朝鮮時代 鄕中養老宴

Abstract

A banquet for the elderly was an annual national event during the Joseon Dynasty, which adopted Confucianism as its governing principle. The banquet, which was one of the policies for the elderly in the dynasty, allowed everyone to participate regardless of someone’s status, whether noble or not. There were two types of banquets for the elderly: a royal court banquet, which was hosted by the king and the central government, and a local banquet, which was hosted by local officials. Hosted in the capital city of Seoul each fall, the royal banquet was considered as an event that must be carried out unless there was a disaster or famine. While it was conducted strictly in the capital, the local event was not carried out precisely. The king cannot oversee all the provinces himself and therefore dispatched officials to each province on his behalf. However, his officials considered the responsibility as a demotion and therefore seriously neglected their duties. After the Imjin War (Japanese invasion of Korea) and Byeongja War (Manchu invasion of Korea), the royal banquet lost its annual punctuality. It was discontinued for 160 years from the royal banquet in 1553, the 28th year of Jungjong’s reign and resumed only in the 32nd year of Sukjong’s reign. During that time period, the banquet was held in provinces and was not anymore observed solely in the capital. For example, a banquet was held in Jeju Island during the inspection tour of central government officials in the 28th year of Sukjong’s reign. There are no remaining systematic records of the royal banquet for the elderly so it is not easy to understand the scope and details of the event. However, post-war banquets could be analyzed and studied through a closer look of clearly understood banquets before the wars. Such banquets are from Hwasan Yangroyeon-do held during the Jungjong Era and Jeonguiyangro, Daejeongyangro, and Jejuyangro from Tamrasunryeok-do. The observance of local banquets for the elderly was abused by the local officials and inspection tours. The officials appropriated the costs for a banquet from the people and profited from selling crops during inspection tours. Confucianism considers patience as its basic principle and the basis of patience as filial piety. Filial piety is extended by respecting the elderly, as one would the king and the nation. As a child performs his duty to his parents, it was considered as paying homage to the king himself. The king tried to become the pillar of filial piety by hosting a banquet for the elderly and set an example for his vassals and people. His main goals were to propagate Confucianism and establish national customs.