18세기 후반 연희자의 지역 간 교류에 관한 일고찰 - 새 자료를 통해 본 서울․충청지역 간 교류를 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper aims to shed light on the previously undiscussed regional exchanges between traditional performance groups in the late 18th century by examining concrete cases where not only substantial interactions occurred but also the transmission of traditional performances took place across regional boundaries. The study is based on historical records from the late 18th century. In a letter from King Jeongjo (1798) related to the Bi-eo (Flying Words) incident involving Gang I-cheon (姜彝天), it mentions a group of people living together in the village of Bunseochon (汾西村), in Pungse-myeon, Cheonan, who consisted of various performers and entertainers. These included temple performers, hereditary shaman performers, and other itinerant entertainers, whose composition largely aligns with that of wandering entertainers such as Buddhist performers and hereditary shaman performers. This group of wandering entertainers is presumed to have played the role of a 'association office' (都家), representing the interests of their group while interacting with Seoul. In a nearly contemporary record, the Annals of King Yeongjo (1763), a character named Ju Yeong-heung (朱永興), who was a member of the Banin (泮人) performers group in Seoul, is depicted learning magic from Kim Ho-hee (金虎喜), a ‘Do-in (道人)’ from Gongju, and then using it to commit fraud. Although this was not a public performance intended for a large audience, it provides insight into one aspect of performances during that period. Kim Ho-hee, who was well-versed in the principles of magic, was actively involved in the planning and transmission of performance arts, even though he belonged to the yangban (noble) class. These two cases, both based in Chungcheong-do, illustrate aspects of performance arts exchanges in the region. The fact that “Dosanju” (performers’ leader) of the Jaeincheong(performers’ guild) in the 19th century came from Chungcheong-do is significant, suggesting that the tradition of performance culture played a central role in the region, beyond just geographical advantages. This history of Chungcheong-do performers' crucial role in performance culture exchanges allowed the Chungcheong-do performer association (Dojung(都中)) in the 19th century to systematically represent their interests, even though it did not represent all performers across the country. Particularly, Jaeincheong is known as an organization of hereditary performers, and since wandering performance groups are also closely related to hereditary performers, it can be assumed that the 'Doga' of Pungse-myeon in Cheonan played a similar role to Jaeincheong by representing the interests of performance groups.