BUDDHIST RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE OF THE KOGURYO PERIOD
Authors: СТОЯКИН М.А. 
Published: September 2024

В статье рассматриваются особенности буддийской культовой архитектуры в раннесредневековом государстве Когурё. Для этого обобщена доступная информация из немногочисленных корейских средневековых письменных источников и эпиграфики периода Когурё. Информация из них дополнена археологическими данными с территории современной КНДР, где выявлены основные объекты культовой архитектуры Когурё. Важное место занимают новые результаты раскопок буддийских храмов китайскими археологами в бассейне р. Туманган, которые позволяют дополнить сведения о развитии буддизма в отдаленных регионах Когурё. Рассмотрена характеристика буддийских памятников, приведена возможная хронология. Анализ источников позволяет проследить формирование буддийской архитектуры, раскрывающей процесс развития буддизма на Корейском полуострове и сопредельных территориях, осветить межкультурные контакты в регионе Восточной Азии, связь с буддизмом в последующем государстве Бохай.

The paper summarizes information about Buddhist religious architecture in the early medieval state of Koguryo, identifying its features and role. The author aimed to consider the chronology of Buddhist temples and analyzed in detail the main architectural element - the pagoda. The study of Buddhist temples in Koguryo and comparison with neighboring regions such as the Korean Peninsula, China, and Japan allow us to identify and reconstruct cultural interactions in East Asia. By analyzing Korean medieval written sources and epigraphy of the Koguryo period, the author reveals that in this state, apparently, there were several temples with pagodas. Earlier, in the 20th century, Buddhist archaeological monuments of Koguryo were discovered only in North Korea, specifically in the area of the capital Pyongyang. These monuments typically include the remains of an octagonal pagoda in the center, surrounded on three sides by pavilions and other buildings. Buddha and bodhisattvas sculptures and decorative figures installed inside the temples suggest the high level of artistic skill and craftsmanship in Koguryo. The chronology of these monuments in Koguryo (5th-6th centuries) has been a subject of debate among researchers; it primarily based on the location of the capital city and the inscriptions on the Buddhist sculptures and their style, as well as dating of roof tiles. However, recent excavations by Chinese archaeologists in the Tumangan river basin have provided new evidence to date the Buddhist temples in Koguryo to an earlier period. Such results allow us to supplement information about the development of Buddhism in remote regions of Koguryo. The scarcity of Buddhist monuments in Koguryo province suggests a weaker development of Buddhism outside the capital, indicating its importance to the central government and its wider spread among the upper classes. Apart from the general layout of the temple, the religious architecture of Bohai differs from Koguryo in that the temples mainly lack pagodas. This may be due to different ways of Buddhist architecture spread in Bohai. However, the recent discovery of the remains of an octagonal pagoda at Guchencun 1 Temple suggests two pagoda construction traditions in Bohai: one from Koguryo and another possibly influenced by the Tang Empire.