Daeseongjeon Shrinee of Buanhyanggyo Local Confucian School
Frontal view of Daeseongjeon Shrine at Buanhyanggyo Local Confucian SchoolThis photo shows the Inner Triple Gate and Daeseongjeon Shrine at the Buanhyanggyo Local Confucian School in Seooe-ri, Buan-eup, Buan-gun. It is a venue for holding the Seokjeon Daeje (National Rite to Confucius) in spring and autumn every year. It was designated as Jeollabuk-do Cultural Heritage Material No. 93.
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Location25, Hyanggyo-gil Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
- Korean부안향교 대성전
- Chinese扶安鄕校大成殿
- FieldReligion / Confucianism
- Contents TypeHistoric Site / Building
- Current Location25, Hyanggyo-gil Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- Daeseongjeon Shrine (Hall for offering sacrificial rite for Confucius and great Confucian scholars) of Buanhyanggyo (an olden-day, local state-run Confucian school carrying out intermediate-level education) in Seooe-ri, Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Summary
- A hyanggyo, which was a local educational institution of the Joseon Dynasty, is composed of a section for offering a sacrificial rite for Confucius and great Confucian scholars and a section for studying. The section for offering sacrificial rite includes Daeseongjeon Shrine flanked by Dongmu/Seomu (for honoring disciples of Confucius and noted sages of Korea). The section for studying includes Myeongryundang (a lecture hall) and Dongjae/Seojae (a dormitory).
Buanhyanggyo features a typical layout of a local Confucian school in which the lecture hall Myeongrundang and the dormitories, Dongjae and Seojae, are arranged at the front while Daeseongjeon Shrine is located in the rear side. One passing through Ilgakmun Gate will find Manhwaru Pavilion. You are supposed to go below the floor of the pavilion and proceed up the stairs. On your right, you will find Jindeokjae, a building erected recently. Up the stairs is a section for studying composed of Myeongryundang (lecture hall), Sunguijae (Dongjae) and Yangsajae dormitories, and Jeonsagak. One proceeding through the stairs in the middle and the Naesammun (Inner Three Gates) finds the section for offering sacrificial rite including Daeseongjeon Shrine, where the mortuary tablets for the following are enshrined: five leading Confucian saints, four great Confucian scholars of China’s Song Dynasty, and the country’s 18 great Confucian scholars. During the Joseon Period, masters taught students at Hyanggyo with support from the government, but Hyanggyo came to lose its function as a teaching institution though the reshuffling of the education system following the systemic reform movement carried out by the Joseon government during the period 1894-1895, serving its function for offering sacrificial rite only.
- Location
- Buanhyanggyo is located at 25 Hyanggyo-gil[255beon-gil, Seooe-ri], Buan-eup, Buan-gun (southern foot of Sangsosan Mountain). After climbing up the stairs between Myeongryundang and Yangsajae along the slope, and passing through the Inner Three-Gate, one can find Daeseongjeon Shrine of Buanhyanggyo.
- Development
- Daeseongjeon Shrine of this Confucian school was first built in 1414 (14th year of King Taejong’s reign). It was destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasion in 1597 and rebuilt together with Myeongryundang in 1600 (33rdrd year of King Seonjo’s reign).
- Forms
- The façade of all Daeseongjeon Shrines of hyanggyo in Jeollabuk-do measures 3 kan.*[*1 kan refers to the length of the space between two columns. It comes to 210 cm - 300 cm.] This one in Buanhyanggyo also measures 3 kan (façade) by 3 kan (sides). It has an open space under the roof supported with columns outside the original section of a building to make room for offering a sacrificial rite. Base stones for the building façade were erected slightly high in consideration of the sloped topography. For the aforesaid open space, round cornerstones were used. For the other façade sections of the building, natural cornerstones were used, and round columns were set up on them. The building has double bird wing-shaped bracket supporting eaves, double-layer eaves, gable roof (with the “八”-shaped side), and gable board at the side. As for dancheong (Korean traditional decorative coloring on wooden buildings and artifacts for the purpose of style), only the ends of wooden members were decorated with simple patterns, or only base colors were painted without decorative patterns.
- Current Status
- Daeseongjeon Shrinee of Buanhyanggyo Local Confucian School was designated as Jeollabuk-do Cultural Heritage Material No. 93 in April 1, 1984. The Buanhyanggyo Foundation, its owner, manages it. At the building, they hold Seokjeon Daeje (a ceremonial rite performed semiannually to honor Confucius) in spring and autumn and burn incense every 1st and15th of each month.
- Historical Significance
- Ordinarily, the layout of Hyanggyo requires Daeseongjeon Shrinee to be placed at the center and Dongmu/Seomu (space for enshrining mortuary tablets) on its right and left at a right angle to it. In front of Daeseongjeon Shrine, Myeongryundang (lecture hall) is placed parallel to it, and then Dongjae/Seojae (dormitory) at a right angle to it. As for Buanhyanggyo, Daeseongjeon Shrine stands at the highest section of the ground. Standing in front of it parallel to it is Myeongryundang, Yangsajae, Sungeijae. Standing in the next row parallel to Myeongryundang is Manhwaru, a gate tower. The overall layout of the buildings did not follow the ordinary layout supposedly in consideration of the natural topography.
- See Also