Looking closer at Korea’s large clay Buddha statues
Buddhism has existed on the Korean Peninsula, at least officially, since 372. And during this time, a countless amount of images of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have been produced. These images have been made from stone, wood, giltbronze, dry-lacquer and even clay.
They were masterfully produced during the Three Kingdoms Period (18 BCE-660 CE), through Unified Silla (668-935), and up until the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). However, it was not until the neo-Confucian-supported Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), and its anti-Buddhist policies, that led to the steady suppression and decline of Buddhism and this art form.
In fact, it’s not until the end of the 1592-98 Imjin War that we witness a reversal in Buddhist fortunes. After the Imjin War, and starting at the end of the 16th century, there was a lot of reconstruction in and around temples including of statues. The reason for this is that the Japanese destroyed nearly all of the most important temples on the Korean Peninsula. Buddhist monks served as warrior-monks during the Imjin War to help defend the Korean Peninsula. As a result of these efforts, the Buddhist community gained a certain level of respectability. Instead of being marginalized by pro-Confucian policies like before, Buddhism gained a certain toehold thanks to the efforts of these warrior-monks.
After the Imjin War, these warrior-monks returned to their temples to help rebuild them. The monks would become the cornerstone of the Buddhist community for the next several decades. Additionally, temples would start and
continue to receive generous gifts from both the royal family and aristocrats. This support would result in the creation of the large, clay Buddhist altar images that would appear at temples over the next couple of decades.
More traditionally, at least for those Buddhist images that survived, they were consistently made of stone. However, the use of clay in constructing Buddhist images wasn’t completely unheard of — they were simply more fragile.
With all that being said, the tradition of clay images, as far as we know, stretches all the way back to the Goguryeo Dynasty (37 BCE668 CE). Fragments of sixth-century clay Buddha figures were found at the temple site of Wono-ri near present-day Pyongyang in 1937. In total, some 312 fragments of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were discovered. These figures were largely made using molds to mass-produce these images.
More recently, the “Clay Seated Buddha of Buseoksa Temple” was produced, which is believed to have been made during Goryeo. This main altar statue inside the
Muryangsu-jeon Hall at Buseok Temple in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, stands 2.78 meters in height. This style of statue, which uses the technique of applying a clay paste over top of a wooden frame, is the oldest and largest using this technique at this time. In fact, it’s the precursor to the large, clay Buddhist altar images of the post-Imjin War era.
And less than a century before the start of the Imjin War, we have the “Clay Seated Vairocana Buddha Triad of Girimsa Temple” being produced, which is located in eastern Gyeongju’s Girim Temple. This triad, standing over 3.5 meters in height, was made by placing mud over a juniper frame. This triad points to a tradition that had already begun in the pre-Imjin War years, but would continue with renewed vigor in the post-war years.
Some of the most prominent clay statues in the post-Imjin War years are found at the largest and most prominent temples on the Korean Peninsula. This style of large, clay altar images were being produced during the late 1610s up to the
1640s. The earliest of these can be found at Gap Temple in Daejeon, which was made in 1617.
One of the earliest clay main altar triads that was produced during this early 17th century period can be found at Beopju Temple in Boeun, North Chungcheong Province. The triad was created by the leading monk-sculptor Hyeonjin and his team of 17 monk-sculptors. The main altar triad consists of a central image of Birojana-bul (Buddha of Cosmic Energy). This triad dates back to 1626, and the three figures measure between 4.7 to 5 meters in height.
While they were a bit thick and stiff in appearance, Hyeonjin continued to be active in the region after producing this triad at Beopju Temple. Hyeonjin and his team would go on to produce the “Clay Seated Amitabha Buddha Triad of Muryangsa Temple” in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, in 1633. The central image, this time, is that of Amita-bul (Buddha of the Western Paradise). This triad is more refined in appearance. Additionally, these images are even larger than those found at Beopju
Temple with the central image of Amita-bul standing an impressive 5.45 meters in height.
Rather interestingly, the monk-sculptor Cheongheon, who worked under Hyeonjin, would also continue this clay tradition in the southwestern Jeolla region. While similar in style, Cheongheon would differ somewhat from his teacher’s techniques. One key difference is the lengthening of the statues’ faces. Another key difference is that this triad measures an even more impressive 5.6 meters in height. It is the largest of the clay statues in Korea from this time period.
There are just so many Buddhist statues, both new and old, that they almost seem to meld into one. However, these large, clay images definitely stand out. Just from their sheer size and unique design, they are impressive. But what makes them even more impressive is that they symbolize, in part, the defense of the nation.
Dale Quarrington has visited over 500 temples throughout the Korean Peninsula and published four books on Korean Buddhism. He runs the website Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures.