Korean Consulate General in Xi’an Implemented Cleanup and Management of the Stele of Eminent Silla Monk Hyecho

Consul General Lee Ganggook of the Korean Consulate General in Xi’an visited Xianyousi temple located in Zhouzhi County on June 27 and cleaned the stele of Venerable Hyecho (704-787), an eminent Buddhist monk from Silla, and stele pavilion established by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in cooperation with the Xianyousi Management Office.  

The stele and stele pavilion were constructed in 2001 to commemorate Ven. Hyecho’s rainmaking ritual performed at Xianyousi temple upon the order of the eighth emperor Daizong of Tang (726-779). In 2013, the stele pavilion was repaired, while surface coating and graffiti removal treatment was carried out for the stele. The temple has been moved to the higher ground of mountain due to dam building project and is under construction at the moment. It is expected that construction of the Hall of the Great Hero will be completed at the end of this year.

Consul General Lee visited the stele back in May 2016 and March 2017 and expressed his regrets over poor management status around the stele pavilion. That is why he rolled up his sleeves with his colleagues to clean up the stele and stele pavilion, which have not been managed properly after the 2013 repair and were surrounded by piles of wastes, including scattered pieces of glass bottles and cigarette butts. Mr. Lee and accompanied staff members of the Consulate General collected all the wastes, removed pollutants on the stele and polished the floor.

Consul General Lee plans to continuously collect wastes and prune shrubs at the stele pavilion area, while also removing graffiti on the stele and stele pavilion, as part of the management of the Korean cultural properties in Shanxi province. Mr. Lee also intends to propose establishment of signage of the stele to the Xianyousi Management Office for potential visitors to the temple with the completion of the construction of the Hall of the Great Hero at the end of this year.

Article reference: http://chn-xian.mofa.go.kr/korean/as/chn-xian/news/activities/index.jsp