Abstract

The term ‘Yeongjung Pillar (永定柱)’ is used in Korean archaeology to refer to the wooden pillar used to fix wooden blocks when applying the board frame construction method. This use begun in the mid-80s based on the record of Yingzao Fashi (營造法式). However, the record does not correspond with archaeological data in the sense that the wooden pillar used during board frame construction is not equivalent to the Yeongjung Pillar. This paper therefore analyzes the wooden pillar, the ‘Yeongjung Pillar’ of Yingzao Fashi, and other construction materials. In the case of the wooden pillar, the names that were used to refer to it from ancient times, as well as its different forms, were analyzed, in association with construction method and function. To highlight the mistaken interpretation of Yingzao Fashi, the function of the Yeongjung Pillar and other construction materials were examined. These materials were then classified according to various factors. The results of the analysis demonstrate that there are common elements shared between the wooden pillar and the Yeongjung Pillar of the board frame construction method, but differences could also be observed in terms of in size, position during construction, structure, construction or disassembling method, function, and textual records. These results go against the conception that the wooden pillar of the board frame construction method equals the Yeongjung Pillar; the two are clearly different. Finally, the wooden pillar has sometimes been found in the wall, as it was not disassembled after the board frame construction process. In this case, it functioned as the center of the wall or as a Yeongjung Pillar. The functional similarity of the two may be related to the mid-wall column of the wall of dwellings or structures that emerged in the Neolithic Age. The wooden pillar of the board frame construction method may have been derived from the mid-wall column technique. After the Neolithic Age, the wooden pillar that combined the function of the Yeongjung Pillar disappeared, and the two were separated from each other. The Yeongjung Pillar continually developed after its emergence from the midwall column, and it was expansively applied to wall construction. It became institutionalized as the essential civil engineering technology in castle construction with the compilation of the architecture book Yingzao Fashi of the North Song Dynasty.

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