본문 바로가기
  • Home
Basic Search

A Comparative Study on the Wangochonchukkukchon by Hyecho

  • Korean Language & Literature
  • 2008, (66), pp.55-86
  • Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature

Eunkyung Shin 1

1우석대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article intends to illuminate the characteristics and significance of the Wangochonchukkukchon, the records of experiences of travel to Chonchuk --the old name of India-- by Hyecho(704-780), a Buddhist monk of Silla. As Hyecho's travel to India and its records go, there are two notable points which will be focused on in this article. One is that Hyecho's travel was done at the age of twenty which was young age compared to other monks' cases, and the other is that the Wangochonchukkukchon is differentiated from other travel literatures by Buddhists monks in including some poems within the text. Unlike other studies on the Wangochonchukkukchon which have mainly been established around bibliographical approach, this article is distinctive in employing a comparative method which covers other similar texts by Buddhist monks such as the Pulgukki by Peophyun, the Taedang seoyuk kubeop koseungchon and the Namhaegigwinae peopchon by Uijeong, the Taedang seoyukki by Hyunjang, and the Iptang kubeop sunnye hanggi by Japanese monk Yennin. When we classify travel literature, according to the purpose of the travel such as pilgrimage, sightseeing, and business trip, the Wangochonchukkukchon falls into the category of pilgrimage travel literature. Since Chonchuk was conceived of to be the sacred place by Buddhists which Buddha had been born, achieved Enlightenment, and preached on the four holy truth--birth, aging, illness, death--, it can be characterized by a form of pilgrimage to visit holy places and worship the Buddhist relics in India, It, however, was a risky attempt fraught with a quantity of difficulties and dangers to make a trip to India in the 8th century. The experience of pilgrimage to India, which signified an accomplishment of a holy mission, brought a tremendous changes to Hyecho both in inner and in outer life. On one hand he became to form his self identity as a real Buddhist monk, and on the other hand he could consolidate his religious standing in the Tang period. In other words, it can be said that the pilgrimage to India functioned the rite of passage to him. As for the writing style of the Wangochonchukkukchon, it can be categorized as ‘poem-inserted type’ among various types of the mixed-style texts: those which prose and verse are mixed in a text. This article considers this characteristic of the Wangochonchukkukchon to be one influenced by Uijeong's travel literature.

Statistics

  • 321 Viewed
  • 1 Downloaded

Tools

Issue List

Citation status

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

Basic Search Advanced Search