U ̆ICH’O ̆N
U ̆ich’o ̆n (Taegak kuksa, 1055–1101) was the fourth son
of King Munjong (r. 1047–1083) of the Korean Koryo ̆
dynasty. U ̆ich’o ̆n became the head of Buddhist san ̇gha
in Koryo ̆at the age of thirteen. Well versed in Bud-
dhist scriptures, particularly the teachings of the
Hwao ̆m (Huayan) school, he nevertheless decided to
further his study in China after a long period of cor-
respondence with the Song monk Jinshui Jingyuan
(1011–1088). In 1085, after leaving a letter to his
mother and his brother, the new King So ̆njong (r.
1083–1094), U ̆ich’o ̆n surreptitiously boarded a mer-
chant’s ship and sailed to Song dynasty China to em-
bark on his pilgrimage. During his fourteen-month
sojourn in China, he met and consulted some fifty
leading masters on the Chan, Huayan, and Tiantai
schools of Buddhism, while studying with Jingyuan at
Hiuyin Monastery in Hangzhou.
U ̆ich’o ̆n brought a number of important Huayan
texts to China, which enabled Jingyuan to redefine the
Huayan lineage. As Jingyuan’s favorite disciple, U ̆ich’o ̆n
was a prominent figure whose celebrity also helped
boost the popularity of the master’s monastery, which
became known as the Koryo ̆Monastery. After return-
ing to Koryo ̆and becoming the abbot of Hu ̆ngwangsa,
he managed to synthesize the So ̆n (Chinese, Chan;
Japanese, Zen) school and the Kyo (scholastic) forms
of Buddhism in Korea. He also founded a revitalized
Ch’o ̆nt’ae (Chinese, Tiantai) Buddhism in Koryo ̆. In
his monastery, U ̆ich’o ̆n built a library and a collection
of important Buddhist texts, for which he compiled a
catalogue called Sin’pyo ̆n chejong kyojang ch’ongnok
(New Catalogue of Buddhist Sectarian Writings). The
catalogue and his writings, the Taegak kuksa munjip
and the Taegak kuksa woejip,remain important sources
for the study of Korean Buddhism.See also:Huayan School; Tiantai SchoolBibliography
Huiyinsi zhi(Record of Huiyin Monastery). Taipei, Taiwan:
Mingwen shuju, 1981.
Taegak kuksa munjip and Taegak kuksa woejip(Collected Works
of the National Preceptor Taegak). Seoul: Kongguk Univer-
sity, 1974.CHI-CHIANGHUANGU ̆ISANGU ̆isang (625–702) was the founder of the Hwao ̆m
school and an influential thinker in Korea and China.
In 644 he was ordained a monk at Hwangboksa in
Kyo ̆ngju, the capital of Silla. Together with WO ̆NHYO
(617–686), U ̆isang decided to study under Chinese
masters. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 650,
U ̆isang finally reached Tang China in 661, where he
studied under Zhiyan (602–668), the second patriarch
of the HUAYAN SCHOOL. Together with FAZANG
(643–712), the future third patriarch of the Huayan
school, U ̆isang became one of Zhiyan’s chief disciples.
In 668 U ̆isang wrote the Hwao ̆m ilsu ̆ng po ̆pkye to(Di-
agram of the Dharmadhatu According to the One Vehi-
cle of Hwao ̆m), a poem epitomizing his understanding
of Huayan philosophy. During the same year, Zhiyan
died and U ̆isang took over teaching the disciples of his
deceased master.863