신라 명산대천의 사전(祀典) 편제 이유와 특징

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the reasons that noted mountains and large streams were incorporated into “sajeon (祀典),” and their characteristics. According to Samguksagi (the History of Three Kingdoms), the ritual places of the Shilla Kingdom included Samsan for large-scale rites and Oak, Sajin, Sahae, Sadok and Sogliak for medium-scale rites,and they took place in six other splendid mountains and rivers. For small rites, there were 24 mountains and rivers including Sangak and Seosool. The name of each place is also included in the records. The records indicate that the time when those noted mountains and large streams as “the ritual places” of the Shilla Kingdom were classified according to the scale of performed rites (large, medium, and small) is between the 5th year of King Shinmun’s rein and the 34th year of King Seongdeok’s rein, andit was after that time that Sangjoeumgeoseo was incorporated as a place for the medium-scale rites. Such scale-based classification of places for rites during the Shilla Kingdom is different from that of the Tang Dynasty. The primary reason why the Shilla’s royal families incorporated noted mountains and large streams as places for their small-, medium-, large-scale rites seems to be that they intended to reorganize the provincial forces which had been firmly rooted in places around the Shilla Kingdom. The rites performed in the noted mountains or rivers of each province were intended for the guardian deities of the province, and they were also closely related to the local influential families. In other words, the royal families during the middle period of the Shilla Kingdom used those locally performed rites to strengthen their centralized control system and organized them on a scale-place basis by accepting the Tang Dynasty’s national ritual system. It seems that this allowed the royal families to exercise domination over the provinces in the kingdom. However, as for the distribution of noted mountains and large streams among nine provinces, the only place for large-scale rites was the Royal capital, while the places for medium- and small-scale rites included the noted mountains and streams in the old territory of the Shilla Kingdom, as well as the capital. They are found more commonly than in the old territories of Goguryeo and Baekje Kingdoms. Furthermore, in Sabi, which once was the capital of the Baekje Kingdom, none of the noted mountains or streams is identified as place for any of small-, medium- or large-scale rites. Those mountains are located along the Sobaek Mountains or south-east of the range, except for Mt. Gyeryong, which was then also known as “seokak,” one of the five noted mountains. This suggests that the then Shilla Kingdom’s ruling classes had a strong tendency of thinking oriented towards the old days of the kingdom. In conclusion, although the mid-Shilla Kingdom’s royal families leverage their control over each province by means of the noted-mountains-and-streams-based rites, there was a limit in that they failed to go beyond their past-oriented thinking.