Cheomseongdae ( ko, 첨성대;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: , ) is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed in the 7th century in the kingdom of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

, whose capital was Seorabeol, or present-day Gyeongju (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: ). Cheomseongdae was designated as the country's 31st national treasure on December 20, 1962. Modeled on

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

's Jeomseongdae, which now exists only in historical records, the Cheomseongdae influenced the construction of the Japanese observatory in 675, and Duke Zhou's observatory in China in 723.

Structure

Cheomseongdae stands 9.17 meters high and consists of three parts: a stylobate, or base upon which a column is constructed, a curved cylindrical body, and a square top. Midway up the body stands a square window and entrance to the inside of the structure. When viewed from above, Cheomseongdae resembles the Korean

character (Hangul: ), meaning "well." The square stylobate base is 5.7 meters wide and built from a single layer of 12 rectangular stones. From the base to the window, the tower is filled with earth and rubble. The cylindrical body of the tower is built out of 365 pieces of cut

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, symbolizing the number of days in a

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the h ...

. However, various historical documents have reported different numbers of stones. Song (1983) cites a 1962 survey of the site by Gyeongju National Museum director Hong Sa-jun, who found 366 blocks. This discrepancy in stone count may be attributed to some researchers including or omitting a stone slab inside the top of the tower and not visible from the outside. The stones are fashioned as annular sectors, meaning each stone takes the shape of a curved or bent rectangle. At the top, there are two tiers of (), and it is presumed that an observation device was placed on it. Its construction style parallels that used at the Bunhwangsa Temple in Gyeongju.

Symbolism

The number and placement of the stones in Cheomseongdae have been theorized to represent various historical and astronomical figures. The central hole or window separates the body into 12 layers of stones both above and below, symbolizing the 12 months in a year and the 24 solar terms. Additionally, the 12 stones which comprise the stylobate may also reference the 12 months. CheomseongdaeModel2

Preservation

Cheomseongdae's original appearance and shape has remained unchanged for over 1300 years; however the structure now tilts slightly to the north-east. In 2007, a system was installed to measure the state of Cheomseongdae every hour. Of particular concern are cracks and structural displacements, and movements of the foundation stones. Cheomseongdae is additionally susceptible to wear due to aging and weathering, particularly from air pollution and structural imbalance caused by ground subsidence. The exterior of the structure is regularly washed down to remove moss. The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Korea has conducted inspections on the structure regularly since 1981. The Gyeongju municipal government oversees the site's management and preservation.

Popular culture

Cheomseongdae is mentioned in the popular Korean drama '' Queen Seondeok''. In the 2009 drama, Cheomseongdae was constructed when Queen Seondeok was still a princess; this was her first decree as a princess. Cheomseongdae was meant to share the knowledge of astronomy with everyone, rather than letting one person (Lady

Misil Mishil (c. 546/548 – c. 612) was a Silla aristocrat whose historicity is debated. According to the ''Hwarang Segi'', she was concubine to several kings and, along with his mother Queen Sado, played an instrumental role in dethroning King Jinj ...

) abuse the knowledge of it. By doing so, she also abdicated her divine rights. Because this was uncommon at the time and unsupported by many conservatives, at the opening of Cheomseongdae, barely any nobles showed up.

References

External links