Kang Heejung

10.18399/acta.2014.17.1.009

P’an’gyo Sengqie Kṣitigarbha Koryŏ Song Mongol

The three sculptures excavated from P’an’gyo in 2008 are rare examples dating from the early Koryŏ period. This article examines the period of manufacture of the gilt-bronze Buddha and bodhisattva excavated from Area C of Zone 10 in P’an’gyo. The icon-ography of the two statues with hands held together in prayer is not clear. It is possible that they are images of Kṣitigarbha, Sengqie, or Arhat, but none display any one typical iconography. From the excavation site, Northern Song dynasty currency was recovered, and this indicates that the statues are from that period. This is supported by the fact that these two images are similar in style to eleventh-century Song statues. During the Mongol invasions, the region of P’an’gyo was severely affected and its entire population wiped out. Kṣitigarbha belief would have acquired currency as the area rehabilitated. This article puts forward the hypothesis that after the Mongol invasions, the statues, which originally represented Sengqie to “protect” the area, came to be regarded as images of Kṣitigarbha. The popularity of Kṣitigarbha belief, after the country suffered greatly from Mongol attacks, can be confirmed by the existence of Kṣitigarbha images that have survived from that period. Even if these statues are difficult to analyze on the basis of style and iconography, they show not only distinct regional characteristics, but are important examples that reveal the local beliefs of the late Koryŏ Dynasty.