Intra-Regional Alliances Patronage Networks among Buddhist Monks, Eunuchs, and Female Rulers in Late Unified Silla (668–935 CE) and Koryŏ Korea (918–1392 CE)

Abstract

This article examines intra-regional Buddhist patronage networks, particularly those connected with Kŭmgangsan 金剛山. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining historical records, archaeological findings, and art-historical evidence, this study offers a comprehensive understanding of the formative period of Kŭmgangsan’s patronage history. From late Unified Silla onward, Buddhist monks and nuns actively constructed an image of the mountain to establish its reputation as a site with soteriological potency, thereby securing funding for temple construction and expansion. After the Mongol invasions, Kŭmgangsan residents succeeded in attracting prominent patrons from Kaesŏng and Dadu to fund reconstruction endeavors, which ultimately resulted in the mountain’s transformation into a transregionally recognized Buddhist pilgrimage site. By examining how Buddhist monks strategically cultivated politically powerful patrons such as eunuchs and empresses, utilized Buddhist-inspired narratives to enhance the standing of their temples, and actively contributed to the prosperity of their temples, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of Buddhist patronage networks in the broader cultural and historical landscape of medieval Korea.