Abstract
This paper will examine how, in reaction to religious discourse, intellectuals of the Southern (Namin) and Western (Seoin) factions, respectively, developed their ideas regarding jesa (ancestor memorial ceremony). In particular, attention will be paid to two intellectuals, Teogye school of the Southern faction and Yulgok school of the Western faction, and their interaction with the thought of Seo Gyeong-deok. Criticism of religious discourses threatened to weaken Confucian elements of jesa, such as ardent ancestor worship. These two intellectuals introduced the notion of cheon ji ji gi (sacred force of the universe) and Singi (the intrinsic and mysterious life force) into the discussion of jesa in order to avoid inevitable problems with adopting Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian principle that all gi (force) eventually disappears. Cheon ji ji gi and Singi were perceived as permanent and as such could be used to explain the immortality of an ancestor’s gi. Teogye school of the Southern faction emphasized cheon ji ji gi and Singi origin in li (principle) more than Yulgok school of the Western faction did. The theorization of jesa at this time seems closely related to the process whereby jesa acquired religious meaning in Joseon society and the patriarchal system enlarged jesa in the form of bulcheonwi (never-to-be-removed tablets).
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