From Filial Piety to the Three Bonds : The Compilation of Samganghaengsil(三綱行實) and the Confucian Self-Representation of Joseon

This study reexamines the compilation process of Samganghaengsil(三綱行實) within the context of the dynamic scholarly milieu of 15th-century Joseon during the reign of King Sejong. Rather than focusing solely on intertextual comparison, it critically investigates the intellectual efforts and scholarly organization behind the compilation, and retraces how the original edition of Samganghaengsil integrated both Sinic knowledge and local traditions to expand into the system of the Three Bonds(三綱: filial piety, loyalty, and chastity). The paper first demonstrates how the initial plan to revise and supplement the Hyohangnok(孝行錄) as a didactic text for correcting popular customs was soon redirected to adopt Xiaoshunshishi(孝順事實) as its primary textual source, thereby transforming into a comprehensive Three Bonds compilation. Scholars of the Jiphyeonjeon analyzed Xiaoshunshishi in a sequential and proactive manner, selectively incorporating narratives—some of which were classified under Chungsindo(忠臣圖) rather than Hyojado(孝子圖). This shift reveals a new recognition of loyalty(忠) within the framework of filial piety(孝), and highlights the editors’ intentional reinterpretation that led to structural expansion. Such editorial choices indicate that Joseon critically and actively engaged with Sinic knowledge even in state-sponsored texts of civilizational direction, not merely of practical utility. The paper further locates the compilation of Samganghaengsil within the larger intellectual programs of 1430s Joseon, during which texts like Zizhitongjian,(資治通鑑), Goryeosa(高麗史), HongwuLizhi(洪武禮制), and Xiaoxuejicheng(小學集成) were studied in parallel. In particular, this study is the first to identify direct influence from Xiaoxuejicheng on the visual iconography of Samganghaengsil. Ultimately, the compilation project itself enabled the Joseon court to clarify and visualize its identity as a Confucian state through a localized reinterpretation of the Sino-Confucian knowledge system.