Gongmingdang, the shrine to the
Goryeo King Gongmin, built by the
Joseon
King
Taejo;
Hyangdaecheong,
the
storage
building for ritual utensils; and
Jaegung, a main hall with two
wings, where the King and
participants waited for the rites to
take place. Jongmyo was built
faithfully abiding by the Confucian
ideology of ancestral worship and
its ritual formalities under strict
royal
supervision,
and
still
maintains its original form dating
from the Joseon Dynasty.
Traditions of ancestral worship
rites – Jongmyo Jerye, are still
carried out, together with the
accompanying ritual music and
dance performance. Construction
and management of Jongmyo, and
the operations of Jongmyo Jerye
rituals, are all meticulously
recorded in the royal protocols of
the Joseon Dynasty.