Gwacheon Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo was a public educational institution established in the provinces during the Joseon period to hold memorial rites for Confucius, the scholar of China's Spring and Autumn period, and various Confucian sages, and to educate local people. It comprises the Daeseongjeon, which enshrines Confucius; the Dongmu and Seomu, which enshrine other sages; the Myeongnyundang, the students' lecture hall; and the Dongjae and Seojae, where students lodged. It also includes other facilities, such as the Jeonsacheong, which oversees ritual affairs. Gwacheon Local Confucian School was established in Gwacheon-hyeon in 1398. It was later moved to its present site in 1690, following the wishes of the local Confucian community, who believed in a geomantic theory that the original site was unfavourable and produced no talented people. The Myeongnyundang, the educational space, stands at the front, and the Daeseongjeon, the ritual space, at the rear, placing the space for learning in front and the space for ritual behind. The Daeseongjeon is three bays wide and two bays deep, with a gabled roof shaped like the Chinese character for 'person' when viewed from the side. The Myeongnyundang is five bays wide and two bays deep; the central three bays are floored and used as a lecture room, while the eastern side holds an ondol, an underfloor-heated room, and the western side a wooden-floored room. This arrangement appears to follow the convention of providing a room for the instructor. The outer gate is a raised, five-bay by two-bay gate in the sotdaemun style, newly built in 1974, and in front of it stands a hongsalmun, a red-painted spiked gate marking a sacred site.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwacheon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료