P’yŏngan Province was one of the principal centers of Buddhism during the Chosŏn dynasty. The P’yŏnyang branch, originating from P’yŏnyang Ŏn’gi 鞭羊彦機, a direct disciple of Ch’ŏnghŏ Hyujŏng 淸虛休靜, gradually emerged as the most prominent monastic lineage in Chosŏn, with its base at Mt. Myohyang, P’yŏngan Province, where Pohyŏnsa 普賢寺was located. This article examines the transformations and characteristics of Buddhism in P’yŏngan Province in the late Chosŏn period, with particular attention to the changes in the number of temples and the operation of state-imposed monastic duties 僧役(sŭngyŏk). Centering on rubbings of Buddhist inscriptional materials from North Korean regions, now housed in the National Museum of Korea, the article investigates the histories of major temples in the province, namely, Pohyŏnsa, Pŏphŭngsa 法興寺, Yŏngmyŏngsa 永明寺, and four other temples. It further explores the status, institutional bases, and activities of the primary dharma lineages 法脈(pŏmmaek) of the P’yŏnyang branch as recorded in these materials.
The number of Buddhist temples in P’yŏngan Province changed over time: 221 in the early sixteenth century, 234 in the mid-eighteenth century, and 134 by the early twentieth century. From the seventeenth to the early eighteenth century, the state monastic duties in P’yŏngan Province assumed a distinctively military character, reflecting the region’s strategic importance on the northern frontier. Monks were involved in the construction of mountain fortresses and fortress-guarding temples, and served as monks’ militia 僧軍(sŭngun). However, by the mid-eighteenth century, as the threat of full-scale warfare with Qing China diminished, financial control over the region was transferred to the Ministry of Taxation 戶曹(Hojo) in the capital, and the state’s reliance on fortress-guarding temples and monastic personnel was significantly reduced. These changes apparently contributed to the subsequent decline in the number of temples in the province. Although certain lineages of the P’yŏnyang branch began to expand southward and integrate into nationwide Buddhist networks from the early eighteenth century, Buddhism in Mt. Myohyang and the wider P’yŏngan region entered a period of marked decline, beginning in the latter half of the century. By critically engaging with inscriptional evidence, this study aims to shed light on the distinctive characteristics of Buddhism in late Chosŏn P’yŏngan Province and the changing status of its temples, thereby contributing to new directions in the historiography of regional Korean Buddhism.