User:Waygugin/Hwaeomsasajeok (1924)

Hwaeomsasajeok (Hwaeomsa Chronicle), or its full name, Haedonghonamdojirisandaewaeomsasajeok (A Chronicle of the Great Temple Hwaeomsa of Jirisan, Gurye County, Honam) is a history of the Korean Buddhist temple Hwaeomsa completed in 1924 by Jeong Byeonheon.

Background
The Hwaeomsa Chronicle was published in 1924, during the Japanese colonial era, by the learned Hwaeomsa monk Jeong Byeonheon (1891–1969). In writing his history Jeong drew heavily from A Chronicle of the Great Temple Hwaeomsa of Jirisan, Gurye County, Honam, a history of Hwaeomsa completed in 1636 by Junggwan Haein. Jeong also carried out siginificant original research. He consulted Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms and History of the Three Kingdoms, as well as Chewon's Brief Explanations of the Declared Pledge to the White Lotus Temple; Tsan-ning's Biographies of Eminent Monks Compiled in the Sung Dynasty; and Bak Inryang's Teachings of the Venerable Uisang. Other works include: Teachings of the Great Gyunyeo, the chronicle of the late Silla Southern Mountain school; and Jinsu's Hwaeom Dharma–World Chart. It also incorporates material on Bulguksa by Choi Chiwon such as the 9th-century works A Vow of Offering to the Great King Heonggang...Flower Garland Sutra and A Vow of Offering to Queen...of the Kim Clan...

Contents
The Chronicle begins with the history of Gurye County and lives of both Wonhyo and Uisang. These are followed by passages on the practice of tea cultivation as well as lives of the late Silla Buddhist masters Gaecheon, Gyeongbo, and Doseon. There is comparatively more material on the Goryeo Dynasty than Junggwan's history including some previously unknown information. The text mentions that a disciple of Uicheon was abbot of Hwaeomsa, and describes the establishment of the hermitages Wonsoam and Jeokgiam. The Chronicle's account of the Joseon Dynasty begins with the reign of King Sejong and his consolidation of Buddhism into the two schools of Seon and Gyo, interspaced with commentaries from prominent monks. It describes the stay of master Bohyu Seonsu (1543–1615) at Jirisan and provides an account of the temple's reconstruction following the Imjin War by Byeogam Gakseong and his disciple Gyepa Seongneung. There are descriptions of further repairs to the temple in the following years as well as lectures given by prominent monks.

There exist significant differences between this history and Jeong's unpublished work, Records of the Great Temple Hwaeomsa of Jirisan, which has not survived in its entirety.

Style
Sin Daehyeon writes that although the Chronicle of Jeong has better structure than that of Junggwan, it still includes a lot of material that is unrelated to Hwaeomsa. Meanwhile, while praising his original research, Jeong Byeongsam criticizes the author for overly emphasizing the ties between the temple and many of Korea's great Buddhist masters.