朝鮮後期 實學派의 婚禮論 - 李瀷⋅丁若鏞⋅許傳을 中心으로

Abstract

The scholars of positive school in the late Joseon Dynasty, who belonged to Namin(南人) scholars in near-capital area with its root in Yeongnam school (嶺南學派), set out a new theory about courtesy for the classical scholars with no office positions in poor families without prestigious lineage. They developed the theory of manners covering customs (禮論) of those times, based on the six kinds of courtesy in 「Scholars' Wedding (士昏禮)」 of <Rituals(儀禮)>, not the four kinds of courtesy in 「Wedding(昏禮)」 of <Confucian Ritualism (朱子家禮)>. They resolutely accepted or re-evaluated from a positive viewpoint the pervasive wedding customs of those times during the proposal and discussion of marriage, such as predicting a bride's and a groom's good or bad luck of fate with her or his date of birth, checking their marital compatibility, and the exchange of deep bows (交拜禮) and exchange of drinking cups (合巹禮) at a bride's house during the wedding ceremony. In addition, it was emphasized that for an official union of two families, Mencius's so-called “clues about courtesy(禮)”, “the mind of polite rejection or yield (辭讓之心)” should be combined into the process of wedding ceremony. This theory about wedding ceremony of Seongho school (星湖學派) is obviously different from that of Seoin(西人) scholars of Giho school (畿湖學派), which included Kim Jang-saeng (金長生) and Lee Jae (李縡), etc. and developed the theory about manners based only on <Confucian Ritualism>, referring to old courtesy. Moreover, Dasan(茶山) argued that the term of “Chorye(醮禮)” should be used in a proper way. In the procedure of wedding ceremony, “Chorye” does not mean the exchange of drinking cups by a bride and a groom or the party (合巹禮⋅同牢宴) where they exchange drinking cups after deep bow, but the custom that a bride and a groom received cups from their fathers while listening to their advice before the beginning of ”Chinyeongrye(親迎禮)“ and exchange of deep bows on the very day of the important event. It is a drinking etiquette called “Joodou(酒道)” that is distinguished from “Sujak(酬酌)”, offering and exchanging glasses of alcohol for socializing. The courtesy, which had been the regulation only for those in the class of daebu (大夫: one of official positions) or higher ones, spread out to common people as far as it was not against the clan rules system (宗法制度) and the status system in the late Joseon Dynasty, in order to educate the people. A number of Confucian scholars in Joseon sought for courtesy and wrote innumerable books on it because courtesy as the principle of autonomy played more important roles than laws as the principle of forcibleness in maintaining the social order in Joseon. Therefore, for more precise assessment of courtesy, it has to be discussed in connection to! the social, cultural and ideological values of each era since the ancient times.