Icheon Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo is a local educational institution established by the state to hold memorial rites for Confucius and other sages, and to educate and edify the people of the region. Icheon Local Confucian School was first built in 1401, the first year of King Taejong of Joseon, but the buildings standing today are those repaired in the late Joseon period. In particular, the Dongmu was newly built in 1967 and the Seomu in 1980, and the Myeongnyundang lecture hall and the surrounding wall were repaired in 1991 and 1993. On the higher ground at the rear stand the Daeseongjeon, the shrine hall for memorial rites, together with the Dongmu and Seomu, while the Myeongnyundang, the hall for education, stands at the front, following the layout of 'education in front, shrine behind'. The Daeseongjeon measures three kan across the front and two and a half kan to the side, with a gable roof that, seen from the side, forms the shape of the character for 'person'. The bracket work supporting the eaves is in the ikgong style, carved in the shape of a bird's beak. Inside the Daeseongjeon are enshrined the spirit tablets of Confucius and other sages of China and Korea. The Dongmu and Seomu, standing to the left and right in front of the Daeseongjeon, each measure three kan across the front and one kan to the side, with gable roofs, and are similar to one another in form and structure. The Myeongnyundang, the lecture hall where students gathered to study, measures three kan across the front and two kan to the side, and is likewise finished with a gable roof. In the Joseon period the state supported the school with land, slaves and books so that it could teach students, but today its educational function has disappeared and only its role in holding memorial rites remains. It is a late Joseon-period local Confucian school notable for a layout that makes good use of the surrounding terrain.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Icheon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료