School rituals and their educational significance in the Joseon period-Rituals as one of the pedagogical pillars of Confucian school education

Abstract

This paper aims to argue that school rituals played critical roles for the educational purpose in Confucian school education in the Joseon period. Diverse rituals were performed in Confucian schools of the Joseon period, and these rituals formed a comprehensive ritual system of the school education. These school rituals can be read to manifest the ideals of Confucian philosophy of education and to be also utilized as one of the important educational tools or programs through which to hand down the Confucian values. Based on this interpretation, this paper asserts that school rituals were in no way irrelevant to their educational function for the society then nor that they served only for the political edification, but constituted part of a comprehensive system of education in pursuit of the formation of the Confucian personhood as one of the important pillars of Confucian school education in the Joseon period.