JOURNEYS THROU&H KOREA. 99 



Kyöng-jyu 



PI. XXXV. Profile EF 



Kißng-jiju (75 m) (PI. XXIII. fig. 1) was the old capital of 

 Sln-han ^\ one of the 'Three Hans in South Korea which came 

 into existence at about 209 b.c. Later it was the metropolis of 

 Sil-Ia, one of the " Three Kingxloms," from 57 b.c. to 936 a.d. 

 The Japanese attacks during the regenc}^ of Jingo Kôgû in the 

 years 209, 233, and 249 a.d. had Kißng-jyu as their objective. 



In the eyes of our people in ancient times Kij'6ng-jyu was 

 the sole metropolis of the peninsula. During the Tang dyanasty 

 (618-907 A.D.), Sll-la maintained close relations with China, and 

 its capital was the true centre of SUla-Korean civilization and 

 Buddhism. Our contact, both in war and in peace, with the 

 Silla-Koreans had a reactionary influence upon our religion, art, 

 and science which, according to T. Sekino "\ was reflected in our 

 art of the Nei-raku period. 



During this Augustan age of Sil-la (about 655 a.D.), Ky'ông-jiju 

 had an urban population of 900,000. Her high culture and civili- 

 zation have long since passed away leaving only a forlorn town 

 of mud hovels (PI. XXIII. fig. 1). A few relics of former gran- 

 deur are still to be seen. One is a nine- storey pagoda of the 

 stone-masonry of Ptm-hoang-sä '^ of which only three examples re- 

 main now. The second is the largest Korean bell (2.25 m in 

 diameter) of extraordinarilly fine workmanship, cast in the year 

 771 A.D. The third is a ruined astronomical observatory of granite 

 masonry, of a cylindrical shape, 29 feet high and 17 feet in 



1) mm 



2) "Report on Korean Architecture" (in Jaimnese). Bull. Coll. Engin. Imp. Univ , Tokyo 

 1905, 



3) ^ m #. 



