Historic Site No.259
Seonwon temple was built by Choe Eui in 1232 when King
Gojong moved the government into Ganghwa to fight against the invasion
of Mongolia.
Through the construction of the temple, Cho Eui made it a mental
supporter in fighting against Mongolia and tried to retreat the
enemy by the power of Buddha. Taejang-Dogam (an office established
to carve all the sacred writings of Buddhism) was set up here. The
famous wooden blocks for printing Buddhist scriptures known as Tripitaka Koreana, which are now stored at
Haein Temple near Daegu, are said to have been carved at Seonwon
Temple.
It is believed that they were taken to Seoul in 1398 and moved to
Haein Temple in 1456. Some stone building foundations are visible
and shards of roof tiles are scattered about the area. Bricks with
grass designs, roof-end tiles and ridge-end tiles were found during
the excavations. |