The Lotus Sūtra (Pŏphwagyŏng) lluminated manuscript written in gold ink, Goryeo period, Korea

This manuscript consists of seven volumes divided into seven fascicles. Each sheet is folded into five half-leaves, with six lines per half-leaf and seventeen characters per line. The calligraphic style of the scripture exhibits characteristics of the Tang and Song dynasties, with tightly structured characters. Each volume is accompanied by paper book covers decorated with mud and silver-painted auspicious flowers and volume patterns on a deep blue background. The highlights are outlined with mud and gold, and a rectangular title plaque in the center bears the title of the scripture and the volume number in mud and gold. Each volume begins with a frontispiece spanning four half-leaves, decorated with a border composed of vajra scepters and dharma wheels. The layout closely resembles the frontispieces of early Southern Song editions of the Lotus Sutra, such as the large-character edition from Zhejiang and the handwritten edition from Suzhou in the institution's collection. The prominent feature is the depiction of Sakyamuni preaching on Vulture Peak on the right side of the composition, set on a magnificent platform. However, in volumes four and five, this scene is replaced by the "Two Buddhas Sitting Together," consciously placed within a stupa structure. This change reflects the narrative shift in the Lotus Sutra, where Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna Buddhas are depicted sitting together in the treasure tower, known as the "Assembly in the Air," from the Chapter 11 of Volume 4 until the end of the Chapter 22 of Volume 6. In terms of artistic style, the entire composition is filled with intricate lines and dots, with the main figures' faces, backlights, and distant mountains left black. The exposed skin of the main figure (Sakyamuni or the Two Buddhas) on the right side is highlighted with mud and gold, while the eyes and mouth are painted with silver and cinnabar. The dark areas of the main figure's face become the focal point due to their relative scarcity in the composition. The artwork is highly decorative, with swirling volume patterns representing the knees of the seated figures, a distinctive feature of this manuscript.This manuscript was previously cataloged as the "Qing Dynasty Annotated Lotus Sutra." However, the decorative book covers adorned with auspicious flowers, the border decorations of the frontispiece, and the intricate details in the frontispiece, such as the use of fine lines, dots, and swirling patterns at the knees, are characteristic of Buddhist scriptures with illustrations from the Goryeo period in Korea (918-1392). Several frontispieces in this manuscript bear similarities to Goryeo-era Lotus Sutra manuscripts, particularly with the composition found in the Goryeo Lotus Sutra from 1325, housed in the Hagaji Temple in Fukui, Japan. The border decorations featuring vajra scepters are similar to versions from 1315 found in the Daisho-ji Temple in Ishikawa and the Tenrin-ji Temple in Shimane, Japan. Considering that the style of Goryeo Buddhist scripture frontispieces featuring a row of volumeing clouds at the bottom edge began to develop around 1340, it is estimated that the manuscript in the institution's collection dates back to the first half of the 14th century. It's worth noting that each sheet in the institution's manuscript has inscriptions on the back of the last half-leaf, indicating the scripture title, volume number, and number of leaves. In the 24th illustration of the fourth volume (the last illustration), there is a signature that reads "Zhongde Chengdi."Buddhism was introduced to the Korean Peninsula in the 4th century, and during the Three Kingdoms period (427-660), Buddhism flourished in Silla. The doctrines of the Madhyamaka, Avatamsaka, Lotus, and Nirvana Sutras were all widely propagated. In the latter half of the 11th century, King Munjong of Goryeo (reigned 1046-1083)’s son, Uicheon (1055-1101), became a monk and traveled to Song China to seek Buddhist teachings. Upon his return to Goryeo in 1086, he founded the Korean Tiantai school, which emphasized the integration of Tiantai and Huayan teachings. During the Goryeo period, the most surviving scriptures were the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lotus Sutra. (Chung Tzu-yin)