The Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology

It has been ten years since the Oegyujanggak Uigwe were repatriated to Korea. In response to the dedicated efforts of all those involved in their return, researchers have been hard at work to convey the cultural richness of the Joseon dynasty (朝鮮, 1392–1897) contained within the uigwe (royal protocols). Over the past decade, major institutions have completed basic research aimed at laying the groundwork for more in-depth explorations of the uigwe in their collections, and now provide bibliographies, full annotations, and original images of these materials on their official websites. Translation efforts have also made progress, as can be seen from the growing number of uigwe available in modern Korean (Kim Ki-bin and Oh Se-ok 2012; Park Heonsun and Oh Se-ok 2013; Korea National University of Arts 2012–2013; Lee Sangsik and Cho Yun-seon 2013; Kim Woo-cheol 2014; Kim Chul-bae 2014; Chung Hoo-soo 2018; Ryu Hoseok 2020; Kim Sang-hwan 2015; Suwon Hwaseong Museum 2015). The Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics (ITKC) completed the translation of the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate for the Royal Wedding (嘉禮都監儀軌, Garyedogam uigwe), the Uigwe for the King’s Farming Ceremony (親耕儀軌, Chingyeong uigwe), the Uigwe for the Queen’s Silkworm Farming Ceremony (親蠶儀軌, Chinjam uigwe), and the Uigwe for the Royal Ancestral Shrine (宗廟儀軌, Jongmyo uigwe), followed by the translation of the Uigwe for Gyeongmogung Palace (景慕宮儀軌, Gyeongmogung uigwe), and the Uigwe for the Altar of the Grain and Soil (社稷署儀軌, Sajikseo uigwe), among others. The city of Suwon along with the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation published a new translation of the Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress (園幸乙卯整理儀軌, Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe) in 2015, and also published an annotated facsimile edition of the Uigwe in Hangeul (Korean native script) that had previously been in the possession of the library at the École des Langues Orientales in France.1 The National Palace Museum of Korea translated the Uigwe for Painting the Royal Portrait (影幀模寫都監儀軌, Yeongjeong mosadogam uigwe), the Uigwe for the Royal Seals (寶印所儀軌, Boinso uigwe), and the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate for the Crown Prince’s Wedding Ceremony (皇太子嘉禮都監儀軌, Hwangtaeja garyedogam uigwe). In addition to translation projects, a study on difficult uigwe terms was also conducted, resulting in the publication of a dictionary meant to provide assistance on how to read and use uigwe materials (Yeo Chan Young et al. 2012). Research has been actively carried out in the fields of art history, costumes, music, and architecture using the unique records found within uigwe, including the records on royal ceremonies and rituals, ritual objects, materials for construction work, and the production of various items and instruments used at the royal court. In the field of Korean history, research has been thoroughly conducted on the kings, the royal family, and royal ceremonies and rituals based on the uigwe records (Jung Jaehoon 2012, 335–358). Research papers have been submitted on the following royal rituals and state events: the manufacture of firearms in the early seventeenth century, the publication of the Postscripts to the Genealogy of the Joseon Royal Family (璿源系譜紀略, Seonwon gyebo giryak), King Jeongjo (正祖, r. 1776–1800)’s visit to the royal tomb at Hyeollyungwon in 1795 and his administration of state affairs, the construction of Hwaseong Fortress, the great archery ceremony, the king’s farming ceremony (Chingyeong), the queen’s silkworm farming ceremony (Chinjam), the repair works of Gyeongdeokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, the reconstruction of Gyeongungung Palace, the extension of the Altar of Great Recompense (大報壇, Daebodan), the royal placenta burial ceremony and the creation of the royal placenta chambers, the compilation and revision of the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, the compilation of the Clear Mirror of Enlightened Righteousness (闡義昭鑑, Cheonui sogam) during the reign of King Yeongjo (英祖, r. 1724–1776), the compilation of the Valuable Examples for Succeeding Reigns (國朝寶鑑, Gukjo bogam) during King Jeongjo’s reign, the reception of the Ming envoys, the state rites at the Altar of the Soil and Grain, the royal wedding ceremonies, royal banquets, the investiture of the crown prince and grandson-heir apparent, the accession of King Gojong (高宗, r. 1863–1970) to the imperial throne, state funerals for the king and the queen, and the royal burial of the crown prince, the crown princess, and the grandson-heir apparent (Jung Jaehoon 2012; Kim Moon-sik 2015a). This paper will examine in more detail the history of uigwe research conducted in the field of Korean history since 2012. Research on the Garyedogam Uigwe and the Royal Wedding The uigwe books on the wedding ceremony of the king and the crown prince have attracted attention since the start of uigwe research (Shin Byung Ju 2001). This is particularly true of the illustrations of the royal procession in the uigwe (班次圖, banchado), some of which vividly portray the procession of the royal wedding in which the king personally proceeds to the detached palace to welcome the bride and induct her to the palace. However, this ritual known as chinyeongnye, which involved visiting the bride’s house to guide her to the wedding ceremony, was the least established wedding ritual in Joseon Confucian society. The royal family performed chinyeongnye at a detached palace, such as Eouigung Palace (於義宮) and Andongbyeolgung Palace (安洞別宮), instead of visiting a noble family to welcome the bride. At the detached palace, the bride prepared herself for the wedding while learning the royal etiquette rules. On the wedding day, the residents of the capital watched on as the king formally inducted his bride to the palace in a magnificent procession. The illustration of the royal procession for the wedding (嘉禮班次圖, Garye banchado) in the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate for the Royal Wedding (Garyedogam Uigwe) was the most representative image of a splendid and joyful royal parade. Studies have continuously been conducted on the topic of royal weddings over the past ten years. Chang Byeong-Inn published a book in which he carried out extensive research into how royal weddings changed from the early to the late Joseon dynasty and what were the implications of such changes (Chang Byung-Inn 2015; 2013). According to the book, the royal court performed a modified chinyeongnye by sending the king’s messenger to guide the bride to the palace or by preparing a temporary house close to the palace where the king received the bride. The latter was called gagwan chinyeong (假館親迎), meaning the chinyeongnye at a temporary residence. Regarding the practice in the late Joseon dynasty where the king or the crown prince went to the detached palace to perform the ritual of receiving the bride, the book considered the practice to fall into the category of gagwan chinyeong. In the late Joseon period, the detached palace was used as a temporary residence where the maiden, who was selected as queen or crown princess, awaited the royal wedding. The soon-to-be queen or the soon-to-be crown princess prepared herself in this palace by learning the royal etiquette rules before proceeding to the palace with the king or the crown prince to perform the last ritual of the wedding ceremony (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. The King’s Palanquin in the “Painting of the Royal Procession for the Wedding Ceremony of King Yeongjo and Queen Jeongsun” from the Second Volume of the Uigwe for the Wedding Ceremony of King Yeongjo and Queen Jeongsun. Joseon, 1759. 47.3 × 67.2 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea Then why did the chinyeongnye fail to establish itself during the royal wedding ceremony? There are two major explanations. According to the first one, it is because royal ceremonies were meant to draw a clear distinction between the king or the royal family and everyone else, with the chinyeongnye of the royal family performed in a detached palace being one such example. The second explanation highlights the royal court’s commitment to performing chinyeongnye despite all the special circumstances that Joseon society and the royal family faced, including the difficulty in securing space for the ceremony. The logic of cheonha dongnye (天下同禮), meaning that the entire world performs the same proprieties, was invoked to justify the practice of the chinyeong ceremony by the royal court. It was believed that emphasizing the king as a superior, distinctive, and exceptional being could pose challenges in controlling the arbitrary exercise of sovereign power. Therefore, the request for the king to adhere to the same precedents as his subjects and the people was not meant to undermine the king’s authority. Instead, it was an expression that the kingship should also be constrained by universal rules. Then why was chinyeongnye considered a universal precedent that even the kings had to follow? Although the king held a superior status along with the royal family, they were expected to serve as a model for the families of the common people. Zhu Xi (朱熹), who had a profound influence on Joseon culture, emphasized in his book the Family Rituals (家禮, Garye) that the husband and wife were the two pillars of a family and that marriage was an important ceremony announcing the beginning of a new family. By carefully selecting the spouse, by making a sincere marriage proposal, and by holding a wedding ceremony in front of many people, Zhu Xi sought to elevate the significance of a couple’s union to that of a bond shared by people of the same blood.2 As for chinyeongnye, it was regarded as a ritual of paramount importance in the Confucian wedding ceremony, in which the groom went to the bride’s house to guide her to the new family and to make her the lady of the house. Expecting that all families of Joseon would appreciate the significance of chinyeongnye, the royal court authorized the ritual as a formal procedure during the royal wedding ceremony. Research on the royal wedding ceremony recorded in the uigwe has been expanded to include the weddings of the prince and the princess in addition to the weddings of the king, the crown prince, and the grandson-heir apparent. It was known during the initial phase of basic uigwe research that each institution possesses a considerable number of official records called deungnok regarding the royal ceremonies (Lee Mi-Seon 2015; Yim Min Hyeok 2013). According to these official records, the marriage of a prince or princess was called gilrye (吉禮) instead of garye, and even the children of the king, except for the heir to the throne, were sent out from the palace upon reaching adulthood. A prince celebrated his passage into manhood around the age of ten, proceeding to get married at about twelve years of age, settled in a place outside the palace after the wedding ceremony. The official records on the wedding ceremony of the prince and the princess document not only the entire procedure of the event but also a detailed account of the process of settling outside the capital, including finding a home and acquiring all the basic household items (Fig. 2).3 Fig. 2. Book cover and Page 78 from the Official Records of the Coming-of-age Ceremony for Prince Yeoning. Joseon, 1712. 42.2 × 28.0 cm. Jangseogak Archives of the Academy of Korean Studies During the reign of King Sukjong, two important practices were newly introduced in relation to the royal wedding. Firstly, the establishment of the official selection of royal concubines led to the formalization of their wedding ceremonies as court rituals. The wedding ceremony of King Sukjong (肅宗, r. 1674–1720) and Yeongbin (寧嬪, Royal Concubine Yeong) of the Kim clan was recorded by the Office of the Wedding Ceremony. The comparison of these records with the uigwe books on the royal wedding ceremonies for the queens and crown princesses offers a full picture of the royal wedding ceremony (Lee Mi-Seon 2019; Yim Min Hyeok 2012a; 2012b). Secondly, a new practice began in which the queen or the crown princess visited the Royal Ancestral Shrine after concluding their wedding ceremony.4 In the case of noble families, the bride also paid a visit to the family shrine after meeting her parents-in-law. If chinyeongnye was a ritual to announce the union of the bride and the bridegroom, the ceremony of visiting the family shrine was a procedure to announce that the bride had become a member of the clan, or extended family. It was in the second year of King Sukjong’s reign (1696) that a bride of the royal family first visited the Royal Ancestral Shrine (宗廟). The crown princess, accompanied by palace ladies, entered the Royal Ancestral Shrine to perform the ritual. The long-standing prohibition barring women from entering into the Royal Ancestral Shrine was brought to an end with the argument that the royal wedding ceremony should serve as a model for all Joseon families. Current Research on Uigwe Regarding State Funerals and Points of Contention: For Whom and How Much to Grieve Among the vast collection of existing uigwe volumes, the ones dedicated to the funerals of the kings, queens, crown princes, and crown princesses constitute the largest proportion. Although the procedures are complicated and the terminology difficult, research on the funerary and burial rituals has made considerable progress over the past ten years, leading to the publication of two volumes belonging to the Oegyujanggak Uigwe Academic Series (National Museum of Korea 2015; 2018). Research on royal funeral and burial rites in the field of Korean history has mainly focused on case studies illuminating the differences in funeral and burial rites according to the status of the deceased (Lee Hyunjin 2012; 2014; 2015a; 2016a; 2016b; 2017; Kim Yun-Jung 2014; 2016). As for the period when no uigwe was produced or no uigwe of this period has been preserved regarding state funerary rites, empirical research was conducted by referring to the uigwe books compiled during the late Joseon dynasty (Yang Jung-hyun 2014; Seok Chang-Jin 2014; Cho Young Cheol 2014; Lee Ji Hun 2014; Hong Geun-hye 2017). The research restored a state funeral that was conducted for a long period of three years based on the uigwe for funeral rites, such as the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate of the Royal Coffin Hall (殯殿都監儀軌, Binjeon dogam uigwe), the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate of the State Funeral (國葬都監儀軌, Gukjang dogam uigwe), the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate of the Royal Tomb (山陵都監儀軌, Salleung dogam uigwe), the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate of the Spirit Hall (魂殿都監儀軌, Honjeon dogam uigwe), and the uigwe offering a record of the state funeral for King Jeongjo, in addition to other official records on state funerary rites. Research was also carried out on the religious and cultural significance of the state funerals as a rite of mourning, including a study exploring the state funeral as a ritual meant to maintain balance between the family and the state which embraces the private rituals of the royal family and the public rites of the state (Lee Hyunjin 2015b; Lee Wook 2017; Lee Jaejeong 2015). The state funerary rites of the Joseon dynasty were performed in accordance with the Five Rites of the State (國朝五禮儀, Gukjo oryeui) compiled during the reign of King Seongjong (成宗, r. 1469–1494). As changes were steadily being made to the state funerary rites during the late Joseon period, King Yeongjo issued the Revised Compilation of the State Funerary Rites (國朝喪禮補編, Gukjo sangnye bopyeon) which reflected all the changes. The book established new precedents on state funeral and burial rites. Furthermore, rituals deemed excessive were simplified and details considered inadequate were complemented during the funerals of a royal grandson and the queen in 1751 and 1757, respectively. One topic worth exploring would be how state funeral rites changed after the release of the Revised Compilation of the State Funerary Rites and what these changes signify. Meanwhile, research was conducted on the state funeral rite for the queen who passed away before the king, focusing on the distinctive characteristics of the ritual (Kim Yun-Jung 2017; 2018a; 2018b; 2018c; 2020), with a particular focus on the kind of mourning garments used (服制) and who presided over the rite (主喪). Despite being a state rite, the funeral of the queen differed in certain aspects from that of the king. Specifically, the presiding role was assumed by the crown prince instead of the king, and only the crown prince and court officials wore mourning garments. Furthermore, the mourning period only lasted fifteen months. However, changes were made to this precedent during the state funeral for Queen Jeongseong during the reign of King Yeongjo when the king personally presided over the rite and the mourning period was extended to twenty-five months (Fig. 3). Fig. 3. Pages 7 and 41 from the Uigwe for the Royal Coffin Hall for Queen Jeongseong. Joseon, 1757. 47.9 × 35.0 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea Changes in funeral and burial rites are difficult to follow due to the complexity of ritual procedures, but the direction of the change was clear. Graded mourning garments were officially introduced to express the degree of grief for the deceased. During the state funeral for the queen, the mourning garments that the king wore was reflective of the husband’s grieving and respect for his deceased wife. As the royal family opted to prioritize propriety and mutual respect between husband and wife over state affairs, in accordance with the Confucian classics and Zhu Xi’s Family Rituals, the royal wedding ceremony turned into an opportunity to project the image of an exemplary family. It also served to convey the proper roles of new family members as well as to display the distinctive authority of the royal family. The funeral and burial rites for the queen in the late Joseon also underwent continuous changes, which are faithfully reflected in the uigwe for funeral and burial rites of this period. Current Research on the Uigwe for Chusung, Bumyo, and Gungwon and Issues of Contention: The Ceremony of Enshrining the Spirit Tablet in the Royal Ancestral Shrine and the Legitimacy of Kingship One noteworthy aspect of uigwe research conducted over the past ten years has been the exploration of rituals for the royal family members not invested as king or queen. The conferral of the title of king or queen posthumously is closely related to the rituals of chusung (the ceremonial act of conferring an honorary title upon the deceased) and bumyo (the ceremonial act of enshrining the spirit tablet in the Royal Ancestral Shrine). Chusung and bumyo have been important topics in the study of the Joseon dynasty due to their direct relevance to the issue of kingship legitimacy. It is widely known that King Seongjong and King Injo (仁祖, r. 1623–1649) performed the ceremony of bumyo, each enshrining their own father in the Royal Ancestral Shrine even though neither had been a king. Therefore, chusung and bumyo have been regarded as rituals aimed at legitimizing royal power. King Yeonsangun (燕山君, r. 1494–1506) and King Gwanghaegun (光海君, r. 1608–1623) also did the same thing by granting their deceased mothers the status of queen even though they had not been queens. However, not all kings conferred the honorary title of king or queen to their own parents. For example, King Seonjo (宣祖, r. 1567–1608) only conferred the posthumous name of Deokheung Daewongun upon his father, refraining from bestowing him the title of king, and did not perform the ceremony of enshrining his father’ spirit tablet in the Royal Ancestral Shrine. As for King Gyeongjong (景宗, r. 1720–1724), he only conferred the honorary title of Oksanbu Daebin (玉山府大嬪, Grand Royal Concubine of Oksanbu) upon his mother Jang Huibin, or Lady Jang, after she was poisoned to death. King Yeongjo bestowed the posthumous name of Yuksang (毓祥) upon his mother and elevated the status of her shrine to gung (special shrine) and her tomb to won (low-level mausoleum). Although he made use of the gungwon system (宮園制) to raise the status of his mother higher than that of other concubines, King Yeongjo did not go as far as other Joseon kings who conferred the titles of king or queen to their own parents and enshrined their spirit tablets in the Royal Ancestral Shrine. The rituals of chusung and bumyo became a highly debated issue in the light of the incident involving Crown Prince Sado, King Jeongjo’s father, prompting the need for a reinterpretation of the political and cultural significance of these rituals. Following new translations of Hanjungnok (閑中錄, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong) and the discovery of King Jeongjo’s secret letters, the rituals related to Crown Prince Sado emerged as a topic of great interest to researchers. In the previous discussions, rituals conducted for Crown Prince Sado had been explained in relation to the gungwon system (Kim Moon-sik 2020). In this frame, Jeongjo was considered a king who pursued his elaborate plan to avenge his father’s death after accession to the throne and the construction of Hyeollyungwon (the mausoleum of Crown Prince Sado). His visit to Hyeollyungwon in the year of eulmyo (1795) and the construction of Hwaseong Fortress were all explained as part of his plan to avenge his father and restore his honor (Yoo Bong Hak 2001; Chung Hai Deuk 2009; Choe Seong Hwan 2012; Lee, Hyunjin 2013; Kim Moon-sik 2015b). According to this framework, King Jeongjo wished to confer the title of king to his father Crown Prince Sado, but he encountered the objection of officials who cited King Jongjo’s promise with King Yeongjo as a justification. Subsequently, the King altered his plan and resolved to abdicate the throne to his son at a suitable time. The intention was for his heir to confer the title upon Crown Prince Sado, while he engaged in state affairs from Hwaseong Fortress as an abdicated king. Opposing viewpoints emerged as research progressed on uigwe books regarding the records on the rituals for Crown Prince Sado and controversies over the precedent of chusung during the reign of King Jeongjo (Kim Jiyoung 2013; 2015). According to the revised discussion, King Jeongjo performed rituals for the Crown Prince at a level one degree lower than those at the Royal Ancestral Shrine. Hyeollyungwon was constructed one degree lower than the royal tombs, and the rituals of conferring honorary titles upon Crown Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyeong were also carried out at a lower degree than those for kings and queens. This decision was not made because King Jeongjo felt compelled to obey his predecessor, King Yeongjo, nor was it influenced by political considerations. Instead, it was because he deemed it inappropriate for the current authority to arbitrarily change the status of individuals from the past. Likewise, the reason the King did not perform the chusung and bumyo rites for Crown Prince Sado was because his father did not ascend to the throne as king during his lifetime and not because of the crimes he had committed. Interpretations surrounding King Jeongjo’s revenge and filial piety were also revised. King Jeongjo believed that filial piety was not fulfilled by conferring the title of king to his father in spite of opposition, but by administrating state affairs wisely for the people of Joseon while bearing his father’s good deeds and noble qualities in mind. King Jeongjo had a plan to fully realize the ideology of “the rule of filial piety” which had been revered since the time of Confucius. According to the Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress (Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe), King Jeongjo’s visit in 1795 was not simply for the purpose of avenging Crown Prince Sado. Instead, it was an event meant to ritualize the ideology of the rule of filial piety by expanding the love for one’s parents to one’s neighbors, the community, and the entire country (Kim Jiyoung 2020a, 224–239). King Jeongjo built a city near the grave of his father as a pilot project for reforms, where he held a grand banquet for his mother to commemorate her sixtieth birthday. He reduced state expenditures and did not waste public resources to accumulate grain reserves to provide relief to the people. Banquet invitations were extended not only to royal relatives and government officials but the elderly in Hwaseong as well. The King also performed the ceremony of distributing food to the starving people at the gate of the temporary palace. He believed that his love for his mother came from his mother’s love for him, and that such love should be extended to the old, the weak, and those without power. Through the ritual of visiting the royal tomb, King Jeongjo intended to express his belief that the filial piety of a sovereign toward his parents should result in the commendable governance of all the people. In this regard, King Jeongjo did not harbor resentment or seek revenge for the tragic death of his father, choosing instead to channel his emotions into exercising good governance (善政) and forgiveness. The concept of King Jeongjo’s revenge is quite different from the revenge we are familiar with in our time. This is where we should reexamine the significance of the rituals for Crown Prince Sado during the period of King Jeongjo and the records in the uigwe (Fig. 4). Fig. 4. “Painting of a Banquet for the Elderly at Nangnamheon” and “Painting of the Ritual of Granting Rice at Sinpung Pavilion” from the Uigwe for King Jeongjo’s Visit to the Royal Tomb in Hwaseong in the Year of Eulmyo. Joseon, 1795. 33.8 × 21.8 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies Research on the Uigwe for Chaengnye, Jonsung and Jonho: Obtaining and Strengthening One’s Status The titles of royal family members such as the king, the queen, the queen mother, the grand queen dowager, the crown prince, and the crown princess, were bestowed through a ceremony of investiture called chaengnye. In most cases, the king of Joseon ascended the throne following the ceremonial procedure called sawi (嗣位, accession to the throne) after the preceding king passed away. Only after the three-year mourning period and the procedure for enshrining the preceding king’s spirit tablet in the Royal Ancestral Shrine were completed could official ceremonies be held to celebrate the new king’s coronation and to reorganize the royal family (Kim Jiyoung 2020b). The new status was bestowed in public settings, where the king was dressed in ceremonial robes and given a new title, symbol, regalia, and palanquin. Even though his own mother was alive, the queen mother officially became the king’s mother (慈殿). The queen mother and the new king re-established their relationship as a loving mother and a dutiful son, which laid the foundation for a political rhetoric in which the king, guided by filial piety and compassion, could extend benevolence to all people. After enshrining the spirit tablet of the preceding king in the Royal Ancestral Shrine, jonsung uirye (ritual for conferring an honorary title) was performed for the queen mother and chaengnye (investiture ritual) for the queen. Both rituals, despite having different names, served the common purpose of bestowing a new status to the concerned individual. The Directorate for Bestowing Honorary Titles (jonsung uirye dogam) and the Directorate for Investiture Ceremony (chaengnye dogam) prepared new costumes, palanquins, and regalia in accordance with the newly bestowed status. The king, though he had already ascended the throne, was allowed to use the new palanquin and regalia prepared for him only after the completion of the ritual of enshrining the spirit tablet. The process of preparing new status symbols for the king is recorded in the Separate Uigwe for Sambang (別三房儀軌, Byeolsambang Uigwe), a single-copy book among the Oegyujanggak Uigwe (Fig. 5). Fig. 5. Pages 3 and 21 from the Separate Uigwe for Sambang. Joseon, 1661. 48.0 × 35.1 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea The ritual for conferring an honorary title, including posthumous names, was additionally conducted for the king, queen, or queen mother, in honor of their virtuous deeds after they were invested with a new status. What constituted a virtuous deed worthy of public recognition was a sensitive political issue, and this attracted the attention of researchers who viewed the ritual as a mere political event. Over the past ten years, research on this issue evolved from a study in political history to a comprehensive examination of uigwe from the eighteenth century to establish the significance of the ritual (Jung Jaehoon 2020). Before King Yeongjo, the ritual for conferring an honorary title to the king was rarely performed. After the reign of King Yeongjo, however, there was a substantial increase in the frequency of rituals for honoring the king, the queen, and the queen mother for their virtuous deeds. During the reign of King Yeongjo, in particular, honorary titles were bestowed upon the king five times. Additionally, they were conferred posthumously to previous kings, including King Hyojong (孝宗, r. 1649–1659), King Hyeonjong (顯宗, r. 1659–1674), and King Sukjong, to commemorate their virtues. King Yeongjo expressed respect and filial piety to the elders of the royal family by conferring honorary titles several times to the queen mother and the grand queen dowager. King Jeongjo, the successor to King Yeongjo, never received an honorary title, discontinuing the tradition of honoring the king by conferring him a title. Instead, a new precedent was established for the ritual of conferring honorary titles upon the queen mother and the grand queen dowager, a tradition which would endure through the reigns of King Jeongjo, King Sunjo (純祖, r. 1800–1834), King Heonjong, King Cheoljong (哲宗, r. 1849–1863), and King Gojong. This is evident in the frequent occurrence of jinyeon (royal banquet) and jinchan (royal feast) held in honor of the queen mother and the grand queen dowager. The rise in royal rituals aimed at expressing filial piety and respect for mothers led to an expansion of women’s participation in these ceremonies, in turn resulting in the creation of various records extending beyond uigwe, offering researchers additional insights into the culture of royal women at the time. Meanwhile, research regarding the ritual for the crown prince’s investiture has also progressed. In the Joseon dynasty, crown princes were officially invested at the age of seven or eight and were allocated an official residence called sejagung. Occasionally, the investiture ceremony was expedited significantly due to political circumstances. In most cases, the heir to the throne was called wonja (heir apparent) before the investiture ritual and tutored at Boyangcheong, the office established for the education of wonja. The ritual of investiture was held when the heir apparent reached an age deemed appropriate. The crown prince officially proved his qualifications as successor to the throne by holding iphangnye (ceremony for the commencement of learning) and gwallye (冠禮, coming-of-age ceremony), in addition to chaengnye (Yim Min Hyeok 2008; Kim Moon-sik 2010a; 2010b; Kim Jiyoung 2017a). The ceremonies of chaengnye, gwallye, and iphangnye displayed the Joseon royal court’s belief that being considerate and understanding of others were fundamental qualities for a sovereign and that the inherent virtues of the ruler could be cultivated through education (Fig. 6). Fig. 6. “Painting of the Royal Procession for the Investiture Ceremony” from the Uigwe for the Investiture Ceremony for Crown Prince Hyomyeong. Joseon, 1812. 47.5 × 33.8 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea During the reigns of King Sukjong, King Yeongjo, King Jeongjo, and King Sunjo, there were instances when young heirs apparent were invested as crown prince at only two or three years of age. Consequently, political disputes over the succession to the throne intensified, and self-deprecating remarks insinuating that the king’s fate rested in the hands of his subjects were voiced. Some researchers claim that the investitures of King Sunjo in 1800 and Crown Prince Hyomyeong in 1812 were intricately linked to specific political circumstances or carried out for political motives (Park Na Yeon 2016; 2021, 62). In effect, it is a frequently employed approach in the study of Korean history to view a specific ritual as a means to gain political advantage or strengthen one’s own political standing. The ritual procedures during the Joseon dynasty were established based on precedents. The investiture of the crown prince served to declare the appointment of an official heir to succeed previous kings to the throne, ensuring the continuity of the royal family into the future. This explains why King Jeongjo performed rituals for his father Crown Prince Jangheon (or Crown Prince Sado) in addition to the previous kings enshrined in the Royal Ancestral Shrines, and why King Sunjo performed rituals for his father King Jeongjo. It does not seem as though King Jeongjo and King Sunjo explicitly relied on particular precedents or the use of certain historical facts for political purposes, unless some exceptional changes deviating from established precedents and common knowledge were implemented. Further research is needed to explore the links between the study of rituals and the study of political history. Jinjeon, Yeongjeong, Eojin, Taesil, Publication, Royal Procession, and the Uigwe Furthermore, research has also been conducted regarding jinjeon (royal portrait hall), eojin (king’s portrait), yeongjeong (portrait of the previous king), taesil (royal placenta chamber), uigwe publication, as well as royal processions recorded inside the uigwe. Research on the uigwe regarding the royal portrait halls, the king’s portraits, and the portraits of the previous kings is generally divided into two fields: one aimed at reconstructing the rituals at the royal portrait hall, including the enshrining of royal portraits and the performing of state sacrifices, and one focusing on the political effects of the rituals performed at the royal portrait Hall (Fig. 7). Fig. 7. Pages 5 and 10 from the Uigwe for the Portrait of King Sukjong. Joseon, 1713. 46.0 × 34.3 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea The state sacrifice for the preceding king’s royal portrait differed from that of the state sacrifice at the Royal Ancestral Shrines in terms of formality (Kim Se Eun 2013). In addition to the royal portrait halls, King Yeongjo designated various other places for enshrining royal portraits, bestowing upon these locations a special status as venues where the king personally presented himself. This practice continued even after the reign of King Yeongjo, with all subsequent kings engaging in what is called “royal portrait politics” by enshrining multiple portraits in various different locations (Kim Jiyoung 2011). A recently submitted research paper points out that King Gojong built places for enshrining royal portraits in Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gyeongungung Palace, expecting that political effects of the ritual and its symbolic significance would be produced during his reign. This explains the background for the frequent enshrinement of royal portraits during the reign of King Gojong both in traditional and Western-style buildings (Lee Min Ah 2021). Several papers also explore uigwe detailing royal placenta chambers. Mostly based on the records found within uigwe, these papers examine the repair works of royal placenta chambers conducted by the state in local areas (Kim Hae Young 2014a; 2014b), with some researchers choosing to focus on the political implications of such an undertaking. Regarding the remodeling work of the old placenta chamber for King Danjong (端宗, r. 1452–1455), located in Gonyang of Gyeongsangdo Province, into the king’s placenta chamber during the reign of King Yeongjo, the research asserts that political motives were at play behind the project. One paper explains that King Yeongjo succeeded King Sukjong in the remodeling project with the intention of showcasing the legitimacy of the royal succession from Sukjong to Yeongjo in the region where a rebellion by military officials took place (Yoon Jeong 2017). Another comprehensive study was undertaken with the aim of connecting uigwe records related to royal placenta chambers and relevant rituals with the culture of childbirth and placenta burial during the Joseon period (Yun Chin Yong et al. 2018). Not limited to simply reconstructing the process of creating royal placenta chambers, the study delved further into the significance of the ritual of burying placenta in Joseon society. Emphasizing that the original purpose of the placenta burial ritual was to pray for the good health and long life of the royal baby and peaceful reign of the royal family, the study indicates that the ritual of placenta burial underwent a significant change, influenced by the people-oriented ideology, during the reigns of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo, from a ritual for blessing the royal baby to a simplified ritual for sharing the royal family’s good fortune and wealth with the people. Uigwe records were also used to conduct a study on book publication in the fields of political history and cultural history. One notable example is a study that delves into the compilation and revision process of the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty and its political significance based on the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate for the Veritable Records (Oh Hang Nyeong 2013). Further research was also conducted aiming to reconstruct the entire process of the publication and distribution of books utilizing uigwe records regarding the publication of the Valuable Examples for Succeeding Reigns (Gukjobogam) (Huh Tae-yong 2013; Kim Hae Young 2017). This includes a paper examining the significance of the king’s writings and other books enshrined in the royal tombs. This study was carried out based on the Uigwe Produced by the Directorate for State Funeral (Gukjangdogam uigwe) instead of the Uigwe regarding compilation and publication (Cho Gye-young 2019; 2020). It is quite intriguing to explore what books the kings wished to take to the grave and what were their symbolic meanings. Research on this topic is expected to advance further with additional studies. The Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress (Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe) is the only uigwe that records the ceremony of the royal procession. However, research on royal processions and the study of uigwe were conducted together as closely related topics because most uigwe books include banchado illustrations that portray the king’s procession. Research on the ceremony of royal procession utilizing the records in uigwe, banchado illustrations, official records, and chronological data began in earnest in the 2000s, resulting in the publication of one paper after the other for the past ten years. Aiming to study the king’s procession as a ceremony, researchers first examined the royal procession for a congratulatory ceremony (gilrye haenghaeng), the royal procession to the royal mausoleum (neunghaeng), and the royal procession to the royal tomb (wonhaeng) stated in the precedents. The researchers also explained the ceremonial significance of the system for night guards and the arrangement of attendant guards during the king’s procession to the royal mausoleum, as well as the types of ceremonial regalia used for the procession (Lee Wang Moo 2016). Some researchers interpret the king’s royal carriage procession and related formalities as an expression of Joseon’s political culture, which was different from that of the Goryeo dynasty (高麗, 918–1392) (Kim Jiyoung 2017b). Through an examination of the symbols arranged for the procession, the destination of the procession, ceremonial procedures at the destination, and the communication between the king and the people on the road along which the king’s carriage passed, the study reinterprets the political intentions of the royal court and how political views were formed and exchanged during the procession. Although the banchado illustration in the uigwe only depicts a scene from the ceremonial procession, the researchers shifted their attention to the people outside the procession, viewing them as political subjects rather than passive bystanders who took part in communication with the king and actively expressed their opinions. By exploring the king’s processions and other state ceremonies from both the performer’s and participant’s perspectives, the study delves into how Joseon society viewed the principles of good governance behind these ceremonies and rituals and sets a good precedent for moving beyond historical investigation to delve into cultural research on ceremonies and rituals. Research is also underway on uigwe written in Hangeul (Kim Bongjwa 2015). The surviving Hangeul versions of uigwe, along with various other records written in Hangeul, serve as valuable resources for identifying item names and ritual terms, while also highlighting the active role of women in the royal court, who acted as both subjects of the ritual and subjects of memory. While the source text of the Hangeul uigwe was originally written in Chinese characters, the two versions differ in content. The Hangeul version is not merely a translation but an eonhae, meaning that it is an annotation in Hangeul of the Chinese text which is focused on conveying the content of the uigwe through the Hangeul. Research on how royal women recalled the rituals and how their memories were transmitted through a comparison of the Chinese and Hangeul texts has not advanced significantly. While the Hangeul uigwe has primarily been studied by Korean linguists, there is a need for researchers of uigwe to engage in a comparative study between the Hangeul and Chinese versions. Conclusion: The Study of Korean History through Uigwe: What Has Been Accomplished and What Remains to Be Done This paper has delved into the major research conducted over the past decade within the field of Korean history on the royal rituals and state projects of the Joseon dynasty using uigwe books as primary research materials. Thanks to the preliminary research work completed by major institutions on their uigwe collections, researchers were able to start exploring different topics from diverse angles. This yielded new insights into royal weddings, state funerals, ancestral rites, banquets, and royal processions, including their historical backgrounds. Furthermore, studies on music, costumes, paintings, craft items, architecture, and venues used for royal rituals and state projects have expanded our understanding of various cultural forms, symbols, and items employed in rituals and other ceremonies. Research in the field of Korean history has evolved from initial studies focused on empirically reconstructing the procedures and performances of individual rituals to more in-depth studies aiming to explore the significance of each ritual within the context of ideological and political culture. Recent studies have successfully addressed the following questions: how detached palaces and chinyeong rituals came to play a center role in royal wedding ceremonies; what was the significance of the new practice allowing the queen and crown princess to perform rituals at the Royal Ancestral Shrine; why wedding ceremonies for princes and princesses were officially recorded; what was the significance of the books included among the king’s funerary items; why the queen’s funeral was performed in a more splendid fashion when the queen passed away before the king; why the royal relatives were divided by status and requested different degrees of propriety during the rituals at royal mausoleums and tombs; why additional pavilions were built alongside the Royal Ancestral Shrine to enshrine royal portraits; why ceremonies with rare precedents, including the great archery ceremony and the king’s farming ceremony, were restored; what was the significance of King Jeongjo’s eight-day trip to Hwaseong Fortress with his mother; and what was the significance of holding lavish banquets in the nineteenth century for the king’s mother and grandmother. All these studies have helped deepen our understanding of the culture within the Joseon royal court. Researchers are currently exploring the political significance of each state event recorded in uigwe, treating each one as a different kind of “occurrence.” Studies on uigwe regarding publication, construction and repair works, as well as irregular and unplanned ceremonies and rituals, including the bestowal of honorary titles, royal banquets and feasts, and the king’s visits to the royal tombs, have uncovered that these events were deliberate actions aimed at achieving specific political goals, such as the strengthening of the king’s power. As these events mobilized considerable manpower and resources, they naturally served to strengthen the position of the king. However, time has come to move beyond efforts to explain the purpose of ceremonies and state projects solely in terms of reinforcing the political standing of the king, royal family, of a specific political faction. Further questions should be explored to understand why such events were performed to reinforce power and establish stronger political positions with the kind of resources employed, how this influenced Joseon society’s understanding and perception of political power, and what were the implications of recording these events. It is expected that more research will be conducted relying on the use of uigwe in addition to chronicles and other conventional materials in the future.

Today, the uigwe records stand as a testament to the unparalleled archival culture of the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮, 1392–1910). In acknowledgement of their archival value, they were granted recognition as UNESCO Memory of the World in 2007, and the uigwe copies stored at Seoul National University’s Kyujanggak, the Academy of Korean Studies’ Jangseogak, and the National Palace Museum of Korea were designated as state cultural heritage by the Korean government in 2016. The growing interest in the uigwe among both academics and the general public can be attributed to initiatives undertaken at Kyujanggak and Jangseogak to create lists, bibliographical introductions, and photographic editions of the uigwe in their possession, as well as efforts by organizations at various levels, such as the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics, to distribute translated and annotated editions of the uigwe. However, as research on the uigwe progresses, concerns have surfaced about the reliability of the records contained within them (An Ae-yeong 2009), which has sparked curiosity about the process involved in their production. Although numerous studies have delved into the records contained within the uigwe, there remains a lack of research as to how the books were actually produced. In this paper, the author aims to analyze the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production (儀軌事目, Uigwesamok) section contained in each uigwe. Whenever a state event was completed, the directorate (都監, dogam) in charge of that event would establish the Uigwe Administrative Office (儀軌廳, Uigwecheong) for the compilation of the uigwe, creating this section in the process. Also referred to as simply uigwe or Specifics on Uigwe Production (儀軌事例, Uigwesarye), this section was typically appended to the end of the uigwe’s first part which contained the documents of the Head Office of the Directorate of the uigwe. Its purpose was to provide basic information regarding the uigwe’s production process, including where the Uigwe Administrative Office had been established, who belonged to it, what materials were needed for the production of the uigwe, and the locations where the uigwe had been distributed (Fig. 1). Below, the author sets out to analyze the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production sections contained in the fourteen following uigwe. Fig. 1. The Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section produced by the directorate of the Uigwe for the Funeral of King Jeongjo. Joseon, 1800. 45.8 × 32.7 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University Considering that the surviving uigwe were mostly produced between the seventeenth and the first half of the twentieth century, and given the hundreds of cases available for study, narrowing the analysis down to the above fourteen cases presented certain limitations. However, the selection of these specific cases was grounded in the availability of photographic editions and the way they showcased the diverse production processes of the uigwe during the period spanning from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. (1) Uigwe for the Royal Wedding of King Yeongjo and Queen Jeongsun (英祖貞純后嘉禮都監儀軌, Yeongjo jeongsunhu garye dogam uigwe), produced in 1759 (2) Uigwe for Constructing the Tomb of Crown Prince Sado (顯隆園園所都監儀軌, Hyeollyungwon wonso dogam uigwe), produced in 1789 (3) Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress (園幸乙卯整理儀軌, Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe), produced in 1797 (4) Uigwe for the Funeral of King Jeongjo (正祖國葬都監儀軌, Jeongjo gukjang dogam uigwe), produced in 1801 (5) Uigwe for Constructing the Tomb of King Jeongjo (正祖健陵山陵都監儀軌, Jeongjo geolleung salleung dogam uigwe), produced in 1801 (6) Uigwe for the Royal Wedding of King Sunjo and Queen Sunwon (純祖純元后嘉禮都監儀軌, Sunjo sunwonhu garye dogam uigwe), produced in 1802 (7) Uigwe for Compiling the Annals of King Jeongjong (正宗實錄廳儀軌, Jeongjong sillokcheong uigwe), produced in 1806 (8) Uigwe for the Court Banquet Held in Honor of King Sunjo and Queen Sunwon (慈慶殿進爵整禮儀軌, Jagyeongjeon jinjak jeongnye uigwe), produced in 1827 (9) Uigwe for the Enthronement of Emperor Gojong (高宗大禮儀軌, Gojong daerye uigwe) produced in 1897 (10) Uigwe for the Funeral of Empress Myeongseong (明成皇后國葬都監儀軌, Myeongseong wanghu gukjang dogam uigwe), produced in 1898 (11) Uigwe for Installing the Royal Coffin Hall and Spirit Hall of Empress Myeongseong (明成皇后殯殿魂殿都監儀軌, Myeongseong wanghu binjeon honjeon dogam uigwe), produced in 1898 (12) Uigwe for the Investitures of Prince Imperial Ui and Prince Imperial Yeong (義王英王冊封儀軌, Uiwang yeongwang chaekbong uigwe), produced in 1900 (13) Uigwe for the Investiture of Imperial Consort Sunheon (淳妃冊封儀軌, Sunbi chaekbong uigwe), produced in 1901 (14) Uigwe for Painting the Royal Portrait of Emperor Gojong (高宗御眞圖寫都監儀軌, Gojong eojindosa dogam uigwe), produced in 1902 Uigwe Administrative Office Locations and Belonging Officials Locations Where the Uigwe Administrative Offices Were Established Information on where the Uigwe Administrative Office was established can be found in the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section of each uigwe. Below is an overview of where the Uigwe Administrative Offices for each of the fourteen uigwe contained in this study were located. The Ministry of Personnel (吏曹, Ijo): (1), (5), and (6) listed above (The location where the Uigwe Administrative Offices were established for the compilation of uigwe (1), (5), and (6) mentioned above.) The Bureau of Benefiting the People (惠民署, Hyeminseo): (2) The Former Site of the Office of Royal Decrees (舊弘文館, the Former Hongmungwan Site): (3) The Office of Interpreters (司譯院, Sayeogwon): (4) The Directorate of Medicine (典醫監, Jeonuigam): (7) The Office of the Inner Palace Stables (太僕司, Taeboksa): (9), (10), (12), and (13) The Office of Palace Construction and Repair (營繕司, Yeongseonsa): (11) The New Headquarters of the Imperial Retinue Guards (扈衛隊新營, the New Headquarters of Howidae): (13) Based on the above information, it is difficult to assert that there was a designated location for the establishment of the Uigwe Administrative Office based on the type of event. For instance, although the funeral of King Jeongjo (正祖, r. 1776–1800) and the construction of his tomb were conducted simultaneously, the Uigwe Administrative Offices for each event were established separately at the Office of Interpreters and the Ministry of Personnel. Likewise, in the case of Empress Myeongseong’s funerals which were conducted alongside the establishment of the royal coffin hall and the spirit hall for the empress, the offices were also set up in two separate locations, namely the Office of the Inner Palace Stables and the Office of Palace Construction and Repair. In sum, the Uigwe Administrative Office was established in a location convenient to the circumstances at the time. Prior to the founding of the Korean Empire (大韓帝國, 1897–1910), this location was often the Ministry of Personnel, whereas afterward this changed to the Office of Palace Construction and Repair. For the production of the printed type uigwe, however, the Uigwe Administrative Offices were often established at the Type Foundry (鑄字所, Jujaso). For instance, the office for the Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress was initially established at the former site of the Office of Royal Decrees but later moved to the Type Foundry. In addition, as for the Uigwe for Constructing Hwaseong Fortress (華城城役儀軌, Hwaseong seongyeog uigwe), although the Uigwe Administrative Office was established at Hwaseong Magistracy (華城府, Hwaseongbu), the Type Foundry supervised the printing of the uigwe since it was the office in charge of printing and publishing, which made it a convenient location for the production of the printed editions. There were many instances where the directorate in charge of an event and the Uigwe Administrative Office for that event were established in the same location. Among the fourteen uigwe reviewed in this paper, there are six cases—(4), (5), (6), (9), (12), and (13)—in which the directorate and the office shared the same location. Since the uigwe documented the works of the directorate, and the Uigwe Administrative Office was in charge of the documentation, it is presumed that there were many advantages in having the directorate and the office established in the same place. Officials Belonging to the Uigwe Administrative Office The regulations regarding the management of officials in the Uigwe Administrative Office, as outlined in the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section, did not change significantly over time. They include clauses for the minister-level officials (堂上, dangsang), supervising officials (都廳, docheong) and staff officials (郎廳, nangcheong), and stipulate that a number of officials from the directorate in charge of the event were to remain in the Uigwe Administrative Office and be assigned with the production of the uigwe. In addition, a separate list of names was to be created for newly appointed officials. While compiling the uigwe, officials of the Uigwe Administrative Office were exempted from having to attend official assemblies or sacrificial rites, although they were still required to attend to their original duties. Furthermore, the Uigwe Administrative Office employed the same official seals as those used in the directorate for the documents it produced. The Office for the Arrangement of the Royal Processions (整理所, Jeongniso), which was in charge of managing the procession of King Jeongjo to Hwaseong Fortress in 1795, was staffed by various officials, including the prime minister (摠理大臣, chongnidaesin), commissioners of the Office for the Arrangement of the Royal Processions (整理使, jeongnisa), which consisted of minister-level officials, staff officials, and officials for cash management (監官, gamgwan), as well as military officers, clerks, a calligrapher (書寫, seosa), warehouse keepers, runners, flag bearers, document keepers, and errand soldiers among others (Fig. 2). Worth nothing is that in addition to Chae Jegong (蔡濟恭, 1720–1799), the prime minister who continued to supervise the Office for the Arrangement of the Royal Processions and the Uigwe Administrative Office, many other officials also continued to serve in both offices including four commissioners from the Office for the Arrangement of the Royal Processions (out of 6 in total), nine military officers (out of 11 in total), thirteen clerks (out of 16 in total), one calligrapher, one warehouse keeper (out of 3 in total), one runner (out of 5 in total), and six flag bearers (out of 68 in total). This shows that many of the officials from the Office for the Arrangement of the Royal Processions who were assigned to the procession of King Jeongjo served in the Uigwe Administrative Office as well. Fig. 2. List of officials belonging to the Office for the Arrangement of the Royal Processions from the Uigwe for the Royal Processions to Hwaseong Fortress. Joseon, 1797. 45.8 × 32.7 cm. Jangseogak of the Academy of Korean Studies. Also included in the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section are regulations for low-level officials of the Uigwe Administrative Office. Falling into this category were officials who personally prepared documents included in the uigwe and those who managed required materials or ran errands. The former were typically remunerated by the Ministry of Taxation or the Ministry of War, to which they belonged, while the latter were selected from their original offices and assigned to the Uigwe Administrative Office. Table 1 below summarizes the number of low-level officials in the Uigwe Administrative Office. As shown in Table 1, one or two official transcribers (寫字官, sajagwan) in charge of transcribing characters and one official painter (畫員, hwawon) were assigned to the production of the uigwe for royal perusal, while it was common for one or two official calligraphers to be assigned to the production of uigwe intended for wider distribution. In addition, one warehouse keeper, one to four runners, two to four security soldiers, and one female slave for preparing meals were assigned to the office. After the founding of the Korean Empire, the position of clerk was removed while positions for three to six assistant clerks and one to two errand soldiers were created. Table 1. Low-level Officials of the Uigwe Administrative Office Position (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) Official Transcriber (寫字官) 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 Official Painter (畵員) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Senior Clerk (書題) 3 Official Calligrapher (書寫) 5 4 3 4 5 5 1 4 1 1 2 Clerk (書吏) 3 3 8 3 3 3 4 Warehouse Keeper (庫直) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Runner (使令) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 4 2 Document Keeper (文書直) 1 Assistant Clerk (雇員) 3 6 3 3 5 Errand Soldier (使喚) 1 2 2 Security Soldier (守直軍士) 2 4 4 4 4 ○ 4 2 2 Female Slave for Preparing Meals (茶母) 1 1 ○ Slave for Drawing Water (水工) 2 Items Required for the Production of Uigwe Offices Responsible for the Provision of Items Needed The Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section, containing a very brief list of the materials needed to produce the uigwe, stipulates that paper, writing brushes, ink, and other miscellaneous items used in the Uigwe Administrative Office were to be procured by the relevant offices. This raises the question: which offices does the term “relevant offices” refer to? Included in the Uigwe for Compiling the Annals of King Jeongjong are dated official documents requesting for the procurement of certain items to the Uigwe Administrative Office between 1805 and 1806. These include the recipients of each document, which correspond to the government offices responsible for providing the necessary items to the Uigwe Administrative Office. The documents suggest that the Storehouse of Paper Supplies (長興庫, Jangheunggo) and the Bureau of Currency and Slave Taxation (司贍寺, Saseomsi) were responsible for the provision of paper, the Directorate of Palace Buildings (繕工監, Seongonggam) was responsible for the provision of writing brushes, and the Ministry of Taxation, along with the Ministry of Works and the Storehouse of Seasoning and Spices (義盈庫, Uiyeonggo) were in charge of providing ink. Other miscellaneous items were to be procured from other various offices. Just as many offices participated in holding state events, many offices also participated in the production of the uigwe. On the other hand, there were cases in which the Uigwe Administrative Office directly purchased the items it needed, which was due to the fact that not all items could be obtained from the various government offices. Following the establishment of the Korean Empire, there was a notable increase in the number of instances where the Uigwe Administrative Office directly purchased the items it needed. This trend appears to be related to the division of the imperial court into the Ministry of the Imperial Household (宮內府, Gungnaebu) and the State Council (議政府, Uijeongbu), along with the full-scale introduction of the modern budget system after the Gobo Reform. Items Required for the Operation of the Uigwe Administrative Office When the Uigwe Administrative Office was established, the first thing carried out was the provision of such items as lamp oil, charcoal for brazier, and firewood for underfloor heating, which were needed for officials to light and heat the office, with earthen braziers being additionally provided in some cases. The Uigwe for the Royal Wedding of King Yeongjo and Queen Jeongsun documents that a quarter dan of firewood, three seok of lamp oil, and one seung of charcoal were provided daily for staff officials. On the other hand, the Uigwe for the Royal Wedding of King Sunjo and Queen Sunwon documents that 143 dan of firewood, along with six seok, two seung, and one hop of lamp oil, were provided for the officials, indicating the total amount provided unlike the former uigwe. Paper, writing brushes, and ink were provided for the minister-level officials, staff officials, clerks, and calligraphers of the Uigwe Administrative Office. A writing brush made of weasel-tail hair and ink of superior quality were provided for each of them, along with the white thick paper (厚白紙, hubaekji) used to transcribe the draft of the uigwe or the white scrap paper (白休紙, baekhyuji) used for official documents. The Uigwe Administrative Office was also provided with the tools required to carry out the entire production process of the uigwe, from the transcription all the way to the bookbinding stage. The tools, which were to be returned to the offices to which they originally belonged, were handled separately from the items needed for the production of the uigwe. Among the tools to be returned later were dishes, wide bowls, small bowls, and pestles for official painters to use when drawing the illustrations of the royal procession (班次圖, banchado) or explanatory illustrations of the ritual items (圖說, doseol). There were also tools such as dusters to renew or print book covers and worn oiled paper to make the covers of the uigwe for wider distribution, as well as tools including handbarrows, thin planks of jajak wood, Yeonil whetstones, wide cutting boards, sticks, and thin cords for bookbinding artisans to cut paper and bind books (Cho Gye-young 2006, 34–36). These tools, necessary for the production of books, were borrowed from each respective office, and returned after the uigwe was completed. Materials Required to Produce the Uigwe A variety of materials were needed to make the uigwe book itself. In terms of the kinds of paper used, there was paper of high quality (草注紙, chojuji), paper for general use (楮注紙, jeojuji), jade-colored paper, colored paper, and oiled paper. The chojuji paper was used for the covers of the uigwe for royal perusal, while the jeojuji paper was used for the covers of the uigwe meant for wider distribution. The jade-colored paper, colored paper, and oiled paper were also used in the making of the covers. Writing brushes and ink were needed to transcribe texts or draw the banchado and doseol illustrations. When it came to the transcription of texts, writing brushes made of weasel-tail hair and ink of superior quality were used for both the uigwe intended for royal perusal and those for wider distribution. However, when it came to the ruled lines on the pages, there was a difference in how they were drawn depending on the type of book. For the uigwe for royal perusal, official painters drew the lines by hand in vermilion pigment using paint brushes, while the lines for the uigwe for wider distribution were printed using such items as ink of average quality, raw honey, horsehair, and dusters. Planks of jajak wood, which were produced in advance with the participation of woodworking artisans (小木匠, somokjang), engraving artisans (雕却匠, jogakjang), and engravers (刻手, gaksu), were also used to make the lines. In order to produce the banchado or doseol illustrations, the painters needed pigments of various colors and glue. The pigments could be classified into six color groups: black, white, red, green, blue, and yellow (Seoul Museum of History 2009, 12–48; Jeong Jongmi 2001). According to the existing research, the pigments used in the banchado illustrations included in the uigwe did not change significantly depending on the period, and the types of colors used were relatively few (Shin Hyeonok 2007, 12–17). Below are details on the types of pigments used. Black: Ink of superior quality (眞墨, jinmuk) White: White lead powder (眞粉, jinbun) Red: Vermilion pigment (唐朱紅, dangjuhong),1 Vermillion pigment made from melanterite (磻朱紅, banjuhong), Sliced dark red pigment (片臙脂, pyeonyeonji),2 Red clay mineral pigment (石磵硃, seokganju)3 Green: Lotus green pigment (荷葉, hayeop),4 Whitish green pigment (三碌, samnok),5 Malachite (石綠, seongnok)6 Blue: Whitish ultramarine blue pigment (二靑, icheong), Light azure blue pigment (三靑, samcheong),7 Underglaze indigo blue pigment (靑花, cheonghwa)8 Yellow: Gamboge yellow pigment (同黃, donghwang), Greenish yellow pigment (桃黃, dohwang), Massicot yellow pigment (黃丹, hwangdan),9 Realgar yellow pigment (石雄黃, seogunghwang), Orpiment yellow pigment (石紫黃, seokjahwang)10 Once the transcription of the uigwe was completed, the process of bookbinding could begin. The uigwe for royal perusal and the version intended for wider distribution required the use of different materials. In the case of the former, the book cover was crafted from plain weave silk (輕光紬, gyeonggwangju) of green, white, and red color, along with cloth for affixing the title onto the cover, while only red hemp cloth (紅正布, hongjeongpo) was used for the cover of the latter, although the fabrics used for both types of book covers were equally two cheok and two chon in size. In addition, jade-colored paper was affixed to the back of the uigwe designed for royal perusal, while white scrap paper adorned the back of the version intended for wider distribution. The final step of the bookbinding process consisted of binding the books. Brass binding plates etched with decorative motifs (豆錫召伊邊鐵, duseokjoibyeoncheol), chrysanthemum headed rivets (菊花童朴鐵, gukwadongbakcheol), and rings (圓環, wonhwan) were used in the binding of the uigwe for royal perusal, while steel binding plates, metal rivets, and rings were used for the uigwe intended for wider distribution. Once completed, uigwe destined for the king’s perusal were placed in a red wooden chest (紅假函, honggaham) and wrapped with a single-layered red silk cloth (紅紬四幅單袱, hongjusapokdanbok) (Fig. 3). Fig. 3. Oegyujanggak Uigwe intended for royal perusal (left) and uigwe intended for wider distribution from the Taebaeksan History Archive (right). Uigwe for Bestowing an Honorary Title to Queen Jangryeol. Joseon, 1686. (For Royal Perusal) 46.2 × 35.0 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea. Uigwe for Bestowing an Honorary Title to Queen Jangryeol. Joseon, 1686. (For Distribution) 44.3 × 33.6 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University. After the nineteenth century, changes began to appear in the bookbinding process. Notably, there were instances where plain weave silk, which had been previously used for both the cover and the cloth affixing the title, was replaced by a higher-quality silk (禾花紬, hwahwaju), while the title was written on white twill silk and attached to the book cover. Additionally, instead of merely listing the names of items used to bind the uigwe intended for royal perusal such as the brass binding plate adorned with decorations and the chrysanthemum-headed rivet, the materials used to make those items were included as well, which is evidenced by changes in the materials used in the production of binding plates. For instance, the binding plates of the Uigwe for the Funeral of King Jeongjo were initially made of materials such as brass, zinc, borax, and Arthraxon hispidus (三甫, sampo), while refined copper and soldered silver were later added to make the binding plates for subsequent uigwe editions. Following the founding of the Korean Empire in 1897, a noticeable change occurred in the colors used for the book cover and cloth for affixing the title to the cover of the uigwe designed for royal perusal. The cover, which had been produced only in green, began to be produced in different colors including yellow (for the uigwe distributed to Gyujanggak), red (for the uigwe distributed to the Tutorial Office for the Crown Prince, the Residence of Prince Imperial Ui, and the Residence of Prince Imperial Yeong), and green (for the residence of Imperial Consort Sunheon). As for the cloth used to affix the title on the cover, yellow and green were added to the original color combination of white and red. The wooden chest and wrapping cloth underwent a diversification of colors as well. The chest, initially red, was also produced in yellow, and a cloth made of yellow silk, yellow cotton, and white cotton was added to the red wrapping cloth. Worth nothing is that the color yellow was incorporated into the cover, cloth for affixing the title to the cover, chest, and wrapping cloth of the uigwe, which is attributable to the fact that the uigwe were produced for the review of Emperor Gojong (高宗, r. 1863–1907), whose status had been elevated from king to emperor. Number of Uigwe Copies Produced and Where They Were Distributed Once the Uigwe Administrative Office completed the production of uigwe, they were in turn distributed to various offices. During the Joseon Dynasty, only one copy of the uigwe for royal perusal was produced and distributed to Gyujanggak. However, after the establishment of the Korean Empire, it became customary to produce two copies of the uigwe for imperial perusal, which were entrusted to Gyujanggak and the Tutorial Office for the Crown Prince (侍講院, Sigangwon). There were also instances where three or four copies of the uigwe intended for imperial perusal were produced. For example, in the case of the Uigwe for the Investiture of Imperial Consort Sunheon, three copies for imperial perusal were produced and additionally distributed to the residence of the imperial consort for her review, and in the case of the Uigwe for the Investitures of Prince Imperial Ui and Prince Imperial Yeong, four copies were produced which included copies destined for each of the two imperial princes. There were even instances where no copy for royal perusal was produced at all. In the case of the Uigwe for Compiling the Annals of King Jeongjong, which documents the compilation of the Annals, although a total of five copies of the uigwe were produced and distributed to the Office of State Records (春秋館, Chunchugwan) and the four History Archives (the Jeongjoksan History Archive, the Taebaeksan History Archive, the Odaesan History Archive, and the Jeoksangsan History Archive), no copy was produced for the king’s review (Figs. 4 and 5). Fig. 4. Number of uigwe copies produced for the Uigwe for the Funeral of Queen Jangryeol (I). Joseon, 1689. 48.6 × 38.0 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea Fig. 5. The Restored Odaesan History Archive, Pyeongchang. The uigwe intended for wider distribution were to be sent out to the State Council, the Ministry of Rites, the Office of State Records, and the four History Archives. The former two entities were responsible for discussing and holding state rites, while the latter served as repositories for housing state records. However, not all the uigwe copies intended for distribution were handed out to every location stated above. In some cases, the copies were distributed only to the offices directly involved in the event documented in the uigwe. Table 2 below summarizes the number of uigwe copies produced along with the locations where they were distributed. The only instance in which copies were distributed to the Office of State Records and all four History Archives is for the Uigwe for Compiling the Annals of King Jeongjong. Otherwise, the distribution of copies to all four History Archives only happened in five instances—(6), (7), (8), (12), and (13). After the founding of the Korean Empire, the Office of Rites (掌禮院, Jangnyewon), Hwangudan Altar, and the Imperial Secretariat (秘書院, Biseowon) came to replace the Ministry of Rites. Table 2 below shows that four to ten transcribed copies of the uigwe were produced, including those for royal perusal and those for wider distribution combined. Table 2. The Number of Uigwe Copies Produced and Where They Were Distributed Type Distribution Location (1) (2) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) For Royal Perusal Gyujanggak (奎章閣) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 The Tutorial Office for the Crown Prince (侍講院) 1 1 1 1 1 1 The Residence of Imperial Consort Sunheon (慶善宮) 1 The Residence of Prince Imperial Ui (義王宮) 1 The Residence of Prince Imperial Yeong (英王宮) 1 Subtotal 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 2 2 4 3 2 For Wider Distribution Hwangudan Altar (圜丘壇) 1 The State Council (議政府) 1 1 The Imperial Secretariat (秘書院) 1 1 1 1 1 The Office of Rites (掌禮院) 1 1 1 1 1 1 The Ministry of Rites (禮曹) 1 1 1 1 1 The Office of State Records (春秋館) 1 1 1 1 The Jeongjoksan History Archive 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 The Taebaeksan History Archive 1 1 1 1 1 1 The Odaesan History Archive 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 The Jeoksangsan History Archive 1 1 1 1 1 1 Subtotal 4 3 3 3 5 5 7 5 5 6 6 3 Total 5 4 4 4 6 5 9 7 7 10 9 5 The number of copies and distribution locations of uigwe increased for the printed type in comparison with the transcribed versions. Among them, the most widely distributed was the Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress, printed in the type called jeongrija (整理字). In addition to the forty-two copies distributed to the members of the royal family alone, including one copy for Lady Hyegyeong, the central figure of the event, many copies were distributed to various other locations, including copies distributed to each one of the twenty-six government offices and thirty-one participants at the event. In sum, the total number of distributed copies of the uigwe amounted to 101. Following the production of the Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress, most uigwe dealing with royal events were printed in type and distributed. In the case of the Uigwe for the Court Banquet Held in Honor of Queen Sunwon (憲宗戊申進饌儀軌, Heonjong musin jinchan uigwe), produced in 1848 (the 14th year of King Heonjong’s reign), the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section stipulated that six copies were to be printed and distributed to Gyujanggak, the Office of State Records, the Ministry of Rites, the Taebaeksan History Archive, the Odaesan History Archive, and the Jeoksangsan History Archive respectively. However, the total number of distributed copies actually exceeded fifty, including one for Queen Sunwon and twenty-five to various other locations within the palace, one to the West Storage (西庫, Seogo) [of Gyujanggak], Gyujanggak, the four History Archives, and the Ministry of Rites respectively, one to each of the six minister-level officials of the Office of Superintendency of Court Banquets, as well as twelve to staff officials (Kim Jongsu 2003). In the case of the Uigwe for the Court Banquet Celebrating the 50th Birthday of Emperor Gojong (高宗辛丑進宴儀軌, Gojong sinchuk jinyeon uigwe), produced in 1901 (the 5th year of Gwangmu), although the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section stipulated the printing of only eight copies which were to be distributed to Gyujanggak, the Tutorial Office for the Crown Prince, the Imperial Secretariat, the Office of Rites, and the four History Archives, the emperor ordered the additional production and distribution of thirty-nine copies after the uigwe’s production. This included one for his residence, twenty-seven for various locations within the palace, three for the West Storage, as well as one for Gyujanggak, the Tutorial Office for the Crown Prince, the Imperial Secretariat, the Office of Rites, and the four History Archives respectively. However, not all the printed type uigwe were produced in dozens of copies. For instance, in the case of the Uigwe for the Court Banquet Held in Honor of King Sunjo and Queen Sunwon, seventeen printed copies were produced and distributed to various locations such as the king’s palace, the queen’s residence, Gyujanggak, the Ministry of Rites, and the West Storage, including three separate copies translated into Hangeul to be distributed to a number of locations including the queen’s and the crown prince’s residences, amounting to a total of twenty copies. Generally speaking, the printed type uigwe were produced in greater numbers than the transcribed uigwe. However, as in the case of Uigwe for the Royal Procession to Hwaseong Fortress, copies were produced in larger numbers for wider distribution according to the will of King Jeongjo. Concluding Remarks This paper has examined the uigwe production process based on the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section as it appears in fourteen separate uigwe. During the Joseon era, the completion of an important state or royal event would be followed by the establishment of a Uigwe Administrative Office where officials were appointed and tasked with overseeing the production of the uigwe, and to which necessary items were provided to facilitate the smooth execution of the uigwe’s production. Various government offices shared in the responsibility of providing items required for the production of the uigwe. This included everyday necessities for the Uigwe Administrative Office such as firewood for underfloor heating, lamp oil, charcoal for brazier, paper, writing brushes, and ink, as well as tools borrowed from other offices and meant to be returned upon the completion of the production process. Items needed for the production of the uigwe were very diverse, ranging from basic items used for writing and drawing such as paper, brushes, ink and pigments, to the materials required for the printing of ruled lines and bookbinding. Upon the establishment of the Korean Empire in 1897, a significant shift took place in the production process of the uigwe. Notably, the Uigwe Administrative Office started directly purchasing the items it needed for production. The uigwe designed for imperial perusal also underwent a change in appearance and began being produced in three versions due to the elevation of the country’s status from kingdom to empire. This development was only natural given the uigwe’s symbolic importance, serving as both a manifestation of authority and a record of crucial state events. In the preface, the author highlighted the progress made in uigwe research and the subsequent need for a closer examination into the production process of the uigwe. Given the limitations of this paper, however, the author recognizes the need for further research to be conducted, particularly in identifying the names and uses of numerous items appearing in the uigwe, which will be crucial for gaining a precise understanding of the uigwe’s production process. The final article of the Itemized Record of Uigwe Production section states, “Items deemed insufficient are to be supplemented in the future.” Likewise, the author believes that aspects not adequately covered in this paper should be further supplemented in the future and hopes for the cooperation of researchers interested in the uigwe in this regard.

The National Museum of Korea held a special exhibition titled “Pinnacle of Propriety: The Uigwe, Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty” from November first, 2022 to March nineteenth, 2023, in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the repatriation of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, which had been looted by the French army and taken to France following its punitive expedition against Joseon (朝鮮, 1392–1910) in 1866. The Oegyujanggak Uigwe garnered significant attention not only due to its dramatic 145-year journey from plunder, to neglect, rediscovery, and eventual return, but also because most of these uigwe volumes had been produced exclusively for the king’s review. What is a uigwe? During the Joseon period, the state began compiling records documenting major royal ceremonies and rituals, such as royal weddings, funerals, investitures, and palace banquets into books called “uigwe” (Kim Munsik and Shin Byeongju 2005; Han Yeongwu 2005). This also included major state projects, from the construction of palaces to the production of musical instruments and weapons. These records were meant to offer a detailed account of the preparation process, ceremonial procedures, and execution of various events. After producing from two to nine copies of each volume, one copy was presented to the king, while the remaining were stored in local history archives (史庫) or relevant government offices. The uigwe books preserved at Oegyujanggak, the outer royal library on Ganghwa Island, are known as the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, and the majority of them were copies that once belonged to the king. This paper aims to examine the history, characteristics, and significance of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, as well as discuss the research findings and prospects for the future. The History of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe Oegyujanggak, the Treasure Trove of the Joseon Royal Court The term “Oegyujanggak” means “royal library (Gyujanggak) outside the capital (oe).” Oegyujanggak functioned as an annex to the main royal library. This section examines what purpose it served and how it came to be established. Gyujanggak (奎章閣) was founded immediately after the accession of King Jeongjo (正祖, r. 1776–1800), the twenty-second king of Joseon. Built in the rear garden of Changdeokgung Palace (昌德宮), Gyujanggak served as a royal library for preserving the writings, calligraphy, and paintings of previous kings, along with other books and documents concerning royal genealogy. Soon after its establishment, the role of Gyujanggak was expanded to include the management of academic research, publication, and state policies. The library emerged as a key institution in reinforcing King Jeongjo’s political power and cultural influence. In 1781, King Jeongjo ordered the construction of Oegyujanggak on Ganghwa Island to provide a safer repository for the royal collections where they would be safe from fire or war. Hence, the functions originally carried out by the Gyujanggak royal library were transferred to Oegyujanggak. Ganghwa Island was deemed a suitable location to store important documents since it had proven to be relatively safe in times of wars. For this reason, a temporary palace (行宮) and a local archive had already been built on this island before the construction of Oegyujanggak to preserve other royal materials. According to the Gyujanggak chi (奎章閣志), compiled in 1784, Oegyujanggak was six kan in size and erected to the east of the temporary palace on Ganghwa (Figs. 1 and 2). Fig. 1. Painting of Gyujanggak by Kim Hongdo (1745–after 1806). Joseon, ca. 1776. Color on silk. 143.2 × 115.5 cm. National Museum of Korea Fig. 2. “The Painting of Oegyujanggak” from The Painting of a Palace at Ganghwabu. Painter Unknown. Joseon, late 19th Century. Ink on Paper. 98.5 × 68.5 cm. National Library of Korea Following the reign of King Jeongjo, royal materials and major books were collected more systematically at Oegyujanggak. These included royal seals (御寶), royal decrees (敎命), jade books of investiture (玉冊), writings of the kings (御製), works of calligraphy (御筆), uigwe volumes, royal genealogies, and other items such as maps and books. The Ganghwabu Oegyujanggak Hyeongjian (江華府外奎章閣形止案) holds a record of the types and quantity of materials preserved in Oegyujanggak. This ledger, meticulously updated through regular inspections, provides a detailed account of the collection’s contents. As of 1782, a total of 4,892 volumes under 762 titles were being housed at Oegyujanggak. In 1857, the number had grown to 5,166, including twenty-five items used at the royal court such as jade books of investiture, golden seals engraved with honorary titles, and royal decrees; sixty-eight pieces of royal writings and calligraphic works; six pieces of scrolls; 667 uigwe volumes under 401 titles; and 4,400 other volumes under 606 titles (Yi Taejin 2010, 228–235). Some of these collections would be sent to the palace in the capital at the request of the king. After the reign of King Jeongjo, Oegyujanggak became the primary repository of the Joseon dynasty’s royal culture for the next eighty years. During this time, the tradition of preserving uigwe (mostly copies destined for the king) at Oegyujanggak was established. As a result, copies for royal perusal, not only those preserved in Gyujanggak before the reign of King Jeongjo but also those produced after the construction of Oegyujanggak, were collected and sent to Oegyujanggak (Fig. 3). Fig. 3. Ganghwabu Oegyujanggak Hyeongjian. Joseon, 1857. 46.0 × 33.2 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea The Ordeal Faced by the Oegyujanggak Uigwe and their Repatriation By the end of the nineteenth century, Ganghwa Island had become the gateway allowing Western powers into Joseon. The invasion of the French army, in particular, inflicted significant damage on the Oegyujanggak and its precious collections. In 1866, under the guise of addressing alleged oppression of the Catholic Church by the Joseon government, the French army launched an attack on Ganghwa Island. Faced with strong resistance from the Joseon army, the French eventually retreated, but not before plundering some of the collections stored at the Oegyujanggak and setting fire to the library. Due to this incident, most of the Oegyujanggak collections were lost to fire, except for 340 items looted by the French army. The French army plundered nineteen boxes of silver and a number of uigwe volumes. Out of the extensive collection of over 4,000 volumes housed in Oegyujanggak, the French army specifically targeted the copies for royal perusal. As will be explained later, the distinguishing features of these copies must have captured the attention of the French troops: their notably larger size compared to regular books, their beautiful silk covers and bindings adorned with brass strips, the neat calligraphy, and the colorful illustrations. Admiral Pierre-Gustave Roze of the French army presented the looted items to the King of France and his superiors before they were donated to the Imperial Library (now the National Library of France) (Fig. 4). Fig. 4. “Painting of the Occupation of Yamoun (the governor of Kanghoa’s residence)” from L’illustration. National Museum of Korea The Oegyujanggak Uigwe were believed to have been completely destroyed until Maurice Courant published the Bibliographie Coréenne between 1894 and 1896, in which he stated that 300 volumes of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe were being kept in France. The existence of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe was confirmed in 1975 by Dr. Park Byeongseon (朴炳善, 1923–2011) who left for France to study in 1955 with a mission to find the Oegyujanggak Uigwe in accordance with the wishes of her professor Lee Byeong-do (李丙燾, 1896–1989). Working as an employee at the National Library in Paris (Bibliothèque nationale de France) for thirteen years starting in 1967, she lost no time to search for the whereabouts of the uigwe. In 1975, she finally discovered the Oegyujanggak Uigwe volumes in a warehouse at the Versailles branch of the National Library of France. At the time, the uigwe were erroneously classified as Chinese books and found to have severely damaged covers and pages. Restoration efforts were completed in 1978, and the Oegyujanggak Uigwe were finally revealed to the public. After the discovery, Dr. Park Byeongseon continued her research on the Oegyujanggak Uigwe and published a collection of bibliographic information on the volumes in 1985. This publication provided an opportunity for Korea to petition France for the return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe. In response to the Korean academic community’s request in 1991, the Korean government formally requested the French government to return all the books. As a result, the presidents of Korea and France reached an agreement for their return, framing it as “permanent loan” as part of cultural exchange between the two countries. At the summit meeting between both nations held in Seoul on September fourteenth, 1993, the first volume of the Uigwe for Constructing the Tomb of Lady Bak (顯穆綏嬪徽慶園園所都監儀軌, Hyonmoksubin hwigyeongwon wonso dogam uigwe) was returned to Korea. However, it took several years for the two countries to agree on the return procedure. In 2002, an inspection team consisting of academic experts was dispatched to France twice to investigate the Oegyujanggak Uigwe. After the inspections, the effort to repatriate the Uigwe gained momentum, leading to cooperation between the private sector and government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Heritage Administration. At the G20 Seoul Summit held in November 2010, an agreement was finally reached for the return of the uigwe between the presidents of Korea and France. Accordingly, 296 volumes of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe were returned to Korea in four rounds from April fourteenth to May twenty-seventh, 2011. Thus, all 297 volumes, including the one brought back to Korea in 1993, were returned to their homeland in dramatic fashion after being overseas for 145 years. The books are currently being preserved at the National Museum of Korea. The Characteristics and Value of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe (Yu Saerom 2011; 2013, 5–51) The Historical Value of Uigwe Uigwe offers a record of various royal rituals and major state projects during the Joseon dynasty and Korean Empire (大韓帝國, 1897–1910) periods. Ceremonies and rituals include royal weddings, investitures, state funerals, royal rites, banquets, military ceremonies, receptions of envoys, royal processions, and rewarding ceremonies for meritorious service. As for state projects, these involve the construction of palaces, fortresses, and altars, the manufacture of musical instruments and weapons, the completion of royal portraits (御眞), and the compilation and publication of important books such as the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty and the royal genealogy. In order to undertake royal rituals and state projects, directorates (都監, dogam) were established, each with their own departments (房, bang) responsible for handling practical duties. During the execution of a project, the directorates engaged in discussions with the king on various matters, receiving and forwarding documents to relevant government offices and departments upon receiving royal approval. The documents transmitted from one government office to another at various levels contained detailed information about the project’s background, decision-making process, personnel involved (including officials, staff, and craftsmen), and the list of items manufactured for the project. These documents are invaluable materials for gaining a thorough understanding of each ritual and project. For example, documents pertaining to funeral rites record not only details such as the types of coffins used for a funeral, stone objects built near royal tombs, and royal seals and investiture books to be enshrined at the Royal Ancestral Shrine after a three–year mourning period, but also specific information such as what type, quantity, and size of materials were used, how the items were manufactured and materials procured, and what was the process for selecting the required personnel. Since these documents are transcriptions of original texts, they are also considered primary sources. Unlike most other official documents, uigwe are admired for their detailed illustrations. Two main types of illustrations can be found in uigwe. The first are called banchado, which depict royal processions with government officials lined by rank and items organized according to protocol. The second type of illustration are called doseol, which detail the items used for royal ceremonies or state events and include illustrations of ceremonial military regalia, building structures, and detailed scenes from the events (Fig. 5). Fig. 5. Various Doseol Illustrations inside the Uigwe: 1): “Illustrations of Ritual Vessels” from the Uigwe for the Funeral of Lady Bak. Joseon, 1823. 2) “An Illustration of Shrine Chamber” from the Uigwe for Constructing the Shrine of Lady Bak. Joseon, 1824. 3) “An Illustration of Yungbok Hall” from the Uigwe for the Reconstruction of Gyeonghuigung Palace. Joseon, 1832. Dealing with all major state events, uigwe played a significant role in establishing precedents to be followed for future royal rituals and state projects, rather than simply serving as one-time manuals for single events. In recognition of their historical value, uigwe from the Joseon dynasty were registered as UNESCO Memory of the World in 2007. The Oegyujanggak Uigwe, however, were excluded from registration because the books were still being kept in France at the time. The 297 volumes of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe are categorized by type of ceremony, including investitures (冊禮), royal weddings (嘉禮), funerals and burials (喪葬禮), bestowals of honorary titles (尊號尊崇), court banquets (筵享), state administration, and others. Among these, uigwe on funeral and burial rites account for the largest proportion, totaling 203 volumes (or 68%) of the entire collection. There are four types of uigwe documenting funeral and burial rites. The first is the uigwe produced by the Directorate for the Royal Coffin Hall and the Spirit Hall. The directorate assumed the duty of shrouding and enshrining corpses. The second type was produced by the Directorate for the State Funeral which was responsible for overseeing all procedures of state funerals, from sending the bier to receiving the spirit tablet upon its return from the funeral. The third type was the produced by the Directorate for the Royal Tomb, an office in charge of building the royal tombs. The last is the uigwe produced by Directorate for Enshrining the Spirit Tablet. This office assumed the duty of enshrining the spirit tablet at the Royal Ancestral Shrine after the completion of the three-year mourning period. In addition to these four types of ceremonies, uigwe on the relocation and repair work of royal tombs also fell under the category of funeral and burial rites. Originally, uigwe were transcribed into multiple copies and stored separately to be preserved permanently or used as reference by relevant offices. For this reason, many of the surviving uigwe exist in multiple copies. In contrast, some uigwe were only preserved as single copies, known as single-copy uigwe. Among the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, there are twenty-six uigwe divided into twenty-nine volumes which are classified as single copies with no additional copies either in Korea or abroad. the Uigwe for the Royal Feast The following are some of the most representative single copies. First, the Uigwe for the Royal Feast (豐呈都監儀軌, Pungjeong dogam uigwe) is known as the earliest among the Oegyujanggak Uigwe and the oldest among uigwe dealing with royal banquets. Second, the Uigwe for the Funeral of Crown Grandson Uiso (懿昭世孫禮葬都監儀軌, Uisoseson yejang dogam uigwe) and the Uigwe for Constructing the Tomb of Crown Grandson Uiso (懿昭世孫墓所都監儀軌, Uisoseson myoson dogam uigwe) are single copies which record the funerary procedures for the eldest grandson of the royal court. The third single copy is four volumes of Separate Uigwe for the Official Duties of the Third Departments during Ceremonies (別三房儀軌, Byeolsambang uigwe). These volumes were produced during the reigns of King Hyeonjong (顯宗, r. 1659–1674), King Sukjong (肅宗, r. 1674–1720), King Gyeongjong (景宗, r. 1720–1724), and King Yeongjo by the three directorates: the directorate for enshrining the spirit tablet, bestowing an honorary title upon the queen dowager, and granting investiture to the queen following the completion of the three-year mourning period for the preceding king. The fourth single copy comprises seven uigwe volumes regarding the large-scale repair project of royal tombs undertaken during the reign of King Yeongjo, and the fifth single copy consists of three uigwe volumes detailing the ceremony of bestowing the title of merit subject and reward to officials who rendered meritorious service during the reigns of King Sukjong and King Yeongjo. The single copies of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe hold greater historical value than other uigwe because there are no other extant copies of them (Fig. 6). Fig. 6. A Single-Copy Uigwe from the Oegyujanggak Uigwe. Uigwe for the Royal Feast. Joseon, 1630 Although compiled for different ceremonies and state projects, the main theme of numerous uigwe was the rule of propriety, providing specific examples on how to perform rituals according to propriety. From this viewpoint, uigwe reflect Joseon’s governing philosophy and establish precedents for rituals that would serve as models for future generations. The Features of Uigwe Copies Intended for the King The most distinctive feature of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe volumes is that they are mostly copies that were created for the perusal of the king. Of the 297 volumes, 290 are copies intended for the king and only seven are copies for distribution. Typically, between two to nine copies were transcribed for each uigwe depending on the type of ritual. One copy was retained for the king, while the remaining were sent to the four local history archives (史庫), which includes the State Council, the Ministry of Rites, the Office of State Records, and other relevant government offices. The copy for royal perusal and the other copies share the same content but differ in terms of material and the type of bookbinding (粧䌙) used to produce the books. The copy for royal perusal and the copy for distribution differed in many respects, such as the grades of inner paper, book covers, materials used for byeoncheol (brass strips for bookbinding) and the ring attached to the brass strip, inchalseon (lines intended for transcriber), calligraphy styles, and the colors of illustrations. Existing research has mainly focused on the uigwe samok, which are the regulations included inside each uigwe, by comparing the materials employed to make the copies for royal perusal versus copies for distribution and examining the detailed production process of uigwe, including how materials were procured. The copies for royal perusal preserved in domestic collections were mostly produced in the late nineteenth century after the Byeongin Yangyo incident, which refers to the French invasion of Ganghwa Island in 1866. Consequently, this makes it impossible to compare the content of copies intended for the king with records about the uigwe by period. On the other hand, the production of the copies for royal perusal of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe spanned from the early seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. By examining actual images of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe after their return in 2011, researchers were thus able to identify the peculiar features of these copies and track the changes made to them over time. The first aspect to examine is the inner paper (內紙) of the uigwe. For the copy for royal perusal, official painters drew each and every red inchalseon line by hand, whereas for the copies for distribution, the lines were created using printing plates and ink. According to the uigwe samok, chojuji paper (草注紙) was used for the copy for royal perusal, while jeojuji paper (楮注紙) for copies for distribution. Chojuji and jeojuji papers are easily distinguishable with the naked eye because chojuji paper is a light off-white color while jeojuji paper appears a light grayish-white. Previously, it was assumed that the two types of paper were made from different raw materials, but it was later verified through analysis that both were made from mulberry fibers. According to the Takji junjeol (度支準折), which categorizes the supplies used by the royal court and government offices in the late Joseon dynasty by item, chojuji paper was approximately four times more expensive than jeojuji paper. Let us consider why the price and quality differed despite both paper being made from the same raw material. An analysis revealed that the average density of chojuji is 0.7g/cm3 , while the maximum density of jeojuji does not exceed 0.65g/cm3. The difference stemmed from the production process, according to the degrees of fiber density and smoothness of the paper’s surface (搗砧). High-density paper required much more materials and labor, thus resulting in a higher price. Chojuji paper, exceedingly smooth and of high quality, was particularly suited for the copies for royal perusal, on which inchalseon lines and banchado paintings were drawn and characters were written entirely by hand. Moreover, paper with a higher fiber density enhance the colors of illustrations, such as banchado, making them appear more vivid. In contrast, jeojuji paper was more suitable for the copies for distribution in terms of both cost-effectiveness and quality. This is because ink does not smear as much on this type of paper when using printing plates and because the production of the copies for distribution required larger quantities of paper (Fig. 7). Fig. 7. Comparison of the Inner Paper Used Inside a Copy for Royal Perusal (chojuji) with a Copy for Distribution (jeojuji): 1) Copy for Royal Perusal from the Second Volume of the Uigwe for Building a Royal Tomb for Queen Hyosun. Joseon, 1751. 46.2 × 34.3 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Loan to National Museum of Korea. 2) Copy for Distribution from the Second Volume of the Uigwe for Building a Royal Tomb for Queen Hyosun. Joseon, 1751. 46.0 × 33.8 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies Once all the inchalseon lines had been drawn on the inner paper, the process of transcribing (正書) could begin. For the copy for royal perusal, one or two skilled official transcribers (sajagwan) were selected to transcribe the original texts of the uigwe neatly in a calligraphic style known as haeseo. As for the copy for distribution, a single transcriber in charge of writing calligraphy for the office (seosagwan) was entrusted with the entire transcription of the uigwe. Each time a word designating the king, the queen, the royal family, or any member of the royal family appeared, the copy for royal perusal was written in such a way as to express reverence, such as by starting a new line and writing the word one or two spaces higher than the other lines (擡頭法). In contrast, for the copy for distribution, a blank space was simply left before the word (工隔法). Consequently, the copy for royal perusal generally contained more pages than the copy for distribution. When the transcription was completed, the government seal was affixed to each page of the copy for distribution. For the copy for royal perusal, official painters (hwawon) meticulously drew doseol illustrations and banchado paintings by hand using vivid colors to depict the details of figures and objects. In contrast, figure stamps were used in copies for distribution to portray recurring characters before coloring. Some parts of the illustrations were occasionally left uncolored, while some characters were roughly sketched without detailed expressions (Fig. 8). Fig. 8. Banchado Illustrations inside a Copy for Royal Perusal (Left) and a Copy for Distribution (Right). Uigwe of the Investiture Ceremony of Crown Prince Hyojang. Joseon, 1725. Now, let us examine the book covers. Out of the 297 volumes of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, only eleven volumes of the copies for royal perusal have preserved their original covers, while the remaining volumes underwent restoration by the National Library of France in the 1970s. The original covers of the restored uigwe books had been separately preserved until they were returned to Korea in 2011. These original covers serve as an important resource in understanding what fabrics were used from the early seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century and how fabric patterns changed over time. The cover of the copy for distribution was made from red hemp cloth, while the cover of the copy for royal perusal was made from high-quality silk, which was typically green but sometimes blue or undyed white. The silk cover of the copy for royal perusal is most commonly adorned with cloud or floral patterns. From the mid-seventeenth century to the first half of the eighteenth century, the cloud-treasure pattern became most prevalent before it was replaced by the lotus pattern with lotus vines in the first half of the eighteenth century. The lotus-peony and flower-phoenix patterns were also used to decorate book covers. From 1746 onward, plain green silk (草綠無紋紬) was used for the cover of the copy for royal perusal in compliance with the royal edict issued in the fourth month of 1746 (the twenty-second year of King Yeongjo’s reign) that prohibited the import and restricted the use of patterned silk in an effort to eliminate extravagance and clarify status distinction. As for book titles, they were written in ink directly on the hemp cover of the copies for distribution, whereas the titles of copies for royal perusal were inscribed on white silk before being attached to the book cover. The edges of the white silk were wrapped with red silk as narrow as 0.1 or 0.2 centimeters. Until the first half of the eighteenth century, both the silk used for the book title and its edges, as well as the silk for book covers, predominantly featured floral patterns before being replaced by plain silk from 1746 onward. This indicates that King Yeongjo’s prohibition on extravagance also extended to the fabric used for making uigwe book covers (Fig. 9). Fig. 9. Cloud-Treasure Pattern on the Silk Book Cover of a Copy for Royal Perusal from the Oegyujanggak Uigwe. Uigwe for Installing the Spirit Hall of Queen Jangryeol. Joseon, 1689 The brass fittings (邊鐵) used for book binding is the last feature of the uigwe left to discuss in this paper. Most of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe volumes have retained their original binding strips, which serve as an essential resource for studying what kind of binding strips were used to produce uigwe during the Joseon dynasty. Brass strips were used to secure the uigwe in the final phase of binding. To bind the copy for royal perusal, brass fitting strips were positioned along the right sides of both the front and back of the silk cover, five holes were drilled to fasten the book with nails, and it was bound with a ring and five nails capped with chrysanthemum-pattern studs. For the copy for distribution, however, refined iron fittings were placed along the right sides of both the front and back of the red cloth cover to secure the book with nails which were capped with studs by drilling three holes. The width of the binding strip for the copy for royal perusal typically measured around 3 centimeters. The style of brass strips changed over time. The four patterns used for adorning the brass strips can be divided into plain, the lotus with scrolling vines pattern (蓮花唐草文), the scrolling vines pattern (唐草文), and the seven jewels pattern (七寶文). Until the early eighteenth century, all ninety brass strips were featured a plain pattern. Records indicate that the production of uigwe began in the early Joseon dynasty, and for a considerable period of time, the brass fittings did not feature any special decorations. However, between 1718 and 1784, the lotus with scrolling vines pattern became the dominant style of decoration for brass fittings, with the exception being the treasure-pattern fittings used for the fourteen uigwe volumes produced in 1752. On the whole, the pattern involved from no pattern to the lotus with scrolling vines pattern, and then to the scrolling vines pattern, save for the treasure pattern used in 1752 (Fig. 10). Fig. 10. Various Brass Fitting Patterns on the Copies for Royal Perusal of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe: 1) Lotus with Scrolling Vines Pattern on Brass Fittings of the Uigwe for the Investiture Ceremony for Crown Prince Hyojang. 1725 2) Seven Jewels Pattern on Brass Fittings of the Uigwe for Building a Royal Tomb for Queen Hyosun. 1752 3) Scrolling Vines Pattern on Brass Fittings for the Uigwe for the Investiture Ceremony for Crown Prince Munhyo. 1784 The nails with chrysanthemum-patterned studs not only secured the brass strips but also served as a beautiful adornment for the uigwe. The chrysanthemum pattern on the copy for royal perusal typically featured eight petals engraved with radial wrinkles and a nail at the center. In the nineteenth century, the chrysanthemum pattern grew more extravagant with eight-leafed petals wrapped in two layers. Among the five studs with a chrysanthemum pattern, the middle one was designed with a loop enabling the attachment of a ring which could be fastened to the nail studs of the copy for distribution (Fig. 11). Fig. 11. Studs with Various Chrysanthemum Patterns for the Copies for Royal Perusal of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe: 1) Chrysanthemum Stud for the Uigwe of the Royal Coffin Hall for Queen Jangryeol. 1689 2) Chrysanthemum Stud for the Uigwe of the Investiture for Crown Prince Hyojang. 1725 3) Chrysanthemum Stud for the Uigwe of Building a Royal Tomb for Queen Hyosun. 1752 4) Chrysanthemum Stud for the Uigwe for Granting Honorary Titles to Queen Sunwon and Queeen Sinjeong. 1837 As previously discussed, most of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe were crafted to the highest standards, with meticulous attention to detail and the use of specially selected materials, all for the king’s perusal. Unlike other state records, separate copies specifically intended for the king were created for the uigwe. This indicates that the Joseon dynasty believed the uigwe would uphold “the rule of propriety” through ceremonies and rituals, which is why considerable efforts were devoted not only to its content but also to every aspect of its manufacturing process. The Oegyujanggak Uigwe serves as a valuable resource for understanding the distinctive features of the copies for royal perusal, the intricacies of the manufacturing process, and reassessing the significance of these copies for royal perusal during the Joseon dynasty. Research Findings and Future Prospects for the Oegyujanggak Uigwe Before the publication of Dr. Park Byeongseon’s work in 1985, research on the uigwe had been limited to a small number of fields such as the history of clothing, music, and architecture, primarily relying on the illustrations found within the uigwe. However, following the publication of her work in 1985, there was a gradual increase in the number of research papers relying on domestic collections. Full-scale research began in the 2000s. From the dispatch of an inspection team to France in 2002 until 2010, the number of research papers on uigwe increased by more than fivefold after domestic organizations began to compile and publish the annotated catalogues of their collections around 2002 and the inspection team published their research reports. More specifically, the return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe from France in 2011 served as a catalyst for further research, resulting in an increase in the publication of research papers and dissertations, with approximately forty more general papers and twenty more dissertations published compared to the period from 2002 to 2010. Most of all, the return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe helped to raise public awareness and generate widespread interest in uigwe. Playing a key role in this regard was the special exhibition titled “The Return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe from France: Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty” (July 19–September 18, 2011), which was held immediately after the return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe to celebrate their repatriation and promote their significance. The special exhibition was soon followed by touring exhibitions held in Ganghwa Island, Gwangju, Daegu, and Jeonju. To promote further research on the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, the National Museum of Korea created a database from 2012 to 2015 which offers original images and texts for all 297 volumes, as well as comprehensive information organized by theme, including annotations, doseol illustrations, and banchado paintings, all accessible on its official website (https://www.museum.go.kr/). The comprehensive database of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe has been instrumental in academic research and the creation of various cultural contents. This is especially true for the bookbinding of the copies for royal perusal, as well as the colored doseol illustrations and banchado paintings, all of which have been widely used for the production of digital content and cultural products. In addition to individual scholars conducting research using the Oegyujanggak Uigwe comprehensive database, the National Museum of Korea itself has also been actively involved in research projects. From 2011 to 2012, the museum conducted scientific analyses on the images, book covers, inner paper, and binding strips of all volumes of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, achieving significant progress. The findings were documented in the Oegyujanggak Uigwe Academic Series, published as part of the museum’s own research initiative (Fig. 12). Fig. 12. Oegyujanggak Uigwe Academic Series published by the National Museum of Korea The book Joseon Dynasty Uigwe: Current State of Research and Future Prospects, published in 2012, provides basic data essential for preliminary research on the Oegyujanggak Uigwe by providing an overview of the different uigwe collections found in major domestic institutions and summarizing the history of research on the uigwe in various fields. The book also includes the findings of a comprehensive survey conducted on all volumes of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe. The Bookbinding of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, published in 2014, examines the characteristics of the copies for royal perusal and the bookbinding process used in their production according to the time period and type of material. The book also explores the cultural and historical significance of the copies for royal perusal through the study of bookbinding. It offers an empirical examination of the manufacturing process by comparing the records in uigwe with the results of scientific analysis conducted on the inner paper, book covers, and binding strips, thereby providing the basis for follow-up research. Starting from the third publication of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe Academic Series, uigwe research transitioned to topic-based studies, involving researchers from various fields including the history of Joseon dynasty, bibliographic studies, art history, the history of costumes, architectural history, and the history of music. The Funerary Rites of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe I, published in 2015, and the Funerary Rites of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe II, published in 2018, focus on single-copy uigwe for funeral rites. The books thoroughly explore the preparation process and procedures involved in the funerals for the queen, the queen dowager, the crown princess, and the eldest son of the crown prince, topics that previously lacked comprehensive research. Also discussed are the changes in rituals, artisans involved, and analyses of banchado paintings and pigments. In the Chaengnye and Jonsung Rites, published in 2020, the ceremony of bestowing honorary titles upon the queen dowager and investitures for the queen and the crown prince, rare topics in the field of uigwe research, are reinterpreted as rituals to raise the status of the royal family. The book also explores various other topics such as the venues used and the music performed at the rituals. The Gongsin Nokhun, published in 2022, is dedicated to the ceremonial process of rewarding meritorious service during the reigns of King Sukjong and King Yeongjo. The book mainly focuses on single copies, discussing their political significance and shedding light on the compilation process of the Uigwe for Rewarding Meritorious Service (錄勳都監儀軌, Nokhun dogam uigwe). In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the return of uigwe from France, the book also examines research results accumulated during the ten years following their repatriation in 2011, with a focus on the fields of Korean history, architectural history, art history, costume history, and music history. Research on uigwe has been conducted across various fields and topics. In the field of Korean history, research has progressed beyond the initial stage of empirical reconstruction of ritual practices to the in-depth study of the ideological, political, and cultural significance in each ritual. In architectural history, the research extends beyond royal palaces and the Royal Ancestral Shrine to encompass royal tombs and other shrines. Research topics have also been subdivided, and the volume of research has also increased drastically in the field of art history. Recent trends in art history research focus on identifying extant artworks and linking them to the records in uigwe in the aim of reconstructing the rituals and venues where artifacts were used, as well as examining historical and political interpretations of royal art. As for the field of costume history, notable achievements have been made in three areas: the publication of non-academic books, in-depth historical investigation into royal costumes, and the digitalization of uigwe contents. Similarly, various efforts have also been made in music history. New perspectives have been applied to analyzing uigwe related to royal banquets, focusing on the roles and activities of court musicians, the manufacture of musical instruments, and the formation of musicians and instruments during the performance. Furthermore, the findings from this research have been reflected in music education at schools (National Museum of Korea, 2012–2022). The special exhibition titled “Pinnacle of Propriety: The Uigwe, Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty,” held from November first of 2022 to March nineteenth of 2023, showcased the research results conducted over the ten year-period following the return of the uigwe (National Museum of Korea, 2022). Research on the Oegyujanggak Uigwe is expected to make further progress on the topics of wedding ceremonies, the rites of conferring honorary titles and enshrining the spirit tablet at the Royal Ancestral Shrine, the construction and repair works, and other related areas. Concluding Remarks The Oegyujanggak Uigwe are cultural assets with a unique history. They are invaluable not only because they offer a glimpse into the state rituals conducted at the time of the Joseon dynasty, but also because of their unusual journey, having traveled from Joseon to France and back to the Republic of Korea 145 years later. Above all, the Oegyujanggak Uigwe contain the ruling philosophy of the Joseon dynasty, the “rule of propriety,” as evidenced by the recorded precedents of royal ceremonies and rituals. This explains why the Joseon court invested such great effort in adorning the copies for royal perusal with highly elaborate bookbinding to make them stand out from other state records and emphasize their value. Furthermore, the calligraphy, book covers, and paintings of the copies for royal perusal will undoubtedly serve as the basis for the creation of various cultural contents. The National Museum of Korea’s efforts to promote the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, including research projects, comprehensive database services, exhibitions, and other initiatives, are expected to yield fruitful results in future research and other applications of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe across various fields.

Over the last decade, institutions in possession of Joseon wangjo uigwe (Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty) volumes, including the National Museum of Korea, have introduced online services making it possible to view the original texts in high-definition digital format while also granting access to a considerable portion of their bibliographic information. These efforts have collectively led to a significant increase in the number of studies on uigwe (儀軌, royal protocols) examining the procedures of each rite, the books recording the detailed procedures, and the operation of a dogam (都監, directorate) in charge of supervising the execution of each respective rite. Accordingly, recent research on uigwe tends to focus on specifying the particulars and meanings of the rites as well as other issues mentioned in uigwe. On the other hand, research on uigwe dogam (儀軌都監), which refers to the directorate established to oversee the production of a given uigwe, has progressed little. Although there are studies that explore how dogam were operated as a form of directorate during the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮, 1392–1910), they extend beyond the scope of just uigwe dogam, rendering them inadequate for understanding what kind of organizations uigwe dogam were. Exploring how the uigwe dogam tasked with producing new uigwe volumes were organized and operated is an important topic that can help provide a better understanding of the uigwe themselves. Thus, rather than focusing on the achievements of each meritorious subject (功臣, gongsin) or the process by which they were installed as such, this paper aims to scrutinize the uigwe dogam that was established to produce the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe (奮武錄勳都監儀軌, Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects) (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. the Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects vol. 1–2. Joseon, 1729. (vol. 1) 48.0 × 36.2 cm, (vol 2) 48.0 × 36.0 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Loaned to the National Museum of Korea A uigwe conventionally includes records from the dogam in charge of supervising the execution of the event in question. For example, a uigwe compiled by the gukjang dogam (國葬都監) may include details about the execution of a state funeral, while a uigwe from the salleung dogam (山陵都監) would document the construction process of a royal tomb. If compiled by the garye dogam (嘉禮都監), it would contain guidelines for conducting festive ceremonies, while one from the nokhun dogam (錄勳都監) would provide instructions on appointing and rewarding meritorious subjects. The final section of uigwe occasionally features materials related to the uigwe dogam that produced it. While these materials provide important insights into the activities of uigwe dogam at the time, in many instances, they only consist of operational provisions for the uigwe dogam or a list of officials belonging to it. In other cases, short and simple items are included, like documents ordering changes in personnel or the provision of needed supplies. Moreover, some uigwe do not include any information related to the uigwe dogam at all, making it difficult to gain a full understanding of the detailed undertakings of all uigwe dogam. Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe, however, contains an additional section entitled Uigwe dogam deungnok (儀軌都監謄錄, Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam) that includes a variety of systematically arranged daily administrative records of the corresponding uigwe dogam, which provides excellent material for determining how a uigwe dogam was organized and operated in the late Joseon period (Fig. 2). Accordingly, by focusing on this Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam section, this paper intends to examine how the uigwe dogam was formed and what tasks it undertook upon the appointment of Bunmu meritorious subjects. In doing so, it attempts to advance the understanding of how a uigwe dogam was generally managed at the time. Furthermore, given the considerable administrative effort involved in the follow-up measures taken on behalf of many assistant meritorious subjects, whose number reached into the thousands, this paper will investigate whether the appointment of meritorious subjects exerted any kind of special influence on the relevant uigwe dogam. Fig. 2. Uigwe dogam deungnok in the Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects vol. 2 The Establishment of a Uigwe Dogam for the Appointment and Rewarding of “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects and the Selection of Personnel for the Operation of the Uigwe Dogam On the twelfth day of the third lunar month of 1728, Yi Sam (李森), a commander of the Jwapodocheong (左捕盜大將, Left-Central Police), submitted to King Yeongjo (英祖, r. 1724–1776) a note that he had obtained in Jeonju. It proved to be the first indication of the pending Rebellion of Yi Injwa (李麟佐) in the year of Musin (1728), which went on to shake the nation in the early days of King Yeonjo’s reign.1 The incident unfolded after an intoxicated person dropped a note containing a malicious rumor alleging that Yeongjo had taken the throne by poisoning his step-brother King Gyeongjong (景宗, r. 1720–1724) and outlining plans for an uprising. Two days later, a spy uncovered the specific date for the planned rebellion,2 and on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, a rebel army led by Yi Injwa captured Cheongju Fortress, signaling the start of Yi’s rebellion. In response, King Yeongjo appointed O Myeonghang (吳命恒), the Minister of Military Affairs, as commander-in-chief to subdue the rebel army. Within less than a month, the rebellion was completely suppressed and Yi Injwa and other leaders of the rebel forces were beheaded (Fig. 3). Fig. 3. Portrait of King Yeongjo by Chae Yongsin (1850–1941), Jo Seokjin (1853–1920), and others. Joseon, 1900. Ink and color on silk. 110.5 × 61.8 cm. National Palace Museum of Korea. Treasure On the ninth day of the fourth lunar month of 1728, King Yeongjo ordered the appointment of those who had performed distinguished deeds in the quelling the Rebellion of Yi Injwa as meritorious subjects and that they be rewarded. On the twentieth day, the contributions of those involved, including O Myeonghang, began to be evaluated. On the twenty-sixth day, meritorious subjects in the suppression of Yi Injwa’s Rebellion were determined to be granted the title of Bunmu (奮武). O Myeonghang and fourteen others were selected as the main meritorious subjects (正功臣, jeonggongsin), with O being the only member in the first class, and on the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, a nokhun dogam was established to administer the rewards for the selected meritorious subjects. A nokhun dogam consisted of a docheong office (都廳) which oversaw the tasks related to the administration of rewards. The other departments included an ilbang (一房, first section), ibang (二房, second section), sambang (三房, third section), and byeolgongjak (別工作, additional tasks) which were each responsible for the production of various items. The main tasks of a nokhun dogam included the production of goods to be bestowed upon meritorious subjects, the preparations for the hoemaengje ritual (會盟祭) in which the king and meritorious subjects vowed in front of the gods of heaven and earth never to betray each other, the selection of assistant meritorious subjects (原從功臣, wonjong gongsin), and the production of certificates (錄券, nokgwon) issued to meritorious subjects. In the case of the Bunmu meritorious subjects, the hoemaengje ritual was set to be conducted on the eighteenth day of the seventh lunar month of 1728. The production of handscrolls recording the vow taken by the king and meritorious subjects, including their names and ranks, along with the royal edicts and portraits bestowed upon them, all of which were to be given to the main meritorious subjects, was completed before the ritual. Between the twenty-fifth day of the seventh lunar month and the twenty-third day of the eighth lunar month, the king’s calligraphy granted to the meritorious subjects was carved on hanging boards. Once the key tasks for the project of appointing and rewarding meritorious were completed, the nokhun dogam dissolved the ilbang, ibang, and byeolgongjak departments on the twenty-seventh day of the eighth lunar month. Since the affairs related to assistant meritorious subjects were still in progress, the other departments were disbanded before the sambang department in charge of this task. Table 1. Daily Records Regarding the Appointment and Rewarding of “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects Year Month Day Content 1728 4th 20th Initiation of discussions regarding the notable achievements of O Myeonghang, who served as a saro dosunmusa (四路都巡撫使, temporary commissioner in charge of inspecting military affairs during wars or revolts), as the foremost meritorious subject 26th Selection of title for meritorious subjects and designation of fifteen figures, including O Myeonghang, as the main meritorious subjects Appointment of the foremost meritorious subject O Myeonghang as a high-level official (堂上, dangsang) at the nokhun dogam 5th 7th Appointment of working-level administrators (郎廳, nangcheong), production supervisors (監造官, gamjogwan), and others → Completion of the organization of the nokhun dogam (docheong office and ilbang, ibang, sambang, and byeolgongjak departments) 8th 27th Completion of the most important tasks for the project of appointing and rewarding meritorious subjects Reduction of the number of working-level administrators and production supervisors for the ilbang, ibang, and byeolgongjak departments 1729 2nd 8th (Sambang) Submission of recommended assistant meritorious subjects (8,776 in total) list to the king for approval in the form of a document attached to a report 5th 17th (Sambang) Completion of the binding of certificates for assistant meritorious subjects 18th (Sambang) Initiation of the review process of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects 25th Completion of the sambang department’s tasks; dissolution of the nokhun dogam; establishment of the uigwe dogam On the eighth day of the second lunar month of the following year (1729), the nokhun dogam submitted a list of recommended assistant meritorious subjects to the king.3 The main meritorious subjects had been selected through discussion between the king and officials, but the nokhun dogam had originally assumed the task of selecting assistant meritorious subjects and providing rewards.4 Since the number of selected assistant meritorious subjects reached 8,776, it took a considerable amount of time for the nokhun dogam to select them. Following the completion of the selection of assistant meritorious subjects, the sambang department continued to publish books by compiling printed nokgwon certificates until the seventeenth day of the fifth lunar month. The review process of these books began the next day and ended on the twenty-fifth of the same month. That day marked the dissolution of the nokhun dogam, which coincided with the establishment of the uigwe dogam.5 The establishment of a uigwe dogam after the dissolution of the nokhun dogam was done according to the common practice of the time. This practice can be observed not just in the appointment and rewarding of the Bunmu meritorious subjects who subdued the Rebellion of Yi Injwa, but also in the appointment and rewarding of Bosa meritorious subjects (保社功臣) who quelled Heo Gyeon’s planned revolt in 1682 and in the reinstating the five awardees from the Westerners, who were stripped of this honor by the Southerners in 1695 during the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗, r. 1674–1720). In some cases, uigwe dogam were established while the nokhun dogam was still in operation. However, such cases were not the norm. For example, when appointing and rewarding Busa meritorious subjects (扶社 功臣) for purging the Old Doctrine faction in 1723 (the third year of the reign of King Gyeongjong), five years before the appointment of the Bunmu meritorious subjects, the volume of related documents that needed to be organized was so vast that the uigwe dogam was established slightly earlier than usual. However, in the case of the Bunmu meritorious subjects, the process of suppressing the rebellion and selecting meritorious subjects progressed relatively smoothly, suggesting that the volume of documents to be organized was not particularly large. Therefore, it would have been reasonable to follow the practice of establishing the uigwe dogam after dissolving the nokhun dogam. The nokhun dogam for Bunmu meritorious subjects requested the king’s approval for the establishment of the uigwe dogam, presenting him with the basic regulations regarding its operation. The regulations listed basic information like the location where the office was to be set up, the composition of its personnel, various costs it could incur, and necessary supplies. The details are as follows: <Regulations for the Uigwe Dogam> 6 • Since the nokhun dogam has completed its duties, it is to be renamed “uigwe dogam” for the compilation of the relevant uigwe. • [The uigwe dogam] is to be established at the Pyeongsiseo (平市署, Bureau of Market Weights and Measures). • Two working-level administrators (nangcheong) from the nokhun dogam are to be appointed in charge of the uigwe documents. • The Hojo (戶曹, Ministry of Taxation) and the Byeongjo (兵曹, Ministry of Military Affairs) are responsible for providing cotton or hemp cloth as salary to two writing officers (寫字官, sajagwan), a court painter drawing the red lines (印札畫員, inchal hwawon), four transcribers (書寫, seosa), two clerical functionaries (書吏, seori), a warehouse clerk (庫直, gojik), and two errand runners (使令, saryeong), all of whom [will work on the production] of the uigwe for the king. • Two guards (守直軍, sujikgun) are to be assigned from the Byeongjo. • Paper, ink, brushes, and other various items to be used [by the uigwe dogam] are to be procured by the respective bureaus in charge of them. • Missing provisions are to be supplemented later. The third provision stipulating that two working-level administrators from the nokhun dogam continue to work at the uigwe dogam is noteworthy. At the end of the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam in the second volume of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe is a list of officials at the uigwe dogam, and a comparison of this list with the personnel of the nokhun dogam indicates a continuity of staff between the two entities. More specifically, the uigwe dogam had a working-level administrator named Sim Yeok (沈㴒) who previously served as an official with the Sajikseo (社稷署, Bureau of Land and Grain Gods Altar); two clerical functionaries named Yi Sugyu (李壽奎) and Bak Changgyeom (朴昌謙); four writing officials; four transcribers; a warehouse clerk; two errand runners; and a guard.7 The working-level administrator Sim and the two clerical functionaries, all of whom oversaw affairs, also worked at the nokhun dogam. In the case of Sim, he was first appointed as a working-level administrator for the ibang department of the nokhun dogam before being transferred to the sambang department about two months later, where he served until the dissolution of the nokhun dogam. After serving as a clerical functionary in the docheong and sambang departments, respectively, Yi Sugyu and Bak Changgyeom subsequently took on roles at the uigwe dogam. The fact that the three individuals appointed to the uigwe dogam had previously worked in the docheong or sambang departments of the nokhun dogam indicates that consideration was given to task continuity when appointing the personnel of the uigwe dogam. The clerical functionaries of the docheong that supervised the affairs of the nokhun dogam appear to have had a full understanding of the project since they not only managed documents reporting various matters to the king and delivered the king’s orders, but also oversaw certain tasks in the ilbang, ibang, as well as sambang and byeolgongjak departments. The working-level administrators and clerical functionaries assigned to the sambang department were responsible for discussing and deciding upon the meritorious deeds of the assistant meritorious subjects and for producing certificate books for them. Thus, their involvement in related follow-up tasks at the uigwe dogam was expected to result in a high level of continuity. The initial tasks of the uigwe dogam mostly revolved around certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects, which will be discussed in greater depth in the following section. Accordingly, the reappointment of a clerical functionary from the docheong and a working-level administrator and clerical functionary from the sambang appears to be a deliberate decision to select the most suitable individuals for the uigwe dogam’s tasks of organizing and recording the appointment and reward of meritorious subjects. Table 2. Comparison of Personnel Between the Nokhun Dogam and Uigwe Dogam However, such level of consideration regarding the selection of personnel for the uigwe dogam is not limited to the case of the uigwe dogam for appointing and rewarding Bunmu meritorious subjects. It is already well known that officials of the Sillok Uigwecheong (Office for the Royal Protocols of Annals) which was established after the completion of the production of annals (sillok) were recruited from among high-level officials and working-level administrators at the Sillokcheong (Office of Annals).8 A dogam was a directorate intended to carry out a specific project, and its officials were expected to carry out the relevant tasks while also maintaining their original jobs. Fully utilizing the organizational flexibility of a dogam, professional individuals could be recruited. Such recruitment of personnel, as seen in the case of the uigwe dogam for the appointment and rewarding of Bunmu meritorious subjects, can be extremely effective in that it assures expertise and efficacy by making use of the existing workforce. Assigned Tasks of the Uigwe Dogam for the Appointment and Rewarding of “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects This chapter examines the tasks carried out by the uigwe dogam for appointing and rewarding Bunmu meritorious subjects after its establishment on the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month of 1729. Specific details can be found in the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam included at the end of the second volume of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe. The Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam consists of four pummok (稟目) documents that provide details of various items to be used at the uigwe dogam. It also includes gamgyeoljil (甘結秩), a compilation of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to subordinate offices to direct the procurement of supplies and the temporary transfer of personnel; imunjil (移文秩), a collection of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to offices of equivalent hierarchical standing to request payment for its officials or coordinate particulars regarding required supplies; naegwanjil (來關秩), a compilation of documents received by the uigwe dogam; and jwamok (座目), a list of officials at the uigwe dogam. Based on the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam, details of the key tasks performed by the uigwe dogam can be listed in chronological order as seen in Table 3 below. The contents not included in the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam, such as the dissolution of the uigwe dogam after the submission of the completed royal protocols to the king, have been identified in Seungjeongwon ilgi (Diary of the Royal Secretariat) and added to the table. The uigwe dogam for the appointment and rewarding of Bunmu meritorious subjects, established on the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month of 1729, started out by submitting a list of the items required to carry out its tasks, including brushes, ink, paper, water droppers, sitting mats, reading tables, firewood for heating, and braziers.9 In the fifth lunar month of 1730, the office undertook the binding of three sets of six volumes, both for the king’s reference and for storage in various other locations.10 The bookbinding process was completed at some point, and on the third day of the eighth lunar month the uigwe dogam was dissolved.11 The period from the establishment of the uigwe dogam to its dissolution spanned about fifteen months (including a lunar leap month). As can be seen from Table 3 above, it is worth noting that from the establishment of the uigwe dogam through the fourth day of the eleven lunar month of 1729, the main focus of the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam rested not in compiling the royal protocols, an important aspect of uigwe production, but in other tasks such as the production of registers meant to be stored at the Chunghunbu (忠勳府, Bureau of Meritorious Subjects) and Yemungwan (藝文館, Bureau of Royal Decrees) containing personal information about meritorious subjects from preceding years, the production of wooden hanging boards engraved with the names of new meritorious subjects, the publication of certificate books given to bonded servants who became assistant meritorious subjects, and the correction of errors in certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects that had been printed by the sambang department.12 These tasks can be viewed as follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam. In the following section of this paper, I will explain how the uigwe dogam came to assume responsibility for these duties. Table 3. Daily Records of the Uigwe Dogam for the Appointment and Rewarding of “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects Year Mont Day Particulars Source 1729 5th 25th Establishment of the uigwe dogam Nokhun uigwe Collection of documents offered to the king (gyesajil) 5th Discussion with the king about the list of required items Uigwe deungnok Documents on the details of various items to be used at the uigwe dogam (pummok) 6th Transfer of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects (from the Chunghunbu Bureau to the uigwe dogam) Collection of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to subordinate offices (gamgyeoljil) Dispatchment of unissued certificates for assistant meritorious subjects to managers of liaison agencies in local villages Collection of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to equivalent-level offices (imunjil) 7th Discussion with the king about the list of items required for producing official documents of the register of meritorious subjects with the king’s name, books for meritorious subjects, and hanging boards inscribed with the names of the new meritorious subjects to be stored at Gigonggak Hall and the Yemungwan (Bureau of Royal Decrees) Documents on the details of various items to be used at the uigwe dogam (pummok) Retrieval of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects from Gyeongsang-do Province, which had either already been distributed or had not yet been distributed to the respective assistant meritorious subjects or their local magistrates, to the Gyeongsang-do Provincial Office for their bestowal in batches 16th Punishment of lower officials who made errors in documents sent to offices for the production of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects Decision to revise the unbound certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects for bestowal Seungjeongwon ilgi vol. 688 20th Drawing of red lines for the compilation and revision of official documents of the register of meritorious subjects with the king’s name to be enshrined at Gigonggak Hall and those without the king’s name to be stored at the Yemungwan Bureau (until the fifth day of the seventh lunar leap month) Uigwe deungnok Collection of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to equivalent-level offices (imunjil) 25th Start of neat and accurate transcription for the compilation and revisions of official documents of the register of meritorious subjects with the king’s name to be enshrined at Gigonggak Hall and those without the king’s name to be stored at the Yemungwan Bureau (lasted about one month) 7th (lunar leap) Notification of each province on the elevation of the social status of those who had become assistant meritorious subjects from public and private bonded servants to freeborn commoners (yangin) Binding of certificates for assistant meritorious subjects as public and private bonded servants whose social status was elevated into separate books and transfer to the Jangyewon (Bureau of Bonded Servant Administration and Ligation) 8th Punishment of lower officials who made errors in documents sent to various offices for the production of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects Announcement of the decision to bestow unbound and revised certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects Collection of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to subordinate offices (gamgyeoljil) Unbinding and revision of misprinted certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects Procurement of items required for the publication of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects whose social status was elevated from public and private bonded servants to freeborn commoners (yangin) Procurement of items required for filling in empty spaces on hanging boards inscribed with names of new meritorious subjects with Chinese characters and coloring them 9th Procurement of heating supplies for the offices producing royal protocols Ordering of temporary transfer of a female sewing servant for the production of a wrapping cloth for the official documents of the register of meritorious subjects and for curtains for hanging boards inscribed with names of new meritorious subjects 10th Ordering of temporary transfer of an engraver-artisan to carve inscriptions on hanging boards inscribed with the names of new meritorious subjects Ordering of temporary transfer of a sculptor-artisan for the sculpting of hanging boards inscribed with the names of new meritorious subjects Ordering of temporary transfer of workers for polishing paper to be used for the official documents of the register of meritorious subjects with the king’s name to be enshrined at Gigonggak Hall and procurement of required items Selection of a day for the enshrinement of the official documents of the register of meritorious subjects with the king’s name at Gigonggak Hall Procurement of heating supplies needed when recording royal protocols 11th 4th Enshrinement of the official documents of the register of meritorious subjects with the king’s name at Gigonggak Hall 12th Completion of the first drafts of documents for inclusion in the royal protocols (documents on the interrogations of criminals from the Uigeumbu (Judicial Agency) not yet submitted) Documents on the details of various items to be used at the uigwe dogam (pummok) Start of the neat and correct transcription of drafted documents (excluding documents about interrogations of criminals from the Uigeumbu) 1730 5th Discussion with the king about the binding of royal protocols (two volumes in one set) for the king and those (four volumes in two sets) to be stored elsewhere and the items required for their submission 8th 3rd Submissions of the royal protocols for the king and other copies to be stored elsewhere Seungjeongwon ilgi vol. 708 Dissolution of the uigwe dogam * Nokhun uigwe: Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe (Royal Protocol for the Appointment and Rewarding of Bunmu Meritorious Subjects) Uigwe deungnok: Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam in the second volume of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe Based on the dates provided, the first task undertaken by the uigwe dogam was the transportation of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects from the Chunghunbu Bureau. This task was carried out according to the sambang department’s decision on how to bestow certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects before its discontinuation. The last entry in the collection of pummok documents in the Sambang uigwe (三房儀軌, Uigwe of the Sambang Department) section from the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe outlines the guidelines for distributing the books documenting the pledge made by the king and meritorious subjects (hoemaengnok) and certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects, both of which were printed by the sambang department. The entry further states that the sambang department had officially completed its duties with the printing of the certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects and that the uigwe dogam to be later established was to be in charge of distributing these certificate books. Thus, thousands of volumes of these certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects were transported to the uigwe dogam from the Chunghunbu Bureau. Soon after, they were distributed to the provinces through the local officials in each relevant town (Fig. 4). Fig. 4. Certificate Book for Bunmu Assistant Meritorious Subjects Given to Yi Heonbok. Joseon, 1729. 32.3 × 21.3 cm. National Museum of Korea However, the number of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects acquired and distributed by the uigwe dogam appears to have fallen far short of the quantity originally produced. According to a document sent to the Bibyeonsa (Agency for Border Affairs) by the uigwe dogam in the seventh lunar month of 1729, the majority of the certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects had already been handed over to the respective parties or their local magistrates by the time the sambang department conducted the review and sealing process.13 This indicates that while the bestowal method of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects had been predetermined by precedent, the actual distribution process did not strictly adhere to these preestablished guidelines. Instead, it was adapted to the circumstances at the time. A problem emerged following the bestowal of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects in advance. There were several complaints that the certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects that had been distributed to various places contained errors, such as inaccuracies in the names. Accordingly, it was determined on the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month that the erroneous certificates should be reprinted.14 At that point, a large amount of time had passed since the dissolution of the nokhun dogam. Consequently, the uigwe dogam in charge of the bestowal of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects had to assume the task of revising them. It retrieved the distributed certificate books, and in the eighth lunar month, made modifications by replacing the erroneous pages, reviewing them, and stamping them. The Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam does not record how or when these revised certificate books were redistributed. However, it is probable that they were redistributed using a process similar to the initial distribution. In the meantime, the uigwe dogam was tasked with elevating bonded servants who had been recognized as assistant meritorious subjects to the status of freeborn commoners (良人, yangin). When King Yeongjo ordered the elevation of bonded servants who had become assistant meritorious subjects to the status of freeborn commoners in the seventh lunar month of 1729, the Jangyewon (掌隷院, Bureau of Bonded Servant Administration and Ligation) requested the uigwe dogam to produce additional certificate books for them. Accordingly, the uigwe dogam completed the production of these books in the seventh lunar leap month and sent them to the Jangyewon. It also dispatched an official document to the provinces instructing them to manumit any bonded servants recognized as assistant meritorious subjects if they presented themselves to the provincial government office with their certificate books.15 The uigwe dogam, upon its establishment, was not initially tasked with revising certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects or producing additional certificate books for the elevation of the status of bonded servants. These were additional tasks that had been unexpectedly entrusted to it. On the other hand, the production of meritorious subject registers for the Chunghunbu and Yemungwan Bureaus alongside hanging boards are thought to have been assigned to the uigwe dogam from the beginning. The creation of registers for all the meritorious subjects up to that point may appear suitable for the nokhun dogam’s sambang department as it shares similarities with the sambang’s task of producing certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects. However, the sambang department primarily published certificate books through printing and was in fact ill-equipped for the creation of registers since the names of meritorious subjects required being neatly handwritten in a particular calligraphic style. The personnel of the sambang department consisted of specialists in metal type printing, each of whom were assigned a specific role. One individual was tasked with calling out the needed type blocks (唱准, changjun), one with selecting the type blocks from their cases and spreading them out on the printing plate (上板諸員, sangpan jewon), one with securing the type blocks to the printing plate (均字匠, gyunjajang), one with applying ink to the type blocks and pressed them on the paper (印出匠, inchuljang), and another with safely storing the type blocks (守欌諸員, sujang jewon) (Fig. 5).16 All the books produced by the sambang department were printed using type. On the other hand, the uigwe dogam consisted of four individuals who transcribed the contents of documents and four calligraphy experts,17 indicating that it was established for the production of handwritten manuscripts. Ultimately, the creation of meritorious subject registers to be sent to the Chunghunbu and Yemungwan Bureaus proved a task more suitable for the uigwe dogam, whose main function was to transcribe, rather than for the sambang department, which was better equipped for type printing. Therefore, the creation of meritorious subject registers is considered to have been the responsibility of the uigwe dogam from the outset. Fig. 5. A list of the officials needed for the publication of books at the sambang from the Sambang uigwe section in Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects vol. 2. The production of hanging boards engraved with the names of new meritorious subjects does not seem to align with the organizational characteristics and responsibilities of the uigwe dogam. Since making hanging boards required specific woodcarving and sculpting skills, it was not something that could be undertaken directly by the uigwe dogam’s personnel. Thus, it asked other bureaus to dispatch skilled engravers and proceeded with the task, as demonstrated in the following account included in its report of required items: “In accordance with precedent, all new registers for meritorious subjects have been produced by adding the names of new meritorious subjects, and there are instances when hanging boards were also carved with the names of new meritorious subjects…” This account suggests that although the crafting of hanging boards involved wood sculpting, the uigwe dogam would remain in charge of their production due to precedents of producing them concurrently with the meritorious subject registers. The uigwe dogam responsible for appointing and rewarding Bunmu meritorious subjects was not alone in undertaking transcription duties seemingly unrelated to the publication of royal protocols. An example from the reign of King Yeongjo can be found in the following entry on the eleventh day of the third lunar month of 1752 (the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King Yeongjo) in the Seungjeongwon ilgi: Yi Seonhaeng (李善行) told [the king] that “[We are] still nowhere near finished with the project of compiling Sangnye sugyo (喪禮受敎, Royal Edicts on Funeral Rites), and since no directorate is in charge of the project, even the necessary supplies required for the compilation, such as paper, ink, and brushes, are extremely inadequate. Would it be possible for the uigwe dogam to assume responsibility for this project as well?” In response, the king said “That sounds right. Let the uigwe dogam for the erection and operation of the royal coffin hall and spirit hall for Crown Princess Hyeonbin (賢嬪) [Queen Hyosun] (殯宮魂宮儀軌都監) manage the various jobs related to the compilation of the Sangnye sugyo.” When the state funeral for the deceased Crown Princess Hyeonbin of the Cho clan (who posthumously became known as Queen Hyosun) (世子嬪 孝純賢嬪 趙氏, 1715-1751) was being held, King Yeongjo ordered the publication of a book that would compile details having been omitted, abbreviated, or corrected during the state funeral. He named the book Sangnye sugyo (Royal Edicts on Funeral Rites) (later changed to Gukjo sangnye bopyeon (國朝喪禮補編, Supplement of The National Funeral Rites)) (Fig. 6). The publication of Sangnye sugyo seems to have been undertaken without a dedicated organization like a dogam. Since it was difficult to procure even the items needed for the compilation of Sangnye sugyo, Yi Seonhaeng proposed to have the uigwe dogam concurrently assume the compilation of Sangnye sugyo. King Yeongjo’s reply to Yi’s proposal confirms that the uigwe dogam at the time was a dogam built to produce royal protocols for the erection and operation of the royal coffin hall and spirit hall for Crown Princess Hyeonbin after the completion of her funeral. Yi’s proposal might have taken into consideration the fact that the compilation of Sangnye sugyo and the production of the royal protocols related to Crown Princess Hyeonbin both involved the publication of details concerning the royal funeral rites in book form. This serves as another example of a uigwe dogam taking on an additional transcription task that was not directly related to the production of royal protocols. Fig. 6. Supplement of The National Funeral Rites. Joseon, 1758. 32.8 × 21.8 cm. National Museum of Korea With the submission of meritorious subject registers to the Chunghunbu Bureau on the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month of 1729, the uigwe dogam had completed the follow-up tasks it had assumed from the nokhun dogam. It began work on the publication of the royal protocols the following month. At that point, more than seven months had passed since the establishment of the uigwe dogam. Most of the royal protocol documents have been drafted, but the Uigeumbu (義禁府, Judicial Agency) has yet to provide the documents on the interrogation of criminals. If we wait for these documents to arrive, there is no way to know when we will complete the transcription process. Therefore, we intend to begin with the transcription of the other royal protocol documents drafts first… According to this entry from the twelfth lunar month of 1729, the uigwe dogam reported that the selection and organization of documents for inclusion in the royal protocols had been completed, and that it would start transcribing the final versions neatly and accurately. Other previous entries related to the production of royal protocols from the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam only mentioned a few minor issues, including a request for items needed for copying documents.18 Based on these entries, it appears that the uigwe dogam was entirely dedicated to follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam for the first half of its existence. However, the entry from the twelfth lunar month of 1729 in which the uigwe dogam states it would immediately start transcribing royal protocol documents suggests that it had in fact been working on organizing them. Moreover, given that the uigwe dogam requested items for binding the transcribed documents into books five months later in the fifth lunar month of 1730, the neat and accurate transcription of these documents seems to have been completed at that time. The royal protocols produced by the uigwe dogam for appointing and rewarding the Bunmu meritorious subjects ultimately comprised three sets totaling six volumes: one set consisting of two volumes for the king along with two other sets totaling four volumes to be stored at the Uijeongbu (State Council) and Chunghunbu Bureau. Considering that there were four writing officials and four transcribers at the uigwe dogam, it would not have been a difficult task to complete them in five months. In any case, shortly after requesting the items required for bookbinding, the uigwe dogam must have begun binding the royal protocols into books. On the third day of the eighth lunar month of 1730, the uigwe dogam reported to the king that it was ready to submit the royal protocols, both his own copies and those to be stored in other places, indicating that the bookbinding process had been completed. On that day, with the project now completed, the uigwe dogam was finally dissolved. Conclusion This paper has examined the organization and duties of the uigwe dogam for the appointment and rewarding of Bunmu meritorious subjects drawing from the contents of the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam found in the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe. I will conclude by summarizing the points covered. The uigwe dogam responsible for the production of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe was established following the dissolution of the sambang department of the nokhun dogam. In terms of personnel, it was confirmed that three staff members who had previously worked for the sambang department of the nokhun dogam were specifically chosen and appointed to key positions in the uigwe dogam. This reappointment of the sambang workers was aimed at capitalizing on their expertise, ensuring a smooth transfer of tasks from the nokhun dogam to the uigwe dogam and improving overall efficiency. In terms of the work undertaken by the uigwe dogam, this paper carefully examined how the uigwe dogam dedicated the first half of its roughly fifteen-month existence to completing follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam, responsibilities seemingly unrelated to the production of royal protocols. The paper also points out that the uigwe dogam came to undertake such follow-up tasks since additional issues arose when it was assigned with the distribution of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects and because most of these tasks were in line with the functions of the uigwe dogam which specialized in transcription. The Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam lacked detailed explanations concerning the production process of royal protocols, which was the main task of a uigwe dogam. As such, I had to cross-check with other dated historical records to gain a rough understanding of the production process. From the time of its establishment to the twelfth lunar month of 1729, the uigwe dogam carried out follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam while concurrently organizing the nokhun dogam documents that would serve as the main source material for the production of the royal protocols. It then proceeded with the neat and accurate transcription of these documents before finally binding them into books in the fifth lunar month of the following year. The project came to an end after the uigwe dogam submitted the completed royal protocols to the king in the eighth lunar month. It is unfortunate that the records are not sufficiently detailed to allow us to examine the production process of the royal protocols more closely. Nevertheless, this paper has managed to highlight the uigwe dogam’s involvement in other transcription-related tasks through an analysis of historical precedents from a similar time period. Moreover, this paper makes a meaningful contribution to the existing body of research by shedding light on the expanded role of the uigwe dogam beyond the production of royal protocols.

Mournful ceremonies (凶禮, hyungnye), a term used for the royal funeral rites of the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮, 1392–1897), were conducted over the course of three years and required large quantities of materials and human resources. In order to effectively perform a mournful ceremony, the Joseon royal court established a gukjang dogam (國葬都監, temporary office for a state funeral) for the supervision of the funeral, a binjeon honjeon dogam (殯殿魂殿都監, temporary office of coffin and spirit halls) for the preparation of the mourning chamber and construction of the spirit hall, and a salleung dogam (山陵都監, temporary office of tombs) for the construction of the tomb. After the ceremony was complete, each dogam meticulously recorded its involvement in the process of the ceremony and published the records as a Gukjang dogam uigwe (Uigwe for the State Funeral), Binjeon honjeon dogam uigwe (Uigwe for the Coffin and Spirit Halls), or Salleung dogam uigwe (Uigwe for the Construction of Royal Tombs). Binjeon honjeon dogam uigwe and Salleung dogam uigwe contain paintings of four animals (known collectively as sasudo) (四獸圖): the azure dragon (靑龍, cheongryong), white tiger (白虎, baekho), red phoenix (朱鳥, jujo), and black tortoise (玄武, hyeonmu).1 These four animals are painted on the walls inside a changung coffin container (欑宮), which was built to temporarily store a coffin of a king or queen in the binjeon coffin hall within a royal palace and at the Jeongjagak Hall within the precincts of a royal tomb before the coffin was set inside the tomb. Changung coffin containers were typically burned after having served their purpose. Fortunately, the illustrations contained within uigwe (royal protocols) offer us a glimpse into what they looked like. Paintings of the four animals found inside the changung coffin containers have been regarded as holding significant value from an art history perspective. They have been presented as evidence for realism in eighteenth-century paintings (Kang Kwan-shik 1995, 49–108). Some scholars have compared azure dragons from four animal paintings with cloud-and-dragon designs (Bang Byung Sun 1998, 45–78). Others have examined court painting styles of the time by comparing the white tigers from four animal paintings with other paintings featuring tigers (Yun Chinyong 2012, 192–234). However, paintings of the four animals inside changung coffin containers only began being investigated as a main topic of research in 2007, when Yun Chinyong conducted a chronological examination of four animal paintings from changung coffin containers included in Salleung dogam uigwe dating back to the late Joseon period and compared them with other contemporaneous paintings (Yun Chinyong 2007, 477–495). Building upon existing research, this paper aims to explore the changung system and the tradition behind the painting of these four animals by analyzing forty-three sets of uigwe regarding mournful ceremonies, with a special focus on paintings of red phoenixes, which display the most drastic changes among the four animals depicted. The Changung System and Four Animal Paintings Found Inside Changung Coffin Containers Changung Coffin Containers Installed at Binjeon Halls and Royal Tombs A changung coffin container is a structure used to temporarily house a royal coffin waiting in the binjeon coffin hall or Jeongjagak Hall prior to its interment in a royal tomb (Fig. 1). It is something like an outer coffin (槨, gawk). A changung was also called a chando (欑塗) or chudo (菆塗).2 Its origins can be traced back to a time preceding the Han Dynasty (漢, 202 BCE–220 CE) in China, as indicated in the “Tangong” (檀弓, The Sandalwood Bow) chapter of the Liji (禮記, Book of Rites), which contains the following passage: “a mourning chamber for an emperor is constructed like an outer coffin by piling up wood around a bier and applying mud to it.”3 Fig. 1. “The changung coffin container” from “Illustrations” in Gukjo oryeui seorye. Joseon, 1474. 34.6 × 23.4 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies It is unknown when the Chinese changung system was transmitted to Korea. Although historical records from the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE) include no mention of changung, one could be found in a document on the mourning for Queen Sundeok (順德王后哀冊) of the Goryeo Dynasty (高 麗, 918–1392).4 The changung system most likely appears to have been established during the Joseon Dynasty. The “Orye” (五禮, Five Rites) chapter of Sejong sillok (世宗實錄, Annals of King Sejong) contains an explanation of the changung system.5 During the Joseon Dynasty, changung were produced by both the binjeon dogam (temporary office of the coffin hall) and salleung dogam (temporary office of the tomb), who adhered to predetermined regulations regarding their size and structure. Detailed regulations on the size and structure of changung can be found in Gukjo oryeui seorye (國朝五禮儀序例, Preface Volume to the Five Rites of the State) as follows: The base for a changung is built using bricks a little west of the center of the main hall, and its height is roughly five chon (寸) (about 15 cm). Its length and width can vary depending on the coffin. Two cheok (尺) (about 61 cm) are added to the length and width of a coffin to create the changung, and the gap between the coffin and changung is filled with lime. Above the base, four wooden pillars of five cheok (about 152 cm) are erected. On top of the pillars, beams and rafters are placed to form a roof. The walls are made with thin wooden branches tied with linden bark cords, and reeds and thick oiled paper are applied to the northern, southern, western, and upper sides of the changung. … a red phoenix, white tiger, and black tortoise are painted on separate pieces of paper and pasted onto the walls inside the changung according to the directions they represent. Moreover, … an eastern wall is erected [… and an azure dragon is painted on a piece of paper, which is pasted inside this wall.]6 While the construction method for changung was gradually simplified until the reign of King Yeongjo (英祖, r. 1724–1776) (Shin Ji-hye 2010, 54–106), the size of the containers grew larger over time. During the reign of King Sejong (世宗, r. 1418–1450), the height of a changung measured about five cheok (about 152 cm); during the reign of King Seonjo (宣祖, r. 1567–1608), it was five cheok and five chon (about 167 cm); and during the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗, r. 1674–1720), it reached six cheok and five chon (about 197 cm). When calculated based on yeongjocheok (營造尺), the unit of length used in architecture at the time, the height increased by roughly forty-five centimeters. Changung were burned following the completion of mourning ceremonies. The changung inside the binjeon hall would be burned along with the spirit seat (靈座, yeongjwa) and spirit bed (靈寢, yeongchim) after the coffin was taken from the mourning chamber to the tomb. The changung used at the royal tomb would be burned after the coffin was carried into the tomb (Lee Hyunjin 2015, 121–131). The Tradition of Producing Four Animal Paintings Found inside Changung Coffin Containers Four paintings, each depicting a different animal, were pasted onto the inner walls of changung coffin containers according to the direction symbolized by each animal (Table 1). It is hard to know when this tradition began, but many scholars consider that the flags with the images of the four deities used during ancient Chinese marching ceremonies may have influenced funeral rituals.7 Table 1. The Four Animal Paintings in Uigwe Related to Mournful Ceremonies In Korea, paintings depicting the four deities (sasindo) first emerged during the Three Kingdoms period. Prime examples can be found in the tomb murals of the Goguryeo Kingdom (高句麗, 37 BCE–668 CE) (Fig. 2). Mural paintings of the four deities served as main elements in the adornment of the inner spaces of Goguryeo Kingdom tombs from the fourth and fifth centuries through the first half of the seventh century. During the Goryeo Dynasty, images of the four deities were added inside tombs and stone coffins, but they were depicted as a subordinate motif (Ji Minkyung 2011, 80–85) (Fig. 3). The paintings of these four animals in the Joseon Dynasty can be understood as a continuation of the tradition stemming from the Three Kingdoms and Goryeo periods. Fig. 2. Four Paintings of Animals. Gorguryeo. Great Tomb of Gangseo in Gangseo District, Pyeongnam. Replica (copied around 1930). National Museum of Korea Fig. 3. Stone Coffin of Heo Jae. Goryeo, 1144. Short sides (each) 33.0 × 37.0 cm. Long sides (each) 82.0 × 37.0 cm. National Museum of Korea In the early Joseon period, images of the four animals were illustrated on outer stone coffins or stone chambers inside royal tombs as well as on changung. The “Five Rites” chapter of Sejong sillok and the Gukjo oryeui (Five Rites of the State) contain regulations regarding these paintings.8 They also stipulate how the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise are to be positioned. The white tiger and azure dragon are to be painted with their heads facing south, while the black tortoise and red phoenix are to have their heads turned to the west.9 This regulation was also mentioned in the annotations of the “Shitian” (釋天, Glosses on Heaven) chapter in Erya (爾雅, Approaching Elegance) as follows: “The azure dragon and white tiger have their heads in the south and their tails in the north, while the red phoenix and black tortoise have their heads in the west and their tails in the east.” This regulation commonly accepted in the Northern Song Dynasty is based on the projection of constellation positions in the sky onto the four interior walls of a tomb (Kim Il-gwon 2001, 129–130). Paintings of these four animals inside the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty are also mentioned in Imha pilgi (林下筆記, Jottings in Retirement) by Yi Yuwon (李裕元, 1814–1888). Illeung Royal Tomb (仁陵) was relocated from Gyoha (交河) to Gwangju … inside the outer coffin were paintings of an azure dragon to the left, a white tiger to the right, a red phoenix to the south, and a black tortoise to the north, which corresponds to the changung system … The [animals in] these paintings looked incredibly real and seemed as though they had just been painted …10 However, not all royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty bear such paintings of the four animals. This is due to orders King Sejo (世祖, r. 1455–1468) specified in his will in 1468 not to construct stone burial chambers. Instead, the coffin of a royal family member was to be lowered into a pit and the gap filled with lime.11 Paintings of the four animals could be added only to tombs with stone chambers or stone outer coffins. Among the forty-two Joseon royal tombs, fewer than seven contain stone chambers (Jeon Na-na 2012, 54). Although the tradition of painting these four animals (deities) inside stone chambers or stone outer coffins inside the royal tombs was discontinued, the tradition of depicting the four animals inside the changung coffin containers survived. During the reign of King Yeongjo, the practice of painting the four animals exclusively inside the changung of kings and queens was established, excluding the coffin containers (chansil) of crown princes or crown princesses.12 Characteristics of the Iconography of the Four Animal Paintings Found Inside Changung Coffin Containers Development of the Iconography of the Four Animal Paintings Found Inside Changung Coffin Containers Paintings of the four animals in changung coffin containers from the Joseon period can be observed in Yejang dogam uigwe (Uigwe for Funeral Rites), Binjeon dogam uigwe (Uigwe for the Coffin Hall), and Salleung dogam uigwe. Salleung dogam uigwe, thirty-nine of which are analyzed in this paper, contain images of the four animal paintings created for the changung coffin containers installed inside Jeongjagak Halls (or Yeongakjeon Halls). As for Binjeon (gung) dogam uigwe, only the three that were published during the reign of King Sunjo (純祖, r. 1800–1834) include illustrations of these paintings. In the case of Yejang dogam uigwe, illustrations of the paintings are found only in Wonjong yejang dogam uigwe (元宗禮葬都監儀軌, Uigwe for the Funeral Rites of King Wonjong). Among the surviving forty-three uigwe on mournful ceremonies, thirty-eight pertain to the funeral rites of kings and queens, five elaborate on those of the crown princes and crown princesses, and six focus on the offering or restoring of posthumous honorific titles. Illustrations of the four animal paintings for the changung coffin containers included in uigwe underwent a transformation from the mid-Joseon period to the late Joseon period. Azure dragons that had once been depicted flying in a straight line were changed into an S-shape flying position. White tigers that had initially been portrayed flying in a lively fashion were later depicted as emerging from a mountain (出山虎). Red phoenixes went from having three heads and three legs to being represented as red flying birds. Black tortoises, originally incorporating both tortoise and snake elements, were later depicted solely in the form of tortoises. The following section of this paper examines these changes by separating the periods before and after the reign of King Yeongjo when the particulars of funeral rituals were established. Before the Reign of King Yeongjo The uigwe on mournful ceremonies published in the early Joseon period were all lost during the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Therefore, the four animal paintings for changung coffin containers can only be identified from uigwe dating back to the mid-to-late Joseon period. Nevertheless, there are illustrations of flags with images of the four deities in the “Five Rites” chapter of Sejong sillok and Gukjo oryeui seorye that provide insights into how the four animal paintings inside the changung coffin containers may have appeared. In these flags (Fig. 4), the azure dragon is depicted with four claws and flying in a straight line inside flames. The white tiger is similarly shown flying in a straight line in flames. The black tortoise is portrayed as a creature made up of the intertwined bodies of a tortoise and a snake that seem to be looking at one another. The red phoenix is shown as one of the mythical birds known as bonghwang (鳳凰), in this case with three heads, three legs, and its wings spread out. These depictions of the four deities in the flags correspond to the iconography of the four animal paintings for the changung coffin container found in Inmok wanghu salleung dogam uigwe (仁穆王后山陵都監儀軌, Uigwe for Constructing the Tomb of Queen Inmok) from 1632 (Table 1-3). This suggests that the iconography of flags with images of four deities was applied to four animal paintings inside the changung coffin container during the early Joseon period. Fig. 4. “Flags with four animals” from the “Orye” chapter of Sejong sillok. History Repository at the National Archives of Korea During the reign of King Hyojong (孝宗, r. 1649–1659), changes in the depictions of azure dragons and white tigers occurred. The dragon’s claws increased from four to five, and the dragon went from being depicted in a straight flying posture to being in a sideways U-shaped position. Moreover, five-colored clouds were added, emphasizing the auspicious atmosphere (Table 1-4). The white tiger that was formerly depicted flying in a straight line began being portrayed in a seated position or as emerging from a mountain (Table 1-4·5). Crouched with its knees drawn up, the white tiger is shown more as an awe-inspiring being rather than a threatening beast due to the absence of flames (Lee Jewon 2005, 14). During the reign of King Sukjong, however, depictions of white tigers emerging from a mountain became more prevalent. Such tigers leaving their dwellings to go roaming are shown walking sideways but with their heads facing forward. The iconography of tigers emerging out of a mountain began to be employed in China by Zhao Miaochuo (趙邈齪) during the Northern Song Dynasty (北宋, 960–1127), and it is presumed to have been introduced to Korea in the early seventeenth century (Hong Sun Pyo 1999, 349). The portrayal of white tigers emerging from a mountain is thought to have been influenced by paintings of tigers produced in the same period. Another intriguing feature in the depictions of white tigers in the uigwe is that they are represented differently in uigwe intended for the king and in the versions that were made to be stored in other places. In the Myeongseong wanghu sungneung salleung dogam uigwe (明聖王后崇陵山陵都監儀軌, Uigwe for Constructing the Tomb of Queen Myeongseong) produced for the king and housed at the Oe Gyujanggak Outer Royal Library, the white tiger is depicted as emerging from a mountain (Table 1-9). In contrast, the versions produced to be stored in other places, particularly the Uijeongbu (State Council) and the satellite archives on Jeoksangsan Mountain, show the white tiger walking with its gaze directed at the sky (Table 1-10). This difference can also be observed in the Jeongsun wanghu sareung bongneung dogam uigwe (思陵封陵都監儀軌, Uigwe for Renaming the Tomb of Queen Jeongsun). The version for the king features a tiger in flames emerging from a mountain (Table 1-12) while other versions made to be stored in different places display a tiger walking and looking at the sky (Table 1-13). The iconographic differences in the uigwe for the king and those intended to be stored in various other places are presumed to be a result of the fact that these uigwe were produced in the transitional period of the adoption of the iconography of the tiger emerging from a mountain to one featuring white tigers. Among the iconographic shifts in the four animal paintings that occurred prior to the reign of King Yeongjo, those found in azure dragons and white tigers are more remarkable than those that took place in images of red phoenixes and black tortoises. Azure dragons and white tigers began to be depicted on picture planes oriented vertically rather than horizontally, which is likely due to the expansion of the size of changung coffin containers. In other words, as the height of the changung pillars increased, the corresponding images of azure dragons and white tigers seem to have gradually shifted towards a more vertical portrayal. After the Reign of King Yeongjo In 1752, King Yeongjo published Gukjo sangnye bopyeon (國朝喪禮補編, Revised Funeral Rites of the State). The first application of the codes in this book was the funeral held for Queen Jeongseong (貞聖王后) (Table 1-19). New iconography for the four animal paintings inside changung coffin containers can be found in this book. The shape of the azure dragon changed from a sideways U to an S. The flames that surrounded the white tiger disappeared, and it took on the image of a tiger emerging from a mountain. The red phoenix, formerly shown with three heads and three legs, turned into a red bird flying across the sky. The black tortoise is portrayed solely in the form of a turtle, losing its fantastical character. Overall, these iconographic changes demonstrate a shift toward more realistic animal depictions. Previous studies view these changes to be rooted in the society of the time (Kang Kwan-shik 1995, 49–108). In the eighteenth century, people tried to look at the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise from a more realistic perspective, prompting attempts to depict them more realistically. However, the idea of viewing the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise not merely as imaginary animals but as actual animals had existed for a long time. Wang Cong (王充, 25–220) believed that the spirits of four stars (四星)—namely the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise—descended from the sky and assumed physical bodies (體) in the forms (形) of a dragon, tiger, bird, and turtle once on earth.13 According to him, the four deities (四神) resided in the sky, while the four animals inhabited the earth (Kim-Il gwon 2001, 125). This concept can be also found in Imwon gyeongjeji (林園經濟志, Sixteen Treatises on the Ways of Developing the Nation and Comforting the People) by Seo Yugu (徐有榘, 1764–1845). In it, Seo states that “As a hundred thriving spirits ascend and become numerous stars, they form images in the sky and take shape on earth.”14 Thus, the iconographic changes in the four animal paintings for changung coffin containers in the eighteenth century originated out of the idea of whether the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise should be perceived as four sacred images (四象) or in the forms they assumed on earth. The four animal paintings temporarily changed back to their former iconography, however, as seen in Heongyeong Hyebin bingung hongung dogam uigwe (獻敬惠嬪殯宮魂宮都監儀軌, Uigwe for Installing the Royal Coffin Hall and Spirit Hall of Crown Princess Hye) (Table 1-27), Hyoui wanghu binjeon honjeon dogam uigwe (孝懿王后殯殿魂殿都監儀軌, Uigwe for Installing the Royal Coffin Hall and Spirit Hall of Queen Hyoui) (Table 1-28), and Hyeonmok Subin binjeon honjeon dogam uigwe (顯穆綏嬪殯宮魂宮都監儀軌, Uigwe for Installing the Royal Coffin Hall and Spirit Hall of Lady Bak) (Table 1-29). These uigwe explain the shift back to the former iconography as follows: On the four walls of a changung, an azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise are painted according to the directions they represent. However, in a time of urgency, it is always easy to forget about the old system for this iconography. The former schema ought to be consulted first and followed [so as to depict] the black tortoise in the form of a snake with a turtle shell, the red phoenix with three heads and three legs, and the dragon and tiger in a soaring position. The dragon and tiger should have their heads oriented southward while the red phoenix and black tortoise should have their heads directed westward.15 This excerpt from Heongyeong Hyebin bingung hongung dogam uigwe relates that since it is easy to forget about the old way of painting the four animals in a time of urgency, the former schema needs to be consulted and followed. However, the versions of Heongyeong Hyebin salleung dogam uigwe produced for the king and those to be stored in various places that address the funeral rites for Heongyeong Hyebin feature the four animals depicted using the new iconography codified during the reign of King Yeongjo (Table 1-25·26). This discrepancy can be attributed to the binjeon dogam and salleung dogam having each created different changung, meaning that they may have shared a similar size and structure for the changung, but not the iconography of the four animal paintings. This is similar to the use of different iconography for the white tigers between the Salleung uigwe for Queen Myeongseong and Queen Jeongsun produced for the king and the other versions created to be stored in different places. The Continuation and Transformation of the Iconography of the Red Phoenix How did the iconography of the red phoenix for changung coffin containers come about? Ancient people perceived birds as beings with the ability to connect the heavens with the human world. They developed imaginary birds like three-legged crows (三足烏), bonghwang, and the red phoenix. The red phoenix symbolized fire (火) among the Five Elements (五行). It was considered a deity and also the constellation protecting the south.16 It was often portrayed with three heads and three legs during the Joseon Dynasty, which was a distinctive representation not found in China or Japan. During the reign of King Yeongjo, however, the red phoenix was converted into an ordinary red bird soaring into the sky. This section of the paper will explore the iconographic traditions and changes pertaining to the red phoenix. Paintings of Red Phoenixes with Three Heads and Three Legs The red phoenix has historically been represented as one of the two birds forming a pair of mythical creatures known as bonghwang, a chicken, or a falcon. Particularly, bonghwang are believed to have been the formal origin of red phoenixes (Jeon Ho-tae 1993, 53). In mural paintings from the Goguryeo Kingdom, red phoenixes were mostly depicted in a pair like bonghwang or as a combination of a rooster with a red comb and a colorful peacock. During the Goryeo Dynasty, they began to be portrayed as falcons, as seen in the description of flags with a falcon image (鷹準旗, eungjungi) from Xuanhe fengshi Gaoli tujing (宣和奉使高麗圖經, Xuanhe Commissioner’s Illustrated Account of Goryeo) by Xu Jing (徐兢, 1091–1153) of the Northern Song Dynasty. There are two flags with a falcon image, and the tassels on them are all red. The red color symbolizes the number represented by fire. In the middle of each flag is a soaring falcon, indicating a sense of urgency. According to Zhouli (周禮, The Rituals of Zhou), ‘flags are made with falcons and [other] birds.’ The depiction of a falcon in these red flags corresponds to the old system. During a procession, these flags come after a flag with an elephant image.17 Such flags with a falcon image signified fire among the flags representing the four directions (四方旗). Shijing jizhuan (詩經集傳, Collected Commentaries on the Book of Odes) interpreted falcons as red phoenixes.18 The flying falcons in the middle of the flags are understood as representing a transition from a crow with three legs meant to reflect the characteristics of a raptor to a red phoenix (Kim Joomi 2004, 269). In fact, the visual representations of three-legged crows, bonghwang, and red phoenixes have often overlapped. This convergence was unavoidable given the imaginary nature of these birds, but it also fueled people’s imagination. Bonghwang were depicted with the appearance of chickens or peacocks, and three-legged crows were portrayed as birds of prey like falcons. The blending among them occurred over a long period of time, leading to the creation of three-legged crows in the form of bonghwang as seen in the Goryeo-era Stele of State Preceptor Jigwang (智光國師玄妙塔碑) at Beopcheonsa Temple (法泉寺) in Wonju (Fig. 5). Accordingly, the red phoenixes with three heads and three legs seen in the Joseon Dynasty are presumed to have been based on the appearance of bonghwang combined with characteristic elements of three-legged crows. Fig. 5. “Three-legged crow” engraved on Stele of State Preceptor Jigwang at Beopcheonsa Temple. Goryeo, 1085. Beopcheonsa Temple Site in Wonju, Gangwon-do Province. H. 4.55 cm. National treasure In that case, why do the red phoenixes also have three heads? The origin of the three heads can be found in an image of a three-headed falcon (三頭鷹) on talismans used to prevent three common calamities (fire, flood, and storm) during the Joseon Dynasty (Fig. 6). A three-headed falcon is depicted with only one leg and is called samdu ilgakjo (三頭一脚鳥, three-headed and one-legged bird) or samdu iljokeung (三頭一足鷹, three-headed and one-footed falcon). Paintings of three-headed falcons were utilized to repel these three calamities. Yi Gyugyeong (李圭景) explains their magical power in his Oju yeonmun jangjeon sango (五洲衍文長箋散稿, Random Expatiations of Oju) as follows (Kho Youenhee 2013, 172): Fig. 6. Wooden Printing Block for a Talisman. Joseon. 28.3 × 21.9 cm. National Museum of Korea On Lunar New Year’s Day in China, chickens are painted [on pieces of paper] and pasted above doors. In Korea, even when it is not Lunar New Year’s Day, paintings of three falcons are pasted above doors to ward off the three calamities. This should be done in the year when the three calamities will occur. It has been said that since the year of the three calamities for each person differs, the paintings need to be pasted in one’s corresponding year. This appears to have been derived from the custom practiced in the Goryeo period, but as it was also practiced during the Song and Yuan Dynasties (元, 1271 –1368), [the origin of this practice] needs to be clarified.19 There are two noteworthy points in this record. First, the use of three-headed falcon images for talismans to repel the three calamities is presumed to have been customary since the time of the Goryeo Dynasty. Second, the original three-headed falcon talismans in fact featured three falcons. The three-headed falcon iconography was occasionally depicted as three falcons huddled together and looking away in different directions. Many of these falcons have one of their legs raised, giving the impression that they have only one leg. Such depiction can be observed in the printed talisman produced to ward off the three calamities in the collection of The Koryo Museum of Art in Japan (Fig. 7). The iconography of the three-headed falcon talismans seems to have influenced the iconography of red phoenix paintings. The Hyeonmok Subin binjeon honjeon dogam uigwe from 1822 presents a red phoenix similar to the three-headed falcon in talismans (Table 1-29). The four animal paintings inside the chansil coffin container of Hyeonmok Subin were based on the iconography applied temporarily prior to the reign of King Yeongjo. In this painting, a red phoenix with three heads and three legs takes on the appearance of a falcon, especially evident in the depiction of the feathers and tail. Fig. 7. Woodcut Print on Paper. 19th century. 37.3 × 28.4 cm. The Koryo Museum of Art, Japan Paintings of red phoenixes with three heads and three legs can be viewed as the result of merging and localizing iconography from three-legged crows, bonghwang, and falcons that had existed since ancient times. They are distinctive to Korea and not found in China or Japan. Paintings of Red Phoenixes in the Form of a Soaring Red Bird The conventions for paintings of red phoenixes were completely changed in 1757 (the 33rd year of the reign of King Yeongjo). The fantastic red phoenixes began to be depicted as soaring red birds that appeared as though they could truly exist. The Sok byeongjang doseol (續兵將圖說, Revised Illustrated Manual of Military Training and Tactics), published in 1749 (the 25th year of the reign of King Yeongjo), contains an illustration of a flag with a red phoenix with such iconography (Fig. 8). On it, the red phoenix takes the form of a mere red bird flying between five-colored clouds. The actual use of such a flag can be verified in the Documentary Painting of the Events from King Jeongjo’s Visit to Hwaseong in 1795. Fig. 8. “Red phoenix flag” from Sok byeongjang doseol. Joseon, 1749. 36.9 × 24.3 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies The illustration of a red phoenix flag in Sok byeongjang doseol appears to have been based on an image included in the Jixiao xinshu (紀效新書, New Treatise on Effective Discipline) authored by Qi Jiguang (戚繼光, 1528–1588) of Ming Dynasty (明, 1368–1644) China (Fig. 9). The illustration of a red phoenix flag in the Gije (旗制, Flag System) compiled in the middle years of the reign of King Yeongjo was also modeled after the image in the Jixiao xinshu (Fig. 10). The red phoenix in the Gije bears similarities with the red phoenix painting inside a changung in terms of its flying posture, red feathers, green beak, yellow eyes, and the blue feathers around its eyes. Fig. 9. “Red phoenix flag” from Jixiao xinshu. Publication date unknown. 33.5 × 21.5 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies Fig. 10. “Red phoenix flag” from Gije. Publication date unknown. 27.9 × 17.9 cm. Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library, Japan. Courtesy of the Center for Overseas Resources on Korean Studies at Korea University Where does this type of iconography find its roots? The red phoenix flag in the Jixiao xinshu appears similar to a flag known as a yeo (旟) (Ch. yu) that is depicted in Sanli tu (三禮圖, Illustrations to the Ritual Classics), dating back to the Song Dynasty, and the large red flag (大赤旗, daejeokgi) shown in the Yeseo (禮書, Book on Proprieties) (Fig. 11). In particular, Sanli tu relates that a jojun (鳥隼), referring to a red phoenix and symbolizing fire, is painted on the yeo flag.20 The red phoenix iconography of the Song Dynasty is presumed to have been used during the Ming Dynasty as well, bearing influence on the iconography of red phoenix flags and red phoenix paintings inside a changung in Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. With the exception of a temporary return to the former iconography during the reign of King Sunjo, the use of this new form of red phoenix lasted until 1926 with the inclusion of a red phoenix painting inside the changung coffin container for Emperor Sunjong (純宗, 1907–1910). In the case of flags, the red phoenix iconography varied according to the times rather than being standardized, as demonstrated in the flags portraying a red phoenix with three heads and three legs (Figs. 12–13). Fig. 11. “Yeo flag” from Xinding Sanli tu. (Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2006, p. 267) Fig. 12. “Red phoenix flag” from Jogyeongjeon jinjak jeongrye uigwe. Joseon, 1827. 34.4 × 22.8 cm. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies Fig. 13. Red Phoenix Flag. Joseon. 132.5 × 135.5 cm. National Palace Museum of Korea Conclusion During the Joseon Dynasty, the changung coffin container into which the coffin of a king or queen was temporarily placed was adorned with paintings of the four animals corresponding to the cardinal directions. The inclusion of paintings of these four animals can also be found in the stone chambers (or stone outer coffins) inside royal tombs. The paintings of these four animals are a form of funerary art that had been employed since ancient times. Owing to the conservative nature of mournful ceremonies, the orientation and position of the four animals in these paintings did not change over the years. However, the iconography and styles of the azure dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise evolved over time. The same is true for the four animal paintings found in the changung coffin containers from the Joseon Dynasty. Azure dragons went from being depicted as flying in a straight line to flying in an S shape, and white tigers from flying in a straight line to emerging from a mountain. Portrayals of red phoenixes evolved from a bird with three heads and three legs to a red bird flying through the sky, and black tortoise depictions changed from a turtle incorporating snake elements to purely the form of a turtle. Paintings of red phoenixes for the changung were depicted with three heads and three legs during the early Joseon period, a distinctive type of iconography not found in China or Japan. However, after funeral rites were institutionalized during the reign of King Yeongjo, they were influenced by red phoenix flags and transformed into red birds soaring through the sky. Nevertheless, the aspects of and circumstances for such iconographic changes in red phoenixes painted in the changung as described above cannot be applied to aid in understanding iconographic changes in the other three animals included in the changung. This indicates that the iconography of the four animal paintings for the changung was not derived from a single source. Rather, azure dragons, white tigers, red phoenixes, and black tortoises were painted according to their individual traditions, and the criteria for choosing the iconography varied depending on which form of funeral rite system was being emphasized.

The National Museum of Korea (hereafter NMK)’s Central Asia collection features a reed mat (葦席) (Accession No. Bongwan 3978) that was excavated in Turpan, in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Fig. 1). The object, made of woven reed stems, is presumed to have served either as a mat for laying the body of a deceased individual (mummy) to rest or as a funerary item with another specific purpose. Attached to both sides of this reed mat were parts of official documents dating back to the Tang Dynasty (唐, 618–907) identified as the “Report to the Throne from the Board of Revenue in the 3rd Year of Yifeng and Imperial Directive from the Treasury Bureau in the 4th Year” (唐儀鳳三年(678)度支奏抄·同四年(679)金部旨符) (hereafter jointly referred to as “Report from the Board of Revenue”), which belonged to the Japanese Ōtani Documents (大谷文書) and the Chinese Turpan Documents (吐魯番文書). These artifacts are among the most valuable in the NMK’s Central Asia collection since they are the only official Tang Dynasty documents to have been found in Korea. Fig. 1. Side A of the reed mat in the collection of the National Museum of Korea to which the Tang documents were attached (before the documents were detached). Tang, 703. (left) 16.0 × 48.5 cm (right) 20.0 × 23.5 cm. National Museum of Korea Fragments of these documents, which are now scattered all across Korea, China, and Japan, were originally discovered in Tomb 230 of the Astana Cemetery in Turpan. Some fragments were transported to Japan following the Ōtani expedition in 1912 and later dispersed throughout Japan and Korea, while the tomb’s remaining documents were only excavated in 1972 by Chinese researchers. The document fragments that found their way into Chinese and Japanese collections were studied by researchers in each country early on. The extensive amount of research carried out over the last half century has facilitated the classification of document fragments and provided insights into their nature. Furthermore, collaborative efforts between Chinese and Japanese researchers were made to restore the documents to their original form and conduct more in-depth research on their contents. As a result, the Report from the Board of Revenue was revealed to be a surviving section of an imperial directive issued by the Treasury Bureau in 679 CE that the Tang Department of State Affairs (尙書省) had sent out to each prefecture and which had been subsequently received and processed by the Director of the Granaries Section (倉曹司) of the Xizhou Area Command (西州都督府). This document has proven to be a valuable resource in filling the void left behind by the lack of historical materials regarding the history of national finances in the early Tang Dynasty. In 1995, the reed mat and attached documents from the NMK collection were introduced to the academic world for the first time, which revealed that fragments from the Report from the Board of Revenue were also being kept in Korea. As a result, restoration research on this corpus of documents, which had come to a standstill, arrived at a new turning point. However, since investigations at the time were conducted so as to not alter the original state of the artifacts, this hindered efforts to identify the entirety of the contents contained within the documents and attempts to uncover the methods by which they had been repurposed. The document fragments in the Japanese and Chinese collections consist exclusively of parts that were peeled off from the reed mat. On the other hand, the reed mat from the NMK collection is particularly valuable in that its condition closely resembles the original form of the funerary item to which the documents had been attached before being removed. In order to conduct a closer examination, however, it was deemed essential to separate the documents from the reed mat. In a previous study, it had been noted that the documents from the NMK collection were closely related to the Chinese documents, raising the strong likelihood that the fragments in the two collections had originally been part of the same sheet. In contrast, such a clear link could not be established between the Chinese and Japanese documents even though they belonged to the same set of records. Hence, it was believed that a more comprehensive understanding of the Report from the Board of Revenue could be attained by examining the soon-to-be disassembled document fragments in conjunction with the fragments in other collections. In addition, relying on the insights gained from the disassembly process regarding the layout of the document fragments, it was thought that it might be possible to deduce where and to what objects the Chinese and Japanese document fragments had originally been attached. With these aims in mind, in 2020, the NMK made the decision to separate the document fragments from the reed mat. The aim of this paper is to paint a comprehensive picture of the Report from the Board of Revenue by accessing and restoring the document fragments from the NMK collection and combining them with those from the Chinese and Japanese collections. In addition, this paper also seeks to reconstruct a visual representation of the reed mat to which the document fragments in the Japanese collection had been attached by drawing on insights from the restoration of the reed mat in the NMK collection, which will ultimately shed light into the practice of repurposing documents for the production of unique funerary items that was characteristic of the Turpan region at the time. To that end, the paper will first investigate the process by which the reed mat and attached documents came to be scattered across the three countries and offer a historical overview of the research conducted on the document fragments in order to provide all the necessary background information. Next, the fragments from four document sheets, comprising two different document sets (including the Report from the Board of Revenue) which were detached from the reed mat, will be combined with the document fragments in the Chinese collection, and the fragments of the newly identified document set will be analyzed in order to identify the nature and date of this document. Finally, an attempt will be made to reconstruct the reed mat from the NMK collection which is currently divided into two pieces to gain additional insights on the original form and production method of similar reed mats. Relying on this information, it will then be proposed that the document fragments in the Japanese collection had originally been attached to a separate reed mat, which will allow for a modification of the pre-existing reconstruction plan of the reed mat in the Japanese collection. Dispersal of the Reed Mat and Attached Documents to Korea, China, and Japan Dispersal Process Located in the southeastern section of the Astana cemetery in Turpan are the ancient tombs of the Zhang family, the region’s most powerful family from the late period of the Qu Clan Gaochang Kingdom (麴氏高昌國) to the Flourishing Tang (盛唐, 713–765) period. This is where Tomb 230, which yielded the reed mat and attached documents, was located. According to the epitaph tablet, this tomb is where Zhang Lichen (張禮臣, 655–702) and his wife were buried together. Zhang died in the second year of the Changan (長安) reign (702) and was buried the following year (703). It is said that the first person to enter this tomb was Yoshikawa Koichiro (吉川小一郞, 1885–1978), a member of the 3rd Ōtani Expedition, in late March 1912. He took the reed mat and documents with him to Japan, providing details about the structure and condition of the tomb at the time of investigation, along with an illustration (Fig. 2), in his exploration diary titled Travelogue of China (支那紀行). In the “Condition of the Tomb and Coffin” (墳墓および槨中の状態) section, Yoshikawa recounted that “the mummies were mostly laid out on reed mats to which scrap paper was attached,” noting that “the scrap paper contained numerous records of contemporary events,” which prompted him to “bring them back for reference” (Yoshikawa Koichiro 1937, 606–607). It is highly probable that this description was made with the reed mat and documents that had been brought to Japan in mind, suggesting that some of the documents in Tomb 230 were intentionally left behind while the reed mat was retrieved and taken away. Fig. 2. Illustration of the ‘condition of the tomb and coffin’ illustration in “Travelogue of China”. “Travelogue of China” by Yoshikawa Koichiro. (Tokyo: Yukosha, 1937, p.607) The expedition team had been organized and dispatched by Ōtani Kozui (大谷光瑞, 1876–1948), who was the twenty-second abbot of Nishi Hongan-ji Temple (西本願寺) at the time. Due to the deteriorating finances of the Nishi Hongan-ji Temple sect, Otani resigned from his position as abbot in April 1914 to take responsibility for the actions of Buddhist priests who had been imprisoned for embezzlement. Yoshikawa, who was the sole member of the expedition team at the time, was ordered to return home, and the expedition came to an abrupt end. The collection, including the reed mat, left Ürümqi (烏魯木齊) in January 1914 and brought to Nirakuso (二樂莊), the Ōtani’s villa in Kobe on July 10 of the same year. On November 27, 1914, Ōtani went into exile in Lushun, China. Although he took some artifacts from the Western Regions (西域) with him, some of them are believed to have been returned to the Nishi Hongan-ji Temple for some unknown reason since they were later discovered in Ōtani’s villa in Beppu in 1948 after his death. This collection, which was immediately transferred to Ryukoku University (龍谷大學), included some of the reed mat documents. The reed mat which had been kept with the attached document remained at the villa, but immediately following Ōtani’s resignation, the Nishi Hongan-ji Temple sect stopped paying the maintenance fees for Nirakuso, and in January 1916, Ōtani sold Nirakuso and most of the collection stored there to entrepreneur Kuhara Fusanosuke (久原房之助, 1869–1965). At the end of April of the same year, Kuhara donated the collection to Terauchi Masatake (寺內正毅, 1852–1919), the first Governor General of Joseon, who hailed from the same hometown. After being acquired by the Japanese Government-General Museum, the reed mat was displayed at Gyeongbokgung Palace’s Sujeongjeon Hall, which served as a storage and exhibition facility for the artifacts from the Western Regions during the Japanese occupation period. It later became part of the NMK collection after Korea’s liberation, where it remains to this day. History of Research Research on the reed mat documents began after the discovery of documents that had previously been attached to the reed mat. The Western Region Cultural Research Association (西域文化硏究會) was formed in 1953 to study the Western Regions artifact collection found among Ōtani’s belongings. In 1959, Ogasawara Senshu (小笠原宣秀) first introduced findings concerning sixty-two documents he had found with reed mat traces from the Ōtani Documents, which he had identified as fragments of an official document dating back to the third and fourth years of the Yifeng (儀鳳) reign of the Tang Dynasty (Ogasawara 1959, 387–419). In the following year, Naito Genkichi (內藤乾吉) interpreted it as a document containing not only an order issued by the Treasury Bureau as an Imperial Directive of the Crown Prince in the third year of the Yifeng reign (titled “Notes on the Allocation of Yong (庸) and Diao (調) Taxes for All States in the 4th Year of the Yifeng Reign”), which had been sent out by the Department of State Affairs (尙書省), but also a record of the fact that this order had been received and processed by the Xizhou Area Command (Naito Kenkichi 1960, 87–88). Meanwhile, in 1972, China’s Xinjiang Museum discovered eight reed mat document fragments that had not been recovered from Tomb 230 during the excavation work conducted by the Ōtani expedition team (Figs. 3 and 4). In 1983, Xu Fuqian (許福謙) annotated the text and made the document fragments known to the world for the first time. However, he was not aware that document fragments belonging to the same records were also present in the Ōtani collection. Based on the place names, and duration of the official names, and contents of the text, he interpreted the document fragments as having come from the records of the Board of Revenue and been produced between 670 and 679 (Xu Fuqian 1983, 543–580). Regarding the Chinese document fragments retrieved later from Tomb 230, it was Ikeda On (池田溫) who first suggested that they and the Japanese reed mat document fragments from the Ōtani collection may have come from the same set of records. He also argued that the document should be viewed as a decree containing financial-related accounts due to the inclusion of matters under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Bureau (Ikeda On 1984, 62–74). Fig. 3. Fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Chinese collection. 72TAM230:46/1. Documents Unearthed in Turpan by China Institute of Cultural Relics et al. (Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1996, pp.65–66) Fig. 4. Fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Chinese collection. 72TAM230:46/2. Documents Unearthed in Turpan by China Institute of Cultural Relics et al. (Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1996, p.67) Based on the above research results, Otsu Toru (大津透) conducted an in-depth study of the document fragments in the Chinese and Japanese collections, coming up with the titles “Tang Yifeng Sannian Duzhi Zouchao Tong Sinian Jinbu Zhifu” (唐儀鳳三年度支奏抄·同四年金部旨符) for the documents. This title points to the third Year of Yifeng of the Tang Dynasty (678), when the Board of Revenue of the Department of State Affairs compiled a report on the national budget for the following year including the income and expenditure (i.e. yong and diao taxes) of the superior prefectures (府) and prefectures (州), and submitted it to the crown prince with a draft document for approval. In the fourth Year of Yifeng of the Tang Dynasty (679), an Imperial Directive issued by the Treasury Bureau for nationwide implementation was received and processed by the Xizhou Area Command, which produced copies to be sent out to the five counties (縣) under its jurisdiction. The document fragments in the Japanese and Chinese collections were seen as having come from one of these copies (Otsu Toru 1986, 1831–1880), allowing Otsu Toru and Enomoto Junichi (榎本淳一) to piece together the fragments in the Ōtani collection and successfully reconstruct the entire records (Fig. 5). In addition, based on their newfound understanding of the structure of the reassembled document, they were able to propose a reconstruction scheme for the reed mat as well (Otsu Toru and Enomoto Junichi 1987, 47–48). Fig. 5. Photo of the document fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the collection of Ryukoku University in their connected state. Otani Documents Collection by Oda Yoshihisa. (Kyoto: Hozokan, 1990, p.10) In 1995, it was announced to the academic world that associated document fragments also existed in Korea. After interpreting the text featured on the back of the reed mat document fragments, Min Byung-hoon proposed that these document fragments, as with those in the Japanese and Chinese collections, also formed part of the Report from the Board of Revenue. It was also revealed that there was another document layer hiding beneath the uncovered document fragments, and was suggested that their contents were closely related with those from the Chinese collection (Min Byeong-hoon and Ahn Byeongchan 1995, 156–180). Upon learning about the new data and interpretations, Otsu compared all of the translations that had been produced up to that date and compiled a restoration plan for the entire records by synthesizing the document fragments from the three countries (Otsu Toru 2006, 27–112). In particular, it was maintained that, judging from the content and form of the document fragments, the fragments from two documents in the NMK collection were likely to be connected to the fragments from two documents in the Chinese collection (Otsu Toru 2000, 239–244). Separation and Investigation of Documents and Prototype of NMK Collection Reed Mat Before presenting the outcomes of the document separation, it is essential to conduct a brief examination of how these documents were initially arranged on the reed mat. Side A of the larger reed mat piece was entirely covered with the Report from the Board of Revenue, and the remaining parts of the documents were folded along three edges to cover the outer edges of Side B. On Side B, an additional two sheets of documents were glued to the surface, aligned at a right angle to the document that covered Side A and extended to parts of Side B (Fig. 6). The separation process revealed the existence of four document sheets in total, comprising two sets of documents. It was revealed that two layers of documents belonged to the Report from the Board of Revenue, while the two documents attached to Side B were part of another set of documents. The NMK assigned serial numbers to the documents according to the document set and the order in which they were processed. The two documents belonging to the Report from the Board of Revenue were numbered “2020NMK1:1” and “2020NMK1:2,” while the documents from Side B were numbered “2020NMK2:1” and “2020NMK2:2.” Fig. 6. Scheme of how document fragments were attached to Side B of the reed mat in the NMK’s collection. National Museum of Korea. Author Report from the Board of Revenue The two documents from the Report from the Board of Revenue were placed in an overlapping state and were of nearly identical shape and size (Figs. 7 and 8). While the edges on the right side of both sheets are smooth, the edges on the left side are irregularly shaped, which is likely the result of external force having been applied to tear off this section of the overlapping sheets. There are also traces of a purple fabric called qi (綺), which appears to have been attached to the outer edges of the reed mat, which is especially visible on the backside of the upper right section of 2020NMK1:1. The pattern of the fabric is not clear, but it is presumed to be a geometric pattern with repeated diamonds (Fig. 9). Fig. 7. Document sheet from Report from the Board of Revenue numbered 2020NMK1:1 (forming the outer layer). Tang, 679. 28.5 × 52.4 cm. National Museum of Korea. (Red box denotes the location (on the opposite side) of a remaining piece of the purple fabric that had been attached to the back side of the reed mat.) Fig. 8. Document sheet from Report from the Board of Revenue numbered 2020NMK1:2 (forming the inner layer). Tang, 679. 28.5 × 53.0 cm. National Museum of Korea Fig. 9. Purple qi (綺) fabric attached to the back side of the reed mat. 2.2 × 0.9 cm. National Museum of Korea The remaining number of lines on each document is twentieth and eighteenth respectively, with the number of characters ranging from fifteen to seventeen per line. Letters were written in a font similar to the regular script (楷書), leaving an empty space of around 4.5 centimeters at the top of the manuscript. Above each line where a new entry (條目) begins, there is a space with the character ‘一’ serving as a marker. Each of the documents contains three complete entries, as well as incomplete records that would have continued on to the left and right. The documents also feature a paper seam, with the character ‘儉’ written at the base on the reverse side of each document, which was made by Yuan Huaijian (元懷儉), the Military Advisor of the Granaries Section (倉曹參軍事) of the Xizhou Area Command, in his capacity as judge to confirm the binding of the document. As expected, it was confirmed that two documents belonging to the Report from the Board of Revenue in the NMK collection could be matched to the two documents from the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Chinese collection (72TAM230:46/1, 72TAM230:46/2) (Fig. 10). Since the two document sheets in the Chinese collection are similar in size and shape, it was presumed that these two sheets had also been layered upon each other when attached to a reed mat. As a result of combining and reading the separated documents together, four new entries were identified, and six previously incomplete entries could be completely restored. These entries contained a wealth of information that could not have been confirmed through other sources (Table 1). Fig. 10. Connected state of the fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Korean and Chinese collections. Documents Unearthed in Turpan by China Institute of Cultural Relics et al. (Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1996, pp.65-67) Table 1. Contents of the entries that were newly restored by combining the documents from the “Report of the Board of Revenue” in the NMK and Chinese collections Document Line Entry Content Note 2020NMK1:1 1-3 1 Expenditure of production costs for ling (綾) and luo (羅) New discovery 4-8 2 Guidelines for the processing of yong (庸) and diao (調) tax receipts from Guizhou (桂州), Guangzhou (廣州), and Jiaozhou (交州) Area Commands Supplement to known entry 9-10 3 Storage regulations for grain receipts from the provinces belonging to the Lingnan Circuit Domain (嶺南道) Supplement to known entry 11-17 4 Guidelines for the processing of taxes collected from the prefectures belonging to Guizhou and Guangzhou Area Commands Supplement to known entry 18 5 Guidelines for allocating state military expenses to Jiaozhou Area Command Supplement to known entry 72TAM230:46/2 1-6 12-18 8 Regulations related to water transportation of yong and diao taxes Supplement to known entry 2020NMK1:2 1-2 3-9 9 Guidelines for the supply and demand of personnel needed for the transportation and escort of yong and diao taxes as well as fabric (雜綵) New discovery 10-12 10 Regulations related to financial rewards for those who kill tigers and wolves New discovery 13-15 11 Regulations on payment of diao taxes in Luzhou (潞州) and Zezhou (澤州) New discovery 16 12 Guidelines for managing financial resources for the accommodation of foreign envoys (蕃客) Supplement to known entry 72TAM230:46/1 1-3 Additionally, it was possible to determine the size of the document sheets that had been cut out from the Report from the Board of Revenue to be repurposed into funerary items. As indicated by the combined restoration diagram, both edges of 2020NMK1:1 and 72TAM230:46/2 were cut in a neat fashion, suggesting that the length of the sheet that was cut out would have been around 92 centimeters, making it identical to the combined length of 2020NMK1:2 and 72TAM230:46/1 at around 93 centimeters. In other words, segments around 93 centimeters in length were cut out from a long paper roll report, comprised of paper sheets around 40 centimeters wide and 28.5 centimeters high, that were stitched together when making the reed mat. Meanwhile, in a previous study, it was observed that the Report from the Board of Revenue documents in the Japanese collection consisted of six document sheets that would have followed the Chinese collection document sheets within the original report, meaning that the documents from the NMK collection constitute the very first part of the extant Report from the Board of Revenue. Although the entire length of the original report remains uncertain, considering the nature of the document as a budget directive concerning all of the administrative districts of the Tang Dynasty, it is likely to have been of considerable length. The arrangement of documents from the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese collections in the order in which they originally appear in the Report from the Board of Revenue can be illustrated as follows (Fig. 11). Fig. 11. Reconstruction of the Report from the Board of Revenue and the sequence of the document sheets from the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese collections. Author Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards The two documents covering Side B of the reed mat (Fig. 12) were confirmed to have been part of the same set as documents 72TAM230:62 and 72TAM230:63 from the Chinese collection, both excavated from the Astana Tomb 230. Most notably, it was verified that 2020NMK2:1 could be combined with 72TAM230:62 and three other “document fragments” (文書殘片) numbered 72TAM230:80/4, 72TAM230:80/9, and 72TAM230:80/10 (Fig. 13). Fig. 12. Document fragments of the Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards in the in the collection of the NMK 2020NMK2:1 (left), 2020NMK2:2 (right). Tang, 674–676. (left) 17.9 × 8 cm (right) 29 × 16 cm. National Museum of Korea Fig. 13. Document Sheet (3) – Connection of document fragments in the Korean and Chinese collections (solid line: cutting line; dotted line: seam; [元]: signature written on the seam; band-shaped outline: range of the reed mat impression). Documents Unearthed in Turpan by China Institute of Cultural Relics et al. (Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1996, pp.85–88) The document fragments in the Korean and Chinese collections, numbering seven in total, came from three document sheets that had been attached to Side B of the reed mat in the NMK collection. For convenience, according to the order of the contents, the three document sheets will be referred to as Document Sheets (1), (2) and (3). Document Sheet (3) (Fig. 13) consisted of 2020NMK2:1 from the Korean collection and four document fragments from the Chinese collection, making up the uppermost layer among the three overlapping document layers of Side B. Document Sheet (2), which corresponds to 2020NMK2:2 (Fig. 14), was covered by Document Sheet (3) and attached to the right section of the reed mat, with the left and right ends of the sheet tailored to match the width of the mat. The document sheet features a band-shaped impression mark from the reed mat in the center, which can also be observed on Document Sheet (1) (72TAM230:63) (Fig. 15). It is presumed to have been attached to the left section of the reed mat which does not have any documents attached to it in its current state. Fig. 14. Document Sheet (2) – 2020NMK2:2 (solid line: cutting line; band-shaped outline: range of the reed mat impression). National Museum of Korea Fig. 15. Document Sheet (1) – 72TAM230:63 (solid line: cutting line; dotted line: seam; [大]: band-shaped outline: range of the reed mat impression). Documents Unearthed in Turpan by China Institute of Cultural Relics et al. (Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1996, p.85) This set of documents addresses the measures taken by the Xizhou Area Command in response to a Gaochang Prefecture (高昌縣) report on the loss of taxes in the form of cloth, known as yongxie (庸緤), due to the desertion of Imperial Guards (衛士), which includes an estimation of the incurred losses to be collected from the Xizhou Area Command in the form of silver coins. As such, this set of documents was given the title “Official Document Issued by the Granaries Section of the Xizhou Area Command in the Tang Shangyuan Era Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards of Gaochang Prefecture” 唐上元年間(674–676) 西州倉曹司案卷爲高昌縣申送逃走衛士庸緤價錢事) (hereafter “Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards”). To determine the date of this document set, research was carried out on an individual by the name of Yuanli (元利), who served as the Military Advisor of the Granaries Section (倉曹參軍) of the Xizhou Area Command. According to document 2004TBM207:1-12 excavated from Tomb 207 in the Turpan cemetery of Badamu (巴達木), the individual’s full name was Zhang Yuanli (張元利), and he was serving as the Military Advisor of the Granaries Section of Xizhou Area Command in the twenty-ninth day of the seventh month of 675, resigning from his position not long after in the third month of 676 (Rong Xinjiang, Li Xiao, and Meng Xianshi 2008, 72–73). If we leave open the possibility that his tenure may have started earlier than the recorded dates, then it may be suggested that he served as Military Advisor of the Granaries Section from around 674 to early in the third month of 676. The Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards could then be regarded as having been written around this time. In summary, the making of the reed mat in the NMK collection was done with sheets from two sets of documents that had been produced by the Granaries Section of Xizhou Area Command around the 670s. In addition, the document fragments from the Chinese collection would have originally been attached to the reed mat which is now part of the NMK collection. Prototype and Production of NMK Collection Reed Mat Lastly, in order to determine how these documents were arranged, it is necessary to understand what the reed mat, currently divided into a larger and a smaller piece, originally looked like. Both pieces feature an unraveled side, suggesting they were originally part of a single item. Adjusting the shapes of the reed mat pieces by rearranging loose reeds and virtually filling the space in between, the restored reed mat measures approximately 16×78 centimeters, which corresponds to the length of the document sheet cut out from the Report from the Board of Revenue (92 cm) when the lengths of the folded parts at the left and right ends (14 cm in total) are taken out. Based on the above, and comprehensively taking into account the nature of the connection between the document types in the Korean and Chinese collections, the size of the connected document pieces, as well as the layout and layer sequence of the document sheets attached to the reed mat including the appearance of the currently attached document fragments, a restoration diagram of the extant document pieces can be produced with an understanding of how they were attached to the reed mat, as illustrated in Fig. 16. In addition, the traces of purple fabric which covered the documents along the edges of the reed mat on both sides suggest that it was used as a finishing material (Fig. 17). Based on this information, the production process of the original reed mat from the NMK collection can be restored as follows (Fig. 18). Fig. 16. Scheme of how the document fragments in the Korean and Chinese collections were attached to Side B of the reed mat in the collection of the National Museum of Korea. National Museum of Korea. Author Fig. 17. Purple qi (綺) fabric attached to the reed mat in the collection of the National Museum of Korea, Side A (left): Glass Plate No. 030231; Side B (right): Glass Plate No. 030234. Images in the National Museum of Korea’s collection of dry glass plate negatives Fig. 18. Prototype and production process of the reed mat in the collection of the National Museum of Korea. Author • Step 1: Make a reed mat measuring 78 centimeters in length and 16 centimeters in width. In order to wrap the reed mat, stack two 92 centimeters-long sheets cut out from the Report from the Board of Revenue and place the reed mat at the center. • Step 2: Fold the sections of paper sticking out beyond the edges of the reed mat, making sure to cover the top, bottom, left and right edges at the front of the reed mat. • Step 3: Take two sheets cut out from the Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards (i.e. Document Sheets (1) and (2)), place them at a ninety degrees angle, and attach them to the left and right sides of the reed mat. Attach Document Sheet (3) to the center of the reed mat’s exposed surface ensuring the documents entirely cover the mat without leaving any gaps. • Step 4: Finish by wrapping the purple fabric along the front and back edges of the reed mat. New Restoration Plan for the Reed Mat Document Fragments in the Ryukoku University Collection The text featured in the eighty-six pieces of “reed mat document fragments” in the Ryukoku University collection is approximately three times the length of the text featured in the combined document fragments in the Korean and Chinese collections. Based on the restoration case of the reed mat in the NMK collection, a review will be undertaken on the previous restoration plan for the document fragments in the Japanese collection. According to Otsu and Enomoto’s research, the eighty-six document fragments were originally composed of two document sheets glued together which were torn to pieces as they were separated from the reed mat. By connecting the document fragments in their current state (combined in the two document layers), it was possible to make a restoration consisting of six sheets that had been cut out from the Report from the Board of Revenue, with two layers of document sheets positioned to form three rows (Fig. 5). The first version of the conceptual diagram illustrating the connected state of the document fragments (Fig. 19) is composed of the following three rows: D-E-F (F´-E´-D´), G-A (G´-A´) and B-C (B´-C´). However, it can be observed that fragment F (F´), which should be part of the first row, is actually attached to the backside of fragment A´, on the left side. In addition, G (G´), which should be connected to the right of fragment A (A´) in the second row, is attached to the right of D (D´) in the first row. This demonstrates that some of the document fragments in the original restoration plan were misplaced. Based on the fold marks on the documents and the traces of purple fabric on the back, Otsu and Enomoto presented a second version of the conceptual diagram in which the connected state of the documents was closer to the original (Fig. 20). Fig. 19. Conceptual diagram of how the document fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Ryukoku University collection were connected (first version). (Otsu Toru and Junichi Enomoto 1987, p.66) Fig. 20. Conceptual diagram of the reconstruction of the document fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Ryukoku University collection (second version). (Otsu Toru and Junichi Enomoto 1987, p.68) Meanwhile, Otsu and Enomoto interpreted the state of the document fragments illustrated in the second version of the conceptual diagram as the result of the detached document fragments having been reassembled into the shape of an envelope for ease of transportation by the expedition team during the recovery process, rather than representing the original layout of the documents as they had been attached to the reed mat (Otsu Toru and Enomoto Junichi 1987, 68–70). Originally, document sheets of the same length had been attached in three rows and two layers to the reed mat. In the process of making an envelope, however, the expedition team removed several centimeters from both ends of the first row, folded the document sheets along the dotted lines (3), (4) and (2) marked on the second version of the conceptual diagram, and folded the sheets by tucking the first row inwards along dotted line (1). In addition, the two small document fragments attached to the backside of the sheets forming the third row were believed to have fallen off the upper section of sheet D-E-F of the first row. It was also proposed that the sheets forming the first row (D-E-F (F´-E´-D´)) would have originally been attached below the sheets currently forming the third row (B-C (B´-C´)). In other words, the connection between the sheets of the first and second rows was seen as having been artificially made by the expedition team who reassembled the documents. As a result, a third version of the conceptual diagram was produced in which the three rows of documents looked as though they had been spread out and attached to one side of the reed mat, rather than having been folded and attached to both sides of the reed mat (Fig. 21). Otsu and Enomoto argued that the reed mat, over which a deceased individual would have been laid to rest, should have been longer than the length suggested in the proposed restoration plan for the three rows of documents (the dimension of which was 94.0 × 103.0 cm) in order to be closer to the estimated height of the deceased. In other words, it was suggested that there could have been additional documents attached above or below the three rows of documents, in which case some of them could have been documents from the Chinese collection. Fig. 21. Conceptual diagram of the final reconstruction of the document fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue in the Ryukoku University collection (third version). (Otsu Toru and Junichi Enomoto 1987, p.69) If we re-examine the three restoration plans based on the way the documents were laid out on the reed mat from the NMK collection, it appears more likely that documents had been laid out in a way closer to the second version of the conceptual diagram, rather than the third version. The traces of the purple fabric located along the fold lines on the backside of the document can be regarded as clear evidence of the outline of the reed mat and its original form. Therefore, the documents of the first and second row should be viewed as having been combined at the time of the reed mat’s production rather than as having been artificially put together at the time that the documents were taken out to Japan. In addition, the reason that the length of the first row (D-E-F (F´-E´-D´)) is shorter than that of the second and third rows is not because the expedition team cut off both ends to form an envelope, but because the sheet had been tailored to fit the dimensions of the reed mat during the production stage. A similar phenomenon could be observed in the case of the reed mat from the NMK collection, in which the front side of the reed mat was covered using the Report from the Board of Revenue, which was folded at the edges to cover parts of the back side, and the remaining exposed surface of the back side were covered using sheets from the Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards, which were tailored according to the dimensions of the reed mat. One plausible explanation for the slight offset (about 10 cm) between document sheets D-E-F and F´-E´-D´ is that sheet D-E-F was initially used during the process of covering the exposed section of the reed mat before sheet F´-E´-D´ was subsequently added to cover the remaining exposed areas. In light of the arguments presented above concerning the restoration process, the original reed mat to which the Ryukoku University collection documents were attached can be reproduced using the following method (Fig. 22). Fig. 22. New reconstruction scheme and production process of the reed mat to which the document fragments in the Ryukoku University collection would have been attached. Author • Step 1: Make a reed mat measuring approximately 48×90 centimeters. To wrap this reed mat, cut out four sheets from the Report from the Board of Revenue each about 103 centimeters in length (slightly longer than the reed mat) so as to leave a margin. • Step 2: Combine sheets ⑧ B-C and ⑦ G-A into two rows so as to form one large sheet, doing the same for sheets ⑥ B´-C´ and ⑤ G´-A´, and stack the two large sheets on top of each other to form a single, double-layered sheet. • Step 3: Place the reed mat in the center of this double-layered sheet and fold the parts that extend beyond the top, bottom, left, and right margins of the reed mat inward. • Step 4: Cut out two 90 centimeters-long sheets from the Report from the Board of Revenue and glue sheet ④ D-E-F onto the folded section of sheet B-C (B´-C´). Next, position sheet ③ F´-E´-D´ so as to make the writing appear backward, and glue it to the folded section of sheet G-A (G´-A´). • Step 5: Finish by wrapping a purple fabric along the front and back edges of the reed mat covered entirely in documents. Conclusion The Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards and Report from the Board of Revenue documents were each produced between 674–676 and 679 respectively by the Granaries Section of Xizhou Area Command. After the completion of relevant events, the corresponding documents would have been stored in the Granaries Section for a certain period of time, after which they were distributed to the private sector once their original purpose was fulfilled. The document sheets were repurposed into materials used to make funerary items, eventually ending up in the burial site currently known as Astana Tomb 203 the year following Zhang Lichen’s death in 702. The reconstruction scheme for the reed mat in the Korean collection, along with the lost reed mat to which the document fragments in the Japanese collection came from, contains information on how each document sheet was sequentially cut out from the original report, which is reflected in the order in which the document sheets were organized. In the restoration scheme presented above, the circled numbers in Figs. 18 and 22 indicate the order of the documents in the original report. Comparing these numbers with the order of production of the two reed mats, it becomes apparent that sheets were cut out from the Report from the Board of Revenue in a reverse order, beginning with part C and ending with sheet 2020NMK1:1. This fact indicates that the reed mat onto which the documents in the Japanese collection had been attached was made before the reed mat from the NMK collection. It is also apparent that the document sheets were cut out from the report with the dimensions of the reed mat in mind from the outset, rather than using materials cut in advance. Since there does not appear to be any missing parts between the cut lines of the documents in the Japanese collection, it is unlikely that the document sheet was cut anew after having been cut out from the original report. Therefore, it can be proposed that, after six document sheets were cut out in reverse order from the Report from the Board of Revenue (now part of the Ryukoku University collection) to be used to make a reed mat (which no longer exists), an additional two document sheets were cut out from the Report from the Board of Revenue (now part of the Chinese and NMK collections) and three document sheets from the Official Document Regarding Fugitive Imperial Guards (now part of the Chinese and NMK collections) to be used to make a smaller reed mat which currently finds itself in the NMK collection. The above results naturally lead to the question of how the reed mat was used, which remains an unresolved issue. Was this reed mat actually used as a type of covering upon which to lay the body of a deceased individual to rest? Yoshikawa’s mention of reed mats and scrap, quoted above, is most likely to have been referring to the reed mat from the NMK collection and the document fragments in the Japanese collection, given that they represent the only extant examples of a reed mat with documents still attached. Although both his description and illustration (Fig. 2) indicate that the size of the reed mat had been close to the height of the bodies, the reed mat from the NMK collection and the one that can be reconstructed from the document fragments in the Ryukoku University collection are actually much smaller. Nevertheless, although the two reed mats are different in size, it is clear that they were both made into the shape of a rectangular sheet using the same materials and manufacturing method. In other words, it is clear that they had been originally planned and produced as a set, consisting of at least two items that served the same purpose. In addition, the entire surface of the reed mat had been covered with paper to completely cover the exposed surface, and a strip of purple fabric had been attached along the square border of the mat on both sides, embellishments that cannot be interpreted simply as having served a purpose for maintaining the original shape of the reed mat. In relation to this, it is worth nothing that the purple fabric attached to the reed mat (Fig. 9) is identical to the fabric attached to the border of the six-panel folding screen painting entitled “Woman Figure with a Musical Instrument” (樂伎圖) also excavated from Tomb 230, as well as the fabric used in the “dark purple diamond lattice cicada pattern twill” (絳紫色菱格蟬紋綺) (72TAM 188:B) excavated from Tomb 188, which is presumed to be the tomb of Zhang Lichen’s brother judging from the color, size, and pattern (Tokyo National Museum 2002, 60, Figure 43; Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 2000, 118, Figure 24-5, Plate 6-2). Since the qi excavated from Tomb 188 is only a piece of fabric, and the dimensions of a single folding screen panel from Tomb 230 are different from those of the reed mat, it is obviously difficult to establish a correlation between the three. However, given that the same type of fabric was used, that the method of using a band of fabric to wrap the edge as a finishing technique is similar, and that the purpose of the folding screen painting was to cover the back wall of the location where the deceased would have been laid to rest, it is entirely possible that the reed mat and the folding screen were made by the same group of individuals. As such, the interrelationship between the groups who produced these funerary items is a topic that requires consideration from various angles. This paper expanded on previous research efforts aimed at elucidating the connection between the document fragments of the Report from the Board of Revenue and their content through an investigation of the process involved in the production of reed mats used as funerary items, which included the repurposing of official documents. The reed mat along with the attached Tang documents that are part of the NMK collection serve as important artifacts with the potential to generate new topics of research in the future.