조선시대 태실의 입지에 대한 재검토

Abstract

Review on Location of Taesil in the Joseon Dynasty Shim Hyun-yong ［Abstract］ Taesil (the facility for burying the embryonic cord) is a kind of burial culture similar to the tombs. The burial culture is traditionally closely related to Fengsui. Therefore, Taesil, one of the customs of burial of embryonic cords in Korea, also picked propitious sites based on Fengsui. Several studies have been conducted on the location of Taesil, but of them have excerpted historical records without criticism or failed to perform comparative review of Taesil sites. Therefore, this study rediscussed the location of Taesil of the Joseon Dynasty through comparative analysis of literature records and taesil sites. As a result, it was found that some of the location conditions, grades, and distribution of Taesil were different from the literature records. First, it was found that Taesil was created on the prominent peaks of hills with interconnected paths, when the historical records stated that Taesil is located on the prominent peak of hills that rise high in the middle of fields without interconnected paths. Also, it was assumed that prominent peaks were first selected for Taesil between February 1115 and November 1136. Second, the records that Taesil was divided into three grades based on the condition of propitious sites and further classified by social status, was not actually applied. It seems that it was not applied from the foundation of Joseon Dynasty. The supporting reason is that there was no case where the Taesil of princes were moved to the sites of highest grade when they became kings. Third, Taesil was mostly located in the three southern provinces in the early Joseon Dynasty, but some were created in Gyeonggi-do from 1458 by King Sejo. This is earlier than the literature records stating that King Seongjong limited the location of Taesil to Gyeonggi-do from 1476. Also, Taesil has only been found in Chungcheong-do, Jeolla-do, Gyeongsang-do, Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, and Hwanghae-do, indicating that the southern region was preferred as most of it was located in the three southern provinces and close to Seoul. (Curator, Uljin Bongpyeong Sillabi Museum/baekseok@korea.kr)