等狀을 통해 본 조선후기 聯名呈訴와 公論 형성

Abstract

This study analyzes the reality of filing petitions jointly and the characteristics of public opinion during the late Chosun dynasty by examining 1,125 pieces of "Deungjang(等狀)" paper which are owned by The Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies. Deungjang is a petition filed by more than two people. Unlike the one-person-filing petition, these joint petitions can be seen as a product of collective efforts to gather opinions and organize group actions. Joint petitions became very popular by the end of the 18th century and even formed a social trend to the extent that they were at the heart of most of the lawsuits concerning social issues such as mountain lawsuits, land ownership, tax, commemoration and decoration, all of which were characteristic social issues during the late Chosun period. Joint petitions were usually filed by three social groups--clan(族人), confucian scholars(儒生) of local confucian temples, and the commoners of the local communities, by whom public opinions were formed in various levels of society. Clan groups were interested in the ancestor-related affairs such as conflicts on ancestral grave sites and family genealogies, and thus endeavored to draw an agreement within a particular clan concerning those issues. Confucian scholars' joint petitions were focused on the issues such as commemoration and decoration that were essential in sustaining neo-confucian ideology and social order. Their arguments formed public opinions of local scholars. Commoners tackled tax issues and contributed to the formation of villages' public opinions about it. In this sense, the acts of filing petitions and thereby drawing a consensus within groups could be said to result from each group's collective efforts to resolve social problems and conflicts in the turmoil of great socio-economic changes during the late Chosun period.