Eunbong Head House and Daegyeseowon Confucian Academy Historical Documents (set), Boseong

An Bang-jun (pen name Eunbong, posthumous title Mun-gang-gong, 1573–1654) was a leading Confucian scholar of the Honam region. At the age of twenty he raised a righteous army together with Bak Gwang-jeon at the outbreak of the Imjin War, and during both the Jeongmyo War of 1627 and the Byeongja War of 1636, the Manchu invasions of Joseon, he issued proclamations and again raised the banner of righteous loyalty to the king. His writings on the Japanese invasions of 1592 and 1597 — the Jinju Seosa, Samwon Gisa, Honam Uirok and Imjin Gisa — together with the Gimyo Yujeok, which promoted the spirit of the literati community, the Hangui Sinpyeon, and the Honjeong Pyeollok and Gichuk Gisa, relating to the factional split between the Easterners and Westerners, set out the true scholar's path of upholding the spirit of loyalty and righteousness while putting one's learning into honest practice. The Juksan An clan settled in Boseong from the time of An Bang-jun's ancestor five generations earlier, An Min. Eunbong's head house stood for generations at Usan-ri, Boseong-eup, Boseong-gun, and its holdings were preserved and passed down by successive head-house descendants in the line of Eunbong's eldest son, An Hu-ji. Materials relating to Daegyeseowon Confucian Academy, built in 1657, the eighth year of King Hyojong, and granted a royal charter in 1704, the thirtieth year of King Sukjong, are also kept here. The materials held at the Eunbong head house consist of albums of correspondence, official appointment documents and the like left by the line of An Bang-jun, An Hu-ji, An Jeon and An Du-sang, together with letters and various historical documents relating to the social and clan activities of the line of An Gwon, An Yeong-hwan, An Gyu-sam, An Jong-muk, An Ok-sun and An Byeong-mun, as well as documents relating to Daegyeseowon. In total there are 150 items: four albums of letters, 142 historical documents, and four Daegyeseowon documents. The four albums of correspondence, or gandok, are the Jehyeon Gandok, a compilation of letters from eminent scholars who associated with An Bang-jun; the Seonyu Wangbok, also called Jehyeon Gandok, letters from eminent scholars who associated with Eunbong and his son, grandson and great-grandsons; the Naeoe Seonjo Sujeok, letters from the family of Seong Mun-jun, son of Seong Hon (pen name Ugye), who was related to Eunbong by marriage, together with letters of Eunbong himself and his descendants; and a further volume of letters received in reply when the Eunbongjeonseo, the Complete Works of Eunbong, was published and distributed by Daegyeseowon in 1864, the first year of Emperor Gojong. These materials are extremely important for understanding relationships among scholars of the period, the political circumstances of the Joseon dynasty, scholars' views on public service and reclusion, and exchanges among relatives, and they also have value for the history of calligraphy. The documents relating to Daegyeseowon, including the Daegyeseowon Jinsin Jangeuian, are records from the late Joseon period, of great academic significance both as the only known material showing how a royally chartered seowon actually operated and as valuable evidence for understanding one aspect of late Joseon society. Among the historical documents, the appointment documents span four generations, from An Bang-jun through An Hu-ji and An Jeon to An Du-sang, and provide material for understanding the official appointment system of the time. The deeds of sale date from the late 1600s to the late 1800s and offer material for understanding the practices and system of property transactions. The petitions include documents mediating disputes between factions over the publication of the Eunbongjeonseo, and documents relating to grave-site disputes, communal associations and ancestor-memorial undertakings. These documents allow us to understand the history and everyday life of a head-house family in the late Joseon period. The historical documents held at the head house of Eunbong An Bang-jun and at Daegyeseowon in Boseong comprise letters from eminent scholars, Daegyeseowon documents, appointment documents and household registers relating to An Bang-jun and his descendants, and deeds of sale and petitions. They are of considerable historical and academic value for understanding institutional and rural community history in the late Joseon period, including the political circumstances of the dynasty, scholars' views on public service and reclusion, exchanges among relatives, the history of interactions among notable figures, the operation of a royally chartered seowon, and the everyday life centred on a head-house family; the correspondence albums also have artistic value.

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Where it is

Region

Boseong, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산