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영어

In 1186,the fire set by Taira Shigehira's(平重衡)army spread and Todaiji and the temple was reduced to ashes. The person who played a central role in the restoration of Todaiji was Chogen(重源). The person who played a central role in the restoration of Todaiji was Chogen. Chogen(1121-1206)was a priest at Daigoji Temple. Chogen traveled to China and stayed in Ningbo(寧波) from 1167 to 1168. In 1268, Chogen returned to Japan. As Chogen became a central person in the restoration of Todaiji Temple, Ningbo's stone carving culture was imported to Japan. In 1192, Chogen ordered four people, including Rokuro, who had come to Japan from the Song Dynasty, to make stone two lion statues etc. To this day, this stone lion statue have been at the south main gate of Todaiji Temple. Yamakawa discovered that the stone material for this stone lion statues is made of Meiyuan stone(梅園石) from Ningbo. In various parts of this stone lion statues, there are stone carved patterns strongly influenced by the stone carved patterns of the Southern Song Dynasty. The stonework is a valuable material when considering the exchanges between China and Japan during the Song dynasty. Chinese and Japanese researchers should cooperate with each other in their research.