• Title/Summary/Keyword: Burial Rituals

Search Result 5, Processing Time 0.019 seconds

A rudimentary review of the ancient Saka Kurgan burial rituals - Focused on the case of Katartobe Ancient Tombs in the Zhetisu Region - (고대 사카 쿠르간 매장의례의 초보적 검토 - 제티수지역 카타르토베 유적 사례를 중심으로 -)

  • NAM, Sangwon;KIM, Younghyun;SEO, Gangmin;JEONG, Jongwon
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
    • /
    • v.55 no.1
    • /
    • pp.63-84
    • /
    • 2022
  • One of the ancient nomadic cultures, the Saka is generally regarded as an important intermediary in the ancient Eurasian cultural network. This study is the reinterpretation of the excavations conducted on the Katartobe tombs site of the Saka culture through a joint three-year-long project by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Korea in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Research Institute under the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main discussion of the study deals with the burial rituals performed by the community who built the Katartobe tombs by the comparison and review of the various researches on the Saka tombs based on the archaeological artifacts discovered during excavation. The research has shown that the Saka tribes maintained the tradition of burying domesticated animals, such as horses, with its owner and performed burial rituals which often involved the use of fire. The archaeological remains of the Saka also show that the burial rituals like these formed the key aspect of their cultural heritage. The archaeological discoveries also show that the Saka mourners built wooden cists under a single mound when they needed to bury multiple corpses at once and sustained the practice of excarnation when burying the bodies of those who died in the different periods of time. Some burials included a tomb passage which was used not only for carrying the deceased but also for a separate burial ritual. The main discussion of this study also deals with the remnants of bones of animals buried with their deceased owners in the same kurgan, as well as the animal species and their locations in the kurgan, resulting in the discovery of diverse meanings connected with them. The pottery buried in the tombs were largely ceremonial offering vessels, just like others excavated at nearby Saka tombs and located around the buried corpse's head facing toward the west. The excavation of the tombs also shows that two vessels were arranged at the corners of the coffin where the feet are located, revealing the characteristic features of the burial practices maintained by the tribe who built the Katartobe tombs. It may be too early to come to a definite conclusion on the burial practices of the Saka due to the relative lack of research on the kurgans across Central Asia. Excavations so far show that the kurgans clustered in a single archaeological site tend to display differences as well as uniformities. In conclusion, the ancient Central Asian tombs need more detailed surveys and researches to be able to make strides in an effort to restore the cultural heritage of the ancient Central Asian tribes who played a crucial role in the Eurasian cultural landscape.

Analytical Review of Korean Royal Cuisine as Viewed through the Darye for Princess Bokon and Recorded in Gabo Jaedong Jemuljeongnyechaek (「갑오 재동 제물정례책(甲午 齋洞 祭物定例冊)」에 기록된 복온공주의 다례를 통해 살펴본 궁중음식 고찰)

  • Lee, So-Young;Han, Bok-Ryo
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
    • /
    • v.34 no.5
    • /
    • pp.495-507
    • /
    • 2019
  • This study investigates the Gabo Jaedong Jemuljeongnyechaek, which is the recording of the darye executed over a period of a year in 1834 ($34^{th}$ year of reign by King Sunjo) in the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty, two years after the death of Princess Bokon, the $2^{nd}$ daughter of King Sunjo. Accordingly, we examined the types of darye (tea ceremonies) and the characteristics of the composition of foods at ancestral rites of the royal families of Joseon. Moreover, we also analyzed the cooking methods and characteristics of food terminologies used in the darye. This includes 39 categories of food and ingredients used for tea ceremonies held for one year, on behalf of the deceased Princess Bokon in 1834. The darye for the monthly national holiday was held along with the darye on the $1^{st}$ and the $15^{th}$ day of every month. The darye for rising up and the birthday darye were held on May $12^{th}$ and October $26^{th}$ of the lunar calendar, being the anniversaries of the death and the birth of Princess Bokon, respectively. The birthday darye and the darye for New Year's Day, Hansik ($105^{th}$ day after winter solstice), Dano ($5^{th}$ day of the $5^{th}$ month of the lunar calendar), and Thanksgiving "Chuseok" were held in the palace and at the burial site of the Princess. During the darye for rising up in May and the Thanksgiving darye at the burial site in August, rituals offering meals to the deceased were also performed. The birthday darye at the burial site of Princess Bokon featured the most extensive range of foods offered, with a total of 33 dishes. Foods ranging 13~25 dishes were offered at the national holiday darye, while the darye on the $1^{st}$ and the $15^{th}$ of the month included 9~11 food preparations, making them more simplified with respect to the composition of foods offered at the ceremony, in comparison to the national holiday darye. The dishes were composed of ddeok, jogwa, silgea, hwachae, foods such as tang, jeok, jjim, hoe, and sikhae, and grain-based foods such as myeon, mandu, and juk. Foods offered at the burial site darye included 12~13 dishes comprising ban, tang, jochi, namul, chimchae, and jang. Meals offered at the darye had a composition similar to that of the daily royal table (sura). Darye recorded in the Jemuljeongnyechaek displayed characteristics of the seasonal foods of Korea. Jemuljeongnyechaek has detailed recordings of the materials, quantities, and prices of the materials required for preparations of the darye. It is quite certain that Jemuljeongnyechaek would have functioned as an essential reference in the process of purchasing and preparing the food materials for the darye, that were repeated quite frequently at the time.

Showing Filial Piety: Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain at the National Museum of Korea (과시된 효심: 국립중앙박물관 소장 <인왕선영도(仁旺先塋圖)> 연구)

  • Lee, Jaeho
    • MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
    • /
    • v.96
    • /
    • pp.123-154
    • /
    • 2019
  • Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain is a ten-panel folding screen with images and postscripts. Commissioned by Bak Gyeong-bin (dates unknown), this screen was painted by Jo Jung-muk (1820-after 1894) in 1868. The postscripts were written by Hong Seon-ju (dates unknown). The National Museum of Korea restored this painting, which had been housed in the museum on separate sheets, to its original folding screen format. The museum also opened the screen to the public for the first time at the special exhibition Through the Eyes of Joseon Painters: Real Scenery Landscapes of Korea held from July 23 to September 22, 2019. Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain depicts real scenery on the western slopes of Inwangsan Mountain spanning present-day Hongje-dong and Hongeun-dong in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. In the distance, the Bukhansan Mountain ridges are illustrated. The painting also bears place names, including Inwangsan Mountain, Chumohyeon Hill, Hongjewon Inn, Samgaksan Mountain, Daenammun Gate, and Mireukdang Hall. The names and depictions of these places show similarities to those found on late Joseon maps. Jo Jung-muk is thought to have studied the geographical information marked on maps so as to illustrate a broad landscape in this painting. Field trips to the real scenery depicted in the painting have revealed that Jo exaggerated or omitted natural features and blended and arranged them into a row for the purposes of the horizontal picture plane. Jo Jung-muk was a painter proficient at drawing conventional landscapes in the style of the Southern School of Chinese painting. Details in Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain reflect the painting style of the School of Four Wangs. Jo also applied a more decorative style to some areas. The nineteenth-century court painters of the Dohwaseo(Royal Bureau of Painting), including Jo, employed such decorative painting styles by drawing houses based on painting manuals, applying dots formed like sprinkled black pepper to depict mounds of earth and illustrating flowers by dotted thick pigment. Moreover, Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain shows the individualistic style of Jeong Seon(1676~1759) in the rocks drawn with sweeping brushstrokes in dark ink, the massiveness of the mountain terrain, and the pine trees simply depicted using horizontal brushstrokes. Jo Jung-muk is presumed to have borrowed the authority and styles of Jeong Seon, who was well-known for his real scenery landscapes of Inwangsan Mountain. Nonetheless, the painting lacks an spontaneous sense of space and fails in conveying an impression of actual sites. Additionally, the excessively grand screen does not allow Jo Jung-muk to fully express his own style. In Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, the texts of the postscripts nicely correspond to the images depicted. Their contents can be divided into six parts: (1) the occupant of the tomb and the reason for its relocation; (2) the location and geomancy of the tomb; (3) memorial services held at the tomb and mysterious responses received during the memorial services; (4) cooperation among villagers to manage the tomb; (5) the filial piety of Bak Gyeong-bin, who commissioned the painting and guarded the tomb; and (6) significance of the postscripts. The second part in particular is faithfully depicted in the painting since it can easily be visualized. According to the fifth part revealing the motive for the production of the painting, the commissioner Bak Gyeongbin was satisfied with the painting, stating that "it appears impeccable and is just as if the tomb were newly built." The composition of the natural features in a row as if explaining each one lacks painterly beauty, but it does succeed in providing information on the geomantic topography of the gravesite. A fair number of the existing depictions of gravesites are woodblock prints of family gravesites produced after the eighteenth century. Most of these are included in genealogical records and anthologies. According to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century historical records, hanging scrolls of family gravesites served as objects of worship. Bowing in front of these paintings was considered a substitute ritual when descendants could not physically be present to maintain their parents' or other ancestors' tombs. Han Hyo-won (1468-1534) and Jo Sil-gul (1591-1658) commissioned the production of family burial ground paintings and asked distinguished figures of the time to write a preface for the paintings, thus showing off their filial piety. Such examples are considered precedents for Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain. Hermitage of the Recluse Seokjeong in a private collection and Old Villa in Hwagae County at the National Museum of Korea are not paintings of family gravesites. However, they serve as references for seventeenth-century paintings depicting family gravesites in that they are hanging scrolls in the style of the paintings of literary gatherings and they illustrate geomancy. As an object of worship, Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain recalls a portrait. As indicated in the postscripts, the painting made Bak Gyeong-bin "feel like hearing his father's cough and seeing his attitudes and behaviors with my eyes." The fable of Xu Xiaosu, who gazed at the portrait of his father day and night, is reflected in this gravesite painting evoking a deceased parent. It is still unclear why Bak Gyeong-bin commissioned Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain to be produced as a real scenery landscape in the folding screen format rather than a hanging scroll or woodblock print, the conventional formats for a family gravesite paintings. In the nineteenth century, commoners came to produce numerous folding screens for use during the four rites of coming of age, marriage, burial, and ancestral rituals. However, they did not always use the screens in accordance with the nature of these rites. In the Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, the real scenery landscape appears to have been emphasized more than the image of the gravesite in order to allow the screen to be applied during different rituals or for use to decorate space. The burial mound, which should be the essence of Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, might have been obscured in order to hide its violation of the prohibition on the construction of tombs on the four mountains around the capital. At the western foot of Inwangsan Mountain, which was illustrated in this painting, the construction of tombs was forbidden. In 1832, a tomb discovered illegally built on the forbidden area was immediately dug up and the related people were severely punished. This indicates that the prohibition was effective until the mid-nineteenth century. The postscripts on the Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain document in detail Bak Gyeong-bin's efforts to obtain the land as a burial site. The help and connivance of villagers were necessary to use the burial site, probably because constructing tombs within the prohibited area was a burden on the family and villagers. Seokpajeong Pavilion by Yi Han-cheol (1808~1880), currently housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is another real scenery landscape in the format of a folding screen that is contemporaneous and comparable with Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain. In 1861 when Seokpajeong Pavilion was created, both Yi Han-cheol and Jo Jung-muk participated in the production of a portrait of King Cheoljong. Thus, it is highly probable that Jo Jung-muk may have observed the painting process of Yi's Seokpajeong Pavilion. A few years later, when Jo Jungmuk was commissioned to produce Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, his experience with the impressive real scenery landscape of the Seokpajeong Pavilion screen could have been reflected in his work. The difference in the painting style between these two paintings is presumed to be a result of the tastes and purposes of the commissioners. Since Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain contains the multilayered structure of a real scenery landscape and family gravesite, it seems to have been perceived in myriad different ways depending on the viewer's level of knowledge, closeness to the commissioner, or viewing time. In the postscripts to the painting, the name and nickname of the tomb occupant as well as the place of his surname are not recorded. He is simply referred to as "Mister Bak." Biographical information about the commissioner Bak Gyeong-bin is also unavailable. However, given that his family did not enter government service, he is thought to have been a person of low standing who could not become a member of the ruling elite despite financial wherewithal. Moreover, it is hard to perceive Hong Seon-ju, who wrote the postscripts, as a member of the nobility. He might have been a low-level administrative official who belonged to the Gyeongajeon, as documented in the Seungjeongwon ilgi (Daily Records of Royal Secretariat of the Joseon Dynasty). Bak Gyeong-bin is presumed to have moved the tomb of his father to a propitious site and commissioned Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain to stress his filial piety, a conservative value, out of his desire to enter the upper class. However, Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain failed to live up to its original purpose and ended up as a contradictory image due to its multiple applications and the concern over the exposure of the violation of the prohibition on the construction of tombs on the prohibited area. Forty-seven years after its production, this screen became a part of the collection at the Royal Yi Household Museum with each panel being separated. This suggests that Bak Gyeong-bin's dream of bringing fortune and raising his family's social status by selecting a propitious gravesite did not come true.

A research on the stone ornaments of Taesils of Joseon royal family (조선왕실(朝鮮王室)의 태실석물(胎室石物)에 관한 일연구(一硏究) -서삼릉(西三陵) 이장(移藏)원 태실(胎室)을 중심(中心)으로-)

  • Yun, Seok-In
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
    • /
    • v.33
    • /
    • pp.94-135
    • /
    • 2000
  • Rituals for burying the tae(胎) is a unique royal tradition of Korea that lasted from Unified Shilla(統一新羅) Kingdom to Joseon(朝鮮) dynasty. However, all of the currently known taesil(胎室)s are of the royal descendants of Joseon dynasty. Therefore, Taesils made earlier than Joseon dynasty are only known by historical documents. Taesils of the royal descendants of Joseon Dynasty divide into two kinds. One is for those of princes and princesses and the other is for those of Kings. The structure of taesils of princes and princesses is a stone chest(石函) in a pit which dug on the apex of the Taebong(胎峰) containing a pair of Tae(胎)-urn(the inner urn and outer urn), a stone tablet called Jiseok(誌石) which the date of baby's birth and Tae burial is inscribed in. And a tombstone-shaped stone tablet which called Taesilbi(胎室碑) was built on the ground. And the underground structure of Taesils of Kings is identical with that of taesils of princes and princesses, but instead of just an stone tablet, this has a Budo(浮屠);means stupa of a monk in korean)-shaped stone structure on the top of the stone chest, and an octagon-shaped porch was built around it, and a Tapbi(塔碑) was built. This treatise is focused on the current status and change process of stone ornaments. The subject of this treatise is 54 Taesils which were transferred to Seosamnung(西三陵) during the japanese occupation and Tae-urns and Jiseok(誌石)s from any other Taesil and its stone chest were not included in this treatise. Researches on Taesils can be great help to history by providing resources about genealogy of Jaseon royal family and social, economical status of that time. And researches on stone ornaments and tae-urns from Taesils can provide great help to stone art history and porcelain history of Joseon dynasty.

A Study on Coming of Age, Wedding, Funeral, and Ancestral Rites Found in 『Hajaeilgi』 (『하재일기』에 나타난 관·혼·상·제례 연구)

  • Song, Jae-Yong
    • (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
    • /
    • no.70
    • /
    • pp.435-466
    • /
    • 2018
  • "Hajaeilgi (荷齋日記)" was written by Ji Gyu-sik, a gongin of Saongwon (司饔院)'s branch, almost everyday for 20 years and 7 months from January 1st, 1891 until the leap month of June 29th, 1911. It deals with many different areas including domestic and foreign circumstances, custom, rituals, all the affairs related to the branch, and also everyday life. Particularly, Ji Gyu-sik did not belong to the yangban class, and we can hardly find diaries written by such class' people. Here, what this author pays attention to among the things written in "Hajaeilgi" is the contents about rituals, especially coming of age, wedding, funeral and ancestral rites. Ji Gyu-sik did write in his "Hajaeilgi" about coming of age, wedding, funeral and ancestral rites that were actually performed then as a person not belonging to the yangban class. Such diaries are very rare, and its value is highly appreciated as a material. Particularly, from the late 19th to the early 20th century of this author focuses on the a study of coming of age, wedding, funeral and ancestral rites as we can see some aspects about it from his diary. Coming-of-age rites were carried out in the first month of the year generally, and in this period, we can see the transformation of their performing period as it was diversified then. This was not exceptional in yangban families. About wedding, while it was discussed, it came to be canceled more often than before maybe because they were going through the process of enlightenment then. It seems that choosing the day was not done in the bride's family always. Jungin or commoners had a weeding in the bride's house, but when it was needed, it was also performed in the groom's house. Ji Gyu-sik followed the traditional wedding procedure for his children rather faithfully, but it was applied flexibly according to the two families' situations or conditions. Ignoring the traditional manners, they had a wedding in the period of mourning or performed a wedding in the groom's house bringing the bride there. It seems that this was related to the decline of Confucian order in the society in the process of modernization. Also, the form of donations changed, too. Gradually, it was altered to the form of money gifts. Moreover, unlike before, divorcing seems to have been allowed then. Remarriage or divorce was the custom transformed from before. Funeral rites had different durations from death up to balin (carrying out a bier for burial) and hagwan (lowering a coffin into the grave), and so it means that they also went through transformation. Sa-daebu used usually 3 months but here was 7 days from death to balin normally, but it seems that there were yangban families not following it. The traces of 3-iljang (burial on the third day after death) most commonly found these days and chowoo jaewoo samwooje can be also found in "Hajaeilgi". Such materials are, in fact, very highly evaluated nowadays. Meanwhile, donations also changed gradually to the form of money. Regarding ancestral rites, time for memorial service was not fixed. Ji Gyu-sik did not follow jaegye (齋戒) before carrying out gijesa, and in some worse case, he went to pub the day before the memorial service to meet his lover or drink. This is somewhat different from the practice of yangban sadaebu then. Even after entering Christianity, Ji Gyu-sik performed memorial service, and after joining Cheondogyo, he did it, too. Meanwhile, there were some exceptions, but in Hansik or Chuseok, Ji Gyu-sik performed charye (myoje) before the tomb in person or sent his little brother or son to do it. But we cannot find the contents that tell us Ji Gyu-sik carried out myoje in October. Ji Gyu-sik performed saengiljesa calling it saengsincharye almost every year for his late father. But it is noticeable that he performed saengsincharye and memorial service separately, too, occasionally. The gijesa, charye, myoje, and saengsincharye carried out by jungin family from Gyeonggi Gwangju around the time that the status system was abolished and the Japanese Empire took power may have been rather different and less strict than yangban family's practice of ancestral rites; however, it is significant that we can see with it the aspects of ancestral rites performed in family not yangban. As described above, the contents about the a study of coming of age, wedding, funeral and ancestral rites found in "Hajaeilgi" are equipped with great value as material and meaningful in the perspective of forklore.