Daebuljeongyeoraemirinsujeungyouijebosalmanhaengsuneungeomgyeong Gwon1～2

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.2056

Category

Books & Records

Era

1401년(태종 1) 판각, 15세기 인출 추정

Designated year

2020

Location

고양시, 경기도— 경기도 고양시 일산동구 동국로 137-48 (식사동) 대한불교조계종 원각사

Coordinates

No precise coordinates are available, so this item is not shown as a map marker. To be added later.

The Shurangama Sutra, also known as the Sutra of the Heroic One, is one of the Buddhist scriptures cherished by Mahayana Buddhism. It consists of ten volumes, of which only the first and second volumes have been designated as “National Treasures”. They were published in 1401 (the 1st year of the reign of King Taejong) with woodblocks that were made based on scriptures handwritten by a monk named Sinchong at the instruction of the former King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty. As Shurangama Sutra Volumes 1-2 can be used to fill in parts missing from the book designated as Treasure No. 759), which was printed with the same woodblock, and contain annotations marked “1, 2….” on the left-hand side of the main text, they are considered an important material for studies on the use of gugyeol (a method of writing in Korean according to the phonetic and semantic values of Chinese characters designed to facilitate understanding of texts written in classical Chinese) during the Joseon period. The appearance of certain letters of Hangeul (Korean alphabetic script), which remained in use until the end of the fifteenth century, in the Shurangama Sutra makes it possible to estimate its printing date. Furthermore, traces of proofreading are believed to be the process to prepare publication of an edition with Chinese classics characters transliterated into Hangeul by the Gangyeongdogam (a government bureau in charge of publication), which suggests that it was printed no later than the fifteenth century. As a book printed with woodblocks featuring a unique style of written script, the Shurangama Sutra provides valuable insights into the publication of Buddhist Scriptures during the early Joseon period, and is regarded as a valuable material for scholars interested in the history and development of Hangeul.