The National Palace Museum of Korea (Director: Kim In Kyu), an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, has selected the "Butchering Knife for Ritual Offerings” as its "Curator’s Choice from the Royal Treasures” for the month of March. In addition to being displayed in the Royal Rituals of the Joseon Dynasty Gallery on the basement floor of the museum, it will be presented virtually in a YouTube broadcast on the channels of the Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Palace Museum of Korea starting March 2.

* National Palace Museum of Korea YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gogungmuseum

** Cultural Heritage Administration YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chluvu

The Butchering Knife for Ritual Offerings is a knife that was used for sacrificingthe animals offered at the state rites performed at official venues, including the Jongmyo Shrine. This type of knife is known as a nando in Korean (the first character nan signifies ‘bell.’) Illustrations such as the Folding Screen of Illustrated Instructions for Rites Held at the Royal Ancestral Shrine indicate that sacrificial knives of this type featured three bells on their hilts and one each at the spine and tip. The two examples of this kind of knife housed at the National Palace Museum of Korea have both lost their bells, but the holes through which they were attached are clearly visible. They are made primarily of iron, but one of the knives features a design inlaid in silver on the hilt and the area connecting it to the blade.

Cows, pigs, and lambs were slaughtered for rites performed at the Jongmyo Shrine, and their fur, blood, livers, and intestinal fat were offered on a ritual table. The sacrifices presented at rituals were an important part of the rites performed at the Jongmyo Shrine, much so that the king inspected the condition of the offerings prior to the rites that he conducted. Animals were sacrificed only in accordance with strict procedures, and this butchering knife was used on such occasions. The five bells attached to the knife indicated the five notes―gung, sang, gak, chi, and wu―that were recognizedstarting in ancient times. The knife was wielded to sound the bells, and it is said that the animal was cut only when the sounds of the bells struck a harmony.

The fur and blood of the sacrificed animal were placed in a wide tray-like ritual vessel known as a mohyeolban. The liver and intestinal fat were set in a vessel known as a gannyodeung after the liver had been rinsed with a ritual liquor known as ulchang. The remaining fur and blood were placed in a clean vessel and carefully buried after the performance of the rite. The Butchering Knife for Ritual Offerings reveals the deep respect offered by descendants towards their ancestors when performing memorial rites.

Although there are no restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in the gallery, all visitors to the museum must abide by the requirements in place to reduce any potential spread of COVID-19. Those who are unable to visit the gallery in person can still enjoy this month’s Curator’s Choice virtually through a video with Korean and English subtitles available on the museum’s website (gogung.go.kr) and on the YouTube channels of the museum and of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea.