Richard D McBride

Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn is one of the most important Confucian figures in early Korean history. After passing the civil service examination in Tang 唐 China in 874 and enjoying a successful career in Tang – gaining fame for his literary skills during the Huang Chao 黃巢 rebellion – he returned to Silla 新羅 in 885. Unable to make a mark in highly stratified Silla 新羅society due to his birth status, he retired to the countryside and spent the remainder of his life with monks in such famous mountain complexes as Haein Monastery 海印寺. His regulated verse poems (hansi 漢詩) preserved in his Plowing a Cassia Garden with a Writing Brush (Kyewŏn p’ilgyŏng 桂苑筆耕), which contains his early writings in Tang and the oldest extant collected works by a Korean, and the Anthology of Refined Korean Literature (Tongmunsŏn 東文選, compiled in 1478), are among the oldest extant poems from the late Silla period. Ch’oe’s “four mountain stele inscriptions” (sasan pimun 四山碑文) are key evidence of his positive evaluation of Buddhism, particularly the Sŏn 禪 Buddhist tradition. His poems on Buddhist monasteries and monks demonstrate personal ties to and a sympathetic attitude toward mainstream Sinitic Buddhism. These poems may best demonstrate the socio-religious predilections of an average to above-average scholar of the Tang Empire – not to mention the kingdom of Silla. His genre poetry on visiting monasteries not only shows a sensitivity to the poetic conventions of the time but also provides evidence of the broad influence of mainstream Sinitic Buddhism in his life, including the popular cult venerating Avalokiteśvara, increasingly in a demure female form, and the doctrines and lore of the Hwaŏm 華嚴 (Ch. Huayan) tradition.

This study analyzes two related questions dealing with the early Korean state of Silla: What was the nature of councils of nobles in Silla? And how did these councils evolve as Silla adopted and adapted Chinese-style statecraft and bureaucratic systems? It separates Silla history into three periods: (1) 531 and before; (2) 531-647; and (3) 647-935. In the first period, nobles from regions the Silla capital, who were all “kings,” gathered to decide important matters. The rank-title taedŭng (grandee) emerged in the 520s or early 530s along with the expansion of Silla. In the second period, the Silla king instituted the position of sangdaedŭng (senior grandee) in 531 and entrusted him with the management of government affairs. Silla kings gradually organized Chinese-style regular offices and ministries to handle government affairs, which slowly decreased the need for councils of nobles. In the third period Silla kings instituted a Chinese-style board of grand councilors, an Administrat...

Les cinq éditions xylographiques coréennes du Chosang kyŏng 造像經 (Soutra sur la production d’images bouddhiques), publiées au milieu et à la fin de la période du Chosŏn 朝鮮 (1392-1910), se fondent sur des textes canoniques qui décrivent les avantages à fabriquer, laver et baigner les icônes bouddhiques. Elles vont au-delà des écritures portant sur l’acquisition de mérites en développant des rituels sur les images désignés collectivement par l’expression « procédés pour concevoir des images », qui ont été introduits dans des collections de dhāraṇī (formules magiques) et des soutras de dhāraṇī datés du début de la dynastie des Tang (618-907). Les quatre premières éditions publiées aux monastères Yongch’ŏn 龍泉寺, Nŭngga 楞伽寺, Hwajang 華藏寺 et Kimnyong 金龍寺, de la fin du XVIe siècle au milieu du XVIIIe siècle, ont pour objectif principal de conférer de la puissance aux images par l’introduction d’objets dans leur cavité thoracique (pokchang 腹藏). Ces quatre éditions xylographiques partagent les mêmes contenus fondamentaux, en particulier deux des trois textes suivants : Chebul posal pokchang tan ŭisik 諸佛菩薩腹藏壇儀式 (Cérémonie de l’autel pour l’enchâssement d’objets dans les cavités thoraciques des images de tous les bouddhas et bodhisattvas) ; un chapitre du Taejang illam kyŏng chosang p’um sipsa ch’ik 大藏一覽經造像品十四則 (Chapitre de la production d’images du Soutra donnant une vue d’ensemble du Canon bouddhique), qui remonte au début de la période Ming (1368-1644) ; et le Foshuo fomu bore poluomiduo daming guanxiang yigui 佛說佛母般若波羅蜜多大明觀想儀軌 (Manuel rituel sur la visualisation de la grande Vidyā de la perfection de sagesse, Mère des Bouddhas, prêché par le Bouddha), qui fut traduit au début de la dynastie des Song (960-1279). L’édition augmentée du monastère Yujŏm 楡岾寺 publiée en 1824, qui comporte une préface et un post-scriptum du promoteur de l’ordre Hwaŏm 華嚴, Hwaak Chit’ak 華嶽知濯 (1750-1839), ajoute des éléments du Miaojixiang pingdeng mimi zuishang guanmen dajiaozhu jing 妙吉祥平等祕密最上觀門大教王經 (Soutra du Roi du grand enseignement des méthodes de visualisation qui sont propices, universelles, secrètes, et supérieures) datant de la période des Song ou des Liao (907-1115) ; plusieurs diagrammes illustrant des mots et des lettres du siddhaṃ et divers procédés d’installation d’objets dans les images et de pointage des yeux (chŏman 點眼) des images. L’édition du monastère Yujŏm est une œuvre composite comportant des explications et des procédés ainsi que de multiples listes de mantras (diagrammes rituels) et de dhāraṇī, tels que l’important Yiqie rulai mimi quanshen sheli baoqie tuoluoni 一切如來秘密全身舍利寶篋陀羅尼 (Dhāraṇī du coffret aux bijoux de l’ensemble de la relique corporelle secrète de tous les Tathāgatas) qui était un pilier des rituels bouddhiques en Corée depuis le début de la période du Koryŏ.Mcbride Richard D. Korean Sūtras on the Production of Buddhist Images: The Chosang kyŏng 造像經 and Image Rituals in the Chosŏn Period. In: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, vol. 28, 2019. Pokchang. Image Consecration in Korean Buddhism / Consécration des images dans le bouddhisme coréen. pp. 133-155

ABSTRACT The writings of the Koryŏ monk Ŭich’ŏn 義天 (1055–1101) provide insight into the nature of Buddhism during the Northern Song period. Ŭich’ŏn was closely affiliated with Jinshui Jingyuan 晉水淨源 (1011–1088) and evidence for Huayan-oriented ritual repentance practices is found in Ŭich’ŏn’s Collected Works (Taegak kuksa munjip 大覺國師文集) and other writings. An examination of the four extant Huayan repentance manuals composed by and/or attributed to Jingyuan (X 1476, X 1472, X 1473, and X 1477), in the context of Ŭich’ŏn’s writings, allows for the following assertions: Repentance practices were as popular in East Asia in the Northern Song period as they were in medieval China. Although Jingyuan clearly wanted to simplify the prolix and complex liturgies composed by Guifeng Zongmi 圭峰宗密 (780–841) and Qingliang Chengguan 淸涼澄觀 (738–839) in the mid-Tang period and make them accessible to monks and lay people, he was appreciably influenced by the structure of the rituals composed by Tiantai Zhiyi 天台智義 (538–597) and, especially, Zunshi 遵式 (964–1032). Jingyuan composed them so adherents to the Huayan tradition could practice Huayan-oriented repentance rites instead of Tiantai-style rituals.

6세기 초기는 신라 국왕의 尊嚴과 정부체제 개념에 대한 변화와 발전의 기간이었다. 王權의 개념은 智證王代(500~514)와 法興王代(514~540)동안 체계적으로 정비되었다. 1988년과 1989년에 경상북도에서 발견된 「冷水里牌」와 「願平陣」는 6세기의 신라에서 왕권이 변화하는 모습을 통찰케 하였고, 고대사 전공 학자들은 고대 신라에서 중국식의 왕권과 정치를 수용하는 과정를 재고하게 되었다. ‘王’이라는 중국식 용어를 차용하는 것은 왕권의 位相에 대한 기본적인 변화를 암시하고 있다고 생각된다. 냉수리비와 봉평비가 발견되기 이전에는 학자들이 거의 오르지 『三國史記』「新羅本紀」에만 지하였다. 『삼국사기』에서 김부식이 503년 10월에 智證王이 ‘麻立干’ 호칭을 더 이상 사용하지 않고 ‘王’이라는 호칭을 수용했다고 전하고 있다. 하지만, 냉수리비·봉평비 등 이러한 석비는 신라식의 용어와 권력의 개념이 법흥왕대까지 이어졌다는 것을 보여주고 있고, 우리가 그것을 이해함에 있어서 크나큰 암시를 받게 된다. 신라의 통치자는 530대까지 중국식의 왕권과 국왕을 둘러싼 제반 제도 등을 확보하지 못하였다.

Abstract:Must Read Texts for Buddhists (Pulcha p’illam 佛子必覽) is a compendium of Korean Buddhist ceremonial texts that was compiled and published in 1931 by Ch’oe Ch’wihŏ 崔就墟 (1865–d. after 1940) and An Sŏgyŏn 安錫淵 (1880–1965). It was the first attempt to systematize and modernize the Buddhist rituals performed by Koreans since the publication of Kŭngsŏn’s 亙璇 (1767–1862) Models for Making Ceremonial Actions (Chakpŏp kwigam 作法龜鑑) in 1826. Although its importance is usually overshadowed in historical memory by its successor text, An Chinho’s Buddhist Rituals (Sŏngmun ŭibŏm 釋門儀範), which was first published in 1935, Must Read Texts for Buddhists established a pattern that made Buddhist rituals accessible to lay Buddhists by presenting the liturgical material in the original Sino-Korean graphs and transcription in the Korean vernacular script. It was a practical and essential manual for both lay and monastic Buddhists in its articulation of appropriate ritual for the gamut of Buddhist practice associated with all the major and minor figures venerated in most monasteries, temples, and shrines. More important, the compilation reveals the central role of dhāraṇī and mantra in the everyday practice of Korean Buddhism, the pervasiveness of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra and the Hwaŏm cult, and the rise in importance of the Amitābha cult—all positions inherited from the late Chosŏn period. Thus, Must Read Texts for Buddhists provides a compelling snapshot of Buddhist ritual and devotional practice as imagined by leading propagators and scholars of Buddhism in colonial-period Korea.

Monk thaumaturges, who were distinguished by their mastery of dhāraṇī techniques played a seminal role in the dissemination of Buddhism in medieval China and are remembered fondly in Buddhist hagiographical literature. Although dhāraṇī are often viewed as proto-Tantric or early Esoteric Buddhism, this paper asserts that dhāraṇī were dhāraṇī were a widespread and popular practice in mainstream medieval Chinese Buddhism. Dhāraṇī function not only on the principle of the magic power of words, as a Buddhist response to Vedic mantras, but also through the correct performance of ritual procedures. This paper analyzes several scholarly definitions of dhāraṇī found in Buddhist canonical sources: Dazhidu lun大智度論 translated by Kumārajīva, Jingying Huiyuan’s 淨影慧遠Dasheng yizhang大乘義章, Daoshi’s 道世 Fayuan zhulin 法苑珠林, and the Zongshi tuoluoni yizan總釋陀羅尼義讚 attributed to Amoghavajra. Although some scholars attempt to differentiate dhāraṇī from mantra, medieval Chinese Buddhist writers used both terms interchangeably. Daoshi’s Fayuan zhulin, in particular, clearly demonstrates that dhāraṇī were believed to be an ordinary aspect of religious practice in the seventh century, and that dhāraṇī were employed for very practical purposes. Furthermore, dhāraṇī became such a pervasive part of Chinese Buddhism that they are found in all aspects of Chinese Buddhist practice and were copied by proponents of Daoism.

Kim Yusin (595–673) was a noble, general, and statesman of the early Korean state of Silla (ca. 300–935). According to Korean sources, he played a vital role in the wars that resulted in Silla’s conquest of the other states on the peninsula by means of an alliance with Tang China (618–907) in the 660s. The biography of Kim Yusin comprises almost three full chapters of the Samguk sagi, and is the largest single biography in the ten-chapter section of biographies in the work. Other sections of the Samguk sagi, particularly the basic annals (pon’gi) of Koguryŏ and Paekche, show that Kim Pusik (1075–1151) relied considerably on other sources, such as Chinese dynastic histories and collectanea, or have entries clearly rewritten from the “Basic Annals of Silla” section of the Samguk sagi, which appears to have been compiled first. However, Pusik based his biography of Kim Yusin primarily on a “Yusin stele” and an Account of Conduct compiled by his grandson Kim Changch’ŏng. Although Yusin plays a vital role in Silla’s history of this time period, he is not mentioned in Chinese materials related to the war on the peninsula, although Pusik’s biography suggests that such material existed. Divine marvels pervade Yusin’s biography and they seem to function to support the theme that Silla is a “land of Confucian gentlemen.” The core historical material associated with Kim Yusin, which is comprised of narratives developing his close relationship with his brother-in-law Kim Ch’unch’u (604–661; T’aejong Muyŏl, r. 654–661) and the peninsular war for the “unification of the Three Han states,” is encased in stories of divine marvels, which strongly suggests that the historical memory of Yusin was inseparable from the legends that developed surrounding him by the time the Samguk sagi was compiled.

다라니에 뛰어난 주술승들은 중세 중국의 불교 전파에 핵심적 역할을 하였으며 불교 전기문학에도 긍정적인 관점에서 기술되어 있다. 다라니는 흔히 초기 탄트라 또는 밀교의 한 형태라고 여겨지지만 이 논문에서는 다라니가 중세 중국의 주류 불교에 널리 퍼져있던 행법임을 밝힌다. 다라니는 베다의 진언에 대한 불교적 대응으로서 언어의 주술적 힘이라는 원리에 바탕을 두고 있을 뿐 아니라 다른 한편으로 의례 절차의 올바른 수행을 통해서도 그 기능을 수행한다. 이 논문은 구마라집이 번역한 ??大智度論??, 淨影慧遠의 『大乘義章』, 道世의 『法苑珠林』, 그리고 不空(Amoghavajra)의 저술로 여겨지는 『總釋陀羅尼義讚』과 같은 불교경론 자료에 등장하는 다라니에 대한 여러 교리적 정의를 분석한다. 어떤 학자들은 다라니를 진언과 구별하고자 하지만 중세 중국 불교의 저술가들은 이 두 용어를 혼용하여 사용하였다. 특히, 도세의 『법원주림』은 다라니가 7세기 종교적 수행법의 일상적인 한 측면으로 여겨졌었고 매우 실질적인 목적을 위해 사용되어졌음을 명확히 논증하고 있다. 게다가 다라니는 중국불교에 널리 퍼져 있어 중국 불교수행의 모든 측면에서 발견되며 도교 수행자들에 의해서도 모방되었다.

The official narrative on the early history of the Korean state of Silla (trad. 57 BCE–935 CE) was constantly under revision and probably not initially charted until the late seventh or early eighth century. This narrative continued to evolve throughout the remainder of the Silla and early Koryŏ period (918–1392), achieving its final form in the mid-twelfth century with the publication of the Samguk sagi. King Mich’u (trad. r. 262–284) was modeled closely on King Pŏphŭng (r. 514–540) to push Silla origins back several hundred years. Sŏk T’arhae (trad. r. 57–80) and Naemul (trad. r. 356–402) were crafted based on Chinese historiography. The late emergence of the legend of Pak Hyŏkkŏse (trad. 57 BCE–4 CE) as the ultimate founder of Silla in the Koryŏ period reflects the relevance of the Pak descent group in the Silla-Koryŏ transition period and rise of the Pak lineage in the early Koryŏ period.

Ŭich’ŏn (1055–1101) is one of the most important figures in Koryŏ Buddhism. He was a staunch proponent of doctrinal Buddhism and the intellectual heritage of East Asia. Although Ŭich’ŏn had been educated as an adherent of the Hwaŏm (Huayan) school, he reportedly left it to found a new Ch’ŏnt’ae (Tiantai) school in Korea after a pilgrimage to China in 1085–1086. After his death, his disciples compiled his collected works. This monograph is a translation of selections from his collected works, which demonstrate that Ŭich’ŏn did not abandon the Hwaŏm school. Instead, the lectures, letters, essays, and poetry compiled his Ŭich’ŏn’s The Collected Works of State Preceptor Taegak portray a monk committed to the interfusion of doctrinal learning and meditative visualization. Ŭich’ŏn maintained a closer relationship with his Chinese mentor Jinshui Jingyuan (1011–1088) and other colleagues in the Chinese Huayan school than with monastic associates in the Tiantai school. Ŭich’ŏn’s personal wri...

The field of Korean Buddhism in North America has developed greatly since the 1970s, although it is still a fledgling discipline. During the late 1960s and 1970s most studies of Korean Buddhism were confined to assessing literature and materials. From the late 1970s through the 1990s studies of eminent monks, such as Wonhyo and Jinul, dominated the field. Over the last twentyfive years, however, three approaches to the study of Korean Buddhism have emerged: The evaluation of Korean Buddhism in its East Asian context, the examination of Korean Buddhist practice and ritual, and the observation of Korean Buddhism from the standpoint of modernity. Lew Lancaster set the tone for the field through various projects making Korean and Japanese scholarship on Korean Buddhism more accessible to Western audiences. Robert Buswell demonstrated the importance of the Korean contribution to the shared East Asian Buddhist tradition in his writings associated with the Seon/Zen tradition. While much impressive work has been and is being done, the field still lacks basic materials for instruction in the classroom, such as a general historical overview and anthologies of sources.

John Jorgensen’s scholarly introduction to and annotated translation of the Chŏnggamnok represents a monumental piece of scholarship that makes accessible for the first time in English a body of material describing the hopes of aspirations of non-educated and disempowered Koreans stretching back to the Chosŏn period (1392–1910) and beyond. The Foresight of Dark Knowing is essentially two books bound together in one: Part I, the Translator’s Introduction (pp. 1–202), is basically a monograph on the history of premodern Korean prognostication and geomantic techniques within its East Asian cultural milieu. Part II, Translation (pp. 203–317), comprises thirty-two seemingly discrete texts that together are known by the title Chŏnggamnok 鄭鑑錄. The remainder of the book consists of an appendix on the sexagenary (kapcha) cycle (p. 319), abbreviations and notes (pp. 321–432), a works cited list (pp. 433–443), and an index (pp. 445–451). Jorgensen’s introduction to the translation is actually a detailed monograph on the various kinds of prognosticative and geomantic beliefs

This section includes selections from The Collected Works of State Preceptor Taegak (Taegak kuksa munjip大 覺國師文集‎) an assemblage of Ŭich’ŏn’s writings. The selections coverage categories ranging from prefaces, lectures on Buddhist sutras, and memorials to letters, addresses, and lyric poems. These texts reveal an inclusive view of practice and study—the dual cultivation of doctrinal learning and meditative visualization—and a passionate commitment to the preservation of the Buddhadharma.

Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn is one of the most important Confucian figures in early Korean history. After passing the civil service examination in Tang 唐 China in 874 and enjoying a successful career in Tang – gaining fame for his literary skills during the Huang Chao 黃巢 rebellion – he returned to Silla 新羅 in 885. Unable to make a mark in highly stratified Silla 新羅society due to his birth status, he retired to the countryside and spent the remainder of his life with monks in such famous mountain complexes as Haein Monastery 海印寺. His regulated verse poems (hansi 漢詩) preserved in his Plowing a Cassia Garden with a Writing Brush (Kyewŏn p’ilgyŏng 桂苑筆耕), which contains his early writings in Tang and the oldest extant collected works by a Korean, and the Anthology of Refined Korean Literature (Tongmunsŏn 東文選, compiled in 1478), are among the oldest extant poems from the late Silla period. Ch’oe’s “four mountain stele inscriptions” (sasan pimun 四山碑文) are key evidence of his positive evaluation of Buddhism, particularly the Sŏn 禪 Buddhist tradition. His poems on Buddhist monasteries and monks demonstrate personal ties to and a sympathetic attitude toward mainstream Sinitic Buddhism. These poems may best demonstrate the socio-religious predilections of an average to above-average scholar of the Tang Empire – not to mention the kingdom of Silla. His genre poetry on visiting monasteries not only shows a sensitivity to the poetic conventions of the time but also provides evidence of the broad influence of mainstream Sinitic Buddhism in his life, including the popular cult venerating Avalokiteśvara, increasingly in a demure female form, and the doctrines and lore of the Hwaŏm 華嚴 (Ch. Huayan) tradition.

Both the Confucian-oriented Samguk sagi 三國史記 (History of the Three Kingdoms), completed by Kim Pusik 金富軾 (1075–1151) in 1145, and the Buddhist-inspired Samguk yusa 三國遺事 (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), begun by Iryŏn 一然 (1206–1289) and further emended by later editors, remember Silla queen Chinsŏng 眞聖 (r. 887–897) as an immoral and licentious ruler, due to her affair with her married senior grandee Kim Wihong 金魏弘 (d. 888) and other depraved activities reminiscent of Tang empress Wu Zetian 武則天 (r. 690–705). Her short ten-year-reign was marked by famine and marred by three uprisings: the revolts of Wŏnjong 元宗 and Aeno 哀奴 (889); Kyŏn Hwŏn 甄萱 (d. 936), the founder of Later Paekche 後百濟 (892); and the red-trouser bandits 赤袴賊 (896). Her reputed conduct and these rebellions serve as evidence of her unfitness for rule and Silla’s loss of the mandate of Heaven. Her contemporary, the unfulfilled scholar-official Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn 崔致遠 (857–d. after 908), however, remembers her as a benevolent ruler devoid of avarice in an official communiqué with Tang China. This paper seeks to portray Chinsŏng sympathetically by analyzing her complex relationship with Wihong and the extenuating circumstances surrounding the three uprisings that helped usher in the decline of Silla. Rather than being a man-eater, Chinsŏng was more likely dominated by her paramour Wihong, who, at fifteen years her senior, functions somewhat like her regent. In addition, the revolts were less likely the result of her misrule and more likely the fruition of endemic poor government stemming from the dominance of Silla society by the true-bone nobility.

The official narrative on the early history of the Korean state of Silla (trad. 57 bCe-935 Ce) was constantly under revision and probably not initially charted until the late seventh or early eighth century. This narrative continued to evolve throughout the remainder of the Silla and early Koryŏ period (918-1392), achieving its final form in the mid-twelfth century with the publication of the Samguk sagi. King Mich'u (trad. r. 262-284) was modeled closely on King Pŏphŭng (r. 514-540) to push Silla origins back several hundred years. Sŏk T'arhae (trad. r. 57-80) and Naemul (trad. r. 356-402) were crafted based on Chinese historiog-raphy. The late emergence of the legend of Pak Hyŏkkŏse (trad. 57 bCe-4 Ce) as the ultimate founder of Silla in the Koryŏ period reflects the relevance of the Pak descent group in the Silla-Koryŏ transition period and rise of the Pak lineage in the early Koryŏ period.

ABSTRACT In The Power of the Buddhas, Sem Vermeersch comprehensively describes the nature of the complex relationship between the Buddhist church and the Korean state—in particular, the king and royal family—during the Koryŏ period (918–1392). The basic premise of the book is to deconstruct the conventionally received description of Koryŏ Buddhism as "state-protection Buddhism" (hoguk pulgyo). To Vermeersch, state-protection Buddhism means that the primary purpose of the religion would be to provide supernormal and popular support for and legitimate the state. The author contends that the notion of state-protectionism is too broad a category to be a useful analytical tool because it obfuscates the complex historical relationship of power struggles between the Buddhist church and the (Confucian) state (pp. 13–20, 146–47). In this respect he agrees with Kim Jongmyung (Kim Chongmyŏng), who was the first scholar of Korean Buddhism trained in the West to challenge this characterization of Koryŏ Buddhism; however, the top Korean scholars of Koryŏ Buddhism are for the most part disinterested in challenging the received usage of this term.1 In order to demonstrate the extent of this tension, the author marshals a vast array of data and methodically examines the organs and procedures by which the Koryŏ state attempted to control the Buddhist church. The book is divided into three parts: (1) a description of Buddhism in the late Silla period and the foundations of Koryŏ King Taejo's (r. 918–943) Buddhist policy (pp. 31–147); (2) the official institution of Buddhism, including such things as legal provisions placed on the church and monks; sangha examinations, ranking, and administration; and the official and honorary positions of royal and state preceptor (pp. 151– 268); and (3) the ritual and economic roles of Buddhism (pp. 271– 364). In the end, although the author succeeds in throwing doubt on the concept of state-protection Buddhism, he does not replace it with a more accurate descriptive term. The book highlights some of the fundamental problems facing scholars of traditional or premodern Korea. The first issue is the paucity of sources, and the second issue is that of the interpretation of those sources. Unlike the case of medieval Japan, where there is a relative abundance of monastery, land, and government documents that provide detailed insight into the relationship between individual Buddhist sects and the government, as well as the relationship between specific monasteries, the local nobility, and the surrounding populace, Buddhist documents for Koryŏ Korea are extremely deficient. Building upon the seminal research of such modern scholars as Hŏ Hŭngsik, Han Kimun, and Yi Chigwan, Vermeersch utilizes data from stele inscriptions (pimyŏng) to a greater extent than previous scholars and places great confidence in their validity and utility. In a sense, Vermeersch uses stele inscriptions to validate the Koryŏsa (History of Koryŏ), which is his primary source for relations between the Buddhist church and the state. As is well known, the Koryŏsa was compiled and edited by Confucian scholars during the early Chosŏn period (1451). Although the names of Buddhist monks, monasteries, and rituals appear frequently in the text, suggesting that important role of the religion at court and among officials and nobility, there is little information of substance that enables the historian to craft an accurate picture. Traditional Chinese histories likewise contain little information of substance on Buddhist institutions and the structure and content of rituals, as compared to Confucian rituals of state. Because the Koryŏ state consciously modeled itself after the Tang Chinese model, the author is able to make informed speculation regarding positions and organs of rule by using Chinese materials to help extrapolate about Koryŏ positions, organs of control, and so forth. In an attempt to counterbalance the inadequacies of the Koryŏsa, Vermeersch emphasizes stele inscriptions because they were typically composed soon after the passing of the eminent monks for whom they were written and thus constitute the earliest literature. Although I agree that these inscriptions are the earliest documents and must be consulted, I am skeptical that they are completely reliable. Stele inscriptions were constructed, idealized statements that typically presented rhetoric or official discourse, and often required official state approval before...