Conflicts regarding Family Succession and Ritual Rights in the 17th Century

This study examines the disputes over ancestral rites in seventeenth-century Joseon, focusing on how the practice of adoption became established as an alternative to legitimate primogeniture succession. First, the case of the descendants of Minister Yoon Don is analyzed. In this dispute, the issue centered on who should perform ancestral rites for the grandfather and earlier ancestors—the senior lineal descendant or the adopted heir. During the discussion, the rule stating that “only one adopted from a younger brother’s son may perform rites for the grandfather or above” was abolished on the grounds that it lacked any foundation in Confucian ritual principles. Consequently, the adopted heir’s right to perform ancestral rites was strengthened. Second, the case of the descendants of Han Myeong-hoe, the royal in-law, is examined. Here, the second son claimed that the eldest son’s adoption was illegal and that succession should instead follow the rule of “brother’s death succeeded by the younger”. The adopted heir, however, argued that the adoption was legitimate. When it was revealed that the second son’s true motive was to seize property and that the adoption had followed proper procedure, the adopted heir’s right to conduct the rites was upheld. Third, disputes within the descendant lines of Vice Minister Jeong Man-jong and Scholar Jeong Yeo-chang are analyzed. In these cases, direct blood descendants sought to perform ancestral rites for the grandfather and earlier ancestors, opposing the adopted heir. However, the rule that “a son of a concubine may perform rites only for his own parents” was reaffirmed, and because of such status restrictions, the adopted heir’s right to perform rites was again recognized. Through these cases, restrictions on the adopted heir’s ritual rights were gradually removed, and legal judgments increasingly favored the adopted heir over junior or illegitimate descendants. As a result, adoption became the dominant alternative means of succession for maintaining ancestral rites, solidifying its place within the 17th-century familial and ritual order of Joseon society.