Cheomseongdae and Queen Seondeok
This structure is one of Korea’s most well-known and beloved treasures. However, not a lot is known about why this structure was built or how they even built it. At first glance, it looks like a very simple and straightforward structure, but in fact, like Bulguksa Temple, there are some interesting features that are not readily visible to the naked eye.
Cheomseongdae was built during the reign of Queen Seondeok, the first ruling queen in the history of Korea. By the many historical accounts left of Queen Seondeok, she was a wise and much-beloved queen. During her reign, many cultural projects were undertaken as she was greatly interested in science and the arts. The mystery surrounding Cheomseongdae is that not much was written about it in the SamgukYusa (an important source of ancient Korean history written by a Buddhist monk about 800 years ago). This is very odd considering how much was written about her other projects and accomplishments like Yeongmyosa Temple and Bunhwangsa Temple. In fact, only a nine-character sentence is all that exists on record and therefore, has fuelled much interest among Korean historians. What does the sentence say? It roughly translates to “At the time of this ruler, they trimmed up stones and constructed Cheomseongdae.”
One speculation has been that though she was very popular with her subjects and supporters in court, there were also families in the ruling class who resented a woman on the throne. Silla was a patriarchal dynasty and ruled under the ‘bone-rank system’ which guaranteed that only a person who was a direct descendant of the true and sacred bone of the King could ascend the throne. Unfortunately, her father King Jinpyeong had no sons, and therefore upon his death, Queen Seondeok became ruler under the ‘bone-rank system.’ This did not sit well with some members of her court who thought that a woman on the throne would bring about the destruction of the Silla dynasty.
Now, what do we know about Cheomseongdae? It is considered the earliest known astronomical observatory in East Asia, and some believe the world. The body of the structure has 27 layers which are believed to symbolize that the queen was the 27th ruler in the Silla dynasty. It is also considered to follow the orbital cycle of the moon which we now know to be 27.3 days. When one counts the two square layers which form the very top of the tower, there are 29 layers. This is also believed to account for the lunar month which has 29.5 days. But there are even more significant features that casual observers would have completely missed. The tower is built of 362 pieces of hand-cut granite which represents the 362 days of the lunar year, and the tower is divided by 12 layers of stone above the window level and 12 levels below. Historians believe this is a nod to the 12 months of the year or 12 signs of the Korean zodiac. There are even more detailed conjectures that some argue are a bit of a stretch to give meaning to every single detail. Regardless or perhaps because we are not really sure what the motivation and intentions the builders had in the number of stones used or layers built, all we can do is speculate and come up with an agreement on our version of the truth. In the end, this does not take away from the fact that Cheomseongdae was an extraordinary structure and shows how interested and advanced ancient Koreans were in their grasp of astronomy, math, and practical application of scientific knowledge.
