Revering the Zhou and Longing for the Ming and the Veneration of the Daebodan Altar

In its interactions with the Ming dynasty, the Chosŏn dynasty pursued policies of Admiring China and Serving the Great. After the fall of the Ming, Chosŏn vigorously promoted the ideology of Revering the Zhou and longing for the Ming. The phrase “The heart method of revering the King, passed down through successive reigns” was a clear reflection of this stance. The primary reason Chosŏn adopted this strategy was gratitude and the desire to repay virtue. Chosŏn believed that the Ming dynasty had bestowed three great favors upon it, and therefore, the monarch, the literati, and even the descendants of Ming loyalists all undertook acts of veneration in gratitude, thereby upholding the great righteousness of Revering the Zhou and longing for the Ming. King Sukjong explicitly stated, “The great righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Annals is our family law.” He regarded the righteousness of Revering the Zhou and longing for the Ming as a “family law” inherited from his ancestors and transmitted to later generations. Establishing altars for veneration was the most concentrated manifestation of this family law. This chapter will take the Daebodan as the focus and analyze the Chosŏn royal family’s practices of veneration and their underlying significance.