Five storied stone pagoda of Jeongnimsa Temple site

Five storied stone pagoda of Jeongnimsa Temple site
Korean name
Hangul	부여 정림사지 오층석탑
Hanja	扶餘定林寺址五層石塔
Revised Romanization	Buyeo Jeongnimsaji Ocheung Seoktap
McCune–Reischauer	Puyŏ Chŏngnimsaji Och'ŭng Sŏkt'ap

The Five storied stone pagoda of Jeongnimsa Temple site (Korean: 부여 정림사지 오층석탑) is a five-story pagoda standing on a single narrow and low base pedestal. It was built in the Baekje Era.

Origin[]

On the first floor of this stone pagoda, it is referred to as the Pyeongsung Tower of Baekje. Recently, a tile engraved with the temple name Jungrimsa was found at this temple site and the site was named Jeongnimsa Temple Site.^[1]

Configuration[]

Each pedestal is fixed by a pillar stone. Each corner of the pagoda body in each story holds a pillar stone using the beheullim technique, where a pillar's upper and lower extremities are narrow while its middle is convex. Thin and wide roof stones covering the edges of the eaves display what is described as "lofty elegance."

Value[]

It is valued in that it shows refined and creative figures as well as the typical form of a wooden building like a thin pedestal, with pillars exhibiting the beheullim technique and thin and wide roof stones. The pagoda is also highly valued as one of the two last remaining stone pagodas from the Baekje Era.

Characteristics[]

The surface of the stone pagoda is engraved with Chinese characters celebrating the victory of the Tang dynasty over Baekje in 660, indicating the symbolic importance of its location for Baekje. It was carved into the pagoda itself by the commanding Tang general who defeated Baekje once and for all during the Baekje–Tang War. The Tang dynasty and Silla kingdom joined forces to destroy Baekje.^[2]

Classification	National Treasures 9 (South Korea)
Kind of Cultural Properties	Stone Pagoda
Address	379, Dongnam-ri, Buyeo-eup, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do
Age	Late Baekje Period