澤堂 李植의 喪·祭禮 儀節 硏究

Abstract

This study aimed to deeply look into funeral and ancestral rite procedures by Taekdang Yi Sik(1584-1647) who was one of the four greatest writers in the Joseon period. Based on his experience, Taekdang criticized some popular practices of his times that were usually made during funeral or ancestral rite performance. Such practices that he negated included the use of chilpo or yuji, coffin cover-up with blankets or rice straw to keep the body from getting frozen, use of boiled water to strengthen lime, and configuration of outer coffin with pieces of stone. When it comes to the feng-shi theory that was widely accepted in his times, Taekdang found some parts of that theory deserved to be positively considered, especially in relation to geologic and geographic conditions. But he strongly refuted the theory-based point that fortunes of people are up to whether the site of grave formation is good or bad. Taekdang standardized ancestral rite procedures for his own family. He built the procedures on the basis of Zhu-zi’s 『Garye』 while referring to his ancestors’ or popular practices in an adequate proportion. Meantime, he braced for popular practices of myoje or an ancestral rite held before the grave. In other words, he allowed individual offsprings to host and perform myoje in a yunje manner, that is, by rotation. For kije or an anniversary rite in memory of the dead, Yi Sik made a principle that the event should be held only once in the form of gobihapseol, which is a one-time memorial service for both of the deceased parents, banning a separate rite serving the late mother. As for ancestral rite procedures, thus, Taekdang was considerably open to popular practices of his times without just sticking to Zhu-zi’s 『Garye』. Such openness was so significant that it contributed to preserving unique rite procedures of our nation’s own, especially because Taekdang lived in the era when precisely annotated versions of 『Garye』 were being actively compiled and published.