An Analytic Study on the Rice Cakes Needed for Aneestral Worship Rites in the Court of Choson Dynasty

조선시대(朝鮮時代) 宮中(궁중) 제정(祭亭)의 제찬용(祭饌用) 병류(餠類)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究)

In recent years, Korean traditional culture has been reviewed in many ways. And Great efforts have been made to form a culture suitable for the Koreans. With these tendencies, the interest in Korean traditional foods has been greater. So this paper is intended to identify and analyze the kinds, materials and cooking processes of the rice cakes needed for ancestral worship rites in the court of Choson Dynasty. The work is centered around the Tae-sang-ji written by Lee kun-myong in 1873-the 10th year since king kojong's coming to the throne. And we study such literatures on foods and cooking processes as Kyugon-si-ui-bang, Yo-rok, Jungbo-Sallim-Kyungjae, Kyuhap-Chongso, Si-ui-jon-so and so on. The results are compared and analyzed. Cooking processes and materials of Korean rice cakes in Choson Dynasty were various and had traditional characteristics. Rice cakes necessarily needed for various rites were called pyun especially when they were used for ancestral worship. And many different kinds of Pyun were used according to seasons. There were nineteen kinds of rice cakes used for ancestral worship in the court: Gu-i-Byung, Bun-ja-Byung, Baek-Byung and so on. The six; Gu-i-Byung, Bun-ja-Byung, Sam-sik-Byung, Yi-sik-Byung, Baek-Byung and Huk Byung were essential for the great rites at Jong-myo and Young-nyung-Jeon and so they were highly thought of. Main materials of these six were rice, glutinousrice, sorghum and wheat flour. Cooking processes of the rice cakes above mentioned can be classified into frying, beating, boiling, steaming, etc. Powder for covering rice cakes was made of bean, pine nut, sesame and red bean, of which bean was made the greatest use of. If was very wise of them to use these kinds of powder, for they supply protein and lipid of which rice cakes are destitute and they also add colors and good tastes to rice cakes. But Korean traditional rice cakes are less used as the thought of rites has changed and various kinds of desserts have been developed. And yet there is no denying the fact that even now rice cakes play a great role in traditional formalities.