임진왜란과 피난, 그리고 의례: 왕실과 사족의 사례를 중심으로

Abstract

The royal court and the gentry of the Joseon Dynasty began implementing formal rituals in earnest during the late 16th century, achieving theoretical consolidation by the late 18th century. The 15th and 16th centuries, particularly surrounding the period of the Imjin War, marked a time when the introduction and study of ritual systems laid the foundation for Joseon’s ritual studies. This study attempts to provide a macroscopic overview of the similarities and differences between the royal court and the gentry in the practice of mourning and ancestral rites during their displacement in the Imjin War. It also offers a preliminary examination of how the wartime experience influenced the development of Joseon’s ritual systems. The royal court temporarily enshrined the royal ancestral tablets at various locations during their flight and deliberated on how to adaptively perform rituals usually conducted under normal circumstances. Similarly, some displaced members of the gentry exhibited comparable behavioral patterns in mourning and ancestral rites, as evidenced by wartime diary records. However, according to records in the Annals of King Seonjo (Seonjo Sillok), King Seonjo expressed concern over the lax state of national moral discipline during his return to the capital, pointing out the scarcity of people wearing mourning attire among the populace despite the ongoing war. Yet, based on the wartime diaries of the gentry, it is evident that the people made every effort to uphold rituals to the best of their ability, given their circumstances. Therefore, it cannot be generalized that the nation’s rituals were entirely neglected during the war. Instead, greater attention should be paid to the shared efforts of both the royal court and the gentry to uphold ceremonial propriety during the crisis. The wartime experience also helped establish guidelines for adapting rituals to extraordinary circumstances. The royal court and gentry of Joseon accumulated various experiences in adapting rituals, not only during wartime but also in situations such as famine, epidemics, and stealing. These experiences were later incorporated into ritual books compiled by the gentry and state-published ritual manuals. This reflects the combined outcome of accumulated practical experiences in diverse situations and the maturity of ritual studies and understanding.