조선후기 여성의 呈訴活動

Abstract

In this article, the petition presentation by the females during the latter

half period of the Joseon dynasty is examined through age-old documents.

Results of the examination show that, due to the social environment of the

time which was dominated by the Neo-Confucian ideology and related

customs, there were not so many cases in which females presented petitions

and appeals, and the ratio between males and females varied considerably

among various social classes.

First, in filing an appeal(所志), females from the Scholar-official Houses

referred to themselves by first writing their husbands' ranks and

occupations, followed by the husbands' names, then the letter 'Cheo/妻',

then their own last names, and finally the letter Shi/氏. In essence, they

identified themselves in terms of their marital relationships with their

husbands. On the other hand, females from the lower social classes referred

to themselves by only writing their own last names and a title called 'Sosa/

召史', presenting information directly regarding themselves.

In terms of ratio between social classes and the frequency of petition

presentations, females from the Scholar-official Houses seem like they were

considerably less encouraged to file an appeal or present a petition, and only

widows showed a relatively high percentage of petition presentation. On the

other hand, females from lower classes were highly active in presenting

petitions, and in many cases they either appealed for the welfare of their

husbands(who were in trouble) or for other reasons that not involved their

husbands.

The contents of the appeals and petitions also varied, depending on the

presenter's social status. Females from the Scholar-official Houses appealed

for matters involving establishing successors(立後) or for lawsuits involving

the Houses' burial mountains(山訟), which were deemed adequate in terms

of adhering to the Neo-Confucian order of the society. On the other hand,

females from lower classes appealed for matters that usually happened

everyday on a regular bases, such as matters involving taxation(賦稅,

lawsuits(訴訟), imprisonment(獄訟) and social customs(風俗).

The Joseon society in its latter half period was a society dominated by

Neo-Confucian philosophy, but the power and influence of that philosophy

varied due to differences among social classes. In order to account for such

various appearances of the philosophical and ideological influences, and

achieve understanding of the Joseon dynasty in its latter half period, we

shall examine the various aspects of the people's lives and all their social

status.