Janggyeong Panjeon Haeinsa Temple, where the woodblocks of the Eighty Thousand Great Canons are kept

Conservation area Janggyeong Panjeon (Temple of Scriptures) was built at Haein Temple (Hai India) in the 14th century to preserve Palmandaejanggyeong.

English name: Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks
Location: South Gyeongsang Province
Year of recognition: 1995
Criteria: (iv)(vi)

Palmandaejanggyeong (Eighty Thousand Great Sutras) is a collection of 80,000 woodblocks of the Buddha’s teachings, conveying the hearts of Buddhists in the Goryeo era to request the Buddha to help the country fight against the Mongol invaders in the 13th century. This great sutra is said to be the oldest woodblock preserved to this day.

This is an architectural work that is considered to have a scientific design, the layout of the rooms and the windows of different sizes to help the natural wind flow to the maximum, helping to adjust the temperature. humidity and temperature are extremely effective. Thanks to the scientific natural ventilation system, for more than 600 years, the wooden scriptures have been preserved intact, unaffected by the elements of time or nature.

Palmandaejanggyeong (Eighty Thousand Great Sutras) was originally called “Goryeodaejanggyeong” (Goryeo Great Sutras) because it was made under Goryeo in the 13th century. Later, the number of woodblocks reached 81,340 copies, recording 84,000 sets of Buddhist scriptures, so this collection was called Palmandaejanggyeong (The Eighty Thousand Great Sutras).

If all these woodblocks are lined up, the total length of the sutra is up to 37.5 km, weighs 280 tons, with a uniform look like that of a writer.

The content of more than 1,500 Buddhist scriptures is also extremely accurate, so Palmandaejanggyeong has been recognized as a World Memory heritage.

The wood used for the sutra is sawn and carefully selected from mountain cherry and pear trees. The artisans have to cut down trees in the winter and then soak the wood in sea water continuously for two or three years, boil the wood in salt water, and then dry it for a year before engraving.

After engraving, the wooden scriptures will be painted on the surface three times, attached with two thick wooden slats at both ends to make handles, and finally covered with copper at the four corners to prevent rot, termites, and warping.

To accept the sacred responsibility of preserving the precious Buddhist scriptures, Janggyeong Panjeon (Temple of Scriptures) was inaugurated in 1488. This is a wooden structure with a length of 60.44m, a width of 8.73m and is divided into two large storage areas.

Janggyeong Panjeon has a ventilation system, adjusts humidity, maintains an appropriate temperature in the room and an extremely reasonable and scientific layout method. It is also thanks to this clever, precise design that the wooden scriptures have been preserved in the best condition for more than 600 years.

Janggyeong Panjeon of Haein Temple (Hai An), located in the middle of Gaya mountain with an altitude of 655m, southwest. With the high and obscured terrain in the north, gentle and open in the south, the wind from the south to the north only blows sideways and the sun does not shine directly on the building. This is a prime location for air conditioning, ventilation, maintaining the ideal temperature and humidity in electricity.

The front of Janggyeong Panjeon has a lower window that is larger than the upper one, and the back has a larger upper window than the bottom one.
Wind blowing in the front through the large window below will glide around the inside of the house and then gradually escape through the large window at the top of the back. These uniquely designed windows allow for maximum natural airflow.

The floor is made from a mixture of salt, sand, charcoal, and loess soil, which will absorb water when the weather is humid and release steam when the air is dry, helping to regulate humidity and temperature extremely effectively. The bookshelves are also specially designed to open on all four sides, and each wooden scripture is fitted with a 2.8cm thick spine, creating a natural space for ventilation and helping to overcome the problem of degree of stiffness. moisture, which is the greatest risk to wood panels.