Seonwonjejeonjipdoseo Woodblocks

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.2111

Category

Books & Records

Era

1603년(선조 36)

Designated year

2021

Location

하동군, 경상남도— 경상남도 하동군 쌍계사길 59 (화개면)

Coordinates

35.228800, 127.589200Museum-based location

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

The Seonwon Jejeon Jipseo Woodblock, held at Ssanggye Temple in Hadong, is a recarved woodblock edition based on sources from either the Shingheungsa Temple of Jirisan in Gyeongsan Province (1579) or the Songgwangsa Temple of Jongseong in Jeolla Province (1608). Recarved in winter 1603 at Neungjinam Hermitage on Jirisan and transferred to Ssanggye Temple, twenty-two complete plates have been transmitted to the present day. The Seonwon Jejeon Jipseo comprises a compilation by Tang-era Master Guifeng Zongmi (780-841) of essential selections from his own hundred-volume work, reorganized into a framework of preface, upper volume, and lower volume. Content encompasses classification of five types of Chan meditation (external spiritual, common folk, lesser vehicle, greater vehicle, and supreme vehicle), exposition of composition purpose, and comparative analysis between Chan and doctrinal schools with methods for harmonization. Woodblocks display content printed on one side with two leaves side-by-side or four pages on opposing sides (lower volume pages 25-26) in elongated rectangular format. Eighty complete pages comprising twenty-two boards (including three duplicate and restored plates) remain in proper configuration. The separately-constructed back strips do not expose joinery, secured with wooden dowels. Sponsor records identify approximately 115 monks participating in carving, including Seonsu (1543-1615). Yanggi oversaw plate refinement while carvers Eungjun, Hyegwan, and seven others participated, indicating large-scale major Buddhist projects. The Ssanggye Temple Seonwon Jejeon Jipseo represents woodblock carving predating the Byongja Rebellion (1636) among comparable surviving examples, making it the chronologically earliest known example. This manuscript serves as primary source material for understanding the publication and printing capacity of Neungjinam Hermitage during project execution, personnel composition, Buddhist ideological trends, and the relationship between Neungjinam Hermitage and Ssanggye Temple, revealing historical and cultural substance.

Location