平昌 <上院寺 重創勸善文>과 조선 왕실의 인장

Pyeongchang Sangwonsa Jungchanggwonseonmun and the seals of the Joseon Royal Family

Pyeongchang Sangwonsa Jungchanggwonseonmun was produced in 1464 on the occasion of the renovation of Sangwonsa Temple by Hyegakjonja, Sinmi to pray for King’s long life and health. The Gwonseonmun is composed of two volumes: one written in pure Chinese characters and one translated version in Korean. The collection includes articles written by the Monk Sinmi and King Sejo and a list of gifts presented by the Royal Family for the renovation of the temple. It also contains a list of the donors of gifts for the renovation work, as well as their seals and signatures. The seal impressions stamped on the Sangwonsa Jungchanggwonseonmun provide important information on the system of seals used by the Royal Family at that time. Notably, the case of King Sejo and Jeonghuiwanghu is the only known case in which the Royal Seals were actually used, so historians pay particular attention to it. It appears that the Crown Prince used the seal given to him at the time of his investiture for both public and private matters, while princesses used seals inscribed with a variety of phrases as well as the seal given at the time of her investiture. The Jungchanggwonseonmun also bears the seals of the wives of members of the Royal Family and the Oemyeongbu. Such seals contained characters referring to the women’s official positions and their maiden names, etc. The Sangwonsa Jungchanggwonseonmun had a powerful effect as writings aimed at encouraging good deeds each time the temple was renovated up until the seventeenth century. It is thought that the signatures of King Sejo, members of the Royal Family, and incumbent or former government officials, and the seals of the Oemyeongbu, lay behind this “powerful effect.’’ As these are the only remaining documents of their kind to bear the seal impressions of the King, the Queen, and the Crown Prince among others, the monks of the temple must have been very conscious of the support provided to the temple each time it was renovated or restored.