Abstract
Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light (Gwi) (LKH 10703) donated by the family of the late Lee Kun-Hee to the National Museum of Korea in 2021 is a calligraphy album consisting of sixty-two leaves compiled using butterfly binding. It contains Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light, "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong," a postscript by Kim Jeonghui, and an appreciation record by Oh Sechang. This paper has revealed that this album is identical to the material that Suematsu Yasukazu introduced in Volume 15 of the journal Cheonggu hakchong in 1934 and that it includes elaborate copies of Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light and "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong" on yellow Chinese paper, both of which were excavated from inside the Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju in 1824. It has also reconfirmed that it is highly probable that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light that Jo Byeongsun, the former director of the Seongam Old Books Museum, unveiled in 1998, is a transcription of the original sutra excavated from Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju. Moreover, it has concluded that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light owned by Park Cheolsang is likely to be another example of copying the transcription of the original sutra excavated from the Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju. In the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee KunHee, six of the Chinese characters promulgated by Empress Wu were used fifteen times in total. Four of the characters of Empress Wu were utilized ten times in the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light (national treasure, Bulguksa Temple collection) found among the reliquaries from the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju and were also seen in the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee. The use of the same characters of Empress Wu and other variant characters suggests that both the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee and the Bulguksa sutra were based on an edition distributed in the Unified Silla Period during the eighth century. Kim Jeonghui confirmed the exchange of calligraphy between Korea and China through studies on bronze and stone epigraphs. He believed that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light and "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong" excavated from Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple were authentic materials showing the elegant calligraphic styles that prevailed before the Ouyang Xun style. Thus, the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee holds great historical and artistic significance in that it is a rare example of Kim Jeonghui's evidential study of a transcribed sutra and an original record of the production of a pagoda from the Unified Silla period.
2021년 고 이건희 회장이 국립중앙박물관에 기증한 《무구정광대다라니경(귀)》(건희10703, 이하 '이건희 기증 모사첩')는 『무구정광대다라니경(無垢淨光大陀羅尼經)』, <국왕경응조무구정탑원기(國王慶膺造無垢淨塔願記)>, 김정희 제지, 오세창 배관기를 엮은 총62면의 호접장 서첩이다. 이번 연구에서 이 서첩은 1934년 스에마쓰 야스카즈가 『청구학총』 15호에 소개한 자료와 동일하며, 1824년 경주 창림사 무구정탑안에서 출토된 『무구정광대다라니경』과 <국왕경응조무구정탑원기>를 경황지(硬黃紙)에 정교하게 탑모(搨模)한 것임을 밝혔다. 아울러 1998년 전 성암고서박물관장 조병순이 공개한 『무구정광대다라니경』이 경주 창림사 무구정탑 출토 원본 사경일 가능성이 매우 높다는 것을 재확인했고, 박철상 소장 『무구정광대다라니경』은 경주 창림사 무구정탑 출토 사경을 탑모한 또 하나의 모본일 가능성이 크다고 고찰했다. '이건희 기증 모사첩' 『무구정광대다라니경』에는 측천문자가 6종 15회 사용되었다. 경주 불국사 삼층석탑 사리장엄구 『무구정광대다라니경』(국보, 불국사 소장)에 4종 10회 사용된 측천문자는 '이건희 기증 모사첩'에도 동일하게 사용되었고, 기타 이체자도 공통되므로 두 경전은 8세기 신라에서 통용되었던 동일한 판본을 저본으로 사용했을 가능성이 크다. 김정희는 금석학으로 한국과 중국의 서예 교류를 고증했는데, 창림사 무구정탑 출토 『무구정광대다라니경』과 <국왕경응조무구정탑원기>는 구양순체 이전의 고아한 서법을 보여주는 실물 자료라고 평가했다. 그러므로 '이건희 기증 모사첩'은 김정희가 보기 드문 통일신라 사경과 탑원기 진본을 고증한 사례로 그 역사적·예술적 가치가 크다.