‘非禮’의 革去 — 기묘사림의 祀典 개혁안 —

Abstract

This paper seeks to comprehensively explore the proposals to reform ancestral memorial rites during the reign of the Joseon Dynasty’s King Jungjong, as put forth by the Gimyo sarim, the Confucian scholars’ faction who would later lose their political footing in the Gimyo Literati Purge of 1519, thereby delineating their defining characteristics. The initiative to abolish Gisinjae, a Buddhist-style ancestral memorial rite administered by monks that commemorated previous kings and queens, and Sogyeokseo, the National Taoist Temple, was initially introduced at the pan-vassal level early in King Jungjong's reign. From the 11th year of his reign, however, the Gimyo sarim took the lead, and government ministers joined in the cause. Despite his initial opposition based on the argument that these were institutions foundational to Joseon, King Jungjong eventually came around to approving their abolition. In contrast, there was no initial controversy surrounding Munsojeon and Yeoneunjeon, the shrines that housed the spirit tablets of Joseon kings' birth parents who were not monarchs or queens themselves. It was in the 11th year of King Jungjong's reign that the Gimyo sarim first proposed their abolition. This time, not only King Jungjong but the ministers also opposed the proposal, citing their role as institutions foundational to Joseon. Both sides invoked Zhu Xi's views on “subsidiary royal shrines (wonmyo)” to support their respective positions. The Gimyo sarim went so far as to advocate for the abolition of Munsojeon and Yeoneunjeon on the basis of Zhu Xi's “original intention,” which Zhu Xi himself did not implement in practice. This positions the Gimyo sarim as critical rather than merely passive in their approach as successors to Zhu Xi's rules of propriety and rites. Nevertheless, King Jungjong ultimately refused to abolish Munsojeon and Yeoneunjeon.