조선시대 사고관리의 변화

Abstract

The Joseon government compiled a history of each reign since the outset, and placed the annals to special repositories (Sago) in four widely separated parts of the country. The annals survived the Japanese invasion of 1592 to 1598, thus achieving the goal of the compilation as a mirror, or exemplar, for future governments. Unfortunately, 3 of 4 repositories had been located at the strategic corners by way of that Japanese army advanced northward. Thus all the volumes stored in the three history archives were reduced to ashes. Only the annals of Jeonju sago survived the war. If the government thoroughly prepared for the worst, the damages would be reduced. In this respect, the instance of Jeonju sago showed the fact that the will and the endeavors of keeping the annals intact, and the persons in charge themselves are most important. The government was very worried about storing the annals of Jeonju during the war, so established five separate history archives deep in the mountains to store copies of the annals after the Imjin war, and kept them under the guard of monks near temples. It might come from the traditional practice of Koryo dynasty when the annals were kept in Haeinsa temple. On the other hand, there is room for another interpretation. Joseon might stand back a step from its previous tough stand against Buddhism. The government recognized the merits of monks under the national crisis, and treated them with honorable respect. This in turn led to the use of monks for the surveillance of history archives, no the least of the exclusion of monks, after the war.