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Analysis of Titles bestowed(封號) to the female members of the Joseon Royal family, during the time from the Dynasty Founder’s days through King Seongjong’s reign, and their Houses: With a Focus on Daegun-Bu’in(大君夫人) and Gun-Bu’in(君夫人) figures

Mi sean Lee 1

1한국학중앙연구원 전통한국연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article contains a preliminary study that would hopefully contribute to further studies of the nature of certain houses to which the female members of the Joseon Royal family belonged in the early days of the dynasty, as well as studies of the role of the Royal family’s in-law houses. The goal of this article is to catalogue all the houses of the Daegun-Bu’in(大君夫人) and Gun-Bu’in(君夫人) figures of the Joseon Royal family, and the history of Selected Royal concubines(Gantaek Hugung, 揀擇後宮) from the days of the Dynasty founder(Taejo, 太祖) through the reign of King Seongjong(成宗). Examined here are total of 127 females, including 25 Gantaek Hugung figures (with the exception of Royal princesses who bore royal blood and thus had no Pum[品] ranks), as well as 102 females who were wives of the Royal princes. These females were addressed with their bestowed Myeongbu(命婦) titles[爵號], so their official titles are also examined here. Titles of the Joseon Royal family females were developed with the establishment of the Joseon Myeongbu system, which was compiled of official titles[名號] that were to be bestowed(or assigned, 封號) by the government to females married to the Royal family males or other governmental officials. The term Myeongbu itself was a generic term that referred to females who were officially designated by the state, while the system, under the leadership of the Queen, featured two tracks of females: the Inner Myeongbu figures(Nae-Myeongbu, 內命婦) and the Outer Myeongbu figures(We-Myeongbu, 外命婦). Royal concubines received titles associated with the former track, while wives of princes received titles associated with the latter. The latter track was initiated for the very first time in 1396(5th year of Founder Taejo’s reign) when the Ijo(吏曹, Office of Personnel Assignment) office decided to modify titles that had been bestowed to wives of governmental(civil and military) officials. Later the system was revised in 1417(17th year of the reign of Taejong/太宗) and 1432(14th year of the reign of Sejong/世宗), and was also documented in the Joseon Law Code Gyeongguk Daejeon(經國大典) compiled during the Seongjong era. The titles for Daegun-Bu’in and Gun-Bu’in became Bu-Bu’in(府夫人) and Gun-Bu’in(郡夫人) respectively, with both figures harboring the Jeong-1-pum[正一品] rank. Females who obtained this rank through marriages with the Royal princes sometimes lost their status due to political controversies or breach of moral conduct, and in those cases their titles were also adjusted or modified. Among the 127 figures examined here, 24 cases can be spotted, ranging from Daegun-Bu’in figures married to males who later became Kings, to Queens and Royal concubines who were stripped of their ranks and summarily dismissed from the palace, to Daegun-Bu’in figures who were forcibly divorced, and to Gantaek Hugung figures who were promoted to the status of Queen. Analysis of the household names of all 127 Joseon Royal family females from the era of Taejo to Seongjong reveals: 25 Gantaek Hugung figures—married to total of 10 kings—who collectively feature 15 last names[姓氏] and 19 hometowns[貫鄕], as well as 102 females married to 78 Royal princes featuring 32 last names and 58 hometowns. There were 40 Daegun-Bu’in figures from 28 houses, while 62 prince-wives from 47 houses. The Royal family of this time displayed quite a range in its marital network, and the unequal nature of the relationship between Daegun figures and other princes does not seem to have affected their marriages with Sa-Daebu(士大夫, Scholar/Official) households.

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* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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