조선시대 貞節 倫理의 실천자와 身分

Abstract

This article is to study the influence of faithfulness morals on social status in the Choson period through analyzing 1,299 persons, who have a fidelity, listed on Sinjeungdonggukyeojiseungram and Yeojidoseo. The results of this study and its statistics summarize as follows. The 959 persons (73.8%) among the faithful woman of Choson dynasty were ‘Yangban’ which means aristocratic class. The majority of the faithful woman is ‘Yangban’. The next things are ordered by commoner (17.2%), servants (4.7%), and middle class (2.1%) in the Choson period. Excepting the 16th century, the rate of faithful woman of Choson dynasty is getting higher. In the 18th century, the 81.8% of among faithful woman was Yangban. In a case middle class and servants, the number of faithful woman had been small and its rate had been declining after the 18th century. The rate of faithful woman among commoner was 24.6%(16C), 20.4%(17C), and 10.4%(18C). In the 16th century, the rate of faithful woman was much higher than before the 16th century. After 17th century, the rate of faithful woman had been declining. The ideology of fidelity represented faithfulness woman had kept a thing exclusively to Yangban as time goes up the late of Choson dynasty. This fact is contrast to common theory that the ideology of worship of faithfulness woman had spread to whole classes as time goes up the late of Choson dynasty. The government of Choson dynasty had done to diffuse Confucian to common people through edification policy. The result of the policy, the rate of faithfulness woman among middle class, commoner, and servants was 31%. However, the faithfulness woman from Yanban had been outstanding during the late of Choson dynasty. The reason is that the Yangban of the late of Choson dynasty had used the ideology of fidelity as a tool in order to strength an honor to a family or get superior status distinguishing non-ruler. That is, the trend of fidelity worship is not limited on the identity of gender related to woman.