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ABSTRACT
This article attempts to enrich the concept of implicit cultural policy by referring to a historical case where cultural politics and cultural policy are intermingled. Korea in the fifteenth century, a time deeply rooted in Confucian political ideals, exhibited significant features of politico-religious state management. Not only was Korea a locus of cultural politics of religion, but this historical period was also a point where the arts, especially music, were the core instrument for realising the country’s political ideals. This historical case provides us with an understanding of how the state occupied a central role in cultural politics and stabilised its initiative by institutionalising the executive system. This article explores the ancient theory of rites and music (Ye-ki; Liji), which forms the core of Confucian cultural display. Music was an important medium that was used to pursue an ideal governance. A description of how the ancient bureaucratic apparatus was established to implement Confucian political ideals follows.
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Notes
1. A censorship list of 9,473 artists and cultural professions was revealed during the process of the presidential impeachment trial in 2016. Those who were on the blacklist were systematically excluded from receiving public funding and were intentionally and forcefully disadvantaged in carrying out their professional work.
2. There have been various studies on the relationship between culture and politics. Gray (Citation2002) summarises different ways in which ‘culture’ is introduced into the study of political scientists. Mulcahy (Citation2006) attempts to define cultural policy by linking the concept of public culture and cultural policy. This analysis is more valid when a modern system of politics is used as a premise. My analysis consists of a specific case where politics and culture were inseparable. Its focus is on how a religious ideal, which is an important form of culture, occupied the core of politics and how this ideal was institutionalised and materialised by utilising music as its critical instrument.
3. There is an opinion that Confucianism should be regarded as a secular political philosophy in view of the teachings of Confucius on the practical aspects of life, as propounded in The Analects of Confucius (Lunyu). However, this study treats Confucianism during the era of the sage as a religious element. Detailed explanations may be found in the interpretations of rites and music (禮樂: K. ye-ak; Ch. li-yue).
4. The five constant virtues are benevolence (仁: K. in; Ch. ren), righteousness (義: K. ui; Ch. yi), rites or proper ritual behaviour (禮: K. yi; Ch. li), wisdom (智: K. ji; Ch. zhi), and faithfulness (信: K. shin; Ch. xin).
5. The term ye (Ch. li) refers to the ceremonies for worshiping heaven and the accompanying artistic performances of ritual significance as well as various rites of passage conducted in society. Fingarette (Citation1998) explains that ye concerns a broad spectrum of human behaviour, including customs, propriety, manners, and etiquette. ‘To say that an action is in accordance with li (ye) is to say that it is moral, and that it is civil, mannerly, customary, proper, and, in an important sense, religious.’
6. In (Ch. ren) is often translated as ‘goodness,’ ‘humaneness,’ or ‘human-heartedness,’ a virtue unifying man with heaven or the universe.
7. The Book of Changes (주역, Ch. I Ching) says that ‘the sage teaches people as his followers, who will easily accept his teachings and become obedient.’ The English word religion consists of two ideographs (宗敎, K. jonggyo; Ch. zongjiao), with the latter character meaning ‘to educate’ or ‘to civilise’.
8. The debate over whether Confucianism is a religion is important in defining the philosophical and practical implications of ‘rites and music’ (禮樂: K. ye-ak, Ch. li-yue). This study adopts the viewpoint of Geum (Citation2008), who regards Confucianism as a religion. See also Tucker (Citation1998).
9. The Korean class system consisted of four hierarchies. In top-down order, they were the aristocrat class (yangban), the commoners (pyungmin), the lowborn, and the untouchables (chonmin).
10. ‘Record of Music’ from The Book of Rites. The concept of music in ancient East Asia did not comply with the Western taxonomy of the arts. The term music (樂: K. ak, Ch. yue) comprised vocal music, instrumental music, and dance, which was close to what is now considered the performing arts. The ideograph of music (樂) also meant ‘pleasure’ or ‘happiness,’ which leads to the assumption that it was believed that music offered aesthetic pleasure.
11. Mundeokgok (Song of Civil Virtues), written to educate future kings on their duties.
12. King Sejong is better known to have invented the Korean script, Hangeul, and for spearheading remarkable advancements in academic, artistic, and technical fields. The invention of a nation’s own alphabetical system and its propagation had significant political implications beyond cultural dimensions.
13. Lulu xinshu (New Treatise on the System of Pitches), written by Cai Yuanding (1135–1198) during the Song dynasty, was brought back by a diplomatic missionary who visited China (1418) the year King Sejong acceded to the throne. The Chinese emperor presented the book to Sejong.
14. Ancient East Asian philosophy propounded that a fivefold conceptual scheme influenced a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to human life. The concept of wuxing (K. ohaeng) – five elements or five phases – constituted an important aspect of Confucian thought (e.g. five state rites, five ethics, and five tastes). Traditional East Asian music also uses a pentatonic scale consisting of five notes, which represent the ruler (Ch. Gong, K. gung), the ministers (Ch. Shang, K. sang), the people (Ch. Jiao, K. gak), affairs (Ch. Zhi, K. chi), and things (Ch. yu; K. u).
15. An entry for the seventh month of the seventh year of the reign, from The Annals of King Myeongjong Vol. 13.
16. An entry for the 12th day of the ninth month in the 15th year of the reign, from The Annals of King Sejong Vol. 61.
17. The music for the rituals at the Royal Ancestral Shrine (Jongmyo), conducted by the king and courtiers of the Joseon Dynasty to memorialise previous kings and queens, has the most formal and authentic style in traditional Korean music.
18. In accordance with the Chinese tradition of rites and music, the Joseon dynasty avoided playing local folk music (sogak) at official events during its early years on the grounds that it disturbed the court music (ah-ak). King Sejong intervened in creating music for state rituals to institutionalise the performance of local folk music at state events. His efforts resulted in the creation of three song suites to be performed at palace banquets but not at royal ancestral rites.
19. During the reign of King Seongjong (r. 1469–1494), the Joseon period completed its basic laws and regulations, such as the Gyeonggukdaejeon (National Code), a compilation of basic laws of governance; Gukjoohryeui (Five Rites of State), prescribing manuals for major state ceremonies, including the royal ancestral rites, succession, royal weddings, diplomatic protocol, and funerals; and Akhakgwebeom (Canon of Music), which established the institutions of rites and music and provided principles of practice.
20. At its height, the Royal Institute of Music had a total of 989 artists (1141 artists including apprentices). The number of dancers totalled 160, performing together at court ceremonies and other monarchically approved events.
21. The Royal Academy of Painting (Dowhaseo) was responsible for the production of visual materials for all activities involving the royal household and the documentation of customs. During the reign of King Jeongjo (r. 1776–1880), when the Joseon period enjoyed a second cultural renaissance, the academy was operated for even more explicit political purposes.
22. During the reign of King Jungjong (r. 1506–1544), one of the three high state councillors was appointed to concurrently head the Royal Institute of Music to correct the performance of rites and music, which had been in disarray due to misrule by the previous king. Concurrent appointments had merits in that the king directly received reports about the offices concerned, but they proved inefficient if the offices handled affairs in which the king had little interest (Kim Citation2008, 183; quoted from Hong Citation2013, 64).
23. Weber’s study of Chinese bureaucracy appears to fall short of understanding the inherent characteristics of East Asian bureaucratic systems. Weber regarded Chinese bureaucrats, mostly recruited among Confucian literati, as a group with different values and norms of life from Western bureaucrats, who had specialised knowledge of public administration (re-quoted from Lee Citation2002, 859). Park (Citation2012) points out that Weber failed to fully grasp the political significance of Confucianism because he understood Confucianism largely as teachings for literary refinement rather than as professionalised knowledge.
24. The bureaucratic hierarchy of the Joseon dynasty comprised nine ranks, each with two major (jeong) and minor (jong) levels. Promotions depended on the total length of time in the court. Those serving in the seventh to ninth ranks were required to be present 450 days, and those in the third to sixth ranks had to be present 900 days (Lee Citation2002, 261).
25. An entry for the 26th day of the tenth month in the sixth year of the reign, from The Annals of King Seongjong Vol. 60. In another case, the king faced strong opposition when he appointed a man in his favour instead of a member of the literati with competent musical expertise as the head of the music institution. The opposing argument was that ‘this inept candidate is incapable of leading subordinates with benevolence and virtue which eventually rely upon penal code of conduct in leading the institution. Resistance by the musicians will harm the organization thus unable to achieve harmony and unity to make good music.’ The doctrine of benevolence was a legitimate instrument in dealing with political contention. In this case, King Seongjong accepted the petition by accepting a professional bureaucrat with deep knowledge of music. It was during the period of King Seonjong that the Canon of Music (Akhakwebeom 1493), an extensive compilation ranging from musical theory to praxis of court ceremonies, was published.
26. Musicians from the commoner class were called aksaeng (meaning music ‘student,’ implying a higher status), while those from the lowborn class were called akgong (musical ‘technician,’ implying a lower status).
27. In the paired sponsor system, or bongjokjedo, a family coupled with a man on active duty in the military should be paid by a (group of) relative(s). A soldier’s expenses are to be paid by the group of relatives in kind in return for saving male labour from conscription.
28. An entry for the gyungshin day of the sixth month in the 10th year of the reign, from The Annals of King Sejong Vol. 108.
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Ki-Won Hong
Ki-Won Hong Professor in cultural policy and arts administration. Read aesthetics and public administration. Worked as a research fellow at public cultural policy institute KCTI (Korea Culture and Tourism Institute). Organized and served as editorial chair of ICCPR 2010, Seoul Korea. Author of World CP (Compendium for Cultural Policy, Asian version)’s Korean cultural policy profile.
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