Munmyo (more specifically Seoul Munmyo or Seonggyungwan Munmyo) is

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

's primary

temple of Confucius A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the site of the administration of t ...

("munmyo" is also the general Korean term for a temple of Confucius). It is located in central

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, on the campus of

Sungkyunkwan University Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU or simply ''Seongdae'', Hangul: 성균관대학교; Hanja: 成均館大學校) is a private comprehensive research university in South Korea. The institution traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan, founde ...

. Munmyo houses a shrine to Confucius known as Daeseongjeon, or "Hall of Great Achievement." The main gate leading to the shrine Sinsammun, literally "Spirit Three Gate", is open only on special occasions such as

Seokjeon Daeje The Seokjeon Daeje, also sometimes called Seokjeonje, is a ceremonial rite performed twice annually to honor Confucius. It is held at Confucian sites across South Korea including hyanggyos and the Confucian temple Munmyo located at Sungkyunkwan ...

. The central gate is reserved for the spirit of Confucius and his disciple, and no one else may enter through this gate. Past this gate is the central path that leads to Daeseongjeon, and visitors may not cross this path, especially during a ceremony when the gates are open. The courtyard is used for the ''

'' ceremony. Munmyo also contains two other halls (''Dongmu'' and ''Seomu'', east and west hall), two dormitories (''Dongjae'' and ''Seojae'', east and west dormitories), a Confucian lecture hall called ''Myeongnyundang'', a library called ''Cheonggyeongdang'', and ''Jinsasikdang'' which is the dining hall.

History

The Munmyo is based on

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

practices from China, where

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

and followers of his teachings were honored and venerated. Temples dedicated to

and other disciples called "temples of Confucius" became widespread during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. This idea was brought to

where it was adopted. The buildings of Munmyo were first constructed in 1398, but they were destroyed in a fire in 1400, and rebuilt in 1407. The temple was again destroyed during

Japanese invasions of Korea Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in 1592–1598, and the Daeseongjeon was rebuilt in 1601, and Myeongnyundang in 1606 with funds raised by students of

Sungkyunkwan Sungkyunkwan was the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Today, it sits in its original location, at the south end of the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul ...

. Repairs to the temple were conducted in 1869. Apart from Confucius, the four closest associates of Confucius (

Yan Hui Yan Hui (–481 BC) was a Chinese philosopher. He was the favorite disciple of Confucius and one of the most revered figures of Confucianism. He is venerated in Confucian temples as one of the Four Sages. Names Yan Hui is also known by his cou ...

Zengzi Zeng Shen (505–435 BC), better known as Zengzi (Master Zeng), courtesy name Ziyu (), was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. He later taught Zisi (Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of Mencius, thus be ...

Zisi Zisi (; c. 481–402 BCE), born Kong Ji (孔伋), was a Chinese philosopher and the grandson of Confucius. Intellectual genealogy, teaching, criticism Zisi was the son of Kong Li (孔鯉) ( Boyu (伯鱼)) and the only grandson of Confucius. ...

Mencius Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucianism, Confucian Chinese philosophy, philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confuc ...

), ten philosophers praised by Confucius, six Song dynasty

neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in th ...

s are also honoured in the temple. Also enshrined in the temple are 18 notable Korean confucians called the "Eighteen Sages of Korea" or the "Eighteen Confucian Scholars of the East" (, ), or Canonised Sages (配享先生). They are, in the chronological order of enshrinement:

Choe Chiwon Choe Chiwon (; 857–10th century) was a Korean philosopher and poet of the late medieval Unified Silla period (668-935). He studied for many years in Tang China, passed the Tang imperial examination, and rose to the high office there before r ...

Seol Chong Seol Chong (650 - 730 AD) was a leading scholar of the Unified Silla period from the Gyeongju Seol clan. He studied Confucian writings and the related Chinese classics. He is also known by the courtesy name Chongji and the pen name Bingwoldang. ...

An Hyang Ahn Hyang (안향, 安珦; 1243 – 12 September 1306), also known as Ahn Yu (안유, 安裕), was a leading Confucian scholar born in Yeongju in present-day South Korea, and was from the Sunheung Ahn clan. He is considered the founder of Neo-Con ...

Jeong Mong-ju Jeong Mong-ju (Korean: 정몽주, Hanja: 鄭夢周, January 13, 1338 – April 26, 1392), also known by his pen name Poeun (Korean: 포은), a historical figure during the transition period of the Korean dynasty moving from Goryeo (918-1392) to ...

, Kim Gweong-pil, Jeong Yeo-chang,

Jo Gwang-jo Jo Gwangjo (, 23 August 1482 – 10 January 1520), also often called by his pen name Jeong-am (), was Neo-Confucianism, Korean Neo-Confucian scholar who pursued radical reforms during the reign of Jungjong of Joseon in the early 16th century. H ...

Yi Eon-jeok Yi Eon-jeok (25 November 1491 — 23 November 1553), sometimes known by his pen name Hoejae, was a Korean philosopher and politician during the Joseon dynasty. He was a public official and intellectual of the middle era of the Joseon Dynasty of ...

Yi Hwang Yi Hwang (January 3, 1502– January 3, 1571) was the most important Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. He was a figure of the Neo-Confucian literati, established the Yeongnam School and set up the Dosan Seo ...

, Jo Hun,

Yi I Yi Yi (; December 26, 1536 – February 27, 1584) was a Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. Yi I is often referred to by his pen name Yulgok ("Chestnut valley"). He was also a politicianSeong Hon Seong Hon (1535 – 1598) was a Korean philosopher, poet, and politician during the Joseon Dynasty. He was a Neo-Confucianist scholar who was a close friend of the scholar Yi I (Yulgok) and an older contemporary of Yi Hwang (Toegye), leader of th ...

Kim Jang-saeng Kim Jang-saeng (김장생, 金長生) (July 8, 1548 - August 3, 1631) was a Neo-Confucian scholar, politician, educator, and writer of Korea's Joseon period. He was successor to the Neo-Confucian academic tradition of Yulgok Yi I (이이) and ...

Song Si-yeol Song Si-yeol ( ko, 송시열, Hanja: 宋時烈; 30 December 1607 - 19 July 1689), also known by his pennames ''Uam'' (우암) and ''Ujae'' (우재) or by the honorific ''Songja'' ( ko, 송자, Hanja: 宋子), was a Korean philosopher and politic ...

Song Jun-gil Song Jun-gil (Hangul: 송준길, Hanja: 宋浚吉; 28 December 1606 – 2 December 1672), also known by his pen name Dongchundang, was a Korean politician and Neo-Confucian scholar, who lived during the Joseon Dynasty. Born in Okcheon, North Chu ...

, Pak Se-chae, Kim Inhu, and

Kim Jip Kim Jip (1574–1656) was a Korean Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar, politician, educator and writer. He was also the teacher of Song Si-yeol and Song Jun-gil, great Korean Neo-Confucian scholars. Family * Great-Great-Grandfather ** Kim Jung-yu ...

Present Day

A ritual ''Munmyo jerye'' (; ) or

, which involves music and dance, is held there each year in the spring (April) and autumn (September); the ritual features ancient music of Chinese origin called ''Munmyo jeryeak'' (; ), which is a form of ''

aak ''Aak'' is a genre of Korean court music. It is an imported form of the Chinese court music ''yayue'', and means "elegant music". ''Aak'' was performed almost exclusively in state sacrificial rites, and in the present day it is performed in ce ...

''. The musicians are provided by the

National Gugak Center The National Gugak Center, located in Seoul, South Korea, is the primary institution of learning for Korean traditional music (), including both court music and folk music. It was founded in 1951 through a merger of Korean musical organizati ...

. The instruments used include flutes ('' hun'', ''so'', and bamboo flutes), zithers (''seul'' and ''geum''), stone chimes (''

pyeongyeong The ''bianqing'' ( Chinese: 编磬) is a traditional Chinese percussion instrument consisting of a set of L-shaped flat stone chimes known as ''qing'', played melodically. The chimes were hung in a wooden frame and struck with a mallet. Along w ...

''), bronze bells ('' pyeonjong''), various drums played with sticks, tiger-shaped wooden scraper ('' eo''), wooden box (''

chuk Inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit alpha (IKK-α) also known as IKK1 or conserved helix-loop-helix ubiquitous kinase (CHUK) is a protein kinase that in humans is encoded by the ''CHUK'' gene. IKK-α is part of the IκB kinase ...

''), and wooden clappers (''bak''). Munmyo is designated by the South Korean government as Historic Site No. 143.

References

External links

Sung Kyun Kwan University
*
Asian Historical Architecture: Munmyo Confucian Shrine
by Kim Ju-young, from ''The Korea Times''

Video

''Munmyo jeryeak'' video
{{WikidataCoord, display=title Korean Confucianism 14th-century establishments in Korea 1398 establishments in Asia Confucian temples in Korea

History

Present Day

See also

References

External links

Video