신라의 ‘골품제’, 그간의 논의와 약간의 전망

초록

‘Bone rank system(骨品制)’of Silla(新羅) Dynasty, which was once considered to be the subject of the greatest number of researches in all fields of Korean History, soon became a little far from the center of attention. However, important reseraches on ‘bone rank system’ are still being published constantly, and the understanding of it is a key element of the basic premise in various studies related to Silla. Therefore, it is still meaningful to summarize the discussions so far. I chose studies that focused on ‘bone rank system’ itself or each of the statuses of it, and outlined the process of discussion by major issues such as the definition of ‘bone rank system’, structure and formation process of bone-rank(骨品) and head-rank(頭品), and changes in the system since the middle age(中代). Studies on ‘the bone rank system’ have accumulated so much that it is difficult to summarize them well, but instead of narrowing the focus of discussions by reducing the number of options, new interpretations were added to coexist with exiting doctrines constantly. This is because the definitions of the same terms are different from each other, and further the understanding of the situation is different, but it is fundamentally due to the repeated interpretations of limited data. In order to overcome this situation, the role of newly found data is crucial. After the finding of 〈the Record Inscribed on a Pillar of the Nine-Storied Wooden Stūpa of the Hwangnryong Monastery〉 and 〈the Colophon for Manuscript of Avatamsaka Sutra〉, document related to ‘bone-rank system’ has not been found for a while, but recently ‘眞骨(true-bone)’ was read from 〈the Stels of Eminent Monks Excavated at Temple site in Heungjeon-ri, Samcheok〉. The emergence of new data not only reduces the options but also creates another point of contention, which is the good direction.

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