Chunghyodang House of the Yean Yi Clan, Andong

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.553

Category

Architecture

Era

조선시대 초기

Designated year

1971

Location

안동시, 경상북도— 경북 안동시 풍산읍 우렁길 73 (하리1리)

Coordinates

36.574268, 128.580352

This house, named “Chunghyodang [House of Loyalty and Filial Piety],” commemorates the loyalty and filial piety of Yi Hong-in and his son who died fighting the invading Japanese during the war of 1592 (Imjin Waeran) as the leaders of a volunteer civilian army. Currently the residence of a descendant of Yi Hong-in, the house was built in 1551 (6th year of King Myeongjong’s reign). The sarangchae, the men’s quarters, directly neighbors the anchae, the men's quarters of the house. The buildings are laid out around a square courtyard, in a manner to completely enclose it; a distribution quite common in the Andong area. The house, simple and unassuming, has two gates, one on the south side and the other on the west side. While the south gate was once the main gate, today the west gate serves as the main entrance to the house. The outer quarters outside the current west gate, in a parallel position to it, appear to have been demolished with the entrance also re-positioned. For a house of a moderate size, its door frames are unusually wide and sturdily-built. Equally interesting are the many entrances leading to different sections of this house. The building on the west side is in a straight line plan. There is also a detached building surmounted by a hip and gable roof, named “Ssangsudang.” The name “Ssangsudang,” literally meaning the ‘house that nurtures two values,’ is in reference to loyalty and filial piety, the two key values in Confucianism that live on in this family from generation to generation, as exemplified by Yi Hong-in who sacrificed his life to defend his country and his scion Yi Han-o remembered for his exemplary filial piety. This house, set against row-rising hills, facing the Pungsan Plain, has been repaired and partially altered over time. For an upper-class Joseon homes, the house strikes as quite modest in overall appearance.

Location