Abstract

The private academies or schools (私學) in the mid-period of Goryeo dynasty, including 十二公徒, had been under the strong protection and control of the state. Therefore they were bound to show the aristocratic nature of Goryeo society. On the contrary, ‘私置學堂’ (such as 私置書齋, 私置書院, 私置書堂) which was founded by Hanryang (閑良), Confucian scholars (儒生), or retired bureaucrats residing in districts away from the capital during the transitional period between Goryeo and Joseon (麗末鮮初) came into being spontaneously and so they, to some extent, have autonomy in relative terms. Since mid-14th century Gasuk (家塾) disappeared from private educational scene and Seojae (書齋) took over its place and role. While Gasuk (家塾) had been a closed and detached educational space, Seojae (書齋) of this period, being mostly built by retired bureaucrats, became an individual open space for self-discipline and education activities for the majority of their students. Later, Seojae (書齋) also became fertile backgrounds for HyangchonSeodang (鄕村書堂) beginning to emerge after the mid-period of Joseon dynasty. To a considerable extent ‘私置學堂’ that appeared in this period still have kept the intrinsic cultural elements of Goryeo dynasty in that Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist doctrines coexisted within the curriculums. In this paper, I also seek to reveal the predominating assumption, which come from Neo-Confucian orthodoxy (道統)in Korea, that Seojae (書齋) were run by Sarim Faction (士林派) alone may not be a truth through the instance of Byuldong (別洞) Yoon Sang (尹祥). That is to say, those who belonged to Gwanhak Faction (官學派) also took their active part in running Seojae (書齋) and at the same time played an important role for the education in early Joseon period. I found that there were still many types of private academies during the period and they were not differentiated from each other. they were a conglomeration of mixed variety of educational institutions. Sachihakdang (私置學堂) appeared during the transitional period between Goryeo and Joseon (麗末鮮初) are usually regarded as a previous stage prior to Seodang (書堂) or Seowon (書院) which made a full-scale advent since mid-sixteenth century. However, in some points they show striking difference from them. Sachihakdang (私置學堂) appeared during Yeomalsuncho (麗末鮮初) were not lead by a specific person and had no factional tendency, They were also not based on pedigree or lineage principles (宗法). On the contrary to this, Seodang (書堂) appeared since mid-sixteenth century became the foothold of Sarim Faction (士林派) to expand and reinforce their local predominance based on stable management of their farm lands. This is the clearest difference between Sachihakdang (私置學堂) and Seodang (書堂).