| Title |
Comparative Study of the Symbolism of Indian Stupas and Korean Yeonhwa-Meoricho in Dancheong |
| Authors |
김홍선(Kim Hong-seon) ; 정재훈(Chung Jae-hoon) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2026.42.5.149 |
| Keywords |
Stupa; Dancheong; Yeonhwa-Meoricho; Buddhist Symbolism; Iconography; Comparative Aesthetics |
| Abstract |
This study investigates the structural and symbolic correspondences between the Buddhist stupa and the Korean dancheong meoricho motif,
with the aim of elucidating how foundational principles of Buddhist visual culture were transmitted, reframed, and ultimately condensed
within architectural ornamentation. Employing cultural-historical, iconographic, and comparative-aesthetic approaches, the research traces the
movement of the stupa from India through China to Korea and examines the ways in which its hierarchical configuration?comprising the
medhi, anda, harmika, chattra, kalasa, and yasti?was translated into the planar compositional system of the lotus-type meoricho. Analysis
reveals that the meoricho mirrors the stupa’s layered organization through the sequential arrangement of lotus, pomegranate, ang(hwa),
goppaeng-i, minju-dot, and central axis, each element retaining a transformed but comparable function within the overall symbolic order. The
kalasa and the minju-dot operate as parallel apex markers, embodying notions of sacred culmination and doctrinal essence, while the yasti
and the meoricho’s central axis share a vertical logic grounded in cosmological alignment and axial symmetry. Furthermore, the study
demonstrates that the process of adaptation involved not only formal substitution but also conceptual reinterpretation, whereby cosmological
elevation, boundary formation, and ritual protection were reformulated within the decorative vocabulary of dancheong. These findings suggest
that the meoricho is not a merely ornamental unit but a visual matrix in which the stupa’s cosmological and doctrinal meanings were
rearticulated in a compact and accessible form. Consequently, the study proposes that the symbolic framework of the stupa continued to
function as an underlying grammar within Korean architectural ornamentation, offering a new interpretive model for understanding continuities
and transformations in East Asian Buddhist visual culture. |