<The Local Banquet in Late Choson Dynasty >
Regional banquets were practiced both regularly, like Yangnoyeon(養老宴) and also irregularly for special occasions. Sometimes thr banquets[Yeonhyangs(宴享)] were part of official ceremonies held by the governme ...
<The Local Banquet in Late Choson Dynasty >
Regional banquets were practiced both regularly, like Yangnoyeon(養老宴) and also irregularly for special occasions. Sometimes thr banquets[Yeonhyangs(宴享)] were part of official ceremonies held by the government office, and in other times they were supervised by private entities. The diverse repertoires that were presented in Yeonhyangs were mainly musical and dancing performances, often joined with theatrical performances. This distinguishes Yeonhyangs from the Pungnyubang(風流房)-style musical culture of the late Chosŏn, which is mainly consisted of arias and recitals of lyric poems. However, compared to Yeonhyang, held by the royal household with strict procedures, Yeyeon(禮宴) comes across as somewhat flexible. Thus, regional banquet is clearly distinct from both Pungnyubang culture of the literatis[Seonbi] and the royal family's Yeyeon in content, procedure, accompaniment and its form, space, practitioners and guests.
This article comprehensively analyzes and classifies regional banquets to distinguish them from the Pungnyubang-style musical culture and the royal banquets. Therefore, the following contents will be presented in this article: 1) Comparison of royal banquets and regional banquet, 2) Yeonhyangs held officially by the district governments and those held privately, 3) comparison of Yeonhyangs held in different regions, and 4) Comparison between regional banquet and Pungnyubang-style music.
Late Chosŏn dynasty's Regional banquet, also called as Hyangyeon(饗宴), Yeonhoe(宴會), and Gyeheo(契會), can be divided into government-sponsored and privately sponsored. The reason behind this division is that the nature and content of Yeonhyangs are known to differ in each group accordings to its purposes. Some of the typical government-sponsored Yeonyangs were for welcoming diplomatic envoys, greeting new government officials, and entertaining the old of the district(Yangnoyeon). Privately sponsored Yeonhyangs included Hwegapyeon(回甲宴) and Giroyeon(耆老宴). Choreographical and musical contents of Regional banquet clearly differ from royal Yeonyangs in size, location, guests, and hosts. Regional differences are, of course, worth mentioning as well.
One of the most important Regional banquet held by the district government is that for greeting foreign envoys. Apart from the greeting ceremonies in the royal palace, Yeonhyangs were also held in provinces on the envoys' way to the capital. Because the path taken by Chinese envoys and Japanese envoys toward the capital city were different, the contents of performance in each Yeonhyangs displays regional differences. This article also deals with other government-sponsored Yeonhyangs such as greeting ceremonies for new officials, Yangroyeon, and privately sponsored Regional banquet such as Hwegapyeon, the literary people's Gheheo(契會) and Siheo(詩會).
This paper aims at examine the regional banquet in the late Chosŏn dynasty and its musical performance, and will focus on occasions and purpose, use of musical ensemble, activities of musicians, repertoires and consumption of court dance at these banquets.