조선시대 승려 賤人身分說의 재검토 -高橋亨의 주장에 대한 비판을 중심으로-

Abstract

It has been accepted that Buddhist monks in the Joseon dynasty were from lowest classes (賤人). This was argued by Takahashi Toru (高橋亨), who was Japanese historian during the Japanese colonial era, and is still broadly accepted. However there is no obvious ground to support this argument. This argument has been discussed based on two other arguments which were: that Buddhist monks were from one of the 8 lowest classes in the Joseon dynasty; and that they were banned to enter the capital city because they were from lowest classes. However there was no concept of the 8 lowest classes in the Joseon dynasty. In addition, it was in the late 18th century when Buddhist monks were banned to enter the capital city. Moreover they were not banned because of their social class. Based on the analysis of the official chronological historiographies, the legal codes, the household register and so on, it seems that Buddhist monks in the Joseon formed a special class, covering people from various social classes, and the majority of them were from common classes (良人). Therefore it appears that the argument of Takahashi is not correct, and accordingly the historical view of the Buddhism in the Joseon dynasty based on his theory must be reconsidered.