조선시대 後宮의 용어와 범주에 대한 재검토

이미선 조선시대사학회 2015 朝鮮時代史學報 Vol.72 No.-

As a basic study of the practical operations of the royal concubines in Joseon dynasty, it was focused on discussing the examples of the terms and the categories. For this purpose, the study was concentrated to analyse the legislative systems and the real cases mainly in the Anals of Joseon Dynasty. The royal concubines would be classified as two groups. One was the noble women whom were selected officially from the aristocratic class as the queens. They might be called minor queens. The other was the women from the obscure birth, who were admitted by the private fancy of the kings and the crown princes. The terms of the two categories have been used arbitrarily as ‘official concubines(正式後宮)’ and ‘beloved concubines(承恩後宮)’, ‘selected concubines(揀擇後宮)’ and ‘none selected concubines(非揀擇後宮)’, or as ‘selected concubines’ and ‘beloved concubines’ by the researchers. As well known, the term ‘official’ and ‘selected’ are the matter of legislation while the term ‘beloved’ is the matter of the sexual behavior. So the term ‘beloved concubines’ would be not so suitable to be a symmetrical term. Therefor the term ‘beloved concubines’ should be reconsidered to use as an academic therm. The royal concubines in Joseon dynasty would be suggested to be classified with the terms ‘selected concubines’ and ‘none selected concubines’. In reality not only the so called ‘beloved concubines’ but the ‘official’ and ‘selected’ concubines were beloved either by the kings. There were various cases to be the ‘none selected concubines.’ Mainly the court ladies were easy to meet and to beloved because of their proximity to the kings. Besides some concubines were recommended by the members of the royal family, some were donated by the wicked officials and some were chosen privately by the kings. And both of them were given the appointment letters before and after the sexual meeting with the kings. The term ‘none selected concubines’ was a group of complicated set which would be classified into some sub-categories, which would explain the concubine system in Joseon Dynasty rather efficiently. In legislation, the concubines were officials who worked in the palaces with the official ranks from the proper 1st to minor 4th according to the code of laws. Gathering the real cases, the concubines could be grouped by 3 categories. The first group was that of those who got the official appointment letters of concubines. The second one was that of the beloved women appointed as a court ladies, no matter who bored the king’s children or not. The third group was that of those who were recognised socially in the court though they had neither official appointment letters of concubine nor the appointments of court ladies. So we could find there were some gaps between the legislation and the reality in the concubine system in Joseon Dynasty. 본고는 조선시대에 실제 운영상에서 나타난 후궁에 관한 기초 연구로서, 후궁의 유형에 따른 용어와 후궁의 범위를 검토하는 데에 주력하였다. 이를 위해 이 글은 법제적인 측면과 실제 운용상에 나타난 사례를 중심으로 분석하였으며, 주로 「실록」 등의 자료를 활용하였다. 조선시대 후궁은 엄정한 간택 절차를 거쳐 후궁이 된 명문가 출신 여성과 간택 이외의 다양한 경로로 후궁이 된 한미한 집안 출신 여성으로 구분되었다. 이 때문에 연구자들은 편의에 따라 ‘정식후궁’과 ‘승은후궁’, 혹은 ‘간택후궁’과 ‘비간택 후궁’ 그리고 ‘간택후궁’과 ‘승은후궁’으로 달리 분류하였다. 정식과 간택은 제도 또는 예제의 문제이고, 승은은 국왕의 행위 문제이다. 정식과 승은, 간택과 승은은 비교 범주와 기준이 다르기 때문에 서로 간에 대칭적인 개념으로 적절하지 못하다. 따라서 ‘정식후궁’과 ‘승은후궁’ 또는 ‘간택후궁’과 ‘승은후궁’의 구분은 재고의 여지가 있다. 이들 용어 대신 합법적인 간택 절차의 여부에 따라 ‘간택후궁’과 ‘비간택 후궁’으로 구분할 것을 제안한다. 이는 승은과 작첩의 先後에 따른 문제로, 간택후궁과 비간택 후궁 모두 국왕의 승은을 받았다. 또한 비간택 후궁은 승은을 입은 궁녀이외에 진헌, 상납, 추천 등 여러 가지 입궁 경로를 통한 다양한 신분 출신의 여성들이 후궁에 봉작되었다. 따라서 비간택 후궁은 승은후궁을 포함하는 상위의 개념 용어로써 조선시대 후궁의 존재 양상을 충분히 설명해 준다고 하겠다. 후궁의 범위는 법제상 정1품에서 종4품까지의 내관에 봉작된 여성들이다. 그러나 실제 운용상에 나타난 후궁의 사례로 보면, 후궁의 범주를 광의의 개념으로 포괄하여 ① 내관에 봉작된 모든 여성 ② 왕자녀의 유무에 관계없이 궁관에 봉작된 승은 여성 ③ 국왕의 승은을 입고 관작을 받지 못했지만, 사회적으로 공인된 여성 등으로 설정할 수 있다. 즉, 조선시대의 후궁제에 대한 법제상의 규정과 실제 운영상의 관례 사이에 괴리가 있었음을 알 수 있었다.

조선중기(연산군~현종) 後宮의 입궁과 사회적 위상

이미선(Lee Mi-seon) 한국사연구회 2011 한국사연구 Vol.154 No.-

This article is aimed at studying, through two ways of becoming King's concubines in the middle of Joseon Dynasty(from King Yeonsangun (燕山君) to King Hyeonjong(顯宗)), how to change their positions, and in the process how to do them and their relatives the honor due to their position and what kind of material benefits to get from the country. The ways of becoming King’s concubines were the official choosing(揀擇) by the royal family and inheriting by King’s graces(承恩). The official choosing was the procedure carried out only the royal family. The official choosing royal concubines(揀擇後宮) were chosen among the legitimate daughters of literal classes, who were elevated to the royal family through the official choosing(揀擇) and felicitous rites( 嘉禮). While Non-choosing royal concubines(非揀擇後宮) were from the secondary daughters of literal classes or the daughters of the poor family, who, at early ages, had become the maids of honor(宮女) through recommending by royal seniors or for the means of living and had become King's concubines by King's graces(承恩). Due to the acquired position, they were elevated to the noble status from their inborn origins. The royal concubines were King’s women, who were public figures in the system of the King's inner quarters(內命婦) unlike aristocrats'. The official choosing(揀擇後宮) were ranked from Sukui (淑儀), and the non-choosing(非揀擇後宮) were ranked from Sukwon(淑媛)or Palace Matron(尙宮), But they could go up their ranking by their family backgrounds, the favor of the King, the birth of the King’s child, the contribution to the royal family, and the commemoration of the national celebration. Because of the women within the King’s inner quarters, the King payed them in accordance with their ranks and frequently provided many materials to them in addition. The royal concubines' relatives could be provided material aids or the better social positions by the King’s will. Sometimes the royal concubines would exert their political influences or be involved in the coups or political intrigues, relying on their powers as the King’s secondary wives. Today, there are some prejudices and misunderstanding about the royal concubines. However they assisted the King, gave birth to the King’s children, played the role of supporting the royal family and so on. Therefore their social status were very high as members of the legitimate royal family.

헌종의 후궁 慶嬪金氏의 생애와 가례 - 『慶嬪嘉禮時嘉禮廳謄錄』을 중심으로 -

이미선 부경역사연구소 2019 지역과 역사 Vol.- No.44

This is a study of the life and the wedding ceremony of Kyeong-bin Kim (1836-1907). Here I surveyed the whole process of the wedding from the official selection[揀擇] to the ceremony of greeting[朝見禮] and examined the court-cultural character of this wedding ceremony. In addition, I intend to restore the history of the royal women of the Joseon dynasty in the 19th century through her dramatic life. Kyung Bin Kim was the last officially selected concubine in the Joseon Dynasty. She was born in 1832, and she was the descendant of the famous Neo-Confucian scholar Jangsaeng Kim(金長生, 1548~1631). In 1847(憲宗 13), she was officially selected as a concubine at the age of sixteen, and came to the position of the highest court rank concubine. She was from a famous prominent family of Gwangsan Kim(光山金氏), who had a close relationship with also a prominent family of Pungyang Cho(豊壤趙氏). With such backgrounds, innate wisdom and proper behavior, she was deeply loved by the king, and through her good relationship with the grand mother queen(大王大妃), mother queen(王大妃) and the queen(王妃), she could carry on a peaceful life though her husband died early and lived long. However, she lonely spent a long court life without any children. The book titled Official Records of the Wedding Ceremony of Kyeong Bin Kim(慶嬪嘉禮時嘉禮廳謄錄), which contains the records of King Heong-jong and Kyung Bin Kim's wedding ceremony held in 1847, is a very rare and valuable document that specifically informs the wedding ceremony. Although the wedding ceremony of the concubines was held several times during the Joseon Dynasty, the ritual of wedding ceremony for the concubine was not prescribed in the national ritual code and there remain only two case of records of those ceremony. Therefore, this document would be a very specific material that concretely shows the wedding ceremony of the concubine in Joseon dynasty. The following is a summary of the characteristics revealed in the document. The process of the wedding ceremony was performed as the ritual of proposal[納采], the ritual of sending gifts[納幣], the ritual of granting royal massage[宣敎命], the ritual of greeting to the king[朝見大殿], the ritual of the banquet[同牢宴], the ritual of greeting to the mother queen, grand mother queen[朝見王大妃·大王大妃], This systematically formalizes and stipulates the wedding ceremony of the highest court rank concubine. It also shows a strict classification according to the status of ritual. This wedding ceremony was one grade lower than the queen's wedding, and it was one grade higher than the wedding of the second court rank concubine. In other words, this wedding ceremony was regarded as the same rank as the wedding of the Crown Prince, but it was implemented a little lower than the wedding of the Crown Prince. As a result, this ceremony shows the difference in ritual class which was defined by the status class in the court. This institutionalized the discrimination based on the status of queen and rank of concubines in order to maintain the hierarchy within the royal family. 본고는 헌종의 후궁 慶嬪金氏(1832~1907)의 생애와 가례를 살펴본 연구로서, 간택부터 조현례까지 가례 절차의 전반적인 과정을 살펴보고, 이 결혼식이 가지는 성격을 검토하였다. 아울러 지금까지 잘 알려지지 않은 경빈김씨의 드라마틱한 삶을 재조명하여 19세기 조선 왕조 왕실여성의 역사를 재구성하고자 했다. 경빈김씨는 조선시대의 마지막 간택후궁이다. 그녀는 1832년(순조 32)에 태어났는데, 유명한 성리학자 金長生의 9대 후손이었다. 1847년(헌종 13) 그녀가 16세 되던 해에 후궁으로 공식적으로 선발되어, 정1품 嬪에 올랐다. 그녀는 명성이 높고 유력한 光山金氏 가문 출신이었는데, 이 가문은 역시 유력한 豊壤趙氏 가문과 결혼을 통해 밀접한 관계를 맺고 있었다. 이러한 가문적 배경과 타고난 현명한 자질, 올바른 품행으로 국왕 헌종의 깊은 사랑을 받았고, 대비와 왕비와의 좋은 관계를 통하여 궁중 여성들과의 유대관계를 맺으면서 장수를 누렸다. 그러나 그녀의 남편인 국왕 헌종은 일찍 죽었고, 그녀는 자녀도 없이 긴 궁중생활을 외롭게 보냈다. 1847년(헌종 13)에 거행된 헌종과 경빈김씨 결혼식의 기록을 담은 책 『慶嬪嘉禮時嘉禮廳謄錄』은 정1품 간택후궁의 혼례 모습을 구체적으로 알려주는 희귀한 자료이다. 조선 왕조 시대에는 후궁의 결혼식이 여러 차례 거행되었지만 후궁을 위한 결혼식의 예법은 국가 전례에도 규정되어 있지 않았고 그것을 기록한 자료도 단지 두 개 밖에 남아있지 않다. 따라서 이 자료는 간택후궁의 가례를 구체적으로 보여주는 특이한 자료가 될 것이다. 이 기록을 통해 경빈김씨의 가례에서 드러나는 성격을 검토 요약하면, 아래와 같다. 경빈 가례는 납채, 납폐, 선교명, 조현대전, 동뢰연, 조현왕대비·대왕대비로 거행되었다. 이것은 정1품 빈의 결혼식 예법을 제도적으로 공식화하고 명문화한 것이다. 또한 의례의 지위에 따른 엄격한 구분을 보여주는데, 이 가례의 예법은 왕비의 결혼식 예법인 「納妃儀」에 비해 한 등급 낮았고 종2품 淑儀의 결혼식 예법보다 한 등급 높았다. 즉, 이 가례는 세자빈의 가례와 같은 등급으로 간주되었으나, 세자빈의 가례보다 조금 낮추어 시행되었다. 이로써 이 가례는 궁중 내부의 신분 계급과 귀천에 의해 규정되었던 의례 등급의 차이를 잘 보여주고 있다. 이는 왕실 내에서의 위계질서를 유지하기 위해 왕비와 여러 등급의 후궁들의 지위에 따른 차별을 제도화 한 것이다.

태조~성종대 왕실여성의 封號와 가문 현황 분석 - 大君夫人·君夫人을 중심으로

이미선(Lee Mi-Seon) 한국사학회 2024 史學硏究 Vol.- No.153

본고는 조선 초기 왕실여성 가문의 성격과 외척의 정치적 역할을 파악하기 위한 기초 연구로서, 태조∼성종대까지 간택후궁과 대군부인·군부인들의 가문 현황을 정리하는 데에 주된 목적을 두었다. 연구 대상은 無品인 王女를 제외한 간택후궁 25명과 왕자 부인 102명, 모두 127명이다. 이 여성들이 命婦의 爵號로 불렸던 만큼 그 정비 과정과 함께 公的칭호를 살펴보았다. 왕실여성의 칭호는 명부제도의 정비와 관련된다. 그들에 대한 칭호는 명부의 名號이자 封號였다. 명부는 나라에서 봉호를 받은 여성을 총칭하는 용어로, 명부의 수장인 왕비 아래에 內命婦와 外命婦로 나뉜다. 후궁은 내명부의 봉호를 받았고 왕자 부인은 외명부의 봉호를 받았다. 외명부제도는 1396년(태조 5) 吏曹에서 문무관 부인에게 내린 봉작을 정비하면서 처음 시작되었다. 이후 1417년(태종 17)과 1432년(세종 14)에 한두 차례 개정되었고 성종대 완성된 경국대전에 최종 수록되면서 대군부인·군부인의 호칭은 각각 정1품 府夫人과 郡夫人이 되었다. 왕자와의 혼인을 통해 정1품에 오른 부인들은 간혹 정치적 문제나 자신의 윤리적 이유 등으로 그 지위를 잃게 되면서 그에 따른 호칭도 변경되었다. 여기에 해당하는 24명은 왕위를 계승한 남편을 둔 대군부인이나 궁궐에서 쫓겨난 폐빈·폐비 또는 이혼당한 대군부인, 그리고 왕비로 승격된 간택후궁 등이다. 태조에서 성종대까지 왕실여성들의 가문 127명의 성관을 분석한 결과, 국왕 10명의 간택후궁 25명은 15개의 성씨와 19개의 관향으로 파악되었고 왕자 78명의 부인 102명은 32개의 성씨와 58개의 관향으로 파악되었다. 이때 대군부인의 집안은 28개 가문에서 40명이 배출되었던 비해 왕자군의 부인 집안은 47개 가문에서 62명이 배출되었다. 그런 만큼 이 시기에는 왕실의 통혼 범위가 매우 넓었다. 게다가 대군과 왕자군의 신분적 차별이 사대부 집안과의 혼인 관계에서 아무런 영향을 미치지 않았다는 사실을 확인하였다. 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.

조선 전기 繼妃 선정 방식과 그 의미

윤혜민 조선시대사학회 2013 朝鮮時代史學報 Vol.65 No.-

When a queen was dead or her marriage was annulled, new wife of King called KyeBi would be selected for the succession of last queen's position. KyeBi was new-born conception with settlement of Neo-Confucianism. This thesis limiting the period from the beginning of Chosun Dynasty to King Seonjo, it focus on the early Chosun Dynasty's KyeBi and examine the changes of KyeBi with reflecting the phases of that era. Selecting method of KyeBi was greatly changed when Jungjong's second KyeBi was chosen. Before selection of Queen Munjung, a woman was chosen among royal concubines and promoted as a queen. However, since Queen Munjung was selected, KyeBis were newly chosen from outer members. Because royal concubines' social status of those early days was comparably higher than other days of Chosun Dynasty, it was possible to select KyeBi among them. Queen Ansun, Deposed Queen Lady Yun, Queen Junghyun, Queen Jangkyung were former concubines. They were verified women having lived in palace. Therefore, the royal family preferred those women to the others and this preference was followed by choosing them as KyeBis. When King Jungjong selected Queen Munjung as a KyeBi, the selection was regarded as a huge change choosing KyeBi from outside of palace. This result comprised realistic factors like a historical stream of Neo-Confucianism settlement, an alert of royal concubine Mrs Park and the protection of Won-Ja(元子). With selecting Queen Munjung from outside of palace, Chin-Yeong-Rye(親迎禮) firstly adopted in Kings' weddings. The introduction to Chin-Yeong-Rye was an important event when we see the aspect of practical execution for Neo-Confucianism. After this event, the wedding of Queen Inmok who were King Seonjo's KyeBi also practiced with the succession of selection from outside and Chin-Yeong-Rye. For these reasons, it become a new custom selecting KyeBi from outside of palace and Chin-Yeong-Rye was settled down completely. 조선시대에는 왕비가 사망하거나 지위를 박탈당했을 때, 왕비의 지위를 이어받는 ‘繼妃’를 들였다. 본고에서는 선조대까지로 시대를 한정하여 ‘조선 전기 繼妃’를 연구 대상으로 삼았으며, 繼妃 선정 방식의 변천을 통해 당대의 시대상을 파악하고자 하였다. 繼妃 선정 방법은 중종의 두 번째 繼妃인 문정왕후를 선발할 때 큰 변화를 보였다. 문정왕후 간택 이전에는 후궁 중에서 繼妃를 선발하여 승격시켰고, 문정왕후 때부터는 繼妃를 외부에서 새로 간택하여 선정하였다. 조선 초기에 후궁 출신의 繼妃가 선정될 수 있었던 것은, 당시 후궁의 위상이 비교적 높았기 때문에 가능했던 것으로 보인다. 안순왕후ㆍ폐비 윤씨ㆍ정현왕후ㆍ장경왕후가 후궁 출신의 繼妃였다. 이들은 궁중에서 생활해 본 검증된 인물들이었기에 왕실에서의 선호도가 높았다. 중종의 繼妃 문정왕후 선정 때는 繼妃를 외부에서 간택하는 큰 변화가 일어났다. 이것은 성리학 이념의 정착이라는 시대적 흐름과 후궁 朴氏에 대한 경계와 元子의 보호와 같은 현실적 요인이 결합되면서 이루어진 결과였다. 문정왕후가 외부에서 간택되면서, 왕의 혼례식에 처음으로 親迎禮가 등장하였다. 親迎禮의 도입은 성리학적 이념의 구체적 실천이라는 점에서 중요한 전기가 되는 사건이었다. 이후, 선조의 繼妃가 된 인목왕후의 경우에도 문정왕후 때 행해진 외부 간택과 親迎禮가 계승되어 시행되었다. 이로써 繼妃를 외부에서 선정하는 것이 새로운 관행이 되었고, 親迎禮도 완전히 정착될 수 있었다.

조선후기 후궁의 嘉禮와 禮制

임민혁(Yim Min-hyeok) 호서사학회 2012 역사와 담론 Vol.0 No.64

조선시대 왕실 여성의 출산력

김지영(Kim, Ji-young) 한국학중앙연구원 2011 한국학 Vol.34 No.3