon master through their dharma lineage and the practice of ascetic disciplines. He also trained successors, Uiun Jau and Dongho Jincheol (東昊震徹), both of whom became monk painters and came to hold positions as great Seon masters.

Conclusion

One of the characteristics of late Joseon Buddhist art is that monk artisans were entrusted with the construction and repair of temple buildings, the production and regilding of Buddhist sculptures, the creation of Buddhist paintings, and the casting of temple bells. Accordingly, studies on Buddhist art have focused on the activities of head monk sculptors and head monk painters who led monk artisan groups and on their works. This paper, however, discusses the relationships between monk artisans and the monastic lineages to which they belonged by examining monk artisans and high-ranking monks from the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage who led Buddhist projects.

In the seventeenth century, before monastic lineages were fully developed, Hwanjeok Uicheon—a disciple of Pyeonyang Eongi—traveled around famous mountains throughout the country and resided at them practicing ascetic disciplines, establishing hermitages and temples, and commissioning the production of Buddhist sculptures. Most notably, in the cases of the Seated Manjusri Bodhisattva at Sangwonsa Temple and Rock-carved Seated Maitreya Buddha at Bongamsa Temple, both of which were commissioned for his private worship, Hwanjeok Uicheon invited monk artisans in the same manner that had been used to invite renowned monk artisans to Buddhist temple projects during the seventeenth century. In addition, Hwanjeok Uicheon commissioned the production of these sculptural images of the two deities as a reflection of the Manjusri faith that had been upheld at Sangwonsa Temple since its foundation and in the tradition of the Maitreya faith that he had espoused since his entry into the Buddhist priesthood at Bokcheonam Hermitage at Beopjusa Temple. This was done in preference to works embodying new faiths. Like Hwanjeok Uicheon, his disciple Soyeong Singyeong participated in several Buddhist projects as a high-ranking member of the monastic lineage in the late seventeenth century. Unlike his teacher, however, Soyeong Singyeong commissioned the production of Buddhist sculptures while maintaining close ties with specific monk sculptors (Daneung and Takmil). He also played an important role in creating a wooden altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land behind a main sculptural image in a hall, which was a new expression merging sculpture and painting. This study has revealed that Soyeong Singyeong, Daneung, and Takmil formed a relationship as a teacher and disciples from the same monastic lineage in addition to their relationship as commissioner and creators. It has further explored the beliefs and views on ascetic practices of Soyeong Singyeong that are reflected in the Wooden Altarpiece of Nine Grades of Rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land at Yongmunsa Temple. Like the case of Soyeong Singyeong, Daneung, and Takmil, the participation of high-ranking monks as operating agents and monk artisans from the same monastic lineages in Buddhist temple projects became more generalized in the production of Buddhist paintings in the eighteenth century. From time to time, monk painters produced Buddhist paintings embodying the beliefs and ideas of their monastic lineages.

Toeun Singyeom, who was active in the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, demonstrated that the status and role of a monk artisan within his monastic lineage were not confined to simply those of artisans or artists. A monastic descendant of Hwanseong Jian who inherited the dharma lineage of Pyeonyang Eongi, Toeun Singyeom fostered a wide network among several inner groups within the Hwanseong faction in the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage dispersed across the provinces of Gyeongsang-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gangwon-do through his involvement in the yeombulgye and the transcription of the Commentary and Sub-commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra and An Outline of the Lotus Sutra. Moreover, the Buddhist paintings that he created using new iconography and conventions were fully understood by members of his monastic lineage and enshrined at multiple temples. Not just as a monk painter, but as a Seon master who inherited the dharma lineage of Hwanseong Jian, Toeun Singyeom attracted a number of dharma-disciples. Among them, Yonggye Dalok and Hoam Choeseon respectively established themselves as high-ranking monks at Gimryongsa Temple and Gounsa Temple. Portraits depicting them as Seon masters are enshrined at these temples. The influence of Toeun Singyeom continued through the late nineteenth century, and the Sabulsan painting school produced monks who both served as monk painters and rose to the status of a Seon master like Toeun Singyeom.

It is unlikely that all monk artisans of the late Joseon period developed and engaged in artistic activities based on their original monastic lineages and produced works reflecting the thinking of the monastic lineages that supported them as were the cases with Soyeong Singyeong and the monk sculptors Daneung and Takmil from the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage in the late seventeenth century as well as Toeun Singyeom from the Hwanseong faction of the Pyeonyang monastic sub-lineage in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Nevertheless, it is a clear fact that monastic lineages, which were considered the backbone of late Joseon Buddhism, impacted the artistic activities of monk artisans.