Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology Vol.18
2024. 01.
2577-9842
2951-4983
INTRODUCE
- Uigwe: Records of the State rites of the Joseon Dynasty
- Another distinctive feature of uigwe is the inclusion of beautiful documentary paintings and illustrations. These documentary paintings (班次圖, banchado) vividly portray the kings’ royal processions in their entirety, while the illustrations (圖說, doseol) depict the items and buildings used for royal events as well as the arrangements of the event personnel. These meticulous and colorful paintings and illustrations provide readers with a realistic representation of the events, allowing them to grasp little details concerning items and buildings that could not be understood through text alone. Accordingly, uigwe can be seen as comprehensive reports that offer a seamless blend of textual records and images. The compilation of uigwe by the Joseon royal court dates back to the early days of the dynasty. In China, books also referred to as “uigwe” emerged in the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420–589). In Korea, uigwe had previously been produced in the form of Buddhist and Daoist ritual manuals during the Goryeo period (高麗, 918–1392), but uigwe documenting the events of the state and of the Joseon royal family first appeared in the early Joseon Dynasty. The use of the term uigwe in book titles started with the Gyeongbokgung joseong uigwe (景福宮造成儀軌, Royal Protocol for the Construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace) published in 1395 (the fourth year of the reign of King Taejo). Unfortunately, all of the uigwe published in the early Joseon period appear to have been destroyed during the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Among the surviving uigwe, the oldest examples are the volumes produced in 1601 (the thirty-fourth year of the reign of King Seonjo). They include uigwe recording the repair of stone railings for the placenta chamber of King Sejong (世宗, r. 1418–1450) in the third lunar month of 1601 and other volumes produced for the state funeral of Queen Jain, the wife of King Seonjo (宣祖, r. 1567–1608), in the sixth lunar month of the same year. Uigwe continued to be published through the Korean Empire period (大韓帝國, 1897–1910) which followed the Joseon Dynasty in 1897, and even after the collapse of the Korean Empire in 1910, the Yiwangjik (Yi Royal Household Agency) continued to produce them. Books titled “uigwe” continued being published until 1942, but the final uigwe in a proper format is the one compiled in 1928 following the enshrinement of the memorial tablets of Emperor Sunjong (純宗, r. 1907–1910) and Empress Sunmyeonghyo at the Jongmyo Royal Ancestral Shrine. In the late Joseon period, the largest number of uigwe were compiled during the reign of King Yeongjo (英祖, r. 1724–1776), although a wide variety of uigwe were also produced during the reigns of King Sukjong (肅宗, r. 1674–1720), King Sunjo (純祖, r. 1800–1834), and King Gojong (高宗, r. 1863–1907). A total of sixty-eight different types of uigwe were created during the Korean Empire period, reflecting the efforts to equip the nation with state rites befitting its status as an empire. In terms of their contents, the majority of uigwe dealt with the state funerals of kings and queens, followed by publications and revisions of books. Uigwe were also produced regarding the conferring of posthumous honorific titles to royal family members in praise of their achievements, to record the details of building or repairing royal palace buildings, and for various other special purposes. In total, over 600 types of uigwe have survived. Uigwe can be divided into handwritten and metal type print versions. The handwritten versions were produced in sets of five to nine copies, while over 100 copies could be printed using metal type. Some of the printed uigwe were stored at government offices, and others were distributed to the participants who took part in the relevant events. Uigwe were produced either to be read by the king or to be stored at the various designated institutions. Versions for the king featured elegant calligraphy, beautiful documentary paintings and illustrations, and fancy binding. Traditionally, one copy of each uigwe was produced for the king. However, during the Korean Empire period, there were instances where two to four additional copies were made to be distributed among imperial family members as well. Uigwe copies intended for the king were housed at the Gyujanggak Royal Library and Oegyujanggak Outer Royal Library while other copies were kept at the Uijeongbu (State Council), Yejo (Bureau of Rites), Chunchugwan (Bureau of State Records), and the four national history archives. The uigwe of the Joseon royal court were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2007 in recognition of their archival value. In 2016, they were officially designated as national cultural heritage of South Korea. However, the uigwe belonging to the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France were excluded from inscription on the UNESCO register. All uigwe that had been produced through 1910 were included in the designation as national cultural heritage. Those published by the Yiwangjik were excluded from the cultural heritage designation since they were viewed as not following the same principles as those written during the Joseon Dynasty. Major institutions currently holding uigwe from the Joseon royal court include the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies at Seoul National University, the Jangseogak Royal Library at the Academy of Korean Studies, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH), the National Palace Museum of Korea, and the National Museum of Korea. The Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies houses 2,897 uigwe volumes divided into 533 types, spanning a wide range of periods from the reign of King Seonjo through the reign of King Gojong. They had originally been stored at the State Council, Bureau of Rites, Bureau of State Records, and the Odaesan, Jeongjoksan, and Taebaeksan National History Archives. The Jangseogak Royal Library holds 566 volumes of uigwe divided into 268 types which had originally been housed in several places, including the Jeoksangsan National History Archives, Bureau of Rites, and Seonwonjeon (Hall of Royal Portraits). The uigwe from the Jeoksangsan National History Archives make up a considerable portion of the collection. The uigwe currently at the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies and the Jangseogak Royal Library were managed by the Japanese Government-General of Korea during the colonial era. The uigwe managed by the Cultural Heritage Administration are being stored at the NRICH and the National Palace Museum of Korea. The NRICH holds fourteen types of uigwe, totaling fifteen volumes, which were previously housed at the Jangseogak Library in Changdeokgung Palace during the Japanese colonial era along with the uigwe currently being stored at the Jangseogak Royal Library of the Academy of Korean Studies. The National Palace Museum of Korea holds seventy-two types of uigwe totaling 159 volumes. Returned from the Imperial Household Agency in Japan in 2011, the majority of these volumes were compiled during the reigns of Emperor Gojong and Emperor Sunjong and taken to the Library of the Imperial Household Agency in Japan in 1922 by the Japanese Government-General of Korea. The uigwe at the National Palace Museum of Korea had originally been housed alongside those currently in the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies at the time they were taken to Japan. The National Museum of Korea holds 294 volumes of uigwe, divided into 186 types, which were returned from the Bibliothèque nationale de France in 2011. Of these 294 volumes, 289 were intended for the king. Among them, twenty-nine volumes, comprising twenty-six different types, are single copies that had originally been stored at the OeGyujanggak Outer Royal Library in Ganghwado Island until they were looted by the French forces in 1866 during the French Campaign against Korea. These include uigwe from the reign of King Injo (仁祖, r. 1623–1649) through the reign of King Cheoljong (哲宗, r. 1849–1863), most of which were produced for the king’s perusal. Research conducted on uigwe until now can be divided into basic research and field-specific research. Basic research entails cataloging and summarizing each uigwe volume. To this end, the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies and the Jangseogak Royal Library published a list of uigwe held by each institution and summarized the content of each volume. In 1992, Dr. Park Byeong-seon published a catalogue containing a list of the uigwe volumes that had originally been stored at the Oegyujanggak Outer Royal Library before being taken to the Bibliothèque nationale de France. In 2003, Korean experts (including myself) inspected them in Paris and published a catalogue with explanatory notes. After these uigwe from the Oegyujanggak Outer Royal Library were returned to South Korea in 2011, the National Museum of Korea undertook a project aimed at producing in-depth summaries of their contents, which was completed in 2015. Basic research also includes the translation of uigwe from Literary Sinitic into modern Korean. Several institutions have participated in this translation project. The city of Suwon and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation translated the Hwaseong seongyeok uigwe (Royal Protocol for the Construction of Hwaseong Fortress) and Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe (Royal Protocol Recording the Process of King Jeongjo Paying His Respects at the Tomb of His Father King Jangjo and His Return), both of which are related to the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. Since 1997, the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics has been publishing uigwe translations. The Korea National University of Arts and the National Gugak Center have mainly translated uigwe regarding royal banquets and the production of musical instruments, which contain a wealth of data on music. The NRICH has translated uigwe managed …
Kim Moon-sik Professor, Dankook University
COPYRIGHT & LICENSE
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Kim Moon-sik(Professor, Dankook University)
The Uigwe royal protocols are central to the documentary heritage of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), recording significant events and directives within the royal court. These protocols meticulously document orders from the king, assignments of responsibilities, participant lists, resource management, costs, and rewards, thereby enhancing efficient resource use. Notably, they include vivid paintings and illustrations that provide insights beyond textual descriptions. Originating in the early Joseon period, Uigwe evolved through various reigns even into the Korean Empire (1897–1910). They were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2007 for their archival value. Surviving Uigwe are housed across multiple Korean institutions like the Kyujanggak Institute and Jangseogak Royal Library. Research surged after a systematic cataloging in the early 2000s and further expanded after reclaimed volumes from France and Japan returned in 2011. Further studies focus on linking Uigwe to artifacts, expanding the scope of research related to royal palaces and events, and integrating records with logs like deungnok, promising rich academic and cultural benefits.
- Kim Jiyoung(Senior Researcher, Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University)
It's been a decade since the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, royal protocols of Korea's Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), returned to Korea. Researchers are delving into their cultural richness, with institutions offering translations, annotations, and images of Uigwe. This is enhancing understanding of royal rituals and state projects. Studies reveal insights on royal weddings, funerals, processions, and political implications. Efforts now focus on exploring the societal impact of these historical events and their recordings.
- Kim Moon-sik(Professor, Dankook University)
The uigwe, meticulous records of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), were recognized by UNESCO as Memory of the World in 2007 due to their significant archival value. Korean government recognized them as state cultural heritage in 2016. Despite renewed academic interest, questions persist about the reliability and production process of these records. Research has been limited in examining the uigwe’s actual crafting process, particularly the "Itemized Record of Uigwe Production" in the archives. This paper explores production details from selected uigwe, noting diverse production methods and evolving practices, especially during the Korean Empire period (1897-1910).
- Yu Sae-rom(Curator, National Museum of Korea)
The National Museum of Korea held an exhibition, "Pinnacle of Propriety: The Uigwe, Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty," to commemorate the repatriation of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, looted by the French army in 1866. Uigwe documented royal ceremonies of the Joseon dynasty, with special copies made for kings. Oegyujanggak served as a royal library and was relocated to Ganghwa Island for safety. After extensive research, 297 volumes returned to Korea in 2011. The Uigwe illustrate the Joseon dynasty's rule of propriety and are recognized for their historical value, aiding in academic research and cultural content creation.
- Lim Hyekyung(Curator, National Museum of Korea)
Over the past decade, efforts by institutions, including the National Museum of Korea, have enabled online access to the Joseon Dynasty's royal protocols, the Uigwe, in digital format, leading to increased studies on these documents. Research has largely centered on the ceremonies detailed in the Uigwe, but less so on the directorates (dogam) that produced them. This study focuses on the organization of the Uigwe dogam for the Bunmu Meritorious Subjects, formed after a rebellion in 1728, highlighting personnel overlap with the preceding nokhun dogam to ensure task continuity. The Uigwe dogam initially handled follow-up tasks and document preparations, eventually compiling and presenting the royal protocols. These insights expand the understanding of Uigwe dogams, illustrating their crucial role beyond mere protocol documentation.
- Myeong Sera(Sena)(Curator, National Museum of Korea)
The royal funeral rites, or hyungnye, of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) involved a three-year process demanding extensive resources. The Joseon royal court established temporary offices, known as dogams, to oversee these ceremonies, including the construction of tombs and spirit halls. Records of these activities were compiled into uigwe documents. These uigwe featured paintings of four directional animals: the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise. Over time, the depiction of these animals evolved, particularly during the reign of King Yeongjo when more realistic portrayals were adopted. The tradition traces back to Korean and Chinese customs, with significant iconographic shifts noted during the Joseon period, influenced by cultural exchanges and evolving artistic styles.
- Kwon Youngwoo(Curator, National Museum of Korea)
The National Museum of Korea's Central Asia collection includes a reed mat from Turpan, China, dating to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which was once used in burial practices and had official documents attached. The documents, known collectively as the Report from the Board of Revenue, are among the few Tang documents found in Korea. Over the years, fragments scattered across Korea, China, and Japan have been studied and attempts made to restore them. In 2020, the NMK decided to separate the documents from the mat to gain deeper insights into their use and history.