18세기 총부의 입후권: 숙명공주의 봉사손 선정 문제를 중심으로

Abstract

In Joseon dynasty, the wife of an eldest son who died without male issue was called chongbu, the eldest daughter-in-law. She had two important prerogatives: she succeeded to the line’s ritual heirship, and she had the right to designate an heir to her late husband. The majority of prior research on chongbu’s rights have focused on the mid Joseon period, while little attention has been paid to the late period of Joseon. In fact, it is largely believed that as the patrilineal principle became firmly entrenched in the late Joseon period, chongbu’s position and rights started to diminish and nearly disappear. However, the situation in late Joseon period, considering chongbu’s position, was not as simple as it has been argued. This study aims to examine the involvement of chongbu and her roles in the adoption process in the 18th century Joseon, focusing on a series of conflicts over designating a ritual heir for Princess Sukmeong, the daughter of King Hyojong. It was Mrs. Yi, Sim Jeong-bo’s widow and the eldest daughter-in-law of the princess who initiated this dispute. In 1727, Mrs. Yi petitioned the king asking for special permission to adopt Sim Tae- hyeon, a 25th-degree agnatic nephew as her second adopted son without discussing the issue with his biological family. Both the procedure and the content of her request were in violation of the adoption principle, and therefore she was confronted with strong opposition from the ministers as well as Tae-hyeon’s family. Mrs. Yi’s obsession with adopting another son even when her daughter-in-law was alive at the time and choosing an heir from a distant relative was largely driven by her desperation to maintain the customary privilege of a chongbu to lay claim on inherited ancestral property and benefit from a politically and socially prosperous family through her adopted son. Another notable conflict included Mrs. Yi and her own husband’s lineage who seemed to have disagreed on her decision. The conflict between chongbu and her husband’s lineage over family succession in late Joseon period was not unusual when considering another case in which Mrs. Song, the chongbu of Jeong Mong-ju lineage was involved in mid 18th century. Mrs. Song attempted to adopt a 30th-degree distant agnatic nephew against the decision of the Jeong lineage group and the will of its biological family for similar reasons that attracted Mrs. Yi. In both cases, chongbu’s adoption rights and their influences in the matter were largely recognized by the court. Contrary to a conventional wisdom that viewed various lineage affairs, including adoption, solely an arena of male descent group members in late Joseon society, this study shows how deeply chongbu were involved in the process of family succession based on the descent-line system to maintain their position and status in the midst of the strengthening of patrilineal order in the late Joseon society.