The Sinhae Persecution (辛亥迫害) was the first persecution of Catholicism in Joseon and took place in 1791 (the year Sinhae, the 15th year of King Jeongjo). It is also called the Sinhae Gyonan (辛亥敎難), the Sinhae Saok (辛亥邪獄), or the Jinsan Incident (珍山事件). When Yun Ji-chung, a scholar from Jinsan in Jeolla Province, held his mother's funeral according to Catholic rites and abolished ancestral rites, it caused a social uproar that spread into factional strife. On the charge of undermining social morality, he and his maternal cousin Gwon Sang-yeon, who had supported his actions, were beheaded.
King Jeongjo concluded the matter with a lenient judgment. However, because Yun Ji-chung belonged to the Namin faction, the Soin faction used the incident as a pretext to attack the Namin, and even the Soin faction split into the Sinseo faction and the Gongseo faction. Many converts from the yangban class abandoned Catholicism once it became a target of persecution.1 The gap was filled by people of the chungin class, and the Church grew. However, the doctrine of refusing ancestral rites became a good justification for suppressing Catholicism, and Catholicism began to be exploited as a scapegoat for purging political rivals.2 The suppression that began with the Sinhae Persecution continued with the Sinyu Persecution, Eulhae Persecution, Gihae Persecution, Byeongo Persecution, and Byeongin Persecution, in which many Catholic clergy and believers were condemned as "criminals of the heavenly learning" or "heavenly learning followers" and shed their blood as martyrs.
Historical background
Introduction of Catholicism
When Catholicism was first introduced to Korea through China, it was not accepted as a religion but was called "Western learning (heavenly learning)" and regarded as a scholarly discipline or as Western culture.3 For this reason, in the 18th century, the private libraries of Joseon scholar-officials contained The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven written by Matteo Ricci. Gradually, Catholicism came to be accepted as a religion, and it grew considerably by the late 18th century.4 Some progressive thinkers who had realized the limits of Neo-Confucianism and sought a new truth, along with young scholars of the Namin faction who had been marginalized from officialdom, approached it from the perspective of supplementing Confucianism (補儒論).5 It also spread among the common people, who resented the corrupt and lethargic ruling system.
Cultural conflict
King Jeongjo (r. 1776–1800) tolerated Catholicism, stating that if orthodox Confucian learning flourished, the heterodox Catholic teaching would disappear.67 This lenient policy became an important factor in the expansion of the Church.4 However, Catholicism's principles of equality, its challenge to the status system that formed the basis of society, and its rejection of patriarchal authority and Confucian rites and ceremonies posed a threat to Confucian society in general and carried ideas that challenged the ruling system. Therefore, in 1785, King Jeongjo declared it a heterodox teaching and issued a prohibition.8 In particular, the funeral culture of Joseon, in which the rites for weddings, funerals, and ancestral worship were highly developed, collided head-on with Catholic culture. In 1715, Pope Clement XI declared ancestral rites to be idolatry.9 This reversed the declaration of Pope Alexander VII in 1656,10 and it caused great confusion. Afterward, the item of refusing ancestral rites was widely used as a major reason for persecuting Catholicism.11 This misfortune continued until 1939, when Pope Pius XII issued a bull stating that the ancestral worship of the East was not idolatry.1213
Catholicism in Joseon
Young scholars of the Namin faction held study groups on heavenly learning,14 but they were always frustrated by the lack of materials. Then, in 1783 (the 7th year of King Jeongjo), when Yi Seung-hun's father was appointed to a diplomatic mission to Beijing,15 those who heard this news persuaded Yi Seung-hun to accompany the mission.16 They collected travel expenses for him,17 and asked him to study the doctrine in detail and bring back many Catholic books.18 In Beijing, Yi Seung-hun studied the doctrine, was moved by it, received baptism, and returned home with many materials.19
In 1784, Yi Seung-hun formed a regular meeting and studied the doctrine with acquaintances. The following year, the group was discovered, and after he suffered hardship, the group disbanded. In 1786, centered on Yi Seung-hun, they formed a self-governing church and resumed their activities. However, in 1790, Bishop Alexandre de Gouvea of the Beijing diocese stated that operating the church under a pseudo-clergy system without clergy who had received apostolic succession violated canon law, and he issued a prohibition on ancestral rites to Korean Catholics.20 This was a measure based on the declaration of Pope Clement XI in 1715 that ancestral rites were idolatry.
In the reign of King Yeongjo, Catholicism spread widely among the common people of Haeseo and Gwandong,21 but no problems arose.22 Some yangban who had become Catholics did not hold ancestral rites, but the court regarded this as a result of ignorance and took it lightly.21 In the Myeongnyebang Incident of 1785, the matter was concluded by exiling only Kim Beom-u and issuing a prohibition on Catholicism. However, the Jinsan Incident of 1791 became an object of factional struggle, and the situation became more serious.
Developments
Abolition of rites and burning of ancestral tablets
The scholar Yun Ji-chung, who lived in Jinsan County (present-day Geumsan, South Chungcheong) in Jeolla Province, passed the Jinsa examination in 1783 and went to the capital. At that time, he learned about heavenly learning through his maternal cousin Jeong Yak-yong, and he also participated in the "Myeongnyebang community" held at the house of the interpreter Kim Beom-u. In 1787, he was baptized and became a Catholic. In 1789, Yun Ji-chung went to Beijing, received the sacrament of confirmation, and returned home.23 As persecution of Catholic believers intensified, he retired to his hometown and lived quietly. To follow the religious teaching of prohibiting ancestral rites, he burned the ancestral tablets (神主) kept in his house.24 In the summer of 1791, when his mother died, he did not observe the Confucian funeral rites, did not receive condolence visitors, and conducted the funeral according to Roman Catholic ceremony.25 His clan members were then enraged. His maternal cousin Gwon Sang-yeon, who was also a Catholic, also abolished ancestral rites, burned the ancestral tablets he had kept in his own home, and buried the ashes in the ground. The fact that Gwon Sang-yeon burned the tablets became known through his relative Gwon Sang-hui.26
Factional escalation
As rumors about Yun Ji-chung's actions reached the court, the matter developed into factional strife.27 Because Yun Ji-chung and Gwon Sang-yeon belonged to the Namin faction, the Soin faction began to attack the Namin. The Namin also split into the Sinseo faction (信西派), which tolerated Catholicism, and the Gongseo faction (攻西派), which insisted it should be suppressed. Hong Nak-an, who had led the suppression of Western learning at the time, wrote to Left State Councillor Chae Je-gong28 arguing: "These followers of Ji-chung have not only abolished ancestral rites, but when their parents died, they did not set up spirit tablets, and they refused condolence visits after their parents' deaths. Since the creation of heaven and earth, how could there be such a monstrous and wicked affair? Their crime is the same as murder." He demanded the arrest and execution of Yun Ji-chung.2930
Arrest and interrogation
King Jeongjo lent support to the argument of the Noron Byeokpa faction, which called for suppression of Catholicism, and ordered Governor Sin Sa-won of Jinsan to "arrest Yun Ji-chung and Gwon Sang-yeon." The magistrate of Jinsan went to Yun Ji-chung's house and searched the shrine's ancestral tablet cabinet, but found no tablets. Yun Ji-chung and Gwon Sang-yeon, who had been hiding, surrendered to the Jinsan government office in October 1791 after hearing that Yun's uncle had been detained.31 However, they did not give up their faith in Roman Catholicism when told to do so.32 The Jinsan magistrate judged that he could not persuade the two men with his own power, so he transferred them to the Jeolla Provincial Office in Jeonju.33
Yun Ji-chung's defense
Yun Ji-chung confessed everything during the interrogation by Jeolla Governor Jeong Min-si, and argued as follows: "I repeat that even if I am stripped of my yangban title for believing in Catholicism, I do not wish to sin against God. Moreover, please consider that commoners who do not enshrine ancestral tablets do not oppose the government for that reason, and that yangban who cannot perform all rites according to regulations because of poverty are not severely reprimanded. Therefore, in my humble opinion, not enshrining the tablets, not performing rites for the dead, and faithfully believing in Catholicism in my own home does not seem to violate national law."30 However, Yun Ji-chung's defense was not accepted.27
Sentencing
Since the two men did not give up their faith despite repeated interrogations and severe torture at the Jeolla Provincial Office, the Jeolla Governor reported the matter to the court. As calls for their execution grew at court, King Jeongjo finally approved the death sentence. Thus, Yun Ji-chung and Gwon Sang-yeon were beheaded in turn on December 8, 1791 (November 13 of the lunar calendar) outside the South Gate of Jeonju (the site of present-day Jeondong Cathedral), on charges of undermining social morality and believing in a heterodox teaching.3435 At that time, the stone of the Jeonju fortress, to which Yun Ji-chung's blood had splashed, was used as a foundation stone for the construction of Jeondong Cathedral in Jeonju.1 Yi Seung-hun and Gwon Il-sin were arrested. Yi Seung-hun was released after his argument that he had already renounced his faith was accepted, but he was stripped of his official post.3637 Gwon Il-sin renounced his faith at the request of his aged mother,3839 and his place of exile was changed from Jeju to Yesan. However, while traveling to Yesan, he died from jang-dok (杖毒), the aftereffects of torture.40 Meanwhile, Jinsan County was demoted to a hyeon for five years, and Governor Sin Sa-won of Jinsan, who had responded loosely at the beginning, was sentenced to exile.41
Justification for extreme punishment
Refusing to perform ancestral rites negated filial piety (孝), the core of Confucianism, and this in turn amounted to negating loyalty (忠) to the king, the father of the nation. The belief in such "having no father and no king" (無父無君) ideology challenged and negated the ruling system of Joseon itself, which was supported by Confucian ideology. Therefore, Catholics were denounced as "a group that resents the nation and seeks to overturn the world," and had to disappear as dew on the execution ground. In this way, the ruling class of Joseon viewed Catholicism as an evil religion that challenged the system and orthodoxy.43 Since King Jeongjo had also declared it a heterodox teaching after the Banghoe Incident of 1787,44 there was no problem in sentencing them to death.
Impact
Factional conflict
King Jeongjo wished to bring the persecution of Catholics to an end without further expansion. Part of the reason for this measure was that many of his close aides were close to Catholicism.6 In addition, he tried to suppress the spread of Catholicism, including burning Western books in Chinese translation held in the Hongmun-gwan. However, contrary to King Jeongjo's intentions, the court became divided over this incident between the so-called Sinseo faction, centered on Chae Je-gong, who was of the Namin lineage and was then Chief State Councillor, and the so-called Gongseo faction, led by Hong Ui-ho and others who opposed him. The conflict and factional strife arising from the Jinsan Incident continued for more than ten years, until the Sinseo faction suffered a decisive blow in the Sinyu Persecution of 1801.45
Missionary activities
As Catholicism became a target of political and religious persecution due to the Sinhae Persecution, many yangban converts wavered, renounced their faith, and left.1 The gap was filled by people of the chungin class, and despite the persecution, when the number of believers increased to about 4,000 around 1794, Bishop Gouvea of the Chinese Church resumed sending missionaries, which had been suspended because of the Sinhae Persecution.46 In early 1795, the Chinese priest Zhou Wenmo, who had infiltrated Seoul, was soon subject to an arrest order,47 and was forced to operate in secret. However, with the help of Kang Wan-suk and others, within five years the number of Catholics approached 10,000.48
Jeondong Cathedral
The present-day Jeondong Cathedral in Jeonju stands on the site of the martyrdom of many Catholics, including Yun Ji-chung and Gwon Sang-yeon. In 1908, Father Boudreau built Jeondong Cathedral on the site of the martyrdom to commemorate their deaths. During the Japanese colonial period, when a road was being constructed, the city wall near Pungnammun of the Jeonju fortress was demolished, and the stone on which Yun Ji-chung's blood had splashed when he was beheaded was reportedly taken and used as a foundation stone.495051 Jeondong Cathedral is designated as National Monument No. 288 (Historic Site), and a statue depicting Yun Ji-chung's martyrdom is installed on one side of the cathedral.52 In August 2014, Pope Francis, who visited Korea, beatified Yun Ji-chung and Gwon Sang-yeon.53
Other
This incident caused a great shock within the family of Jeong Yak-yong, because Yun Ji-chung was his maternal cousin. Jeong Yak-yong and his second elder brother Jeong Yak-jeon renounced their faith after this incident and completely severed their ties with Catholicism, but they were attacked by the Soin faction because they were relatives of Yun Ji-chung and because Jeong Yak-yong had introduced Catholicism to him.54 Jeong Yak-jong, the third elder brother of Jeong Yak-yong, refused family ancestral rites in accordance with the doctrine, and after conflict, he moved with his wife and children to a branch office in Yanggeun across the Han River.55
The doctrine of refusing ancestral rites became widely known, and afterward it was used extensively as a justification for the persecution of Catholicism.
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This article contains content based on the Global World Encyclopedia, distributed by Daum Communications (now Kakao) under the GFDL or CC-SA license.
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