 Jongmyo Jerye is a ceremony held for the
king and queens of the Joseon Period in the shrine where the ancestral tablets
of theirs are preserved. Jongmyo, along with the rituals where services for the
Gods of Earth and Corps were performed, is considered as the important symbol
which is the foundation of national survival. It has Jeongjeon(Main Hall),
enshrined 49 tablets in 19 spirit chambers, and Yeongnyeongjeon(Hall of Eternal
Peace), enshrined 33 tablets in 16 spirit chambers.
Jongmyo Jerye was one
of the five kinds of rites performed by the Joseon Dynasty's royal family. The
five were classified as gillye(auspicious rites), hyungnye(funural rites),
binnye(reception ceremonies), gunne(military rites), and garye(wedding
ceremonies). The gillye includes the ritual service to the gods of heaven and
earth and royal ancestral spirits. Besides the rite worshiping the royal
ancestors, Jongmyo Jerye has also been dedicated to meritorious civil and
military retainers.
It was classified into regular and extraordinary
ceremony. Regular ceremony was held on January, April, July, and October.
Initially, extraordinary ceremony was held when auspicious occasions and
national disasters occurred, but after the liberation from Japanese Imperialist
rule, it was held at the first Sunday of May. As it was a model of all
ceremonies for spirits, its order and procedures were very strict and
solemn.
 Jongmyo Jerye proceeded in an order of rehearsal --> ancestral tablet placing -->
spirits welcoming --> Singwanrye --> food presenting --> first obeisance --> second
obeisance --> last obeisance --> sacrificial food and drink partaking --> Cheolbyeondu
--> Mangryo --> closing. Before Jongmyo Jerye, a monarch was prudent in his speech
and action for 4 days and cleaned his body for 3 days. 'Filial piety' is one of
the Confucian tenets and Jongmyo Jerye, as the national manifestation of filial
piety, took the role of enhancing the solidarity of people and bring them closer
together through that very common denominator. Jongmyo Jerye, as a standard of
art in Confucian society, is a valuable cultural asset and the music, dance,
ritual vessels, and libation of foods of Jongmyo Jerye are essential
manifestations of aesthetics of performing arts based on cosmic and Confucian
principles.
 Jongmyo Jeryeak, Royal Ancestral Ritual Music, had been performed when royal
people held a ceremony for the repose of their ancestors in the Shrine, just
named 'Jongmyoak'. Each procedure of the ceremony was composed of various music
such as 'Botaepyeong' and 'Jeongdaeeop', songs called 'Jongmyoakjang' praising
the civil achievements of the Joseon kings and their military exploits, and
dances like 'Botaepyeong dance' and 'Jeongdaeeop dance'.
The Music was
initially created in Joseon Dynasty's 4th King, Sejong's reign, for being used
in royal palace banquet, and then it was modified as suitable for the ceremony
under Sejo's reign, which has been handed down to the present. The music has
been performed in Jongmyodaejae, which was discontinued in 1946 and was resumed
in 1971, on the first Sunday of May every year.
Jongmyo Jeryeak performed
in Jongmyo Shrine consist of Botaepyeong, which has 11 music pieces, and
Jeongdaeeop, which also has 11 music pieces. The musicians are divided into the
upper terrace orchestra in the foreground, called the Deungga, and the lower
terrace orchestra, called the Heonga. Some music pieces of Jongmyo Jeryeak had
their roots in the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty of China, and some grew in the
native environment. These three different styles of music pieces are played with
different instrumental ensembles.
Line dances are performed to the
orchestral accompaniment of Deungga or Heonga in accordance with ritual
procedures. Line dances aim at delineating the harmony of the negative and
positive cosmic forces of yin and yang while they shifts between civil
dance(Munmu), delineating the positive force of yang to praise the civil
achievements of the Joseon kings, and military dance(Mumu), delineating the
nature of negative force of yin to praise the military achievements of the
Joseon kings, for which the hand-held props are changed
appropriately.
Hundreds of officiants, musicians, dancers, and attendants
all create the tout ensemble of this composite art reflecting solemnity and
magnificence typical in Oriental world. That this original property has
continued without impairment for 500 years makes it indeed rare in the world, so
that its value should be preserved as part of the world's intangible cultural
heritage and its benefits should be shared with a broad range of people
worldwide.
Jongmyo Jeryeak, Important Intangible Cultural Properties No.
1, was selected as 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity', with Jongmyo Jerye, Important Intangible Cultural Properties No. 56
.
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