An Aspect of Buddhist Medicine in Joseon Dynasty Studied through Sauna Therapy

한증법(汗蒸法)을 통해 바라본 조선조(朝鮮朝) 불교의학(佛敎醫學)의 일면(一面)

Abstract

Sauna, or hanjeung (汗蒸) is a physical sweating method that uses external heat to forcibly raise body temperature to treat cold damage disorders (傷寒) in traditional Korean medicine. This study focuses on the fact that the sauna was recorded as a healing and bathing method on the Vinaya Pitaka (律藏), and investigates the records of folk sauna therapy of Joseon Dynasty from the perspective of Buddhist medicine which played a significant role in ancient medicine history in Korea. Although the word 'hanjeung (汗蒸)' first appeared in "The Veritable Records of King Sejong (世宗實錄)" in the Korean literature, this study aims to confirm the possibility that the tradition of Buddhist sauna bathing has already existed since the Three Kingdoms period in Korea, based on the fact that sauna bathing was recorded in the Vinaya Pitaka and that the ancient Buddhist bathing culture was introduced in ancient Japan. In addition, the succession of the Buddhist sauna tradition by Goryeo will be traced back through the records of 1920s urban saunas in Gaesung (개성) which was the old capital of Goryeo and had a strong tendency to adhere to traditional Goryeo customs. Finally, the study tries to identify the elements of the Buddhist sauna bathing on the records of folk sauna therapy in the Joseon Dynasty. As a result, this study examines how the Buddhist sauna bathing culture in ancient Korea, which was led by medical monks, spread in the general public and influenced the folk sauna therapy in the Joseon Dynasty.

그림 1. 1922년 개성읍내 汗蒸所⁴²⁾

표 1. 옛 문헌에 나타난 조선시대 汗蒸所