본고는 17세기 중엽 이후 과거가 폐지된 1894년까지 270여 년 동안 문과⋅생진과⋅무과⋅천거⋅음직을 통한 관직 진출 동향을 중심으로 여흥 민문 성장의 구조를 고찰한 것으로 그 특징을 보면 다음과 같다.
첫째, 여흥 민문은 문과에 163명이 급제하였는데, 경파 73명(44.8%), 향파 90명(55.2%)으로 향파가 17명(10.4%)이 많았으나, 19세기 세도정치기에는 향파의 문과 급제율이 식년시⋅별시 모두 낮아지고, 경파인 여흥 민문의 식년시⋅별시 독점현상이 두드러져 문과에서의 ‘경(京)⋅향(鄕) 분기(分岐)’ 현상이 확연해졌다.
둘째, 여흥 민문 중에서도 인현왕후를 배출한 민유중계가 문과의 67.6%, 생진과의 48.2%, 무과의 72%, 음직의 67.3%라는 압도적 다수를 차지하였다. 민유중계는 상층에서 멀어진 지파가 무과를 통해 관직에 적극 진출하여 훈무세가(勳武世家)를 형성하였고, 음직도 관직 진출의 새로운 경로로 적극 활용하여 19세기 중반 이후 기득권을 유지하는 메커니즘의 하나로 활용하였다.
셋째, 여흥 민문의 민시중⋅민정중⋅민유중 형제는 현종-영조대 남인인 전서공파의 민희⋅민암 형제와 정치적으로 대립하였다. 민희⋅민암 형제는 현종대 예송논쟁에서 남인 영수 허목을 지지하고 송시열 처벌에 온건론을 펼치며 탁남의 입장을 지지하였으나, 경신대출척⋅갑술환국을 거치면서 서인에 패배하고 정치적으로 몰락하였다.
넷째, 여흥 민문에서는 민유중의 손자인 민익수와 민우수 형제가 유일로 천거되었다. 이들은 영조 전반기의 대표적 산림인 이재의 외종 조카로, 송시열⋅이단상⋅조성기⋅김창협⋅김창흡으로 이어지는 낙론 학맥을 계승하여, 여흥 민문이 18세기 후반 서울의 노론 낙론 산림가로서 사상적 기반을 마련하는데 일조하였다.
다섯째, 여흥 민문은 문과⋅생진과⋅무과⋅천거⋅음직을 통하여 267명이 관직에 진출하였고, 이 중에서 100명이 당상관으로 진출하였다. 당상관 진출은 민시중계 40.4%, 민유중계 38.7%, 민정중계 28.6%로, 이는 안동 김문 청음파⋅선원파⋅휴암파의 당상관 진출 비율인 25-30%보다도 높은 수준이었다. 19세기에 해당하는 26-29세에 와서 여흥 민문 당상관이 급격히 증가하는데, 그 중에서도 민유중계의 관직 독점이 압도적이었음을 실증적으로 확인할 수 있었다.
This paper examined the structure of the growth of Yeoheung Min family focusing on the trend of the advancement to public posts through service examination from the aspect that the study on family can be a meaning index for the understanding of identify of the persons of historical importance and for evaluating the mechanism of the formation of hierarchy and the pattern of the changes of time. The characteristics, which were identified in the course of the advancement to public posts through civil service examination, minor and first level civil service examination, military service examination, recommendation and ancestor's virtue for the period of 270 years from the middle of the 17C in which the political activities of Min family were unfolded in full scale as main force of 'Seo-in' and 'No-ron' to 1894 when the service examination system was abolished, are as follows:First, the advancement of people from Yeoheung Min family to public posts were structurally stabilized during the period of the 18C~19C as many people from Min family could advance to public posts through diversified channel such as civil service examination, minor and first level civil service examination, military service examination, recommendation and ancestor's virtue. In the case of civil service examination, total 163 persons passed the examination, and 73(44.8%) of them were from city sect and 90(55.2%) from country sect. The country sect had 17 persons(10.4%) more compared to the city sect at that time but during the period of power based politics in the 19C the rates of pass of the country sect in civil service examination were all down in the service examination with 3 year term as well as special examination while showing the phenomena of monopoly of special examinations by Yeoheung Min family who belonged to the city sect, which demonstrated the phenomena of clear distinction between the city sect and the country sect in civil service examination.
Second, even among Min family, Min Yoo-Joong sect from which Queen Inhyeon came occupied absolute majority of passes for 67.6% of civil service examination, 48.2% of minor and first level civil service examination, 72% of military service examination and 67.3% of ancestor's virtue. Especially in the case of military service examination, many people from the branch of Min Yoo-Joong sect which had distant relationship with central people in Min Yoo-Joong sect could actively advance to public posts through military service examination and formed a so-called powerful military family. We can see that the influential family with vested rights like Min Yoo-Joong family actively made use of the ancestor's virtue as one of the mechanisms to maintain the vested right since the middle of the 19C.
Third, the brothers of Min Si-Joong, Min Jeong-Joong and Min Yoo-Joong of Min family who were the influential figures of 'Seo-in' and 'No-ron' and the brothers of Min-Hee and Min-Am of Jeonseogong sect who were the influential figures of 'Nam-in' in the age of King Hyeon-jong and King Young-jo politically confronted each other. The brothers of Min-Hee and Min-Am, who supported the position of Tak-Nam unfolding moderate position for the punishment of Song Si-Yol supporting Huh Mok who was the leader of 'Nam-in' at the debate of Yesong at the age of King Hyeonjong, were defeated by 'Seo-in' going through the incident of great purge in the year of 'Gyeongsin' and political return in the year of 'gapsul' and were politically collapsed to the level of having only one person who passed the civil service examination during the time of King Youngjo.
Fourth, only the brothers of Min Ik-Soo and Min Woo-Soo who were grandsons of Min Yoo-Joong were recommended for the public posts from Yeoheung Min family. The brothers were the mother's side nephews of Doam Lee Jae who was a representative sanlim in the first half of King Youngjo and succeeded the academic legacy of 'Nakron' which was succeeded to Song-Si-Yol, Lee Dan-Sang, Jo Seong-Gi, Kim Chang-Hyup and Kim Chang-Heup and contributed to the establishment of ideological base for Yeoheung Min family as persons living in forest for 'Noron' and 'Nakron' in the latter half of the 18C.
Fifth, out of the people from Yeoheung Min family, the number of persons who advanced to public posts through civil service examination, minor and first level civil service examination, military service examination, recommendation and ancestor's virtue were 267 persons, and only 100 persons representing approximately 1/3 of them were advanced up to the dangsanggwan. The dangsanggwan were taken up for 40.4% by Min Si-Joong sect, 38.7% by Min Yoo-Joong sect and 28.6% by Min Jeong-Joong sect, and these levels were even higher than the level of 25~30% which corresponds to that in the period of power based politics by Cheongeum sect, Seongwon sect and Hyuam sect of Andong Kim family. The numbers of persons who were promoted to the dangsanggwan in the government were rapidly increased at the age of 26~29 years old which corresponds to the period of power based politics in the 19C, and the author could positively confirm the fact that during the period of power based politics the monopoly of public posts taken up by Min Yoo-Joong sect even among Yeoheung Min family was at absolute level.
