Gaesimsa, Sangwangsan

Temple · Chungcheong

Gaewonsa

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In short

A temple whose founding record holds two incompatible dates inside a single sentence, so that its year cannot be established.

The precinct of Gaesimsa on Sangwangsan, Seosan. — Seosan City Government / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick facts

Address: 321-86 Gaesimsa-ro, Unsan-myeon, Seosan-si, Chungcheongnam-do

About this place

Gaesimsa stands on Sangwangsan in Unsan-myeon, Seosan. The temple’s own record of its history states that the national master Hyegam founded it in the fifth year of Queen Jindeok of Silla, the fourteenth year of King Uija of Baekje, a gapin year — but the fifth year of Jindeok is 651 and the fourteenth of Uija is 654, so the exact year cannot be established. By the same record the temple was called Gaewonsa at its building, and in 1350 the master Cheoneung rebuilt the main hall and the other halls and renamed it Gaesimsa. The main hall is taken from that record to have been rebuilt in the Goryeo period; an ink inscription found when the hall was dismantled for repair in 1941 shows that it was repaired in 1484, rebuilt in 1644 and repaired again in 1710. The main hall is designated a Treasure.

Origin and history

The temple’s own record of its history states that the national master Hyegam founded it in the fifth year of Queen Jindeok of Silla, the fourteenth year of King Uija of Baekje, a gapin year. But the fifth year of Jindeok is 651 and the fourteenth of Uija is 654, so the exact year cannot be established.

By the same record the temple was called Gaewonsa at its building, and in 1350 the master Cheoneung rebuilt the main hall and the other halls and renamed it Gaesimsa.

The main hall is taken from that record to have been rebuilt in the Goryeo period. An ink inscription found when the hall was dismantled for repair in 1941 shows that it was repaired in 1484, rebuilt in 1644 and repaired again in 1710. The main hall is designated a Treasure.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
Two dates that cannot agree
The record gives the founding as the fifth year of Queen Jindeok and the fourteenth of King Uija; these are 651 and 654, so the exact year cannot be established.
documented history
Origin
From Gaewonsa to Gaesimsa
The temple was called Gaewonsa at its building and became Gaesimsa in 1350, when the master Cheoneung rebuilt the main hall and other halls.
documented history
What people do here
Dates found by taking the hall apart
An ink inscription found when the main hall was dismantled for repair in 1941 established repairs in 1484, 1644 and 1710.
documented history

This temple’s founding record disagrees with itself inside one sentence. It gives the founding as the fifth year of Queen Jindeok of Silla and the fourteenth year of King Uija of Baekje; the first is 651 and the second is 654. The two cannot be the same year, and the record is therefore summarised as one whose exact date cannot be established.

The same province holds several such cases. Gapsa in Gongju has three founding accounts, and Muryangsa in Buyeo states that neither its founding date nor its later history is known. But Gapsa is three separate stories standing side by side; here a single clause fails to agree with itself.

The building is a different matter. When the main hall was taken apart for repair in 1941 an ink inscription came to light, and from it the repair of 1484, the rebuilding of 1644 and the repair of 1710 were established. The temple’s age cannot be known, but the hall’s age emerges when it is opened up.

The name changed once too. It was Gaewonsa at first, and became Gaesimsa in 1350 when the master Cheoneung rebuilt the main hall and the other halls.

Claims and evidence levels 2

The temple record gives the founding as both the fifth year of Queen Jindeok (651) and the fourteenth of King Uija (654), so the year cannot be established. documented history
An ink inscription found during the 1941 dismantling shows the main hall was repaired in 1484, rebuilt in 1644 and repaired in 1710. documented history

Related guides

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