Yeoju Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo was a local public educational institution established in the provinces during the Joseon period, where memorial rites were held for Confucius, a scholar of China's Spring and Autumn period, and for various other sages, and where local people were educated. A hyanggyo consists of the Daeseongjeon, the shrine hall enshrining Confucius; the Dongmu and Seomu, halls enshrining former sages; the Myeongnyundang, the lecture hall where students studied; and the Dongjae and Seojae, the east and west dormitories where they lodged. There is also a jeonsacheong, a hall that manages ritual affairs. Yeoju Local Confucian School is said to have been built in the late Goryeo period, though the exact date is unknown. It originally stood at Maam (now Yeoheung-dong), but burned down in a fire during the Japanese invasion of 1592 and was rebuilt in 1685; it was later moved to its present site on Hyanggyo 1-gil after the original location was deemed inauspicious by traditional geomancy. At Yeoju Local Confucian School, the Myeongnyundang, the educational space, stands behind the outer three-bay gate, while the Daeseongjeon, the ritual space, together with the Dongmu and Seomu, stands behind the inner three-bay gate, placing the space for study at the front and the space for rites at the rear. The Daeseongjeon measures three kan across the front and three kan along the side (kan being a traditional unit for the bay between pillars), with a gable roof shaped like the character 人 ('person') when viewed from the side. The Myeongnyundang measures five kan across the front and two kan along the side, with a hipped-and-gabled roof shaped like the character 八 ('eight') when viewed from the side. During the Joseon period the school received land, enslaved labourers and books from the state to teach its students, but today its educational function has disappeared and only its ritual function remains.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeoju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료