추모의 정치성과 재현 -정조의 단종사적 정비와 《월중도(越中圖)》-

Abstract

Woljung-do is a topographical painting of Youngwol where the sixth king of the Joseon dynasty Danjong was exiled and met his death. It consists of eight leaves representing the places of exile, the tomb of Danjong, and the shrines of his loyal subjects who followed him to death. These are numerous places related to Danjong, but what the paintings actually depict is not the Youngwol of Danjong’s time but the restored and reconstructed Youngwol by King Jeongjo, almost 400years after Danjong's death. This paper focuses on the political intention of Jeongjo's project in commemoration of Danjong and examines how it was visualized in Woljung-do. The memorial project of Danjong was first initiated by King Sukjong. Sukjong restored Danjong’s status as king 300 years after his death. He promoted the memorial project by constructing the royal tomb of Danjong and restored the honors of Danjong's royal subjects. Sukjong’s political intention for the project was to use the fidelity of loyal servants of Danjong as a means of instructing Confucian virtues such as courage, moral rectitude, and loyalty for his subjects. In doing so, he attempted to strengthen the royal authority. Jeongjo followed Sukjong's politically-motivated commemoration projects and made further efforts to restore Danjong’s kingly status and honor. The results can be found in Woljung-do. Woljung-do not only depicts the historical sites related to Danjong, but it also includes pictorial illustrations of the places that signify the loyalty of his followers. The album shows how the memorial project of Danjong is based on the king Jeongjo's intention of promoting loyalty. Give that there is no precedent in Joseon court painting, Wonljung-do is extremely unique. Jeongjo’s memorial project differs radically from Sukjong’s. While Sukjong justified his action to restore Danjong’s kingly status thorough historical verification, Jeongjo dissociated the tragedy of Danjong from its historical context and rather reconstructed it as a legendary story of Confucian loyalty. Sukjong and Jeongjo had different views on the commemoration project. Accordingly, they accomplished their own project differently. Sukjong and his son Yongjo constructed the royal tomb of Danjong and erected the memorial monuments such as shrines and stone tablets, following the traditional manner of commemorating Kings. Jeongjo, however, did not obey the convention. The sites of Danjong's shelter and pavilion were excavated and rebuilt according to Jeongjo’s order. Through Jeongjo’s efforts, the memory of Danjong was drawn out of the historical context and became 'present.' Reconstruction of memory which started with the restoration of ruins was completed by the making of Woljung-do. In Woljung-do, the newly built memorial buildings for Danjong such as the royal tomb were painted in detail in order to highlight the king Jeongjo’s enterprise of creating the timeless space of loyalty. Thus, the album not only reassures the authority of Jeongjo's memorial project. It also vividly visualizes both the historical evocation of and the reconstructed memory of Danjong. Woljung-do includes a topographical landscape painting depicting the natural scenery of the site. It also includes a map that is used to complement geographical information on Youngwol. These pictorial forms show that Woljung-do emphasizes the sense of topographical veracity both in visual and intellectual terms. Although Woljung-do is concerned with the geographical features of Youngwol, it does not describe Youngwol as it was during the time of Jeongjo. The albulm does not incorporate other contemporary local facilities that are unrelated to Danjong. After all, Woljung-do is neither an illustration of Youngwol of the time of Danjong nor a pictorial record of the time of its production in 1791. It is a politically intended pictorial representation of a newly reconstructed site embodying royal authority and loyalty. The commemoration for the dead reflects the desire of the living. In this regard, Woljung-do is not merely a memorial painting of Danjong. It is a reflection of Jeongjo's political intention.