Yeongchunhyanggyo Local Confucian School, Danyang

A hyanggyo is a local Confucian school established by the state to hold memorial rites for eminent Confucian scholars and to provide Confucian education and moral instruction to local people. Yeongchunhyanggyo was founded in 1399, the first year of King Jeongjong of Joseon, but was burned down during the Japanese invasions of 1592. It was rebuilt at Namcheon-ri in 1614, the sixth year of King Gwanghaegun, but after a fire there it was moved to its present site in 1791, the fifteenth year of King Jeongjo. It has since undergone repairs on numerous occasions and survives to this day. The buildings that remain today include the Daeseongjeon (shrine hall), Myeongnyundang (lecture hall), the east and west dormitories (Dongjae and Seojae), and the caretaker's quarters (Gyojiksa). The Daeseongjeon enshrines the memorial tablets of Confucius and other sages and is where rites are held, while the Myeongnyundang was the lecture hall where students studied. Unlike most hyanggyo, where the Myeongnyundang and Daeseongjeon are arranged one above the other, here the Myeongnyundang stands in an unusual position, in front of and to the right of the Daeseongjeon. During the Joseon period the school received land, servants and books from the state to educate its students, but after the Gabo Reforms of 1894 it lost its educational function, and now only the spring and autumn memorial rites are held.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Danyang, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산