17세기 諡狀의 출현과 의미

Abstract

A posthumous name(諡號, Shiho) refers to a title given to the deceased official by evaluating his conducts while alive. In the early Joseon Dynasty, in accordance with the regulations stipulated in 『GyeongGukDaeJeon』(『經國大典』, established during the reign of King Seongjong, a posthumous name was strictly given only to 'the royal families and the officials with the senior grade of the second rank or higher' who had lost their jobs. Then, Confucian intellectuals(儒賢, Yuhyeon) started to be given the titles by the Sarim(士林) forces during the reign of King Seonjo, when the increased expectation of loyalty to the state during the Imjin War(壬辰倭亂) led to more cases where people other than those stipulated in GyeongGukDaeJeon were given the titles. King Injo embraced these changes and gave the titles to the persons whom the king himself or the dynasty deemed exemplary using the system of giving a posthumous name. Before the state issued a posthumous name to the deceased subject, his family first submitted a record of the deceased during his lifetime(行狀, Haengjang). A Haengjang refers to a detailed record containing the personal information of the king and the gentry during the Joseon Dynasty only after their death. Yejo(禮曹) and Bongsangsi(奉常寺) review the contents of the submitted Haengjang in turn and again, the conducts of the deceased are examined at Hongmungwan(弘文館) to determine three candidate titles to be given to the deceased. After the prospective titles are agreed upon and are agreed upon and signed(署經) by Uijeongbu(議政府), the three candidate titles are reported again with the Haengjang to receive the king's approval. A Haengjang serves as the starting point and the most basic document for discussing a posthumous name in this series of procedure in which a posthumous name is given. However, in the early Joseon Dynasty, a Haengjang was written by the relatives of the deceased official, which constantly raised a question about the objectivity of its contents. As the deceased was a member of the same family, his relatives did not write his conducts in an honest and transparent way, only highlighting his good deeds. Then, there was a movement to write a document to suggest a posthumous name during the reign of King Injo. This was because there was a need for a procedure to discuss the issue of objectivity of a Haengjang and to grant legitimacy when a person other than the aforementioned person stipulated in 『GyeongGukDaeJeon』 would receive a posthumous name. Credibility regarding knowledge of Confucianism or loyalty could vary according to evaluation criteria, whereas the grades of official ranks in the original regulations served as an objective and well-accepted criterion. In addition, if a person with low rank was given a posthumous name later, there could be a gap of several hundred years between the date of birth and death of the person, thereby raising the question of whether his Haenjang was a reliable data. It was necessary to write a document to suggest a posthumous name for the legitimacy of granting the title to those whose official title did not meet the qualifications for being given a posthumous name in order to make it more persuasive to others. Hence, the perception that the market should be praised objectively and based on facts grew more and more widespread with each passing generation. It is worth paying special attention to Lee Seon(李選, 1632–1692) during the reign of King Sukjong, who emphasized the importance of writing a Haengjang objectively in his numerous writings. It is thought that this perception was prevalent in the late Joseon Dynasty, given that Lee Seon interacted with the people who were mainly in charge of giving a posthumous name at the time and that King Sukjong also accepted most of his opinions. In the late Joseon Dynasty, it became a common practice and was included in the regulations for a person with guaranteed sentences to write a document to suggest a posthumous name. The system of giving a posthumous name in the 17th-century Joseon Dynasty was expanded from guaranteeing honor to individuals and families to emphasizing national values. A Haengjang in a form of a document to suggest a posthumous name came into being as the fairness and objectivity of its contents was essential to clearly projecting the state's intentions.