ボ檣餌婦溼喱が

Journal of modern Korean studies
Vol.6. sept. 1996. p130

Tae Young Lee, comp, Koryo taechanggyong-pan pochon-ul uihan kich'o ha'gsul yon'gu (邴豇薣枔蠮僋謺擊嬪フ哢鶢鱹禋篎牳: Studies of the Conservation for the Koryo Tripitaka Printing Blocks in the Haein Monastery), vol. 1: The basic scientific studies of its conservation conducted in the 1993-95 period: Hapch'on, Kyongsandnamdo, Korea: The Haeinsa Koryo Tripitaka Institute, 1996. 304 pp.

This is an outstanding, the first modern and scientific studies and at times brilliantly penetrating scholarship of the conservation of the Koryo Tripitaka wood-block prints deposited at the Haein monastery near Taegu. The chief compiler, Dr. Tae Young Lee, formerly a renown chemist of Seoul National University and Korea's most prominent conservationist, focused on the most modern scientific studies on the conservation, preservation and management of The Koryo Tripitaka wood-block prints by creating its database. The Koryo Tripitaka represents a new edition begun on Kanghwa Island, where the court had taken refuge from scourge of the invading Mongol force; it took 16 years to complete from 1236 to 1251 during the reign of Kojong (r.1214-1260). The Mongol destroyed in 1236 the original Koryo Tripitaka wood-block printings which were completed between 1031 and 1087. The newly completed Koryo Tripitaka in 1251 consisted of 81, 258 blocks, was often called as Palman Taechanggyong or Eighty Thousands Tripitaka, which was carried out under the responsibility of the head priest Suki of Kaetae monastery.

The real historical objective for reproduction of the Koryo Tripitaka was to restore and revitalize their spiritual and intellectual traditions, being assaulted and destroyed by the foreign invasion and to demonstrate the Koryo people's gallant attempt to bring an end of the Mongol invasion. However, beyond that objective, the reprinting of the Tripitaka should be seen as a triple motivations to restore their national psyche, to preserve the greatest archival sources of their religious and intellectual traditions, and to continue to sustain the most unique, and historical accomplishment of the systematized doctrines of the Buddhist scriptures. The Tripitaka, despite reprinted under the odious Mongol invasions, "is regarded as the finest among some twenty versions of the Tripitaka originating in East Asia, in terms of its accuracy, the beauty of the calligraphic style and the exquisite carving of the woodblock." (Ki-baik Lee, A New History of Korea. tr.by Edward W. Wagner. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1983; p. 131)

Essentially, by basing on these blocks, Japan codified its collection of the Buddhist scripts under the heading of the Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo in 85 vols, completed between 1913 to 1934. To be sure, the Koryo Tripitaka, preserved as Korea's National Treasure, No. 32, registered last year as the World Heritage by UNESCO are also the most important historial sources for not only the Buddhist doctrine, but its related culture, language, literature, arts, music, medicine, legal code, biography, geography, topology, customs, climate, Sanskrit texts of India, old Manichaean and Nestorian Christian writings.

The ultimate objective of Prof, Lee-led monumental study was to bring about the updated, basic scientific reserch and investigation to preserve and conserve of the Koryo Tripital wood-block prints and its architectures to house the prints, which all begun as part of five year's plan to complete this project. At the outset, its objectives are stated to be twofold; (1) to offer a comprehensive study to examine architectural structure and its environment as well as its functional efficiency of the Tripitaka buildings by "using modern scientific test and evaluation and (2) to scrutinize current state of wood-block prints to come up qualitative and quantitative study to conserve them, and, then, to devise the best way to preserve those wood-block prints which are already decayed or damaged through laboratory test(p.4)

Under the heading of the Koryo taechanggyong-pan pochon-ul uihan kich'o ha'gsul yon'gu, the massive 15 vols are published covering the various areas of its studies; for instance, vol.1 covers, as stated above, the basic scientific study on the conservation of the Tripitaka wood-block prints; vol.2 and 3 on the outside structures of main architectures to house the wood-block prints and current state of its surrounding; vols. 4-7 on the current state and arrangement of wood-block prints deposited in Po'pbochon (跏傸鞚); vol.8-12 on the current state and arrangement of wood-block prints deposited in Sutrachon (摷竘崏闇); vol.13 on the current state of wooden pillars of the Po'pbochon; vol.14 on the current state of wooden pillars of the Sutrachon; and vol.15 on the current state of pillars of its eastern and western depository buildings.

To complete these massive and comprehensive conservation and preservation project, and subsequently their reports, the most prominent specialists in the various scholarly and scientific community are brought in to conduct their respective researches for the 1993-1994 period; besides Prof. Tae Young Lee who headed this project, those who actively involved in the project are an organic chemist Dr. Yu-Sun Kim, formerly Deputy Director of Korea Nuclear Energy Institute; a microbiologist Dr. Kyong-hui Min, Professor of the Sukmyong University; a wood taxonomist Dr. Sang-chin Pak, Professor of the Kyongpuk University; an architect Mr. Tae-hyeong Lee, Representative of the Simjae International Architecture & Engineering Co., Ltd.; an electrochemist Dr. Chong-hong Pyun, Senior Research of the KIST; a conservation specialist Mr. Hi-kyun Ahn, Senior Researcher of the National Institute of Preservation of Cultural property; an architect scholar Dr. Sang-hae Lee, Professor of the Sunkyunkwan University; Chong Rim, the Director Priest of the Koryo Tripitaka Institute; HwaNam and Won Suk, the Research Priests of the Koryo Tripitaka Institute.

The most fascinating aspects of their findings are so numerous: for instance, Prof. Tae Young Lee's data base of wood-block prints contains 34 fields of its structural contents ranging from classification, characteristics, material, surface coating and ornaments to its change and damage of wood-block prints caused by chemical and biological agents: Dae-hyon Yi took a high-powered photo of each section of the depository hall and that of the entire wood-block prints and its arrangement: Chong Rim, Sang-Chin Pak and Choon-ho To involved in the exact measurements of the size of wood-block prints, and weights including the extent and cause of its damages: Sang-chin pak found, besides mountain cherry tree - the main material for wood-block prints, ten (10) other species used for the wood-block prints: Kyung-hui Min, Hi-kyun Ahn, and Yong-hui Lee examined the distribution to the wood-block prints, and also made a detailed study on the so-called "Deathwatch beetle:"

Also Choon-ho To, Hi-kyun Ahn and Yong-hui's included extensive chemical analysis of surface coating and its special lacquer-ware technique: Choon-ho To and Tae-il Kang's findings of nine (9) different kinds of decorative metal pieces with its main metal as copper with its purity ranged from 97.1% to 99.66%, and hand-manufactured iron nails with the level of iron centent as 97.5%: Tae Young Lee's extensive pillar study: also Tae Young Lee and Chong-hong Pyun's micro-environmental study focused on the distribution and the change of temperature and relative humidity of near surface of wood-block towards climatic change, particularly its extraordinary findings of spacial uniformity of the temperature in the buildings which open windows occupies one half of the whole space, wood-block maintained in the depository building with a margin of difference in temperature level only 2 degrees: daily variation of temperature not exceeding 5 degree C. with its most effective ventilation system with a year-round humidity level control of 70 to 80%; Yu-son Kim and Kyu-bo Yi's study of dust and air polluton survey and, finally, Chong-hong Pyun's painstaking and elegant device for the data collection system has been working since November 1994 and send signals continuously from 32 sensors installed in the Popbochon to the local computer which regularly transfer the stored informations of temperature and humidity to Lee's Laborartory at Seoul. The device functions not only as data collection but also as the fire detectors in the depository buildings.

This review is just a tip of the iceberg for introducing the most updated, modern archival, and scientific study for the conservation project, which had ever carried out most systematically and thoroughly in Korea, if not Asia and the world. This will certainly set for a model for all archival and scientific studies for the conserevation and preservation efforts of the future. This project truly represents Korea's best scholarly and modern scientific scholarship of the modern Korean history. All those actively involved in this project should be congratulated.(KSR)