英祖의 私親 추숭에 대한 頤齋 黃胤錫의 인식

Abstract

During his reign of 52 years, King Yeongjo(英祖) proceeded 6 steps to formally worship his deceased mother, Sukbin Choi(淑嬪 崔氏). Specifically, in his 29th year's reign, the king took the third step that conferred Sukbin a first posthumous name(諡號) and promoted the building where her spirit tablet was kept and her tomb to, respectively, ‘Gung(宮)’ and ‘Won(園)’. The fourth step taken in Yeongjo's 32nd-year office implemented adding a 2-letter posthumous name and calling Sukbin as ‘Seonbi(先妣)’ in written prayers for her. These two steps were very exceptional because they treated Sukbin as if she had been a queen. Nevertheless, the measures created little conflicts because the king repeatedly assured that he had no intention to hono his mother as a queen. However, the fifth step caused criticism of the entire worshipping actions from Yijae Hwang Yoon-Seok(黃胤錫) who had little opposed to them in 『Yijae Nango(頤齋亂藁)』. That step was Yeongjo's another addition of a 4-letter posthumous name to his mother in his 48th year's reign. Yijae criticized this addition, for it was like treating Sukbin as the king's living grandmother. The king's measure was followed by continuous public appeals calling for having Sukbin's tomb titled as ‘Reung(陵)’ and enshrining her spirit tablet in Jongmyo(宗廟). Yijae was much concerned that the only thing left after adding the 4-letter posthumous name to the previous 2-letter one would be indeed the enshrinement. Yijae's strong opposition to posthumous name addition and enshrinement for Sukbin had two reasons. One was that such measures violated neo-Confucianist principles of cause and legitimacy that only the first queen could be a qualified successor of royal tradition on the basis of clear discrimination between first legal wife and concubine. The other was that King Sukjong(肅宗) had left a strong instruction, “Never make any royal concubine be a queen from now on”, after degrading Huibin Jang.