Organizer and Chair: Charlotte Horlyck, University of London
Discussant: Michael J. Pettid, State University of New York, Binghamton
As the Koryo kingdom (918-1392) was essentially founded
on Buddhist teachings while the Choson kingdom (1392-1910) was ruled according
to Confucian principles, these two eras of Korea’s history are often
pitted against one another. At times, this has resulted in perceived stark
dichotomies between them, when in reality they share many customs and traditions.
In aiming to readdress this issue, this cross-disciplinary panel highlights
how continuation and change are reflected in various local traditions and institutions
over the course of the Koryo and Choson periods. In her paper, which focuses
on recently discovered archaeological material, Charlotte Horlyck argues that
Confucian style burials are not restricted to the Choson period, but began
to be practiced already during the late Koryo period. In focusing on the transition
period between the Koryo and Choson dynasties, Lee Sang-kuk also addresses
questions of continuation in arguing that the ways in which marriage influenced
genealogical succession did not change significantly until the seventeenth
century. Son Byung-giu, too, questions institutional changes as seen in marriage
relationships and genealogical successions and proposes that it was not until
the seventeenth century that genealogical records began to be centered on the
patrilineal line. Instead, in the early Choson period, family lineage was recorded
much in the same way as in the Koryo period. Finally, in tracing the relatively
well-documented lives of eminent monks, Sem Vermeersch examines how social
and political changes are reflected in monastic life, particularly with regards
to the social status of monks.
Charlotte Horlyck, University of London
Over the past ten years or so, a steadily increasing number of graves from
the Koryo period have been unearthed in the southern half on the peninsula,
and more recently several sites near the Koryo capital of Kaesong, in North
Korea, have undergone excavation. Not only do these discoveries provide us with
insights into how Koryo people buried their dead, but changes and continuations
in burial traditions can also be identified. The focus of this paper lies in
the introduction of Confucian style burial practices which begin to appear in
archaeological material from the late 12th century. This date coincides with
the introduction to Korea of the Family Rituals (Jia li), the Chinese manual
for the performance of funerals and other standard family rituals, written by
the Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Xi (1130-1200). In the Choson dynasty, it
became the exclusive manual for funerary and ancestral rites, but it began to
be followed in the mid to late Koryo period, as is evidenced in archaeological
material. The Jia li prescribes that the burial pit be lined with lime-based
cement in order to preserve the body. Such lime-coffin tombs started being made
in the late 12th century and they increase in numbers towards the end of the
Koryo rule. In questioning the popularity of Confucian style burial practices
in Koryo, this paper analyses the relative spread of such types of graves and
it will also examine whether other aspects of Confucian burial practices, as
advocated in the Family Rituals, were followed.
Sangkuk Lee, University of Pennsylvania
Until the 16th century, Korean genealogical records did not just record family
trees based on the patrilineal line. According to the Cheonghwa era genealogy
of the Andong Kwon Clan, which was published in 1476, the family line of the
son-in-law line was as important as the patrilineal side. This is reflected
in the fact that in this genealogy, 90% of family trees also include details
of the son-in-law and his family line. When comparing the Cheonghwa era genealogy
of the Andong Kwon Clan with that of contemporary Chinese records, it becomes
evident that this tradition is uniquely Korean. However, after the seventeenth
century, Korean genealogical records gradually began resembling contemporary
Chinese ones which are centered on the patrilineal line. In this paper I will
address how marriage influenced genealogical succession in the transition period
between the Koryo (918-1392) and the Choson (1392-1910) dynasties. Through comparing
records from the Koryo and early Choson dynasties with those of other East Asian
countries, in particular China, I will explore the points of difference and
the special properties of the social structure. This will help to understand
the special characteristics of marriage relationships in Korean medieval times.
My research is based on the data processing of historical records such as the
Koryosa and the Koryosa choryo, as well as epitaph inscriptions and the Cheonghwa
era genealogy of the Andong Kwon Clan.
Byung-giu Son, Sunkyunkwan University
“Traditional marital relations”, as we think of them in Korea today,
were not established until the seventeenth century at the earliest. At this time,
genealogical records began to be centered on the husband and his family, while
the wife’s family and social rank were increasingly omitted from the records.
Yet, such means of recording family lineage seem to have been practiced only
among high-ranking members of society, and it did not become customary among
common people and those of lower social status until the end of the nineteenth
century. In the twelfth century, hojok typically recorded their family lineage
based on the paternal as well as maternal line, and in the fourteenth century
too, genealogical records detailed the husband’s and the wife’s families.
Since examples of family records being based solely on the patrilineal line are
rare in pre-seventeenth century Korea, we may then ask why did changes occur
in the seventeenth century? This paper attempts to address this question through
an in-depth study on family registers and family trees. It will be demonstrated
that in the early seventeenth century, a daughter’s descendants were rarely
listed in the family records. One reason behind this appears to be due to the
strengthening of blood ties. Moreover, since an increasing number of family clans
were recorded at this time, it was deemed less necessary to mention a daughter’s
descendants as they would invariably be listed elsewhere. A third reason appears
to lie in the efforts the upper classes of society made in maintaining their
exclusivity.
Sem Vermeersch, Seoul National University
The main purpose of this paper is to assess how social (and also political)
changes are reflected in the monastic world of Korea from Late Silla to Early
Choson. Given the scarcity of documents concerning social life for much of
Korea’s
early history, the comparatively well-documented lives of eminent monks can
provide useful complementary information. For the Silla and Koryo periods, when
Buddhism enjoyed strong links with the ruling class, the monastic elites were
very similar to secular elites; both secular and religious leaders were drawn
from similar social groups with privileged links to power. Although theoretically
social status does not matter after ordination, this was patently not the case
in Korea; monks maintained links with natal families, and the status of their
descent groups also determined – to a certain degree – their monastic
career. Of course, the composition of monastic elites did not match the secular
situation completely, so one of the key focuses of this paper will be to explain
these differences. Political and ideological changes played a key role – notably
after the founding of the Choson dynasty, when the monastic career was shunned
by most members of elite families – but other factors have to be considered
as well. Ultimately, I hope that this research can contribute both to the
religious and the social history of Korea.
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