Analysis and Spatial Representation of Sabang-gyeonggye(四方境界) in the Early Joseon Dynasty: Focused on Gyeonggi-do in Sejong Sillok Jiriji(世宗實錄地理志)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the text of the sabang-gyeonggye (四方境界), and to reveal the meaning of the sabang-gyeonggye through spatial representation. The earliest recorded sabang-gyeonggye of gun-hyeon (郡縣) are found in Gyeongsang-do Jiriji (慶尙道地理誌). Afterward, the sabang-gyeonggye were arranged for all gun-hyeon in the country in Sejong Sillok Jiriji (世宗實錄地理志). In the early Joseon Dynasty, in the describing method of the sabang-gyeonggye of two Jiriji, the section from administrative centers (邑治) to the adjacent gun-hyeon was recorded as the direction and distance to express the facet properties of the gun-hyeon. To clarify the meaning of the sabang-gyeonggye, each section of the sabang-gyeonggye of Sejong Sillok Jiriji was represented spatially. As a result, sabang-gyeonggye’s meaning is first, describing the geometrical shape as a face of the gun-hyeon in text, second, describing the relationship with neighboring gun-hyeons, and third, describing the network between administrative centers as points and lines. However, it was pointed out that although the sabang-gyeonggye has inherent characteristics of the transportation route, it is difficult to confirm that the sabang-gyeonggye refers to the transportation route between regions during the compilation stage of Sejong Sillok Jiriji.