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Local Governance and Buddhist Temples in the Taebaeksan Area from the Unified Silla to the Goryeo Dynasty

Jeong, Yokeun 1

1서울대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

While no local administrative unit’s eupchi (governing place) was established in the Taebaeksan area during the Unified Silla or the Goryeo dynasty, Buddhist temples were created to manage and control major routes and their surrounding areas. However, as the degree of significance of each region in the Taebaeksan area changed over time, so did the influence of the temples in the regions. Due to the distance from the local administrative unit’s eupchi, these temples were able to minimize conflict with the local administrative system, which operated around the eupchi. Changes to the distribution of local administrative units in the Taebaeksan area and the rise and fall of Buddhist temples could also be applied to other regions. Regardless of Buddhist sects, large and well-known temples in each region tended to be in famous mountains that were relatively far from the eupchi of large local administrative units nearby, at locations convenient for visiting Gaegyeong or large local major cities. Moreover, the central government ensured that temples were not overly concentrated in a specific place within a region. The temple thus provided support by managing and controlling areas not governed by the public local administrative governance system. However, as the population rose and the local administrative governance system became more comprehensive over time, such functions of Buddhist temples were gradually minimized and limited.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.