A Study of the Training for the Literary Scholars and of the Compilation and the Publication of Anthologies during the Reign of the King Sungjong in Chosun Dynasty

성종조의 문사양성과 문집편간

In this paper, I intended to study the policy executed by the king Sungjong(성종), the ruler of the early Chosun(조선) Dynasty, for the purpose of the training for the literary scholars under the diplomatic necessity and from his own interest in literature, and the compilation and the publication of anthologies of the famous civil officials in those days under the influence of this policy. The overall findings of the study can be summarized as follows : 1. Sungjong was comparable with the Sejong(세종) in his studiousness and especially, he was very interested in literature. He composed verses personally, showed them to his civil officials and demanded their poems in response to his own ones. Futhermore, he executed steadily the institutions of Eung-je(응제), Kaw-si(과식) and Weol-kwa(월과) that demanded creative writings from his civil officials. The purpose of these institutions which was propelled by the king Sungjong was the training for the literary scholars under the diplomatic necessity. 2. Chosun Dynasty exchanged envoys with Myeong(명) Dynasty during the time of the king Sungjong as many as 100 times. The training for the excellent literary scholars was nationally urgent problem because the competent literary scholars were needed whenever Myeong Dynasty dispatched the envoys to Chosun Dynasty. Eung-je, Kwa-si and Weol-kwa were executed from practical demand and 1 - 3 persons at the minimum, 60 - 70 persons at the maximum took part in this institution at a time. This means that 60 - 70 literary works were produced at a time. Therefore, the steady execution of Eung-je, Kwa-si and Weol-kwa inevitably resulted in mass production of literary works. 3. The king Sungjong instructed his civil officials to compile the anthologies of the then representative civil officials as a means to encourage literary compositions, read it himself and took actions to publish them at the expense of government. There were six anthologies compiled and published under this policy of the king Sungjong, Kang Heui­maeng's Sasukjejib(강희맹, 사숙제집), Shin Suk-ju's Bohanjaejib(신숙단, 보한제집), Kim Su-on's Shikujib (김수온, 식우집), Choe Hang's Taeheojeongjib(최항, 태허정집), Seo Keo-jeong's Sagajib (서거정, 사가집), Lee Seok-hyeong's Jeoheonjib(이석형, 저헌집). Yu Ho-in's Noekyejib(유호인, 뇌계집+CZ48), Lee Seung-so's Samtanjib(이승소, 삼탄집), Kim Jong-jik's Jeompiljaejib(김종직, 점필제집) of three were examined by the king Sungjong, but published later because of the death of the king. 4. jeompiljaejib was compiled by order of the king Sungjong and passed Eulram (을람 : king reads an anthology personally) which contained Joeuijemoon(조의제문) that criticized the king Sejo(세조) who had usurped a throne. The recording of Joeuijemoon became an issue in process of Muosahwa(무오사화), and it was ordered that the printing blocks should be broken and the published books should be collected and be burnt up. These procedures destroyed the social atmosphere that people considered it an honor writing literary compositions, compiling and publishing anthologies thanks to the steady efforts of the king Sungjong. 5. It had an important effect on the compilation and the publication of anthologies after that, breaking the printing blocks, collecting and burning up the pulished books of Jeompiljaejib because of recording of Joeuijemoon. Namely, it got universalized to delete compositions that can cause problems in the future as well as the parts related to political issue, from the objects of recording. Such tendency became one of the important principles of the anthological compilation after that.