JAOS 144.4 (2024) 855 Intra-Regional Alliances: Patronage Networks among Buddhist Monks, Eunuchs, and Female Rulers in Late Unified Silla (668–935 CE) and Koryŏ Korea (918–1392 CE) MAYA STILLER UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS This article examines intra-regional Buddhist patronage networks, particularly those connected with Kŭmgangsan 金剛山. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining historical records, archaeological findings, and art-historical evi- dence, this study offers a comprehensive understanding of the formative period of Kŭmgangsan’s patronage history. From late Unified Silla onward, Buddhist monks and nuns actively constructed an image of the mountain to establish its reputation as a site with soteriological potency, thereby securing funding for temple construc- tion and expansion. After the Mongol invasions, Kŭmgangsan residents succeeded in attracting prominent patrons from Kaesŏng and Dadu to fund reconstruction endeavors, which ultimately resulted in the mountain’s transformation into a tran- sregionally recognized Buddhist pilgrimage site. By examining how Buddhist monks strategically cultivated politically powerful patrons such as eunuchs and empresses, utilized Buddhist-inspired narratives to enhance the standing of their temples, and actively contributed to the prosperity of their temples, this study con- tributes to a deeper understanding of Buddhist patronage networks in the broader cultural and historical landscape of mid- to late Koryŏ Korea. This study investigates intra-regional Buddhist patronage networks, particularly those con- nected with Kŭmgangsan 金剛山. 1 In comparison to the relatively late canonization of Bud- dhist mountains in China (the concept of the four famous Buddhist mountains [C. sida fojiao mingshan 四大佛教名山] only became common during the Ming period), Kŭmgangsan is a special example of a sacred mountain that gained recognition in the late thirteenth century at the Yuan (1271–1368) imperial court. 2 Analyzing how Kŭmgangsan’s resident monks secured funding for their operations offers a deeper understanding of the historical signifi- cance of Kŭmgangsan and its intricate development as one of East Asia’s most renowned Buddhist pilgrimage sites. By focusing on Kŭmgangsan’s history during the mid- to late Koryŏ period (i.e., late twelfth to mid-fourteenth century), this research complements previ- ous studies on pilgrimages and artistic representations of the mountain’s landscape during Author’s note: Research for this article was generously supported by the University of Kansas (KU) College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 2023–24 General Research Fund, two field research fellowships in 2023, the Korea Foun- dation Field Research Fellowship and the Pony Chung Senior Fellowship provided by Korea University’s Research Institute of Korean Studies (RIKS), and the 2016-18 ACLS/The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Buddhist Studies. 1. Located in present-day North Korea, these sites faced multiple destructions, notably during the Mongol invasions (1231–70), the Imjin War (Imjin waeran 壬辰倭亂, 1592–98), and the Korean War (1950–53). Only two monasteries partially survived the Korean War: P’yohunsa 表訓寺 and Chŏngyangsa 正陽寺 in the inner part of Kŭmgangsan. In this study, the transliteration of Sinitic characters used in a Korean context is provided in Korean; other transliterations are indicated by C (Chinese) and S (Sanskrit). 2. I would like to thank one of the reviewers for pointing this out to me. See also Courtney Bruntz, “Pilgrimage in China,” Oxford Bibliographies: Buddhism, ed. Courtney Bruntz, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/ document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0241.xml, last modified June 27, 2017 (subscription required). https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.144.4.2024.ar031