1 / 54
541 likes | 555 Views
The holdings of Gyeongju National Museum are largely devoted to relics of the Silla kingdom, of which Gyeongju for about 1,000 years from 57 BC until 935 AD., was the capital.
E N D
SOUTH KOREA The GyeongjuNational Museum
Replica of Dabo-tap Pagoda (The Pagoda of Many Treasures) of Bulguksa Temple, supposed to have been built in 751 Replica of Seokgatap Pagoda (Historical Buddha Pagoda) of Bulguksa Temple, probably dates to around 751
Gyeongju, the treasure chest of mysterious secrets in history has been a popular tourist destination for a long time; it is a city of history and culture treasuring ancient heritage. Royal Tombs - where the tombs of ancient kings are gathered, Cheomseongdae Observatory - the best observatory in the Eastern world, Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram - world cultural heritages, and the Underwater Tomb of King Munmu – where the king was buried underwater and urged to protect the kingdom from the afterlife as a dragon, are all located in Gyeongju. The holdings of Gyeongju National Museum are largely devoted to relics of the Silla kingdom, of which Gyeongju for about 1,000 years from 57 BC until 935 AD., was the capital
The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok began to be fabricated by King Gyeongdeok, the 35th King of Silla, to honor his late father Great King Seongdeok, and it was completed by his son, King Hyegong, in 771. The top of the bell is in the shape of a dragon, below which there is a floral medallion and arabesque pattern, and underneath there are depictions of four heavenly maidens and two striking points of the bell (dwangja). At the lowermost part of the bell, there are reliefs of a floral medallion and arabesque pattern and lotus flowers. With an elegant appearance, exquisite reliefs and patterns and a beautiful and impressive bell sound, it is considered one of the finest masterpieces among the bells found in Korea. Oriental magpie (Pica serica)
On the yard of the Gyeongju National Museum, there are around 1,300 pieces of stone sculptures and works such as a belfry, stone pagodas, stone Buddha statues, memorial stone supports, and stylobates. Most of these have been transferred on to this site from old temple, palace and fortress sites in Gyeongju and the surrounding area
Solomon's Seal was used for centuries in traditional medicine
Avalokiteshvara 8th century Stone statue of standing Bodhisattva from Nangsan
Ornamental tree Korean Stewartia (pseudocamellia) patterned bark
Body of the first story of a stone pagoda, the sides carved with the four Heavenly Kings
The Bell tower - Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (National Treasure)
The Bell tower – The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (National Treasure), which is regarded as one of the most exquisite bells in the world
The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok began to be fabricated by King Gyeongdeok, the 35th King of Silla, in 771
Below the top there is a floral medallion and arabesque pattern, and underneath there are depictions of four heavenly maidens and two striking points of the bell (dwangja)
The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (detail) Heavenly maiden
The casting of the Divine Bell was plagued with failures and given its specified proportions it needed huge amounts of bronze. So much that it was required to ask for donations throughout the reign. Government officials and Buddhist monks were dispatched to garner collections. The Legend The most widely spread version of the legend surrounding this marvel, tells the story of one Buddhist monk visiting a poor farmer woman, who when asked for a donation said laughing, "I only have a daughter to give, if you want her, take her". The monk retired empty handed and saddened by her poverty and disposition. Meanwhile, casting after casting continued to fail despite the efforts of the best artisans of the land. Desperate, the King summoned a magician to solve the problem once and for all. The seer declared "The bell requires the sacrifice of a young girl for its completion.“ No parents could be found to offer their daughters for such a purpose. Suddenly the monk recalled the country woman who had sarcastically offered her daughter. He informed the king of the incident, and the king ordered the ill-fated little girl to be brought to him. The child was thrown alive into the hot molten bronze in the furnace from where the bell emerged - a perfect creation. The bell's sound reverberated around the land, but though its sound was both rich and sweet, the people felt sad when hearing it. Someone in the crowd said, "It sounds like emille (which is the Silla word for 'mother'), emille ... emille ..." From that time on, people called the bell the "Emille" Bell. What is remarkable and most astonishing is how the Silla people could cast such a large bell in such a precise way without any modern tools, using the lost wax process brought from ancient India. The bell measures 10 feet or 3.3m in height and 6.9 feet or 2.27m in lip diameter, was cast with 18.9 tons of molten bronze and there are no blowholes, which metallurgy and foundry scientists have declared mysterious, to this date. Recent research on the Emille Bell has yielded the fact that the bell had been designed in such a way as to be heard evenly from all directions and its reverberations linger for some three minutes, a longer linger time than any other bells of the world. Researchers have tried numerous times to replicate the bell with modern casting methods and the casting technique remains a subject of further studies.
