王妃의 交替를 통하여 본 孝成王代의 政治的 動向

초록

In his life King Hyosŏng (r. 737-742) had two queens and a royal concubine. After he was forced to separate from his first Queen, Lady Pak, whom he most loved, he remarried Queen Hyemyŏng, his aunt on his mother’s side. He took a concubine as a token of discontent, but also lost his concubine because of Queen Hyemyŏng’s intervention. This uneasy royal life was closely related to the political situation of the time: the king failed to hold his in-law family members, like Kim Sunwŏn, in check. Keeping a close watch on Kim Sunwŏn and his followers, King Hyosŏng ascended the throne following King Sŏngdŏk (r. 702-737), who enjoyed a relatively high level of royal authority, and took his queen from the Pak clan. This royal marriage was also recognized by the emperor of Tang China. Yet King Hyosŏng was gradually surrounded by Kim Sunwŏn’s clique, with the result that he had to divorce his first queen under Kim’s vehement pressure. This royal divorce eventually undermined Hyosŏng’s royal authority. The royal remarriage with the daughter of Kim Sunwŏn was arranged in this very situation. Even after the remarriage, King Hyosŏng attempted to check Kim Sunwŏn by nominating Hunyoung, his brother, as crown prince. When all his attempts proved to be in vain, however, he passed away with diminished authority in the end; he only reigned seven years. The reign of King Hyosŏng witnessed a sudden collapse of royal authority, which had been secured by King Sinmun (r. 681-692) and carried into the reign of King Sŏngdŏk in the early 700s. But the rise of powerful in-law family members such as Kim Sunwŏn’s clique in the reign of King Hyosŏng undermined royal authority seriously. Unlike the royal marriages of earlier times, for example, a certain powerful clan exclusively provided queens after the reign of King Hyosŏng. The historical significance of the royal divorce and remarriage during the reign of King Hyosŏng lies right here.

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