Jongmyo (宗庙) is a shrine housing the spirit tablets of the former kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty. The shrine is a symbolic structure that conveys the legitimacy of the royal family, where the king visited regularly to participate in the ancestral rites to wish for the safety and security of the people and state. Jongmyo is the oldest and most authentic of the Confucian royal ancestral shrines, with a unique spatial layout that has been preserved in its entirety. It was originally built in the late 14th century, but was destroyed during the Japanese invasion during the 16th century, and was rebuilt in the early 17th century with a few expansions made to the buildings thereafter.
After we bought the admission tickets, we were told that we had to wait for the guided tour. Visitors are not allowed to roam freely within the compound, except for Saturdays & last Wednesday of each month. As such, we walked around the exterior of the shrine while waiting for the guided tour to start.
The guided tours are conducted in different languages at different time. We chose the guided tour in Chinese because the English one was much later. Once we entered the shrine, the first thing that caught our attention is the pathway in the middle. It is called Sillo (神路) which is a passageway for ancestral rituals. There are actually 3 separate footpaths paved with stones. The slightly raised center path, called Sillo, was for officials carrying spirit tablets incense and written prayers. The path on the right was for the king and the path on the left was for the crown prince.
As mentioned earlier, Jongmyo Shrine was a primary place of worship for kings throughout Joseon Dynasty. The memorial service, called Jongmyo Jaerye, is said to be the oldest complete ceremony in the world, and was carried out in obedience to the king’s order. The ceremony was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in December 9, 1995, for its well-preserved ancient customs, such as memorial services and traditional music, which is National Intangible Cultural Asset No.56. During the Joseon Dynasty, it was held when the season changes and the twelfth month of the lunar year, but was stopped during the Japanese colonial period. Now, it is annually reenacted on the first Sunday of May. Jongmyo Jaeryeak, the musical part of the ceremony, is produced by instruments, songs, and dances that originated over 500 years ago. In May, the Korean Royal Palace Culture Festival is held with a variety of other cultural heritage festivals.
Jongmyo and its grounds occupy a 19.4 ha oval site. The buildings are set in valleys and surrounded by low hills, with artificial additions built to reinforce the site’s balance of natural elements, in accordance with traditional pungsu principles. The main features of Jongmyo are Jeongjeon (the main shrine), and Yeongnyeongjeon (the Hall of Eternal Peace, an auxiliary shrine).
Below is the Spirit Chamber. On each side of the table for the spirit tablets, there are binder chest and seal chest. In front of the wooden table with the tablet holders, there are large fans and parasols on each side.
Other features include Mangmyoru, a wooden structure where the king thought about the ancestral kings in memory; Gongmingdang, the shrine to the Goryeo King Gongmin, built by the Joseon King Taejo; Hyangdaecheong, the storage building for ritual utensils; and Jaegung, a main hall with two wings, where the King and participants waited for the rites to take place. Jongmyo was built faithfully abiding by the Confucian ideology of ancestral worship and its ritual formalities under strict royal supervision, and still maintains its original form dating from the Joseon Dynasty.
Yeongnyeongjeon (永宁殿 - Hall of Eternal Peace) is an annex to the main hall, Jeongjeon. It was built in 1421 when Jeongjeon could no longer accommodate any more spirit tablets.
The name Yeongnyeong means "may the ancestors and descendants of the royal family live long in peace". The facilities and layout of Yeongnyeongjeon are similar to those of Jeongjeon, but the building is smaller and more intimate.
Like Jeongjeon, it has a two-tiered elevated stone platform in front. The whole area is enclosed with walls, and three gates were built in the east, south and west. Yeongnyeongjeon had six spirit chambers when it was first built but was eventually expanded to 16 spirit chambers as we see it today. Under the central raised section are four spirit chambers for ancestors of the preceding four generations of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty.
Our tour guide helped us take a family photo. Wow......Jerlene is actually taller than mommy now.
Right at the outside of the southwest wall is Akgongcheong (Hall of Musicians). During any celebration, this is the place where musicians wait for their turn to perform.
That's the end of our guided tour at this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
No comments:
Post a Comment