고려시기 科擧에서의 行卷과 家狀

Abstract

The candidates for the state civil service examination in the Goryeo period must have submitted two kinds of particular documents to the state department in charge, Gongwon(貢院) of the Ministry of Rites(禮部) before the examination. The documents were called Haenggwon(行卷) and Gajang(家狀). Haenggwon was, in fact, a bunch of papers bound together that demonstrates the candidate’s composing poems and prose skills. The other document, Gajang, contained the necessary information of the candidate’s main family members. The basic regulations for these two documents and their submission were believed to be established sometime during 1091～1116, and were in action till the end of the dynasty. According this regulation the candidates for the civil service examination usually presented the two documents at least two months before the examination date, so the examiners could have enough time to appraise the individual candidate’s overall capability as well as his social rank, on which the information of the candidate’s family members could tell, during the sixty days. However, the actual deadline for submission showed slight changes according to period. And for the unfortunate candidates who happened to lose their family members, the ministry in charge of the examination often exceptionally extended submission date. Reading the two documents before the examination was in fact an appraisal of the applicants’ qualifications. This process also revealed not only the applicant himself but his own family members who might already have been officials of the government. It is highly possible that the information on the newly recruited officials, which was pre-acquired via Haenggwon and Gajang documents, affected the crucial post recruitment process such as identification and immediate appointment. The state civil service examination was a recruiting system fundamentally based upon the applicant’s ability. However, looking inside the actual operating aspect of the examination system, submission of the Heanggwon and Gajang documents for instance, it is clear to see that the recruiting system was run in favor of the renowned aristocratic families. It also, once again, confirms the aristocratic feature of the Goryeo dynasty.