Jongmyo jerye

Jongmyo Jerye or Jongmyo Daeje is a rite held for worshipping the late kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty in Jongmyo Shrine, Seoul, South Korea. It is held every year on the first Sunday of May. The Jongmyo rite is usually accompanied with the court music playing (Jerye-ak) and dance called Ilmu or line Dance. Jongmyo Jerye and Jeryeak were designated as the first of South Korea's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.

History

The Jongmyo rites originated from Ancient China. They were practiced in Korea for the first time in Silla era and preserved from the Goryeo Dynasty to the last Korean Dynasty of Joseon. Along with the ceremony for praying to the Gods of Earth for bountiful crops, it is considered Korea's highest-ranked rites. These practices have been lost in China but Korea still preserved it well.

Procedures

The Jerye procedures were divided into three parts. It is regarded as Korea's highest-ranked ritual, so it was held strictly and solemnly. The first part is the procedures to invite and greet the spirits. Most of the rites are held by king, officiants and his family. The first part's procedures are jagye (purification). Chwiwi is the part when the king and choheongwan (people who bring the wine for offering rituals) take the position into the chamber of the shrine. Then they wash their hands for greeting the spirits (gwansewi). In the Cheonghaengrye and Singwanrye rituals, they begin the rite of greeting the gods of Heaven and Earth by offering wine.

Jongmyo

Jongmyo is a Confucian shrine dedicated to the perpetuation of memorial services for the deceased kings and queens of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). According to UNESCO, the shrine is the oldest royal Confucian shrine preserved and the ritual ceremonies continue a tradition established in the 14th century. Such shrines existed during the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (57-668), but these have not survived. The Jongmyo Shrine was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995.

Jongmyo is adjacent to Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung in the south. They used to be connected in the Joseon period, but were separated by a road built by Japanese colonialists. Nowadays there is a construction plan to recover the original structure of the shrine.

The main buildings of Jongmyo was constructed in October, 1394 when Taejo, first king of Joseon Dynasty, moved the capital to Seoul. It was destroyed by fire in the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98), then rebuilt in 1608.

History