Changpyeonghyanggyo Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo is a local Confucian school built by the state to hold memorial rites for eminent Confucian scholars and to provide local people with Confucian education and moral instruction. Changpyeonghyanggyo is said to have been built in the first year of King Jeong Jong (1399), though this is not certain. It was moved to its present site in the tenth year of King Seongjong (1479), and after being burned down during the Japanese invasion of 1592 (the Imjin War) it was later rebuilt. The buildings that survive today are the Daeseongjeon (shrine hall), the Myeongnyundang (lecture hall), the east and west dormitories, and the inner gate. Standing on sloping ground, the complex is divided by the inner gate into the Myeongnyundang, a space for study, and the Daeseongjeon, a space for rites, following the "study hall in front, shrine behind" layout typical of hyanggyo. Behind the inner gate stands the Daeseongjeon, which enshrines the spirit tablets of Confucius and other sages and where rites are held for them. The foundation stones of the Daeseongjeon appear to include the roof stone and base stone of a stone pagoda, suggesting that stone remains from a nearby temple were brought here and reused. During the Joseon period the school received land, slaves and books from the state to teach its students, but after the Gabo Reforms of 1894 it lost this educational role. Today rites are held only twice a year, in spring and autumn. The books kept here are valuable material for research into the local history of the region.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Damyang, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산