7 / Domestic Life

Among the most privileged members of Chosôn society were the yangban, a class of elite men who held government offices and were students of Confucian thought. These men sought to live according to Confucian principles and mores, and applied these standards to their social spheres, as well as to their professional ones.

Following Confucian tenets, the yangban typically maintained separate spaces for men and women within the home. The center of life in the male quarters was the sarangbang, or “study,” where the head of house would receive and entertain guests. The yangban actively participated in the arts of poetry, calligraphy, and landscape painting, as both patrons and amateur practitioners. During gatherings, a host would often unroll painted scrolls and hang them on the wall for his guests to enjoy and examine.

This hanging scroll is typical of the kind of monochrome ink paintings favored by the yangban. The work is minimalist, offering a close-up view of a grapevine rendered with an air of spontaneity and a calligraphic elegance. Bold strokes applied with varying degrees of speed and pressure create the branch of the vine, and subtly suggest volume by allowing the scroll’s silk ground to show through in places, a technique known as “flying white.” Chosôn literati were partial to natural motifs that often held symbolic meaning associated with Confucian virtues. For instance, bamboo, which sways in the wind but does not break, was understood as a metaphor for nobility and integrity. Although the precise significance of the grapevine is unknown, it likely signified prosperity and fertility.