Tripitaka Koreana
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Tripitaka Koreana | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: | 고려 대장경 also 팔만 대장경 |
| Hanja: | 高麗大藏經 also 八萬大藏經 |
| Revised Romanization: | Goryeo Daejanggyeong also Palman Daejanggyeong |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Koryŏ Taejanggyŏng also P'alman Taejanggyŏng |
The Tripitaka Koreana (lit. Goryeo Tripitaka) or Palman Daejanggyeong ("Eighty-Thousand[-Woodblock] Tripitaka") is a Korean collection of the Tripitaka (Buddhist scriptures), carved onto roughly 80,000 wooden printing blocks. The work is stored in Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple in South Gyeongsang province, in South Korea.
The Tripitaka Koreana was first carved in the 13th century. The Korean royal family at the time was under siege, exiled to Ganghwa Island while Mongols took control of the mainland; the act of carving the woodblocks was considered to be a way of bringing about a change in fortune. This was not to be, however, and the Mongols eventually destroyed the woodblocks after the Korean king surrendered to them. A century later, another king had a second set carved, again on Ganghwa Island; these survived, and were eventually moved to Haeinsa. The name "Goryeo Tripitaka" comes from "Goryeo", the name of Korea during the 13th and 14th centuries; the more colloquial name "Eighty-Thousand[-Woodblock] Tripitaka" comes from approximate number of woodblocks that make up the collection.
The Tripitaka Koreana is the 32nd national treasure of Korea.
