『經國大典』 度僧 항목의 성립과 그 의미

Abstract

This paper examined the structure and details of the legal provision on doseung(度僧) in yejeon(禮典) of Gyeongkukdaejeon(經國大典), and studied the clause on the issuing of dochup(度牒) and the form of dochup. The legal provision on doseung of Joseon was discussed and established in the extension of those of late Goryeo, which was documented in the first and second code of Joseon, Gyeongjeyukjeon(經濟六典) and Gyeongkukdaejeon respectively. Gyeongkukdaejeon exists up to now in the two versions that are composed of Sinmyodaejeon(辛卯大典) enforced in 1471 and Ulsadaejeon(乙巳大典) enforced in 1485. The legal provision on doseung in yejeon of Sinmyodaejeon comprises of the only one clause on issued dochup. It established simply the process of permitting “the people to be Buddhist monk,” which is the literal meaning of the chinese characters “doseung”. However the provision on doseung in yejeon of Ulsadaejeon has additional three additioanal clauses composed of seungkwa that was the national examination to select Buddhist monk bureaucracy, the appointment of juji that was chief Buddhist monk at a temple, and the damage and compensation of the wealth of the temple where juji resided. It indicates that the previous simple provision on deosung evolved into a complex one including the main regulations on managing the institution of Buddhist monk. And the order of the four clauses in the code represented the promotional procedure of the monk institution composed of leaving secular home, getting the certificate of dochup, becoming a Buddhist monk bureaucrat, being appointed to juji, and finishing the term of juji sequentially. These complex composition of the provision is the distinct feature of the provision on doesung in Ulsadaejeon revised from Sinmyodaejeon. On the other hand, this paper collected and compared several editions of Ulsadaejeon publised at different times, and restored the full provision on doseung, enacted in 1485, by correcting the ambiguous and fragmented provision on doesung in the several editions. On the basis of this restoration, I found that the regulation of Gyeongjeyukjeon permitting the highest class only to become a doseung was removed in Gyeongkukdaejeon. But it must be a mere difference in the literal expression, not to be interpreted as a real change of the enactment. Because the official form of dochup issued to Buddhist monks in Joseon documented in Gyeongkukdaejeon granted them the status of “hakseng(學生)” which could be given exclusively to the highest class yangban(兩班). Thus dochup can hardly be regarded to have been given to the low class. A further investigation of the official form of dochup reveals additional distinct features. It contained the information of the public posts of their parental lines, but nothing about such important information in Buddist terms like a monastic name, the first temple where the monk was accepted after leaving the secular home, the temple where the monk resided, the teacher of the monk, and etc. Thus it can be inferred that dochup was a sort of the certificate that confirmed the high secular status bestowed from their parents, and released them from the duty of the statute compulsory labor by providing them the status of hakseng. Dochup of Joseon carried only the information of the their previous secular status, nothing of any main information as a monk. Consequently it has more of a secular meaning than of Buddist sense despite being issued to the monks. It was the distinct feature of dochup in Joseon.