고려 예종대 西京 龍堰宮 경영과 역사계승의식

Abstract

Examined in this article is the Yong’eon-gung(龍堰宮) palace construction which took place in the 11th year of King Yejong’s reign at the Seogyeong capital, as it was an event that could show us what kind of historical perspective the Goryeo people had throughout the middle period of the dynasty. As the Seogyeong capital (the “Western Capital”) was generally considered by the Goryeo people as a place where founder Dongmyeong-wang(東明王) of Goguryeo established his own capital, the Goryeo kings’ constructions of palace in Seogyeong as well as royal visits there were recognized as vivid displays of the Goryeo people’s own Historical sense that they succeeded the old Goguryeo dynasty(高句麗繼承意識). The case of the Yong’eon-gung palace is particularly worth noting, as the King Yejong’s 11th year on the throne, which was the Byeonghsin-year[丙申年], harbored additional symbolism. It was no other than the 180th year since the unification of the Later Three dynasties, making the palace as one built on the very same year the three dynasties were reunited by Goryeo. The choice of year would have further established Goryeo in the eyes of its own people as the embodiment of the Notion of Three Han units being one(三韓一統意識). The discussion to build the Yong’eon-gung palace at Seogyeong went on in the early years of Yejong’s reign, and was in fact a contradicting one to Yejong’s own father Sukjong’s earlier effort to build the Southern Capital(Namgyeong, 南京). The whole discussion was actually related to the plans to establish the Nine Fortresses in the Northeast perimeters of Goryeo, which had been a project conceived in the spirit of reclaiming the ancient territory of Goguryeo. Yet the project unfortunately ended in failure, and the construction of the Yong’eon-gung palace was also put on hold. Later, when the Jurchen Chin(金) attacked the Khitans, the Liao dynasty destabilized and Goryeo again resumed planning to retrieve the Liaodung region, which was part of the late Goguryeo territory. Yejong ordered the construction of Yong’eon-gung to resume, and after it was completed he went there and declared a set of New Orders(Shin’gyo, 新敎), officially announcing literally a ‘new beginning’ for the dynasty. The governmental structure was even revised to support the king’s new agenda. Yet such ambitious agenda was again blocked, when Goryeo decided to establish a Tributary/Appointment relationship with the newborn Chin dynasty.