임진왜란 의병장 조헌(1544-1592)의 행적을 그린 항의신편 판화 고찰

Abstract

The Hang-eui-shin-pyeon is the book that carries the words and deeds of Jo Heon(趙憲,1544-1592), the civil minister during the mid-Joseon period, who raised a volunteer army to fight against the Japanese Invasion in 1592. The book was compiled between 1613 and 1615by Ahn Bang-joon(安邦俊, 1573-1654) who admired the righteousness and integrity of Jo Heon. Ahn Bang-joon attached the woodblock prints depicting the eight scenes from the life of Jo Heon at the beginning of the book. He commissioned Yi Jing, one of the leading painters around that time to do the painting. Yi Jing was affiliated with the Academy of Painting, and was taking part in the production of the woodblock prints for the Dong-guk-shin-sok Sam-gang-haeng-sil-do, the Book of Three Bonds. Yi Jing prepared the painting between 1613 and 1615, based on which the woodcutting was done and the book was printed between 1615 and 1621. In 1748, with King Yeongjo(英祖)'s royal order, the book, Jung-bong-jip, a full-fledged anthology of Jo Heon, was published by Gyo-seo-gwan, the government organization. At that time, the woodblock prints of Jo Heon's Life was newly produced by Gyo-seo-gwan, and were included in the book. Again in 1863, the book, Hang-eui-shin-pyeon was republished for which the woodblock prints were again produced. And in 1864, when Eun-bong-jeon-seo, Ahn Bang-joon's anthology was being recompiled, the Hang-eui-shin-pyeon was included in it along with its woodblock prints. So, the woodblock prints were newly produced. All in all,the woodblock prints were produced four times, and each prints reflect the artistic style of the time. What is particular about the woodblock prints of Hang-eui-shin-pyeon is that they take narrative structure as the eight life scenes of a person are arranged in the chronological order. That is a new style compared to the method taken in the prints for books like Dong-guk-shin-sok Sam-gang-haeng-sil-do, where often more than one scene are comprised in a work of print. The stylistically, the prints of Hang-eui-shin-pyeon share common features with those of Dong-guk-shin-sok Sam-gang-haeng-sil-do which was published around the same time. Even though Yi Jing is pointed as the painter who did the original painting for the prints, none of his extant paintings reveal any similarities with the stylistic features of the prints. Yi Jing must have designed differently for the prints. The prints of Hang-eui-shin-pyeon carry great significance in that they are the pictorial records of the Imjinweran War. Unlike the various ways in which the Japanese soldiers are depicted clad in the Dong-guk-shin-sok Sam-gang-haeng-sil-do, they are all described half naked in Hang-eui-shin-pyeon, probably to emphasize the barbarities of the Japanese soldiers, which can be understood as the Joseon people's recognition of them. Also, the prints show the different ways the central figure, Jo Heon, is put to image according to time. He was described as a retired scholar who rose to fight against the Japanese invaders right after the war. However, in the 18th century, he was represented as a war hero, and in the 19th century, he was visualized as an immortal, showing how the image of Jo Heon, the volunteer army leader Jo Heon, changed with time.