Tongjinhyanggyo Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo is a public educational institution established in the provinces during the Joseon dynasty, where rites were held for Confucius, the scholar of China's Spring and Autumn period, and for various sages, and where local people were educated. A hyanggyo is made up of Daeseongjeon Hall, where Confucius is enshrined, Dongmu and Seomu, the eastern and western halls enshrining other sages, Myeongnyundang, the lecture hall where students studied, and Dongjae and Seojae, the eastern and western dormitories where they lodged. Tongjinhyanggyo is said to have first been built in 1127, towards the end of Goryeo. Tongjin means "crossing by ferry," and the place is said to have guarded an important crossing at the mouth of the Hangang River during the Joseon dynasty. Apart from Daeseongjeon, the buildings making up the present-day school were built relatively recently, in modern times. Myeongnyundang was newly built after the Korean War; Dongjae was restored in 1994, and Punghwaru, a two-storey pavilion, was restored in 1995. The buildings are arranged with Myeongnyundang and Dongjae, the educational space, at the front, and Daeseongjeon together with Dongmu and Seomu, the ritual space, at the rear. Daeseongjeon measures three bays across the front and three bays to the side, with a gabled roof that forms the shape of the character 人 (meaning "person") when viewed from the side. Myeongnyundang measures five bays across the front and two bays to the side, with a hip-and-gable roof that forms the shape of the character 八 (meaning "eight") when viewed from the side. During the Joseon dynasty the state supported the school with grants of land, slaves and books for teaching students, but today its educational function has disappeared and only its ritual function remains.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimpo, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료