조선 시대 科擧 四書疑 試文 一考

Abstract

This article examines the styles and contents of the answers written for Saseoui 四書疑 (Questioning on the Four Books), a subject test in the Joseon-period civil service examination. Over 300 pieces of answers were collected from literary collections and surviving collections of the answer sheets for this study, but many of them have been labeled unidentified, neccessitating identification of the examinees and classification of the answer sheets through comparative analysis of the test topics found in the answer sheets, other subject tests, and argumentative essays (non 論) at the time. Among the papers examined in this research, Imheon gongnyeong 臨軒功令 is a collection of the answers from the civil service examination that preserves over 200 answers by examinees of Saseo-ui, although their dates are limited to the reigns of Kings Sunjo (r. 1800-1834) and Gojong (r. 1863-1907). Other answers for Saseo-ui covered in this article were found in individual literary collections and practice exams handed down in An Jeongbok’s family. The analysis revealed that the early to mid-Joseon period answers handed down in individual literary collections were marked with higher grades and the grades declined towards the later period. The literary styles of the Saseo-ui answers were compared with the logical essays (chaengmun 策文) for another subject test, The elements of the most successful answer sheets were analyzed in terms of structuring, the style of expression, and the logic of their arguments.