Suwonhyanggyo Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo was a public educational institution established in the provinces during the Joseon period, where memorial rites were held for Confucius, the scholar of China's Spring and Autumn period, and for various other sages, and where local people were educated. A hyanggyo comprises a Munmyo, the Confucian shrine, made up of Daeseongjeon Hall, which enshrines Confucius, and Dongmu and Seomu, which enshrine earlier sages; and a Haksa, the school quarters, made up of Myeongnyundang Hall, the students' lecture hall, and Dongjae and Seojae, their dormitories. It also includes a Jeonsacheong, the hall that manages preparations for the rites. Suwonhyanggyo was originally located in Wau-ri, Bongdam-myeon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, but was relocated to its present site in 1789, when the centre of Suwon moved to the foot of Paldalsan Mountain. The school holds special status as the place where King Jeongjo personally attended and performed the alseongnye, a rite of respect to Confucius, during his royal procession on the eleventh day of the intercalary second month of 1795, the eulmyo year; following his order for its reconstruction, work on Daeseongjeon Hall, Dongmu and Seomu was completed in the eighth month of that year, a record of which survives in sources such as the Hwaseongseongyeok Uigwe, the Royal Protocols of the Construction of Hwaseong Fortress. Daeseongjeon Hall at Suwonhyanggyo is, moreover, the largest Daeseongjeon hall among all hyanggyo in Gyeonggi Province. In front of Suwonhyanggyo stands a hamabi, a stone marker instructing riders to dismount from their horses, and a hongsalmun, a red-painted wooden gate; the complex also comprises Oesammun, the outer three-bay gate, Dongjae and Seojae, Myeongnyundang Hall, Naesammun, the inner three-bay gate, Dongmu and Seomu, and Daeseongjeon Hall. As with most hyanggyo, it follows the layout of placing the educational quarters at the front and the ritual quarters at the rear. Daeseongjeon Hall at Suwonhyanggyo enshrines a total of twenty-five spirit tablets: the Five Sages of China — Confucius, Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi and Mencius — two worthies of the Song dynasty, and eighteen Korean sages including Seol Chong, Choe Chi-won, Yi Hwang, Yi I and Song Si-yeol.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suwon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료