This study examines the records of the Gungbang seal used in Gungbang in the late Joseon Dynasty and summarizes the types and characteristics of such a seal based on existing Gungbang seals and examples from the documents in Yongdonggung.
Records on G...
This study examines the records of the Gungbang seal used in Gungbang in the late Joseon Dynasty and summarizes the types and characteristics of such a seal based on existing Gungbang seals and examples from the documents in Yongdonggung.
Records on Gungbang seals appeared frequently in the context of restricting the procedures for document administration and documents of Gungbang during the reign of King Jeongjo. In particular, a strict hierarchy was maintained with other government seals. In addition, Gungbang seals were engraved with zhuanshu, and others that are engraved with kaishu were known to be mere seals.
Currently, 23 Gungbang seal pieces have been discovered, and they are mostly in the form of a square, which is similar to or larger than the size of the government seal. Among the Gungbang that had the function of a privy purse, records on the time of production and the subject of the entity were written on the back of the Gungbang seal. In the case of the royal concubines’ Gungbang, it was made out of different material, which varied from metal to wood depending on their class/hierarchy. The greatest diversity was found in the Gungbang seal of children in the royal family.
Five categories of Gungbang seal officially used in Yongdonggung’s documents can be distinguished according to their form and style, and zhuyin (ink/stamp pad) was officially restricted to the royal family. The most common form was square zhuanshu, and it was used in the earliest era. The form of square zhuanshu, presumed to have been used in the latest period, was the same as that recorded in the “Outline of Duties” (臨時財産整理局事務要綱) of the “Bureau of Royal Property Nationalization” (臨時財産整理局) published in 1911 after the abolition of the Gungbang.
This paper is meaningful in that it summarizes the types and characteristics of the Gungbang seal, which is one of the administrative elements of Gungbang documents, and attempts a hierarchical comparison with the government offices on this basis.