대전회통의 편찬과 그 의의

Abstract

The Taechunhoetong(大典會通) is the last great codes of the Chosun

Dynasty, compiled in A.D. 1865(King Go-jong 2 reign). It consists of six

books, i.e. Yi, Ho, Ye, Pyung, Hyung, Gong(吏戶禮兵刑工). The laws and

regulations promulgated after the codification of the Taechuntongpyun(大典通

編) in A.D. 1875(King Jeong-jo 9 reign) were collected in these Codes. The

compilation was launched in march 1865, completed and promulgated in

december, and acted immediately(in lunar calendar).

To compile the Taechunhoetong, the Gyosikchanjipso(敎式纂輯所; An ad hoc

office for compiling codes) was established in the government. In compiling,

at first the Chanjip-chongjaegwan(纂輯總裁官; A supervisor who controlled all

the processes) assembled and chose the already enactive regulations. After

the first process called Chanjip, the Chanjip-tangsanggwan(纂輯堂上官; A

working-level officer who took part in compiling codes) arranged the already

enactive regulations according to the proto-codes. This second process is

called Hwalpu(割付). In the second processes, both already effective and

newly added regulations were recorded in the codes. At this step, not only

the King's but also the minisers' opinions were reflected.

The noticeable transformations in the Taechunhoetong are the changes of

Government organization to enforce the King's power and those of the tax

system to mitigate people's burdens. The fundamental principle of the

compilations was reactionism called Jojong-Sunghun-Jonjungjeui(祖宗成憲尊重

主義; The principle of obeying the ancestors' laws), which had been

advocated since the 15th century. The Taechunhoetong is the symbol of a

confucian reactive policy to solve the difficult circumstances in the 19th

century. The aim of the compilation of the Taechunhoetong was to make the

codes permanent, but its reactive attribute caused the revisional opinions

immediately, only to remain valid till the Kapo Reform(1894).