• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.68
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• pp.209-235
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• 2017

This study was conducted for a review of Park Se-chae's Theory of Rituals and eclectic features. He was in agreement with Song Si-yeol's allegation and Seoin's theory of rituals(西人禮論) in the 1659 controversy over propriety(己亥禮訟) and the 1674 controversy over propriety(甲寅禮訟). After that, he was cautious and criticized for Song's claims in 1683 discussion of Hyojong's sacrifices and Taejo's posthumous name. This tendency can be seen in his paper of rituals. He wrote "服制私議"(Private opinion of mourning clothes) etc. in his early life and wrote "關西昏喪契約束"(Covenant on wedding ceremonies and mourning ceremonies in the Gwanse province), "喪祭値疫痘說"(Mourning ceremonies and sacrifice when there is an epidemic) etc. in his later life. By comparing the books, we can identify changes in Park Se-chae's eclectic features. Early in life, he reviewed Gorye(古禮, Rituals of the old such as Liji) and the timely institutions(時制) on the "朱子家禮"(A book written by Zhuzi about family rituals). However, later in life, he reviewed Gorye and the Zhuzi Jiali on the timely institutions. The following is a summary of the above. His theory of rituals can be said that the eclectic features have changed from 'on Zhuzi Jiali' to 'on the timely institution'.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.73
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• pp.65-89
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• 2018

This paper was triggered by the idea that the culture of ancestral rites and the patrilocality, which entail the excessive sacrifice on the part of the wife, that eventually led to the coinage of the expression, "housewives' holiday stress," is perhaps not the age-old traditions it claim to be, but rather a recent phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to reveal that the loss of housewife's authority is the product of "becoming yangban (aristocrats)," which was a culture that was in fashion in the late Joseon dynasty. Until the late Joseon dynasty, women, in particular, the married women maintained an autonomous life which allowed them the authority to an extent, based on their properties that they brought from and the ties that they maintained with their original family and. However, such authority of the housewives disappeared since the invasion of Joseon by Japan and Qing in the year of Imjin (1592) and Byeongja (1636), respectively, as the daughters were excluded from receiving inheritance in a desperate attempt to maintain the impoverished family after the wars. However, patriarchy based on neo-Confucian custom and convention of patriarchal clan system could not spread to the entire population immediately after the wars, as it was impossible to include everyone in the aristocratic class (yangban). It was due to the increase of aristocrats within the continued social changes that occurred after the wars that the neo-Confucian patriarchy became the norm and ethical standard in Joseon society. Also, the theory of propriety in neo-Confucianism that everyone from the emperor down to commoners must abide by the patriarchal clan system was realized through Zhuzi jiali, i.e. Master Zhu's Family Rituals, which institutionalized the system of family rites by setting up ancestral shrines in every household. For the aristocrats who lost their financial footing, the only basis they could rely on to prove their aristocratic lineage is the strict compliance with the rituals. Also, for the once commoners who turned into aristocrats one day had to emphasize the formal propriety in order to distinguish themselves from the commoners. Hence, the culture of "becoming yangban" in the nineteenth-century Joseon was what solidified the patriarchal rituals, decorum, and clan system. As a result, women have become subordinated to the husband's families, which forced the women, i.e. the housewives to serve them and sacrifice themselves for them. At times, women self-imposed such restraints on them as they led themselves into believing that it was necessary to maintain the family for their sons.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.35
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• pp.387-414
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• 2009

This paper looks into the Confucius customs of Yiphu and Seungjung, that is respectively a problem of deciding the successor of the family and a matter of establishing Jongtong (宗統: the proper inheritance line of the family), especially concerning the funerary and ancestor memorial services through Seongho Lee Ik's discussion on proprieties, whose Yeahak (禮學: Studies on Proprieties) is representative of the eighteenth century Yeahak. Seongho Lee Ik sees that there is one penetrating principle that should apply the same concerning Jongtong, regardless whether it is for the state or for a family or whether it is for the royal family or for the gentry in or out of the state service. To establish this one penetrating principle, he emphasizes the manners that fit one's circumstance and social standing, proposed as the theory and practice of 'Seoin-garyea (庶人家禮: Proper customs that even common people with no official titles can practice in marking their important life events like coming-of-age, marriage, and death)'. These two aspects of Seongho seem at odds with each other at a glance. Yet given that he considers that keeping proprietary manners for their own social standings would help secure the fundamental social order, which is of supreme importance to him, it makes sense. Next, the most problematic issues about Seongjung and Yiphu are the timing when one can declare the 'absence of the patriarch' and the manner how one substitutes oneself for the absent patriarch. Seongho sees that it is one thing to 'inherit the Jongtong' and it is another to 'become a next patriarch'. Basically, he does not separate the problem of Jongtong by one's social standings. The real situation involved can be different based on one's social standing, he readily acknowledges. Yet, 'the unchangeable ethical principle between the father and the son' would prevail over the same regardless of classes, he insists. This attitude of his is in line with his philosophy of proprieties and his practical guidance that proposes 'Seoin-Garyea' with an appeal to establish fundamental social order based on the practice of proper manners in accordance of one's social standing as he philosophizes the rules of Jongtong on the base of the one penetrating principle.