In China, the meditation hall, where monks practice meditation, eat, and sleep together, appeared around the 8th to 9th centuries. The specific functions and architectural forms of the meditation hall are known by the Cheonggyu(淸規) compiled and disseminated during the Song Dynasty, when Seon Buddhism was most prosperous, and by materials recorded by Japanese monks of that time. The temple system of the Seon Buddhism temples of the Song Dynasty, including meditation hall, was transmitted to Japan at the time and had a great influence on the formation of Seon Buddhism temples in the Middle Ages. On the other hand, in Korea, until the late Goryeo Dynasty, unlike in China or Japan at the time, the meditation hall was used only for meditation practice, and the dining hall and a building called Seungmu(僧廡) for sleeping and daily life were built separately. And the meditation hall was equipped with a heating system unique to Korea called Gudeul. The meditation hall of Hoeamsa Temple, which was rebuilt by Naong(懶翁) in the end of the Goryeo Dynasty by introducing the temple system of Chinese Seon Buddhism temples, took on the general appearance of East Asian Seon Buddhism temples, but it also maintained the characteristics of Goryeo Buddhism architecture.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the historical background of the setting of seungdang(僧堂) and gowon (庫院) in the Zen Buddhist temples of Song dynasty, in terms of as a Buddhist temple universality and as a Zen temple specificity, through the historical reference investigation on its relevance to the Buddhist temples of Tang dynasty. In the Zen Buddhist temples of Song dynasty, the Zen meditation space of seungdang was located on the west side of Buddha hall, and the kitchen and officiating priest’s living space of gowon was located on the east side of Buddha hall. Through the analysis of historical reference it was confirmed that, in the Buddhist temples of Tang dynasty, the Zen meditation section of seonwon(禪院) was on the west side, and the gowon was on the east side too. Therefore, it can be said that, the setting method of seungdang and gowon of the Zen Buddhist temples of Song dynasty was established above tradition of the Tang dynasty Buddhist temples.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of Zen Buddhist temple’s building composition of the Northern Song dynasty, through the analysis of literature historical material, such as Seonwon chenggyu(禪苑淸 規), Cham cheontae odaesan gi (參天台五臺山記) and so on. The building composition method of Zen Buddhist temple in Northern Song dynasty, which grasped from the Seonwon chenggyu, reflects the actual situation of the temples in that time. And it was ascertained that, the Zen Buddhist temple’s building composition of the Northern Song dynasty was basically same to that of Southern Song dynasty. And the comparative analysis was attempted between Zen Buddhist temples and that of other Buddhism sect described in Cham cheontae odaesan gi. From this analysis, the common features as Buddhism temple and the characteristics of building composition as Zen Buddhist temple was clarified.