百濟 武王의 益山 경영과 彌勒寺Strategic Development of Iksan during the Reign of King Mu and Mirûk Temple
- Other Titles
- Strategic Development of Iksan during the Reign of King Mu and Mirûk Temple
- Authors
- 박현숙
- Issue Date
- 2009
- Publisher
- 고려사학회
- Keywords
- 무왕; 익산; 미륵사; 금제사리봉안기; 선화공주; 사택씨; 미륵불국토; Iksan; King Mu; Mireuk Temple; Kûmjesriibong’an’gi(金製舍利奉安記); Princess Sônhwa; Sat’aek family; Maitryea Buddhist kingdom
- Citation
- 韓國史學報, no.36, pp 329 - 355
- Pages
- 27
- Indexed
- KCI
- Journal Title
- 韓國史學報
- Number
- 36
- Start Page
- 329
- End Page
- 355
- URI
- https://scholar.korea.ac.kr/handle/2021.sw.korea/134755
- ISSN
- 1229-6252
- Abstract
- In Korean scholarship, there have been a great deal of studies on
the strategic development of Iksan(益山) by King Mu(武王:600-640)
of Paekche(百濟) and the construction of the Mireuk Temple(彌勒
寺). The recent discovery of Kûmjesriibong’an’gi(金製舍利奉安記:The
Record of the Relics in the Golden Epitaph), in which 193
characters were inscribed, at the Western Pagoda of the Mireuk
Temple in January, 2009 provides a concrete picture where the
regality of King Mu, the influence of the Sat’aek family(沙宅氏) ,
the strategic development of Iksan, and the significance of the
Mireuk Temple came alive once more.
First, it will be proper to say that King Mu was the son of King
Pôp(法王: 599-600). My understanding is that the short reign of
King Hye(惠王: 598-599) and that of King Pôp ended not with any
political coup against them but due to their natural infirmities. At
the same time, the section (or accounts) of King Mu in the Samguk
yusa(三國遺事) gives us little clue about the status of King Mu’s
mother as a legitimate queen of Paekche. That is why King Mu,
whose causal name was Sôdong in his childhood, spent his youth in
Iksan instead of Sabi(泗沘), the capital of Paekche. Still, the
succession to the throne was made possible only among the
members of royal family in ancient Korea, so the very fact that
King Pôp was succeeded by Sôdong verifies the certain status of
King Mu as the son of King Pôp.
Second, this article critically reconsiders the establishment of a
new capital in Iksan. The court of King Mu underwent little change
in the established political system or the movement of political
groups. And, both Sabi and Ungjin(熊津) did keep playing the
primary role of the capital as the political center of Paekche.
However, given the record of Emperor Jomei(舒明天皇: 629-641) in
Nihon shoki(日本書紀), I entertain the possibility that Iksan
functioned as a detached palace during the time of King Mu. It
seems that the king actively developed this place by building great
palaces and temples, a necessary measure for an overturn or
breakthrough of the downcast situation after the series of defeats by
Silla(新羅) in the first half of his reign.
As the geographical center connecting the Ch’ungch’ông
Province(忠淸道) and the Chôlla Province(全羅道), Iksan occupied an
important position for military operations in confrontation with Silla
at that time. And, as in the case of open plains, it had a rich
ground of economic activities. Most of all, this is the place tied to
the life of King Mu who lived here until his enthronement. So, the
first priority for the foundation of another palace had to be Iksan.
The construction of the new palace and temple empowered him to
deliver to his people, plagued with the continuous warfares with
Silla, a message of hope and salvation from the belief in Maitryea
Buddha. Alongside this, the idea of Chôllyun sôngwang(轉輪聖王),
embedded in the belief in Maitryea Buddha, also helped uplift the
royal authority of King Mu himself.
Thus, in this article I argue that it is King Mu who took the lead
in building the Mireuk Temple in Iksan. And, as in the case of the
Hwangyong Temple(皇龍寺) in Silla, it took a long duration of time
and process to build the Mireuk Temple. Its construction started
from the third year of the reign of King Mu and came into its
completion in the period of his son King Ûija(義慈王: 641-660) after
his demise in 641.
In addition, as shown both in historical documents and the
remains discovered recently in the temple, those who assisted on the
foundation of the Mireuk Temple were Princess Sônhwa(善花公主),
a Paekche queen, and the Sat’aek family. Still, the central figure
who initiated and orchestrated the building of the temple was King
Mu. Seen from the fact that Paekche took military supremacy over
Silla in the latter part of the reign of King Mu, the strategic
development of Iksan and the establishment of the Mireuk Temple
brought into effect the success of nationwide integration as well as
the vision for an ideal Maitryea Buddhist kingdom(彌勒佛國).
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