Prevent Fire, the Enemy of Wooden Buildings

The Emergence of the Water God

The newly-emerging Ming Dynasty in China pushed the Yuan Dynasty back to the Mongolian steppe. In 1388, the Ming Dynasty’s 150,000-strong army invaded Mongolia, and the Yuan Dynasty vanished from history. Four years later, Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon Dynasty on the Korean Peninsula and seized power.

However, in 1592—200 years after the founding of Joseon—the Imjin War broke out. After seven years, the war ended with the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Unable to stand idly by and watch innocent civilians being slaughtered by the Japanese, Korean Buddhist monks took up their swords and fought fiercely. The Japanese army reacted by burning countless temples, viewing the monks as their true enemies.

During the Jeongyu War (1597), the Japanese army advanced into Jeolla Province and burned down every temple in the region, leaving only two buildings that barely escaped destruction: Geungnakbojeon Hall of Muwisa Temple in Gangjin and the Gate of Four Heavenly Kings at Borimsa Temple in Jangheung. After the war, the Buddhist community, with support from the government, was able to rebuild many temples.

During the reconstruction of these temples, the monks shared a single fervent wish: “Never again should buddha halls be burned down by any war or disaster.” To embody this wish, various symbols began to appear throughout temple buildings.

A common sight on the exteriors of temple buildings built after the Imjin War were dragon sculptures. While temples built during the Goryeo Dynasty or before the Imjin War lacked such carvings, the dragon—the water god that rules water—was tasked with protecting the buildings from fire.

Dragons were placed under the four corner eaves. On both sides of the door plaque to buddha halls, a blue dragon and a yellow dragon were placed. The blue dragon protects the east as one of the guardian gods for the four cardinal directions, and the yellow dragon, as the leader of dragons, protects the center, considered one of the five directions. There are also temples that placed a blue dragon on the east and a white tiger on the west, similar to the feng shui principle of “blue dragon on the left and white tiger on the right.” Daeungbojeon Hall of Gaeamsa Temple in Buan is a one outstanding example. Moreover, on the left and right of the door plaque of Daeungbojeon Hall, frontal images of a blue dragon and yellow dragon are carved on small wood blocks and attached.

Another animal revered as a water god is the turtle. Turtles are not only a symbol of longevity, but also, as aquatic creatures, are considered messengers of the water god or Dragon King. The Liezi records, “The three sacred mountains of the East Sea—Yingzhou Mountain, Fangzhang Mountain, and Penglai Mountain—are carried on the back of a giant swimming turtle.”

In accordance with this legend, a pair of stone turtles to support the dharma hall are installed beneath the foundation platform of Daeungbojeon Hall at Buryeongsa Temple in Uljin. Each turtle is extending its head and feet. Smaller wooden turtles are also attached to the main crossbeams of Daeungbojeon Hall.

There are also places where turtles are placed to support the main altar (Sumidan) within buddha halls. These include the main altar in Gwaneumjeon Hall of Unmunsa Temple in Cheongdo, and the main altar in Geungnakjeon Hall of Silleuksa Temple in Jecheon. Gwaneumjeon Hall of Unmunsa Temple, in particular, features two turtles and a dragon carrying the main altar, drawing particular attention.

Furthermore, as depicted in the Sugungga pansori, a sculpture of a turtle carrying a rabbit can be found on the Chilseonggak Shrine of Seonwonsa Temple in Namwon, and on the Cheonbulbojeon Hall of Gucheungam Hermitage of Hwaeomsa Temple. Paintings, not sculptures, also appear in murals at various temples. Ultimately, both dragons and turtles were symbols of spiritual protection as water gods whose role was to protect and safeguard Buddhist temples.

Enter, All Water-dwelling Beings

Did our Buddhist ancestors think that water gods alone couldn’t prevent fire? Other water-dwelling creatures are also found in buddha halls, often living in the ceiling. They believed that fire couldn’t break out if the ceiling represented a sea of water.

Daeungjeon Hall of Songgwangsa Temple in Wanju was rebuilt by Master Byeogam in the 14th year of King Injo’s reign (1636). Fish, crabs, and turtles are carved from wood and attached to the ceiling. They are meant to live in the ceiling, guard the temple from fire, and encourage people to diligently listen to the Buddha’s teachings to be reborn in a higher realm of transmigration. If you look closely, you’ll also see a rabbit.

Later, this practice shifted to incorporating scenes of aquatic beings playing among lotus stems and attaching these to the ceiling. The submerged lotus stems naturally implied being under water.

Daeungjeon Hall of Bulhoesa Temple in Naju (a general treasure) was rebuilt in 1799 (the 23rd year of King Jeongjo’s reign) after a fire destroyed the buddha hall. Naturally, various symbols were added to prevent fires. The blue and yellow dragons next to the door plaque are depicted as dragons whose bodies, resembling fish tails, extend into the buddha hall. On the ceiling, various aquatic beings dwell among the lotus stems. There are also fish, turtles, and crabs. An otter’s face can even be seen among the lotus stems.

In Geungnakjeon Hall (a general treasure) of Cheoneunsa Temple in Gurye is a three-dimensional sculpture of an otter. During the reconstruction in 1679 (the 5th year of King Sukjong’s reign), a mythic creature called a haetae, who subdues fire, was placed on the left pillar behind the main altar, while an otter was placed on the right pillar. The otter, with a fish in its mouth, suggests that otters, which would have been common in Cheoneunsa’s valley, were given the task of extinguishing fire.

Daeungjeon Hall (a general treasure) of Bulgapsa Temple in Yeonggwang goes a step further. It has a humorous sculpture of an otter being chased by a dragon on the main altar. This concept of inviting aquatic beings into the buddha halls eventually found its way into the main altar, where various aquatic creatures, such as frogs perched on lotus leaves, shrimp, and clams, also appear in the adornments.

The question of why are there rabbits on the ceiling is answered in Geungnakjeon Hall of Geumtapsa Temple in Goheung. Here, two rabbits pounding grain are carved into the ceiling of the main hall. It’s only natural that the moon is reflected when there’s water. Rabbits pounding grain is a symbol of the moon in Korean mythology, and that is why they are carved here.

This suggests that the carvings and paintings of rabbits pounding grain on the exterior walls—on Wontongjeon Hall of Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon and on Eungjinjeon Hall of Yeongsanam Hermitage in Bongjeongsa Temple in Andong—all symbolize the role of preventing fire.

Interestingly, there are also temples with fish carvings on the exterior walls of their buddha halls. On the upper part of the brackets on the outer wall of Daeungjeon Hall at Daeseungsa Temple in Mungyeong, a pair of fish resembling mackerel are carved. One of them reveals only the tail. This style is also found on Daeungjeon Hall at Gimnyongsa Temple in the same area of Mungyeong.

Extinguishing Fires with Seawater

In 1817, a massive fire broke out at Haeinsa (Korea’s Dharma Jewel Temple) in Hapcheon in Gyeongsang-do Province. This was the sixth such fire since 1695. All buildings except Janggyeong Panjeon, which enshrined the Tripitaka Koreana, were incinerated, destroying over a thousand bays of buildings.

At the time, the governor of Gyeongsang-do Province was Kim No-gyeong (1766―1840), who was supportive of Buddhism and also the father of Kim Jeong-hui (pen name, Chusa). His family also rebuilt Hwaamsa Temple in Yesan. Kim No-gyeong actively participated in the reconstruction of Haeinsa Temple.

He donated 10,000 nyang himself and collected another 10,000 nyang from officials in over 70 counties in Gyeongsang Province. The mayor of Hapcheon County donated 1,000 nyang. The following year, in 1818, Kim No-gyeong commissioned his son, Kim Jeong-hui, to write the “Ridge Beam Scroll for the Reconstruction of Haeinsa Temple on Mt. Gayasan.” A monument to Kim No-gyeong’s merits is erected in the Birim Forest of Haeinsa Temple in recognition of his contributions.

So why were fires frequent at Haeinsa Temple? Temple officials believed that Namsan Peak 1 (1,010m) on Mt. Maehwasan located south of the temple, was a mountain imbued with fire energy, and that this energy frequently flowed toward Haeinsa Temple. Therefore, they believed that suppressing the peak’s fire energy could prevent fires. Therefore, every year on Dano Day (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month), the day when “yang/male energy” is at its peak, salt jars representing seawater were buried at the summit of Namsan Peak 1, as well as throughout the temple compound. White salt has long been considered a substance to ward off harmful energy and evil spirits. In ordinary households, when something bad happened or a bad person stopped by, salt was sprinkled about. In fact, there hasn’t been a major fire at Haeinsa Temple since 1817. Since then, burying salt jars has become a ritual to ward off evil spirits and protect the temple and its forests.

Some temples even place salt jars throughout their buildings. Tongdosa, Korea’s Buddha Jewel Temple enshrining the Buddha’s sarira, is one such example. Every year on Dano Day, a Dragon King Ceremony (Yongwangjae) is held, during which the salt jars placed beneath each buddha hall are removed and replaced with new ones. Salt jars were also placed under the eaves of each corner of the building, praying that the power of seawater would prevent fires. Salt jars are easily found in buildings such as Daeungjeon Hall and Myeongbujeon Hall.

Some buddha halls even have the Chinese characters for “ocean (海) or “water (水)” engraved on them. These two characters are engraved in openwork on the wall of Simgeomdang Hall in Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon. They signify the pouring of seawater, and this stems from a wish to prevent fires.

In addition, goblin statues were placed on the ridge of buddha halls to ward off evil spirits, and bird figures made of roof tiles or stone were also added. Symbolizing birds floating on the water, the entire roof symbolizes the sea.

The greatest enemy of wooden buildings is fire. Because fire was the greatest fear, our ancestors placed various symbols both inside and outside of buddha halls to ward off fire. This fervent desire to protect temples from fire continues to this day.