• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.133-146
• /
• 2015

King and Crown Prince's Gwanbok (冠服) written in "Goryeosa" Yeobokji was the bestowment of robes and crowns by the Son of Heaven who yielded hegemony over East Asia. It designated the King and Crown Prince of Goryeo as real and authentic as well as confirmed the political status of Goryeo in East Asia. In "Goryeosa" Yeobokji, the King's Gwanbok is of higher stature than the adornments of the King's ritual robes (祭服) and court robes (朝服) which held a domestic political significance. In East Asia, bestowment of voiture (車) and robe (服) usually appeared in the multistate system. In the $10^{th}$ century, the Later Jin (後晋) spread the idea of investiture and bestowment to Khitan (契丹). The Liao (遼) or Khitan and the Jin (金), the Conquest Dynasties, endeavored to establish the legitimacy of the Son of Heaven by imitating Sinocentrism by means of investiture and bestowment. In the reign of XingZong (興宗) and DaoZong (道宗) of Liao, the ritual of investiture and bestowment for Goryeo was in the making, adding titles and bestowments in the occasion of the elevation of Emperor Liao's honorific title. King Munjong (文宗) of Goryeo reached 9-bestowment which symbolized the first of the feudal lords in East Asia. This exceptional respect for Goryeo went on to Jin's investiture and bestowment. From then, 9-bestowment was defined as an international decorum (禮) toward Goryeo. This historical study of Gwanbok (冠服) of "Goryeosa", indicates: First, the King's Ceremonial Robe with Nine-symbol Design were designated from the early to middle of the Goryeo Dynasty by investiture and bestowment from the Conquest Dynasties. Second, the bestowed King's Robe and Crown had simultaneous functions for domestic order and international order. Goryeo did not follow ideological Sinocentrism but followed practical interest by accepting Confucian Li (禮) philosophy passed on through the Conquest Dynasties.