Why a Sixteen-foot Buddha? Rethinking the Main Icon of Hwangnyong Temple and Its Materiality

Completed in 574, the main icon of Hwangnyong Temple (皇龍寺) in Kyŏngju 慶州 is an Aśoka image, one of the most popular types of auspicious image in medieval China. The legend of the Hwangnyong Temple statue, however, differs from Aśoka images found in Chinese texts. King Aśoka’s only contribution was the materials for the image, which was then completed by Silla 新羅 artisans in the form of a changyuk 丈六, or sixteen-foot image. Focusing on the significance of creating a sixteen-foot statue, this article explores the circumstances surrounding the choice of this image by contextualizing the decision within the tradition of sixteen-foot images as reconstructed from Chinese sources. It demonstrates that scale and materials were key factors in selecting this type of icon and that its creation was closely related to the political aspirations of King Chinhŭng (眞興王, r. 540–576) to protect the nation and consolidate his power.