수원화성박물관 소장 번암 채제공 관련 유물의 현황과 가치

Abstract

Chae Je-gong(pen name: Beonam) was a widely admired scholar-official who served as a chief minister in the government of the Joseon dynasty, during the reign of King Jeongjo. He was also a leading political figure of the Namin (Southern) faction, one of the key political groupings of the late Joseon period. He was closely connected with the city of Suwon, serving successively as the supervisor for the construction of the Hyeollyungwon Royal Tomb, the first Governor of Suwon, Superintendent Minister for the Hwaseong Construction Project and, later, as the supervisor of King Jeongjo's official visit to Suwon in the Eulmyo Year (1795). The strong connection between Chae Je-gong and the walled city led his descendants to donate the relics he left behind to the Suwon Hwaseong Museum. The collection of Chae Je-gong's relics includes six portraits of Chae himself, including three studies and three finished works, which have been officially designated as a National Treasure together with a number of other items related with the portraits. Consisting of both studies painted on oil paper and paintings completed on silk, the portraits were produced by the renowned court painter Yi Myeong-gi, and are now widely regarded as outstanding exemplars of the portraiture of the Confucian elite of Joseon. The relics also include a collection of literary works written by Chae Je-gong, as well as related official documents and correspondences. A Collected Writings by Beonam titled Beonamjip also produced an abundance of materials and different versions of his works, which together constitute an excellent case study of the publication of literary works by Neo-Confucian scholar-officials of Joseon. Chae's relics also include valuable primary sources related to King Jeongjo's own literary writings and correspondence, and official documents about Chae's public career and the government-backed compilation of the valuable literary heritage in the late Joseon period. The collection of artifacts associated with Chae Je-gong at the Suwon Hwaseong Museum is now widely regarded as a crucial part of the heritage attesting to the significance of the life and political and academic achievements of a great Neo-Confucian scholar-official of Joseon.