Boseonghyanggyo 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 Confucian education and moral instruction for local residents. Boseonghyanggyo was built in the sixth year of King Taejo (1397), but its history up to the Japanese invasions (1592) is not well documented. According to the "Sanyangji" it was moved at some uncertain date from Gugye-dong to its present site, and later relocated again to Yangcheongsan Mountain. It is said to have burned down during the Jeongyu War (1597) and to have been rebuilt at its present location in the 35th year of King Seonjo (1602). It was renovated in the 32nd year of King Sunjo (1832), and has undergone several repairs since. The buildings that survive today are the Daeseongjeon (the shrine hall to Confucius and other sages), the Dongmu and Seomu, the Myeongnyundang lecture hall, and the Dongjae and Seojae dormitories. At the front, the Myeongnyundang, where students studied, stands at the centre of a study area formed together with the Dongjae and Seojae. At the rear, the Daeseongjeon together with the Dongmu and Seomu forms the memorial-rite area. The two areas are divided by the inner three-gate, following the typical hyanggyo layout of study quarters in front and shrine quarters behind. The Myeongnyundang was originally the Punghwaru pavilion, which was moved and converted for use as the lecture hall. The outer three-gate is a recent addition, and most of the buildings date from the late Joseon period. During the Joseon dynasty the school received land, slaves and books from the state to educate its students, but after the Gabo Reform (1894) its educational function ceased, and today only the spring and autumn memorial rites continue.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Boseong, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산