1792년 도산서원 사제시일기賜祭時日記고찰 = A Study on the Sajesi-ilgi(Diary of the Royal Rituals) of Dosan Seowon in 1792

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to examine the development and the underlying political and academic implications of the ritual sacrifice (Saje) and the special civil service examination (Byeolsi) held at Dosan Seowon in 1792 (the 16th year of King Jeongjo’s reign). To achieve this, the research conducts a precise analysis of Sajesi-ilgi (Diary of the Ritual Sacrifice), a document preserved at Dosan Seowon that records the entire process of these events.
In the late 18th century, Joseon society faced new ideological chal lenges following the introduction of Western Learning (Seohak), partic ularly after the Jinsan Incident (Sinhae Persecution) in 1791. In this time of crisis, King Jeongjo turned his attention to Toegye Yi Hwang—the spi ritual pillar of the Yeongnam literati—as a means of defending Neo Confucian orthodoxy and strengthening royal authority. Praising the Yeongnam region as the “Land of Confucius and Mencius” (Churojihyang) for preserving the “Right Learning” (Jeonghak) without being tainted by “Heterodox Learning” (Sahak), Jeongjo ordered a royal ritual sacrifice and a special examination to recruit local talent. This was a sophisti cated political maneuver designed to embrace the Namin (Southerners) faction as political allies and to check the dominance of the Noron (Old Doctrine) faction.
By using Sajesi-ilgi, compiled at Dosan Seowon in 1792, as the primary source and cross-referencing it with official records such as Ilseongnok (Records of Daily Reflection), this study multidimensionally explores the background of the King's decision. Notably, Sajesi-ilgi viv idly captures the administrative mechanism through which central gov ernment orders were transmitted to local academies, and how Dosan Seowon closely collaborated with neighboring Confucian schools (Hyanggyo) and literati networks to execute them. Above all, this re search focuses on reconstructing and introducing the specific procedures of the ritual sacrifice and the operation of the special examination based on the microscopic records of Sajesi-ilgi. The diary provides a vivid ac count of the strict ritual procedures and the intimate details of the ex amination process, which took place amidst an estimated crowd of over 10,000 people on the day of the sacrifice.