Rewriting the Symbol: Yŏngjo’s Appropriation of Guan Yu Worship in Chosŏn Court Politics

The worship of Guan Yu entered Chosŏn Korea from Ming China during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98). Although it was initially regarded as a foreign custom, Chosŏn monarchs gradually adopted it for political purposes from the late seventeenth century onward. In particular, Yŏngjo 英祖 (r. 1724–76) appropriated the rituals associated with Guan Yu to assert his dominance within the power dynamics of the Chosŏn court. This paper focuses on the strategies Yŏngjo used to appropriate the symbolism of Guan Yu in his writings on the shrines to the great Chinese hero. It examines how the king employed the rhetoric of Pip’ung 匪風 (No breeze) and Hach’ŏn 下泉 (Falling spring), slogans of a pro-Ming and anti-Qing 淸 ideology, for domestic political purposes. The paper also interprets the rituals dedicated to Guan Yu, including the rites at Hwangdan 皇壇 (Imperial altar, also known as Taebodan 大報壇), as part of a larger project that aimed at securing the king’s moral superiority and political legitimacy. In doing so, the paper illustrates how Yŏngjo appropriated the symbolism and rituals of Guan Yu and used them as media for reinforcing and exercising power within the court of Chosŏn.