This study examines earthenware recovered from tombs in the peri-capital belt (Seongjeo-sipri) surrounding Hanyang’s city walls and in the northern, western, and southern subregions of Gyeonggi Province during the Early Joseon period (1392–c.1600)...
This study examines earthenware recovered from tombs in the peri-capital belt (Seongjeo-sipri) surrounding Hanyang’s city walls and in the northern, western, and southern subregions of Gyeonggi Province during the Early Joseon period (1392–c.1600), with the aim of clarifying patterns of regionality and stylistic development. To this end, it reviews vessel categories, forms, and associations in co-occurrence for each site, and derives the characteristics of the Gyeonggi assemblage through a brief comparison with materials from the Chungcheong, Gangwon, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang regions. Relative chronology for the tomb assemblages is further estimated by correlating the dating of associated buncheong ware and white porcelain with kiln-site evidence.
The main findings are as follows. First, ceramics excavated from tombs in the Gyeonggi region are dominated by jars (ho), bottles (byeong), and janggun-type vessels, with only limited accompaniment of wa-myeonggi and jabegi. The co-occurrence of forms such as jangsin-ho, dangyeong-ho, and pasu-ho alongside trumpet-mouth bottles and short-necked bottles confirms the coexistence of “new” and “old” elements. Second, in the areas adjacent to the ten-li zone outside the capital city wall (Seongjeo-sipri) and in southern Gyeonggi, actual burial examples of wa-myeonggi sets corresponding to the illustrations of the Five Rites in the Annals of King Sejong are identified, demonstrating the early acceptance of the capital’s ritual system. Third, subtle stylistic changes in pottery bottles are observed across the subregions of Gyeonggi, developing into a pattern characterized by the disappearance of jangsin-ho, the emergence of pasu-ho, and, from the late sixteenth century onward, the establishment of official-kiln styles in associated white porcelain. These changes can be organized into a three-stage developmental sequence through comparison between kiln-site data and the transition of associated porcelains from buncheong ware to white porcelain.
By integrating datasets from the the ten-li zone outside the capital city wall (Seongjeo-sipri) and the northern, western, and southern Gyeonggi sectors, the study demonstrates regional differentiation and diachronic change in vessel classes and co-burial practice during early Joseon. It further shows that these assemblages provide a robust empirical base for reconstructing the formation of the Neo-Confucian funerary order in the capital region.