조선초 관복제 정립과 禮의 법제화

Abstract

Official garbs are essential for ceremonial activities that are the foundation of the state, such as Jongmyo and Sajik ceremonies, and are directly related to the authority of bureaucrats. As such, the maintenance of the official uniform system was directly related to the establishment of the system of those in power, while also demonstrating the direction the ruling system was trying to pursue. From the Taejo to Sejo dynasties, the tradition of myeonbok, or the official attire of the royal family, was upheld, and only the king and the crown prince were allowed to wear them. However, the royal court only allowed the next heir to the throne and those who reigned on the throne to wear myeonbok, and thus such attire soon became a visible symbol of the throne. In other words, it was possible to distinguish a king from his vassals just by seeing who was wearing myeonbok. Meanwhile, the official attire worn for assemblies and general public duties gradually became the official uniform worn only for informal events. For example, official attire, which was characterized by a basic set of robes and a headpiece, were differentiated for basic assemblies, presenting oneself to the royal court, and private affairs. However, since there were no restrictions on the set of robes for such clothes, the lack of uniformity across these official garments was continuously identified as a problem. To this end, restrictions on the color of such attire were repeatedly implemented from the period of the Taejong to Sejong dynasties. Furthermore, embroidered patches were added to the breast and back of official uniforms to make a distinction between the ranks of the officials. This introduced a method that had not existed in the past, which more visibly identified civil and military officials, rather than distinguishing only their three different positional ranks with three different colors. In other words, the upholding of this new system of official uniforms resulted in a classification system within the bureaucratic system, such as distinguishing civil officers and their ranks (upper and lower).