조선 후기 肅宗의 關王廟행차와 의미 = King Sukjong’s Royal Visits to the Shrines of King Guan[關王廟] and Its Implications.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Shrines of King Guan[關王廟] which prevailed in Ming China were first introduced to Joseon by the Ming army during the Japanese Invasions of Joseon in the 16th century. After the war ended, the neo-Confucian court of Joseon, which had a strong aversion to the Daoist cult of Guan Yu, laid aside the cares of the shrines. The significance of the Guan Yu shrines, however, suddenly increased during the reign of King Sukjong in the late 17th century. As the external crisis heightened due to the frequent appearances of pirates and ships of unknown identities, King Sukjong, in need of momentum to promote loyalty of the people, utilized these shrines of the god of war. The king, repeatedly expressing his will to promote the cult of Guan Yu, visited the shrines, dedicated his own odes, ordered the facilities to be repaired, made sacrifices, and established the royal rites for the cult of Guan Yu. King Sukjong’s official visits to the shrines were cleverly designed political act for raising the morale of the troops, promoting loyalty of commoners, and pursuing the peace and prosperity of the state by assigning this half-mythic Chinese hero the power and national status of god of war.