This study delineates the vicissitudes of the Pungsan Ryu Clan of Hahoe, Andong prefecture, from the 17th to the 19th century. Its key term, clan or munjung in Korean, refers to a lineage group or an extended family, descending from the same progenito...
This study delineates the vicissitudes of the Pungsan Ryu Clan of Hahoe, Andong prefecture, from the 17th to the 19th century. Its key term, clan or munjung in Korean, refers to a lineage group or an extended family, descending from the same progenitor, usually a ranking official. Its scope changed, large or small, depending on the context, as a prosperous branch of the clan would conceive itself as a separate entity. The Pungsan Ryu clan, a renowned local yangban or sajok in Kyongsang province, fared well, by successfully responding to political and socioeconomic changes over the period.
This study shows what strategies they used, by analyzing an assortment of clan documents―genealogy, property inheritance, petitions, transactions, litigations, as well as collected works of individual literati, etc. It deals with several aspects of the clan's development, which constitute its main parts. On this basis, this study argues that the local elites controlled the rural society in two different ways. In the first half of the Choson period, a coalition of prominent individuals was the control mechanism. In the second half, the clans became the nuclei of local power. This study attempts to show how and why such a change took place.
First, this study outlines the rise of the Pungsan Ryu clan. In the Koryo, the Ryu was an influential family in Pungsan, but little known outside it―until Ryu Baek passed civil service examination. That was the turning point. His descendants continued to pass examinations, hold government posts, and marry scions of prominent families―for eight generations. The clan settled in Hahoe, and family property increased remarkably. Their fortune reached its peak at the tenth generation, when Ryu Songnyong (1542~1607) became prime minister. By this time, their adoption of Neo-Confucian ideology and familial rites helped strengthen clan solidarity. They compiled their clan genealogy and meticulously observed Confucian memorial services for their ancestors.
Second, it shows how the descendants of the premier and his older brother, the two pillars of the Hahoe Ryu clan, consolidated their prestige and fortune, while branching into seven and competing among themselves. The most important factors were passing civil service examinations and holding government posts. It also mattered whose disciples they were and who they were marrying. They belonged to the Toegye school and branched off. They formed multiple marriage ties with some prominent clans affiliated with the Toegye school―such as Andong Kwon, Chinsong Yi (Yi Hwang), and Uisong Kim. The frequency of marriage ties fluctuated as the fortunes of individual clans changed over time. These patterns changed remarkably in the 19th century, as a feud exacerbated between the two rival clans―Hahoe Ryu and Uisong Kim.
Third, this study examines the means whereby this clan further enhanced its prestige, such as observance of authentic memorial services, construction of Confucian academies and shrines dedicated to their eminent forefathers, publication of their collected works and the clan genealogy. They devoted time and energy scrutinizing the Confucian texts of ancient rites, and they petitioned the king to designate the late premier's name tablet as "immutable" (allowing memorial services forever), an exceptional honor. The Confucian academy at Pyongsan was built by the premier's disciples in his honor and became their rallying point, but it was soon dominated and privatized by the Ryu clan. The publication of collected works reinforced its ties with other clans; the publication of genealogy cemented the solidarity of its own clan members.
Lastly, it outlines how the clan responded to the challenges in the late 18th to the 19th centuries. Challenges took various forms. Members of the 'Southern faction' in Kyongsang province became alienated from the center of political power, and this clan tried to improve their status by allying with some prominent Southerners in Seoul. Their prolonged feud with the Uisong Kim inflicted serious wounds on both clans. At the stake was the second place after Yi Hwang, Ryu Songnyong or Kim Songil? Neither side could yield. Then the Ryu clan was brought into litigations over ownership of lands where their ancestral graves were located. They managed to prevail, but the lawsuits prove that times have been changing and their influence waning.