A Genealogy of Dissent: The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea 9781503607231

Citation preview

A Genealogy of Dissent

This page intentionally left blank

A Genealogy of Dissent The Progen y of Fallen R o ya l s i n C h o s ŏ n Ko r e a

Eugene Y. Park

S ta n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s S ta n f o r d , C a l i f o r n i a

Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2019 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Park, Eugene Y., author. Title: A genealogy of dissent : the progeny of fallen royals in Chosŏn Korea / Eugene Y. Park. Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018002639 | ISBN 9781503602083 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503607231 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Families of royal descent—Korea—History. | Royal houses—Korea— History. | Korea—Kings and rulers—Genealogy. | Korea—History—Chosŏn dynasty, 1392–1910. | Korea—History—Koryŏ period, 935–1392. Classification: LCC DS905.52.R69 P37 2018 | DDC 951.9/02—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002639 Typeset by BookMatters in 11/14 Adobe Garamond Cover design by Angela Moody

To Seri, Lauren, and Harry

This page intentionally left blank

Contents

List of Illustrations

ix

Acknowledgments

xi

Conventions

xiii

Prologue

1



1

Death and Resurrection, 1392–1450

9



2

Search for a Ritual Heir, 1450–1589

48



3

The Court and Society, 1589–1724

80



4

Renewed Attention to the Koryŏ Legacies, 1724–1864

109



5

Modernity, Kinship, and Individuals, 1864–1910

146

Epilogue

173

Koryŏ-Chosŏn Monarchs, Era Names, and Reign Years

191

Character List

193

Abbreviations

209

Notes

211

Bibliography

239

Index

255

This page intentionally left blank

Illustrations

Maps 1. 2. 3. 4.

Chosŏn Korea, 1700 Kyŏnggi Province, 1700 Hwanghae Province, 1700 Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang Provinces, 1700

xv xvi xvii xviii

Figures P.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2 3.1 4.1

Ideographs for the Wang and associated surnames The Kaesŏng Wang descent group segments King Kongyang and his immediate relatives Wang U and his immediate relatives The Wang Sullye line of ritual heirs, 1452–1540 The major lineages descended from Wang Mi and Wang Hŭng The Wang Hun line of ritual heirs, 1589–1724 The Wang Hun line of ritual heirs, 1724–1864

5 12 14 14 52 68 86 116

Photographs 1.1 A section of Sŏng Haeŭng’s commentary on the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls showing the Wang victims who were interned on Kŏje 2.1 The Sungŭijŏn 2.2 The grave of Wang Sullye 5.1 Map of Majŏn (1872) showing the Sungŭijŏn

24 55 62 151

x

I l l u s t r at i o n s

5.2 Map of Majŏn (1899) showing the Sungŭijŏn E.1 The fully restored Sungŭijŏn E.2 Bronze statue of Koryŏ T’aejo, excavated in 1992 in Haesŏn-ri, Kaep’ung-gun, Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea

165 183 184

Tables 1.1 Regime changes in the Balkans, China, Korea, and Japan, 1333–1453 18 164 5.1 Budget changes for state-funded sacrificial rites, July 1898

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to many for this book. Don Baker, David L. Howell, Sun Joo Kim, Young-Key Kim-Renaud, John S. Lee, Mark Peterson, Paul J. Smith, Son Byung-giu, Boudewijn Walraven, Anne Walthall, and anonymous reviewers provided comments on earlier versions of this work. With research, I received help from Ahn Yootack, Christopher Atwood, Remco Breuker, John B. Duncan, Frank Hoffmann, Hong Soon-Min, Kang Hosun, Kim Yong-Sun, Lee Donggue, Seok Lee, Noh Kwan-Bum, David M. Robinson, David Spafford, Holly Stephens, Sem Vermeersch, Michael Wert, Yang Jin-Suk, and Yoo Hyun Jae. Among the present-day Kaesŏng Wang, Jennifer Wang Medina, HyeSook Wang, Wang Kyusik, and Wang Yŏngnok provided valuable testimonies. Sixiang Wang translated a number of poems discussed in this book. The Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University granted permission to reproduce original maps. Frank L. Chance, Sherrill Davis, and Alexander Martin assisted with manuscript preparation, funded by the Academy of Korean Studies Grant (AKS-2017-P00). As editors for Stanford University Press, Kate Wahl and Jenny Gavacs placed trust in my project in its early stage, and Marcela Maxfield guided me through the rest. Last but not least, my family was understanding about all the weekends and holidays I devoted to writing. I dedicate this book to them.

This page intentionally left blank

Conventions

This book generally employs the Pinyin, Revised Hepburn, and McCuneReischauer systems for the romanization of, respectively, the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. Exceptions include alternative spellings such as Seoul that have become widely known. Likewise, for the sake of better recognition by most readers, colonial Korea’s local place names are given in Korean pronunciation, even though the official language at the time was Japanese. The text omits the suffix of a locale name indicating its administrative level if clear from context. When mentioned, English translations of such suffixes are as follows: province (to) → county (kun, hyŏn) → district (myŏn) → subdistrict (ri) pre-1910 Seoul (Hansŏng) → district (pu) → subdistrict (pang) → ward (kye) → neighborhood (tong) post-1914 city (si, pu) → district (ku) → subdistrict (tong, chŏng) Until 1894 all centrally appointed Chosŏn officials, including provincial governors and county magistrates, were members of a nine-rank bureaucratic hierarchy, with each rank divided into senior and junior levels. When mentioning a post for the first time, the text indicates its rank, using a scheme in the manner of, for example, “3b” (junior third rank). A prominent individual, as an officeholder or a scholar if not both, whom the direct descendants honored as their lineage founder could date as far back as the sixteenth century or so. Accordingly, a lineage could comprise members of a relationship that may seem very distant to most readers of this book. When discussing two or more lineage members together, the text mentions exact relationships only if they were third cousins (p’alch’on) or closer. Most certainly so for a family of chungin (“middle people”) status or higher, and increasingly so for the rest of the population, the third-cousin radius defined

xiv

Conventions

a close patrilineal kin group, within which the death of a member obligated the rest to perform proper mourning rituals. The closer the relationship is, the longer the mourning period. While functioning as a record of relationships among the members of a patrilineal descent group, a written genealogy of Chosŏn generally did not include the given names of females. Instead, it typically noted the wife of a subject descent group’s male member by her patrilineal ancestral seat (pon’gwan) and surname in the manner of, for example, “Kaesŏng Wang,” while recording a married daughter only by the full name of her husband and his ancestral seat. This meant that a daughter who died without marrying had no place in the genealogy. To the extent that they are readily searchable on the web, the text provides the birth and death years of an individual when mentioned for the first time, and all dates are according to the Gregorian calendar unless noted otherwise. This is true even for events that East Asia reckoned according to the lunar calendar, which remained the standard in Korea until the government went solar on the seventeenth day of the eleventh lunar month of 1895, or New Year’s Day of 1896 according to the Gregorian calendar. Primary source citations use the format in the manner of “January 1, 1900” for Gregorian dates and “1800.1.1” for the lunar calendar. On a more personal level, the customary Korean age count regards a person to be of one se at birth, subsequently gaining a year on every New Year’s Day. Accordingly, one’s age in se is either one or two years greater than one’s age according to Western practice. Far more complex is the conversion of Korean measures and currency to Western units. Simplified conversion rates are as follows (mostly for the Chosŏn period up to 1902, government standard only): Measures of distance and volume:

Units of currency:

ch’ŏk approximately 0.3 meters (yŏng jo ch’ŏk only)

ri worth about 18 milli­ liters of rice (according to Man’gi yoram, 1808)

k’an approximately 1.8 meters ri approximately 0.4 kilometers

p’un

tu (mal)

yang 10 chŏn

9 to 12 liters

sŏk (sŏm) 15 tu

10 ri

chŏn 10 p’un wŏn/hwan 10 yang

Map 1.  Chosŏn Korea, 1700. Created by Alexander Martin.

Map 2.  Kyŏnggi Province, 1700. Created by Alexander Martin.

Map 3.  Hwanghae Province, 1700. Created by Alexander Martin.

Map 4.  Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang Provinces, 1700. Created by Alexander Martin.

Prologue

This is a story of a Korean family’s survival. After the downfall of the Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392), its descendants, the Kaesŏng Wang, weathered persecution and an ever-changing sociopolitical terrain. An extermination campaign (1394–1413) by the succeeding Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) against the former royals was thorough: most of today’s Kaesŏng Wang are descendants of a single individual who was able to claim descent from the Koryŏ dynastic founder only as the sole monarch among his patrilineal ancestors. After ending the persecution, by 1452 the Chosŏn court secured a descent line of surviving Wangs to offer the ritual sacrifices at Sungŭijŏn, the shrine officially approved for honoring select Koryŏ monarchs. The rehabilitated Wangs retained membership in the aristocracy (yangban), participated in government service examinations, attained court ranks and offices, and even commanded troops. All the same, an emerging body of accounts, written and oral, expressed sympathy toward Koryŏ and its progeny as victims, although the Wangs themselves stayed clear of such discourse until the end of the Chosŏn monarchy. Only then did the Wang genealogy begin including, and thus acknowledging as legitimate kings, the two late Koryŏ rulers who were deposed and executed as false Wangs by the Chosŏn founder.

2

Prologue

The post-Koryŏ plight of the Kaesŏng Wang raises historically meaningful questions. Above all, why did the Chosŏn state massacre members of the former royal house only to reinstate them? As the Wangs recovered from a population bottleneck, how did descent lines of varying shades of social status emerge? How did the fate of a long-departed dynasty come to serve as a medium for dissent centuries after the 1392 dynastic change? And what impact did such forces of modernity as colonialism, nationalism, industrialization, and urbanization have on the Kaesŏng Wang as an increasingly heterogeneous collective? What to do with the members of the previous royal house and their descendants was an issue of fundamental concern for the Chosŏn state. Historical precedents of Korea and China demanded that Chosŏn, as the legitimate successor of Koryŏ, honor the latter by treating the progeny appropriately. At the same time, since much of the Chosŏn leadership hailed from the Koryŏ establishment, fear that surviving advocates of Koryŏ might conspire to revive the old dynasty was strong, and the Chosŏn state virtually exterminated the Wangs twenty-one months after the dynastic change. Once the dust settled, the government’s policy toward the Wangs, the Koryŏ loyalists, and the legacies or relics of Koryŏ changed depending on the context of the particular period. This study finds that the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change entailed the “founding of a [new] state” (kaeguk) as Chosŏn struggled with the legacies of the “vanquished state” (sŭngguk) before coming to terms with them. As of 1392, the aristocracy comprised descent groups that had been staffing officialdom for centuries, and what to do with the Wangs was a security issue for the new regime. After killing the Wangs for two decades, the Chosŏn state searched for a Wang so that he could offer the ritual ancestral sacrifices at the Sungŭijŏn. Also, the court sanctioned regular performance of the Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land (suryukchae, suryukhoe) to pray for the spirits of perished Wangs, until mounting opposition from Neo-Confucian ideologues led to the end of official sponsorship in the sixteenth century. Addressing Buddhist, Confucian, and shamanistic concerns, such rituals were necessary not only for appeasing anguished spirits that could wreak havoc in the realm of the living but also for legitimizing Chosŏn as the successor of Koryŏ. Self-identification of Chosŏn as such allowed room for the surviving Kaesŏng Wang to prosper as long as they subscribed to the cardinal Confucian moral virtues, especially loyalty to the ruler. Those with means enjoyed membership in the aristocracy, as officeholders and nonofficeholders alike. At the same time, the

Prologue

3

Chosŏn state increasingly fostered a plurality of views on its past and present, including understandings that were critical of the establishment, if not outright subversive. The official treatment of various relics and legacies of Koryŏ, such as written genealogies, the Sungŭijŏn, Koryŏ royal tombs, other remains at the old Koryŏ capitals Kaesŏng and Kanghwa, and of course the Wangs themselves evolved from suppression to neglect to toleration to promotion. My long-standing fascination with the plight of descendants of vanquished polities and their families, including the Kaesŏng Wang, led me to write this book. In the 1990s when I first read an account purporting to describe the final moments of Koryŏ King U, whom the future founder of the Chosŏn dynasty deposed and executed as a false Wang, the dignity displayed by someone who was arguably the first royal Wang victim of the dynastic change moved me.1 In December 2013 while researching the post-Koryŏ Kaesŏng Wang connections to the Koryŏ dynasty proper as documented in primary sources, I began to notice interesting patterns and gain new insights into the fate of the Wangs. This is the subject of the book, a narrative of the plight of the progeny of the fallen royals to the present, particularly during the Chosŏn period. The Kaesŏng Wang of today is a descent group that has recovered from a population bottleneck. The Wangs ostensibly belong to one of five descent lines. Reflecting the scope of bloody persecution by the early Chosŏn state, some 80 percent of South Korea’s Kaesŏng Wang, numbering 19,808 as of 2000, descend from Wang Mi (1365–n.d.), who was a descendant of the Koryŏ dynastic founder, Emperor T’aejo, through his fifteenth son, Hyoŭn T’aeja (also known as the Tongyang Kun, given name unknown, n.d.–961?).2 The rest of the Wangs claim descent from later monarchs, and connecting links are problematic, as discussed below. Once the persecution ended, a growing population of Kaesŏng Wang competed in the government service examinations. Their success was modest in the civil examination (munkwa), which was the most prestigious competition and vital for attaining the highest, politically important civil offices. Likewise, in the licentiate examinations (samasi, saengwŏn-chinsasi) for admission into the Confucian Academy (Sŏnggyun’gwan), the participant pool of which significantly overlapped that of the civil examination, the success of the Wangs was limited. They fared better in the military examination (mukwa), a competition that in principle recruited future military officials but increasingly awarded degrees to a socially diverse pool of candidates. It is important to put the Kaesŏng Wang experience in perspective, and it

4

Prologue

contrasts with that of a descent group of comparable population, the Hamjong Ŏ, who numbered 13,321 as of 2000 in South Korea. Among descent groups of population size between 10,000 and 19,999 at the time, including the Kaesŏng Wang, the Hamjong Ŏ were the most successful in the civil examination during the Chosŏn period. A complete record of Chosŏn civil examination graduates shows that whereas the less populous Hamjong Ŏ produced twenty-four graduates, only nine Kaesŏng Wang were successful.3 And according to extant, incomplete, records for other examinations, the Hamjong Ŏ produced sixteen military examination graduates, fifty-eight licentiates, and one technical examination (chapkwa) graduate, whereas the more numerous Wangs produced twenty-one military examination passers, twenty-seven licentiates, and a technical examination passer.4 Each descent group’s lone technical examination graduate was a mid-Chosŏn figure who did not found a specialist chungin ­lineage—hundreds of which, during the last three centuries of Chosŏn, constituted a status group of state-employed experts residing in the capital, Seoul.5 The stark contrast between the two descent groups in terms of patterns of examination success reflects significant differences in the nature of their political roles and residence patterns. Almost all of Hamjong Ŏ examination graduates resided in the “yangban crescent” comprising Seoul, the surrounding Kyŏnggi Province, northern Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, western Kangwŏn Province, and southeastern Hwanghae Province.6 In fact, most of the late Chosŏn Hamjong Ŏ hailed from an aristocratic lineage belonging to the Patriarch (Noron) party, which had triumphed by the mid-eighteenth century as political hegemon. Not only did a number of Ŏs achieve state councilor (1a)- and minister (2a)-level “actual posts” (silchik) as distinct from sinecures (sanjik), but a female member also married King Kyŏngjong, thus further enhancing the lineage’s prestige. Compared with the Ŏs, the presence of the Wangs in officialdom was far more modest. The most important offices achieved by the Wangs include a third minister (Ch’amŭi, 3a), the first counselor (Pu chehak, 3a) of the Office of Special Counselors (Hongmun’gwan), and the third inspector (Changnyŏng, 4a) of the Office of the Inspector-General (Sahŏnbu). Other than accounts of the early Chosŏn state’s persecution of the Kaesŏng Wang, their post-Koryŏ story has received scant attention among historians. To begin with, most studies discussing the Wangs focus on the court politics preceding the May 1394 massacre and its aftermath, various state-sanctioned rituals in honor of some Koryŏ monarchs, a local elite Kaesŏng Wang lineage, or the first comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy.7 Otherwise, the post-1392 story of the Wangs tends to be told and retold outside the realm

Prologue

5

Figure P.1.  Ideographs for the Wang and associated surnames.

of historical scholarship. Perhaps the most widely known claim is that during the persecution, many Wangs changed their surname by adding one or more strokes to the ideograph for Wang (“king”), and such newly adopted surnames supposedly are Ok (“jade”), Chŏn (“field”), Chŏn (“all”), Kim (“metal”), Kŭm (“lute”), or Ma (“horse) (figure P.1).8 According to other lore, even after ending the persecution, the Chosŏn state kept a watchful eye on the Wangs, making it difficult for them to enter officialdom, so the Wangs did not bother. 9 Yet another story relates that as the Wang population increased in the county of Ich’ŏn, Kyŏnggi Province, the court reportedly prohibited the Wangs from traveling beyond five ri (approximately two kilometers) from the center of their village, hence named Ch’ŏgo (“measured five”).10 And according to a most compelling account, in the late nineteenth century the authorities arrested and executed a Pak-surnamed man when he petitioned the court to reclaim his ancestor’s original surname, allegedly Wang.11 To shed more light on the post-Koryŏ history of the Kaesŏng Wang, I have examined a range of sources. Much of my evidence derives from court histories, supplemented by law codes, town gazetteers, local elite registers (hyangan), household registers (hojŏk), examination rosters (pangmok), written genealogies, epigraphs, and literary anthologies. Not surprisingly, the information that these sources provide tends to corroborate the official line, which justifies the Chosŏn state’s initial persecution of the Wangs and stresses the benevolence of the kings that rehabilitated the Wangs. Thus, constructing a more nuanced narrative demands considering various works of “unofficial history” (yasa) and oral history. The latter category includes interviews of present-day Wangs. In addition, visits to various sites associated with the post-Koryŏ history of the Wangs helped me tell a more vivid story. Accordingly, each of the book’s five chapters weaves together macro and micro histories. Introduced with a broad-sweep overview of the political, social, and cultural history of the period under consideration, each chapter presents the main narrative on the Kaesŏng Wang in a more or less chronological manner, reign by reign. Discussion of each reign begins with a brief overview,

6

Prologue

except in chapter 5, which builds its narrative around the events invariably involving foreign powers. Since a court-centered history alone cannot provide an adequate context for the post-Koryŏ story of the Wangs, each chapter also incorporates local history, customs, and legends. Assuming that they too changed over time, I make an effort to date such material—first discussing the earliest known when feasible. A brief summary at the end of the chapter reviews its main points. Chapter 1 examines the early Chosŏn period, from 1392 to 1450, when the new dynasty virtually exterminated the former royals, only to rehabilitate them. Rather than just recounting the oft-told story of the May 1394 massacre and the persecution thereafter until 1413, this chapter seeks to elucidate the Chosŏn state’s definition of the royal Wangs as a target of persecution, the number of victims, the veracity of the claim that some surviving Wangs changed their surnames, and the rationale for officially rehabilitating the Wangs. For comparative perspective, the chapter also considers China’s Yuan-Ming, Japan’s Kamakura-Muromachi, and western Eurasia’s Byzantine-­ Ottoman transitions. Chapter 2, covering the following period, from 1450 to 1589, focuses on the state’s effort to maintain a line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ and the reemergence of the Kaesŏng Wang as a descent group. Disproving a widespread assumption, this chapter demonstrates that a number of Wangs, especially the members of the Kwach’ŏn lineage, passed government service examinations and received offices—even attaining significant, prestigious civil posts. By the mid-sixteenth century, the advantage of being a Kaesŏng Wang was such that Wang-surnamed individuals of varying shades of social status made claims to be one, hence forcing the state to examine competing claims when it had to secure a new line of ritual heirs. Chapter 3, considering the mid-Chosŏn period from 1589 to 1724, analyzes the segmentation of the Kaesŏng Wang as a descent group. While successive members of a third new line of ritual heirs, the Majŏn lineage, performed their duties at the Sungŭijŏn, the Wangs as a whole became geographically dispersed and even more socially diverse. Descent from an early Chosŏn scholarofficial without any illegitimate children (sŏŏl) in the intervening generations became the unquestioned marker of one’s aristocratic status. Among various Wang descent lines, the Kaesŏng lineage began eclipsing the Kwach’ŏn lineage in terms of examination success and office holding. In late Chosŏn when most Kaesŏng Wang were detached from officialdom, the throne repeatedly articulated its desire to better honor the lega-

Prologue

7

cies of Koryŏ, human and material. Chapter 4, which examines the period from 1724 to 1864, highlights how the court took stock of the state of Koryŏ royal tombs, other physical remains of Koryŏ, and the Kaesŏng Wang themselves—all while the position of ritual heir devolved to essentially that of the Sungŭijŏn superintendent. As the late Chosŏn elites as a whole were increasingly removed from officialdom and based their aristocratic status solely on descent, the Kaesŏng Wang published their first-ever comprehensive genealogy (taedongbo) in 1798. As portrayed in chapter 5, during Korea’s struggle for survival as a nation in the age of imperialism, the Kaesŏng Wang began making adjustments. Likely aided by material wealth in a more commercialized economy, the continuing successes of the Kaesŏng lineage in terms of passing examinations and obtaining offices climaxed with civil examination graduates, some even achieving civil posts of mid-level or higher. In contrast, the Majŏn lineage not only saw its role as the caretaker of the Sungŭijŏn further diminished by having a fixed term of service, but also the Wangs with problematic claims of descent from later Koryŏ rulers began gaining the position and securing acceptance into updated editions of the comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy. The epilogue presents some vignettes about the Kaesŏng Wang in the modern era. Once the Chosŏn monarchy ended, the Wangs were free to celebrate their past without worrying about the official, self-legitimizing rhetoric of Chosŏn. In addition, forces of modernity such as colonialism, nationalism, industrialization, and urbanization have reshaped the material and human legacies of Koryŏ. Post-Chosŏn profiles of some individual Wangs conclude what is a compelling story of the progeny of fallen royals.

This page intentionally left blank

C h ap t er 1

Death and Resurrection, 1392–1450

An early Chosŏn king was a vassal of the Chinese empire under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and a first among equals vis-à-vis the aristocracy wielding political power at the national level. When those who spearheaded the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change had a fallout over the issue of whether to rally around the dynastic founder T’aejo’s ambitious fifth son, the future third ruler, T’aejong, supporters occupied key positions in officialdom. During the reign of T’aejo’s second son and successor, Chŏngjong, who was a figurehead, and in the early part of his own reign, T’aejong disposed of institutions and individuals that posed a threat to a stronger kingship, including private armies, powerful royal in-laws, and outright rebels. Thanks to T’aejong’s ground-laying work, the reign of his third son and successor, the conscientious Sejong, was one of more effective governance, secure borders and shores, and social stability. At the top of the early Chosŏn social hierarchy was the aristocracy, which legislated measures to further narrow the membership criteria and exclude others. Mindful of his own half brothers that T’aejo fathered by another woman while his first wife was still alive, the first wife’s son, T’aejong, took measures to marginalize children mothered by concubines or remarried women. At the

10

Chapter 1

same time, compared with the remainder of the Chosŏn period, central officialdom at the beginning was more open to aristocratic families from all parts of Korea except the northern frontier regions. Also, families that produced officeholders typically were not oriented toward one particular segment of officialdom in terms of the civil, military, or technical service branches. Moreover, some commoners, who constituted the majority of the population, attained examination degrees, court ranks, or offices, although those who did could not achieve admittance into the existing aristocracy. Below the commoners were the lowborn (ch’ŏnmin), mostly chattel slaves (nobi); a slave could secure freedom only through manumission by his or her owner, either the state or an individual. Across status boundaries, all people practiced a varying combination of shamanism, Buddhism, and Daoism, while the mainstream elites increasingly viewed Neo-Confucianism as the orthodoxy. At the beginning of the Chosŏn period, intellectuals in general not only pursued studies that featured NeoConfucianism in the form of core interpretations of key Confucian texts by Zhu Xi (1130–1200), encyclopedic learning, belles-lettres, and guwen (Ko. komun, “ancient writing”) scholarship, but also explored various non-Confucian systems of thought.1 The age of Buddhism as officially patronized by the state and the aristocracy effectively ended with the dynastic change, but the religion remained popular, especially among women and nonelites as well as for some kings and aristocratic men. From time to time, Buddhist and shamanistic practices drew vociferous criticism from Neo-Confucian ideologues who saw Chosŏn as the recipient of the Mandate of Heaven transferred from morally depraved Koryŏ. From such a perspective, the last king of Koryŏ and other members of the former royal house, which had lasted for nearly five centuries, were at the mercy of the new dynasty.

The Debate about the Former Royals As of 1392, the Kaesŏng Wang population was probably sizable, with the majority likely descended from Koryŏ T’aejo, Wang Kŏn. While their early history is shrouded in myths and legends, most likely it was T’aejo’s father, Wang Yung (former name Yonggŏn, ca. 850–897), who began using Wang as the family name. Late Silla individuals visiting China or interacting with the Chinese tended to adopt known Chinese surnames, and Yung, as a Yellow Sea merchant based in Kaesŏng, presumably did so. Yung and his family formed strategic marriage ties to other prominent families in the vicinity. Yung’s fa-

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

11

ther, Chakchegŏn (ca. 830–n.d.), maintained a sphere of influence extending beyond Kaesŏng, including nearby locales such as Chŏngju, Yŏnan, Paekch’ŏn, and Kanghwa, an island located at the mouth of the Han River to the south. The Kaesŏng Wang are not synonymous with the Koryŏ dynasty, under which the sociopolitical standing of a Kaesŏng Wang depended on his or her descent line. The royal kin (chongch’in) section of the History of Koryŏ (Koryŏsa), completed by Chosŏn officials in 1451, records the progeny of T’aejo through direct male descent only, and the coverage is highly selective.2 Mothered by the daughters of prominent local strongmen, a considerable number, if not the majority, of T’aejo’s sons probably died during the early Koryŏ political turmoil, culminating with massive purges by Emperor Kwangjong, T’aejo’s fourth son and the fourth monarch. Among those he killed was the ancestor of most of the living Kaesŏng Wang, Hyoŭn T’aeja.3 Once the dust settled, the descendants of the eighth ruler, Hyŏnjong (a grandson of T’aejo though his son, Wang Uk, ca. 940–996, posthumously honored as Emperor Anjong), rapidly increased in number, and all subsequent Koryŏ monarchs were his descendants. Among them, two princely lines became especially populous: (1) the descendants of Hyŏnjong’s fourth son, Wang Ki, the Chŏnggan Wang (also known as the P’yŏngyang Kong, 1021–1069); and (2) the descendants of Wang Sŏ, the Yangyang Kong (1144–1204), the second son of the twentieth ruler, Sinjong, who was a fifth-generation descendant of Hyŏnjong through his third son, the eleventh monarch Munjong. In fact, the History of Koryŏ’s genealogical coverage of royal Wangs centers on these two cadet lines. Both maintained marriage ties to the main line of royal succession, which became extinct in 1398 with the simultaneous death of the last Koryŏ monarch’s two nephews (figure 1.1). Other Kaesŏng Wang are poorly documented, including some who claim descent from the monarchs Hyŏnjong, Kojong, or Ch’ungjŏng through highly problematic genealogical links. Besides the Wangs recorded in official histories and tombstone inscriptions as members of the royal house, an additional small number are identifiable as members of nonprincely lines descended from the first cousins of T’aejo, who had no brother. Most likely, such descendants led a more mundane existence as hereditary local functionaries (hyangni) in the vicinity of Kaesŏng.4 Furthermore, a number of other Wangs appear in various sources without any information on their relationship to the royal house. After supplanting a dynasty that had ruled Korea for nearly five centuries, bolstering the new dynastic rule was the main concern of the Chosŏn founder. Having eliminated Chŏng Mongju (1338–1392) and other Koryŏ loyalists, on

Figure 1.1.  The Kaesŏng Wang descent group segments. Note: The names of Koryŏ rulers are boldfaced, with asterisks denoting the enshrinement of a spirit tablet at the Sungŭijŏn. Although he reigned for five months before the throne reverted to his predecessor, traditional historiography excludes Wang Ch’ang, the An’gyŏng Kong (deposed king, temple name Yŏngjong, r. 1269), from the enumeration of Koryŏ monarchs.

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

13

August 5, 1392, Yi Sŏnggye ascended the throne—ostensibly upon the abdication of the last Koryŏ ruler, King Kongyang, and at the urging of Chŏng Tojŏn (1342–1398), Cho Chun (1346–1405), and other leading supporters. In March 1393, the new king, posthumously honored as T’aejo, renamed the country from Koryŏ to Chosŏn with the approval of the name and his accession from the Ming dynastic founder, the Hongwu emperor (r. 1368–1398), as T’aejo treated the Ming as the suzerain and the guarantor of the legitimacy of his rule.5 Also, although a devout Buddhist, T’aejo promoted Confucianism over Buddhism, which for long had had ties to the Koryŏ establishment. Moreover, based on the Rank Land Law (Kwajŏnpŏp) that he and his supporters had instituted in 1391, in part to deprive their adversaries of their economic base, T’aejo’s court idealized an agrarian subsistence economy and stable social hierarchy. In more concrete terms, T’aejo’s overall effort entailed exterminating the royal Wangs, moving the capital from Kaesŏng to Seoul (then known as Hansŏng), rewarding his key supporters with the title of dynastic foundation merit subjects (kaeguk kongsin) and grants of land and slaves, and reorganizing the institutions of the state as codified in the newly compiled Six Codes of Administration (Kyŏngje yukchŏn).6 T’aejo’s reign began with measures to incapacitate members of the Koryŏ royal house. On August 8, 1392, just three days after T’aejo’s accession,7 the inspector-general (Taesahŏn, 2b) and other officials petitioned the throne to remove the Wangs from Kaesŏng, then still the capital. In response, T’aejo ordered that the Wangs be relocated to the islands of Kanghwa and Kŏje, the latter located off Korea’s southern shore. Five royals were excluded: (1) Wang U, the Chŏngyang Puwŏn’gun (ca. 1346–1397), who was the younger brother of King Kongyang and the father of T’aejo’s seventh son’s wife; (2) the elder of U’s two sons, Wang Cho, the Chŏnggang Kun (ca. 1375–1398); (3) the younger son, Wang Kwan (ca. 1386–1398); (4) a civil official, Wang Sŭng, the Sunhŭng Kun (also known as Wang Pyŏn, ca. 1330–1394), who was a descendant of Hyŏnjong; and (5) Sŭng’s son, Wang Kang (1358?–1394), a former civil official. In sparing them, T’aejo spoke of preserving a line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ through U, Cho, and Kwan, while recognizing Sŭng and Kang’s good services to the state (figures 1.2 and 1.3).8 Although broken at times, the line of Wangs performing sacrificial rites to their ancestors would continue to the present. By officially sanctioning a line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ, the new dynasty was affirming its status as the legitimate successor of its predecessor. Eight days later, on August 16, through his enthronement edict, T’aejo confirmed the status of U as the ritual heir, granting him a new enfeoffment title, Kwiŭi Kun

Figure 1.2.  King Kongyang and his immediate relatives.

Figure 1.3.  Wang U and his immediate relatives. Note: The names of ritual heirs (Koryŏ shrine superintendents) are boldfaced and enumerated.

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

15

(“Prince turning to the righteousness”), and a parcel of land in Majŏn.9 Located between Kaesŏng and Seoul, Majŏn is on the banks of the Imjin River near the farthest reach of the high tide from the Yellow Sea.10 According to a legend in circulation by the late Chosŏn period, after T’aejo’s accession, he put the spirit tablet of Koryŏ T’aejo on a boat with rocks and set the boat afloat on the Imjin River. Rather than going downstream and perishing out in the sea as presumably intended, however, the boat floated upstream—stopping below a cliff, above which a shrine would be built.11 Per Chosŏn T’aejo’s order, Wang U not only performed sacrificial rituals in honor of Koryŏ T’aejo but also did so for King Kongmin, the last Koryŏ monarch that the Chosŏn rulers regarded as both a true royal Wang and a fully legitimate ruler.12 Upon a recommendation by the Ministry of Rites (Yejo), T’aejo commanded that ancestral rites at the shrine of Koryŏ T’aejo be supplemented with rites for seven additional Koryŏ rulers—namely, Hyejong, Hyŏnjong, Wŏnjong, and Ch’ungnyŏl for their “meritorious deeds toward the people”; Sŏngjong for “adopting Chinese institutions for the benefit of the people”; Munjong for “prudent words and deeds in upholding the achievements of his royal ancestors so that the people could enjoy an age of peace”; and Kongmin for twice repelling the Red Turbans and “bringing peace to the country by serving China well.”13 The decision reflected the Chosŏn court’s awareness of a famous Chinese historical precedent. Later in the year, when praising T’aejo for preserving a line of ritual heirs to Koryŏ, Cho Chun, a dynastic foundation merit subject, noted how the founder of ancient China’s Zhou dynasty (ca. 1046–256 BCE) invested Weizi (fl. 1043), a brother of the wicked last ruler of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1675–ca. 1046), in the state of Song (ca. 1043–286 BCE) so that the descendants could continue performing ancestral rites to the Shang.14 At the same time, the Chosŏn court likely was mindful of how its suzerain, the Ming, had been treating the Chinggisid royals of the preceding Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) since supplanting them in China proper. Regarding himself as the recipient of the Mandate of Heaven and the unifier of all under the heaven, the Hongwu emperor declared that he would treat the Mongols and the “people of various categories” (semuren) the same as the Han Chinese. Even after the Yuan court fled to Mongolia as the Ming army approached the Yuan capital in present-day Beijing, a large number of Mongols remained in China proper, including male members of the Yuan royal house probably numbering at least in the thousands. Initially resisting the Ming, they eventually surrendered, and the Ming court ennobled some of them. Also, while the Mongolia-based Chinggisid Northern Yuan dynasty (1368–1634) contin-

16

Chapter 1

ued to fight the Ming, Mongols in Mongolia continued to migrate to China proper in a steady stream until the mid-fifteenth century in order to escape the turmoil. Not only was the Ming court anxious to have as many Mongols as possible come, it also did everything in its power to keep them.15 A case in point is Maidiribala (n.d.), a grandson of the last Yuan emperor, Toghon Temür (r. 1333–1370), and a son of the successor, Ayushiridara (r. 1370–1378). Capturing him along with a number of Yuan court nobles and officials in June 1369, Ming troops sent them to the Ming capital, Nanjing. In the following month, Maidiribala had an audience with the Hongwu emperor who honored him with gifts and a title, Marquis of Chongli (“upholding propriety”), thus making him the first Mongol to receive a title of nobility from the Ming court. Contrary to what usually happened to other Mongols at the hands of the Ming government, in October 1374, the emperor allowed Maidiribala to return to Mongolia. The emperor probably believed that Maidiribala had become a friend who would be in favor of an alliance with the Ming, and if he were to ascend the Northern Yuan throne, such an alliance would have meant submission to the Ming. Perhaps because of his friendliness toward the Ming, though, the Northern Yuan court gave Maidiribala little power, and he never ascended the throne.16 Besides China, the only other regions that experienced a regime change within a generation or two from the Koryŏ-Chosŏn transition, with the victorious regime overcoming a losing one that had been in power for generations, are Japan and the Balkans. In the case of Japan, finding points of comparison is more challenging, as the Kamakura-Muromachi transition was not so much about the original family of the Kamakura shogunate (1192–1333), the Minamoto, as it was about various emperors, the Hōjō family, and the rising Ashikaga family. In many cases, a victorious force integrated elements of vanquished forces, but in other cases, many defeated families suffered annihilation, including the Hōjō, who were regents (1203–1333) during much of the Kamakura shogunate, which was supplanted by the Ashikaga’s Muromachi shogunate (1338–1573). The Ashikaga drew their prestige as scions of the Minamoto, though the direct line of Minamoto Yoritomo (r. 1192–1199), founder of the Kamakura shogunate, had been extinct since 1219. Thus, in some ways the Ashikaga could claim that they were restoring the Minamoto. In 1333, when the founder of the new shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji (r. 1338–1358), attacked the Hōjō in Kamakura, its members—men, women, children, and hundreds of its loyal warriors—committed suicide.17 Bent on restoring bona fide imperial rule, Emperor Go-Daigo (r. 1318–1339) sanctioned Takauji’s victory,

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

17

only to be betrayed in 1336. Fleeing the ancient capital Kyoto, Go-Daigo established the Southern Court in Yoshino, which opposed the Ashikaga-backed Northern Court (which appointed Takauji as shogun in 1338) in Kyoto for some five decades until 1392, and the descendants of Go-Daigo and Takauji continued fighting each other throughout this period.18 Much farther west in Eurasia, the Byzantine-Ottoman transition too is worth consideration for a better understanding and for contextualizing the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change and the plight of the Wangs. When Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481) began attacking the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in the winter of 1452, the Palaiologos family had been ruling Byzantium for two centuries (1259–1453). Choosing not to escape, the last emperor, Constantine XI (r. 1449–1453), died fighting when the city fell in May 1453. In contrast, childless Constantine’s male relatives who were residing in a Byzantine province in the Peloponnese, the Despotate of Morea (1349–1460), survived the political transition. In 1460, when Mehmed conquered the despotate governed jointly by Constantine’s two younger brothers, the elder one, Demetrios II (ca. 1407–1470), duly surrendered and received as an appanage the town of Ainos in Thrace and parts of the islands of Thasos and Samothrace. With his wife, Theodora Asanina (n.d.–1470), and her brother, Matthew Palaiologos Asen (n.d.–1467), Demetrios resided in Ainos for seven years before being dispossessed when Matthew, who was in charge of the salt monopoly, allowed his subordinates to cheat the sultan’s tax officials. Demetrios, Theodora, and Matthew moved to another town in Thrace, Didymoteicho, where they lived in poverty. After Matthew died, Mehmed allowed the couple to settle in Adrianople, close to their daughter Helena Palaiologina (1442–1469), whom the sultan may have taken into his harem, and he provided them with a small stipend. When Helena died, the grief-stricken parents retired to a monastery, where Demetrios died as Monk David, and Theodora followed him in death a few months later.19 What lay ahead for Demetrios’s younger brother, Thomas (1409–1465), and his family was nothing short of a drama. The family escaped to Italy, where the pope had already recognized Thomas as the legitimate heir to the Byzantine throne and where, to gain more political support, he had converted to Catholicism. Upon his death, his elder son, Andreas (1453–1502), inherited the title, but before ultimately dying a pauper, he sold his right to the title to the Byzantine throne to more than one Christian ruler. In either 1476 or 1477, his younger brother, Manuel (1455–1512), tired of relying on the papacy’s largess, traveled to Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, and threw himself on

18

Chapter 1

Table 1.1.  Regime changes in the Balkans, China, Korea, and Japan, 1333–1453. Balkans, 1453

China, 1368

Korea, 1392

Japan, 1333

Defeated ruling family (DRF)

Palaiologos dynasty

Chinggisids

Koryŏ dynasty

Hōjō house

Victorious ruling family (VRF)

Ottoman dynasty

Ming dynasty

Chosŏn dynasty

Ashikaga house

Superior political authority during DRF’s rule

None

None

None

Emperor of Japan

Status, duration of DRF’s existence before defeat

Roman emperor, 194 years

Great khan, 162 years

Koryŏ emperor/king, 474 years

Shogunal regent, 130 years

Status, duration of VRF’s challenge against DRF before victory

Local bey/ sultan, approximately 154 years

Local rebel group leader/ emperor, at least 8 years

Political faction leader, 4 years

Political faction leader, less than a month

DRF male population of ruling surname at time of defeat

Hundreds?

At least thousands?

At least hundreds

Hundreds?

DRF’s autonomous regime, duration, location

Despotate of Morea, 8 years, Greece

Northern Yuan dynasty, 266 years, Mongolia

None

None

Locations of male DRF members at time of defeat

Mostly outside VRF’s realm?

Mostly inside VRF’s realm

Inside VRF’s realm

Inside VRF’s realm

Fate of male DRF members

Most fled?

Most integrated into VRF regime’s leadership?

Most killed by VRF regime

Mass suicide; many killed by VRF regime?

Note: DRF = defeated ruling family; VRF = victorious ruling family.

Mehmed’s mercy. In exchange for his rights to the Byzantine throne, the sultan granted Manuel an estate and a comfortable pension. Later, Manuel’s only son to survive to adulthood converted to Islam.20 At first glance, the Byzantine-Ottoman and Japanese transitions may seem less pertinent than the Chinese case, so placing the data against an analytical grid that outlines relevant factors can be useful. The above narratives may each be interesting in its own right, but using a set of points of comparison for the Korean and the three other cases discussed makes the similarities and differences clearer—even though much of the historical “data” is inevitably qualitative or speculatively quantitative. Table 1.1 is a comparative analysis of the Byzantine-Ottoman, Yuan-Ming, Koryŏ-Chosŏn, and Kamakura-Muromachi transitions. Table 1.1 suggests that the rapid rise of a new, antidynastic force, the absence of an escape destination, and a relatively small population sealed the fate of

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

19

the male Kaesŏng Wang. In Japan, Ashikaga Takauji had been openly antiHōjō for less than a month before his triumph, and the last Hōjō regent and his entire family, caught in the conflict, committed suicide when an ally of Takauji captured the city of Kamakura. In contrast, the Ming had no choice other than to politically integrate the thousands of male Chinggisids stranded in China proper because the Ming Hongwu emperor and others had rebelled against the Yuan. A motivating factor for the integration effort was to discourage such Chinggisids from joining the Northern Yuan court in Mongolia. Compared to the transitions in China and Japan at the time, the Ottoman conquest of what remained of the Byzantine empire and other parts of the Balkans was a much more prolonged process of at least a century and a half, during which members of the Palaiologos dynasty who were not in Constantinople or Morea presumably sought safety elsewhere.21 Mirroring various aspects of these nearly contemporaneous regime changes in the Balkans, China, and Japan, the Chosŏn court’s initial treatment of the Wangs embodied both measured generosity and outright suspicion. T’aejo’s accession edict of August 16, 1392, ordered the rest of the Wangs to reside outside the capital at locations of their convenience, accompanied by their wives, children, and servants, where the administering local jurisdiction was to provide them with food and other necessities.22 Nine days later, on August 25, the court took further measures vis-à-vis the former royals: (1) demotion of the last king of Koryŏ to princely status with the title Kongyang Kun (“Prince respectfully yielding the throne”) and relocation of him from Wŏnju in the southwestern Kangwŏn region, to which he had been banished upon dethronement on July 30, to a more remote location on the central eastern shore, Kansŏng; (2) reaffirmation of the status of his brother, Wang U, as the Kwiŭi Kun in order to continue offering sacrifices to their ancestors; and (3) demotion of the former dowager—a surviving concubine of King Kongmin who was a distant cousin of Kongyang—to the rank of a princess.23 Thirteen days later, on September 7, in response to a memorial from the Office of the Inspector-General which complained that slaves of banished Wangs traveled freely between the capital and their owners’ banishment sites, T’aejo reduced the number of slaves per Wang to twenty for Koryŏ royals and higher officials, ten for other officials, and none for others.24 Then, a month later, on October 7, the inspector-general and other officials urged T’aejo to prevent any trouble by interning other Wangs who were residing elsewhere on the islands of Kanghwa and Kŏje.25 Denying the officials’ request, T’aejo extended benevolent gestures toward

20

Chapter 1

the Wangs. At the end of the year, on December 26, the court-appointed Wang U’s two sons, Cho and Kwan, as, respectively, a supreme general (Sang changgun, 3a) and a grand general (Tae changgun, 3b), both purely honorary military posts.26 Declaring that all subjects are his “children” (chŏkcha), six months later, on July 5, 1393, T’aejo expressed pity regarding the reported hardships of the Wangs interned on the two islands and ordered them moved to three counties in the southern part of mainland Korea—Wansan in Chŏlla, and Sangju and Yŏnghae, both in Kyŏngsang.27 Then six months later, on January 3, 1394, T’aejo played polo with U and others in the inner courtyard of the palace.28 An accusation that the Wangs and their supporters had conspired against the government hastened their doom. The following month, on February 16, 1394, the court received a report alleging that the king’s comrade in arms and a high official, Pak Wi (n.d.–1398), had instructed Tongnae Magistrate (Hyŏllyŏng, 5b) Kim Kahaeng (n.d.–1394) and the local saltern officer (yŏmjanggwan), Pak Chungjil (n.d.–1394), to consult a blind fortune teller, Yi Hŭngmu (n.d.–1394), about the future of the present dynasty and the fate of the Wangs.29 On the following day, the court interned the Wangs on Kŏje and imprisoned Wang Hwa, the Namp’yŏng Kun (ca. 1350–1394), who was the former king’s first cousin, and Hwa’s younger brother, Wang Kŏ, the Yŏngp’yŏng Kun (ca. 1352–1394), in Andong, Kyŏngsang.30 Three days later, on February 20, the court ordered the interrogation of Kim and Pak Chungjil, both having been brought back to the capital.31 On the following day, when the Censorate (Taegan) and the Ministry of Punishments (Hyŏng jo) urged that all implicated be brought together for interrogation, T’aejo refused, and the court punished just Kim, Pak, and Yi by caning them and then banishing them to frontier locales.32 Thereafter, when the Censorate and the Ministry repeatedly submitted memorials arguing that certain Wangs, if not all Wangs and their supporters, should be punished, the king yielded.33 Everyone accused of treasonous conspiracy suffered the ultimate punishment. From March 8 to 25, the court interrogated all Wangs reportedly mentioned during the two officials’ meetings with Yi, including Wang Hwa, Wang Kŏ, and Monk Sŏngnŭng (ca. 1335–1394), who was the two brothers’ uncle.34 On March 28, the court banished the former king and his sons to another remote locale on the central eastern shore, Samch’ŏk, and relocated the rest of the royal Wangs from the mainland to Kŏje.35 From that day until April 1, the officials of the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments interrogated the accused, using torture, until they secured confessions to the effect that the ac-

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

21

cused had conspired to restore the Koryŏ dynasty.36 Sparing both Wang U and Pak Wi, whom T’aejo consistently defended throughout the investigation,37 twelve days later, on April 13, the court beheaded Wang Hwa, Wang Kŏ, Kim Kahaeng, Pak Chungjil, and Yi Hŭngmu, and incarcerated Sŏngnŭng on Kŏje.38 After a lull of nineteen days, the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments pressured T’aejo to exterminate the Wangs, and he yielded after a thirteen-day tug of war. The showdown began on May 1, when their joint memorial urged the king to kill the Wangs. In response, he ordered that the Wangs be gathered at one location for ease of monitoring, while Wang U continued to offer sacrifices to the Koryŏ royal ancestors. Then T’aejo declared the matter closed.39 Nine days later, on May 10, upon again receiving memorials urging him to dispatch the Wangs, the king complained that the officials were disobeying his command.40 Four days later, on May 14, when the Censorate and the Ministry officials yet again urged T’aejo to put the Wangs to death, he consented after an extended discussion. Upon his order, the Policy Council (Top’yŏngŭisasa) assembled incumbent and retired officials alike at Such’ang Palace and solicited their opinions about what to do with the Wangs. Although scores of officials suggested banishing the former royals to islands, all the others urged killing them to forestall any trouble. When briefed, T’aejo ordered the Policy Council to submit a report after another round of discussion, and after doing so, the Policy Council advised the king to follow the majority view. In response, T’aejo ordered that the Wangs be dealt with accordingly, except for U and his sons, who were to continue their ritual obligations to their ancestors.41 Older studies have scrutinized the above series of events without reaching a consensus on T’aejo’s intentions. As is well-known, T’aejo ruled not so much as a powerful monarch but as a first among equals assisted by the powerful scholar-officials and military commanders who had enthroned him. Taking the court’s discussions as documented in the veritable records (sillok) at face value, some historians view T’aejo as a king who begrudgingly consented to exterminate the Wangs after resisting his officials’ demands for almost three months.42 Reading between the lines, others see in T’aejo a political actor who went through the motions of being compassionate before finding an opportune moment to expediently destroy the previous royal house.43 To be sure, the veritable records as an official history had to portray the dynastic founder as positively as possible, but T’aejo likely did feel a degree of sympathy toward those Wangs as well as toward Pak Wi, with whom he had been personally

22

Chapter 1

close for decades. Whether he could have tried harder to resist the pressure to dispatch the Wangs is a moot point, considering that ultimately, as a monarch of clearly limited power, he had no choice but to yield.

The Persecution, 1394–1413 The extermination operation began on the very day T’aejo articulated his approval. The court dispatched Deputy Security Councilor (Chungch’uwŏn Pusa, 2b) Chŏng Namjin (n.d.–1410) and Ministry of Punishments Executive (Hyŏng jo Ŭirang, 3a) Ham Purim (1360–1410) to Samch’ŏk; Minister of Punishments (Hyŏng jo Chŏnsŏ, 3a) Yun Panggyŏng (n.d.–1412) and Grand General O Mongŭl (ca. 1350–1398) to the island of Kanghwa; and Minister of Punishments Son Hŭngjong (n.d.–1411?) and a port commander (Ch’ŏmjŏlchesa, 3b), Sim Hyosaeng (1349–1398), to the island of Kŏje.44 On the following day, May 15, those under Yun Panggyŏng’s charge rounded up the Wangs of Kanghwa at a harbor and killed them. The veritable records state that the victims were thrown into the sea.45 In contrast, an oral tradition that may be the same as the Kŏje Wang story in circulation by the late fifteenth century, discussed below, claims that divers cut holes on the underside of the ships transporting the Wangs, who had boarded with a promise of residence at a better place, perhaps the island of Kyodong.46 According to the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls (Tonghak-sa hon’gi), as cited in a commentary from either the late eighteenth or the early nineteenth century, sixteen Wangs died on Kanghwa, including the former king’s three uncles, Wang Hyang, the Haksŏng Puwŏn’gun (n.d.–1394); Wang So, the Igwŏn Puwŏn’gun (n.d.– 1394); and Wang Chŏng, the P’yŏngan Puwŏn’gun (n.d.–1394).47 Two days later, on May 17 in Samch’ŏk, the former king and his household members met their doom, with the number of victims amounting to at least ten. Upon arriving in Samch’ŏk, Chŏng Namjin read T’aejo’s edict to Kongyang: Officials and the ordinary people have elevated me as king, and this is according to the design of heaven. I had you dwell on the eastern shore, while commanding other Wangs to return to places of their convenience and pursue their livelihoods. Plotting treason, Tongnae Magistrate Kim Kahaeng, local saltern officer Pak Chungjil, and others asked a blind man, Yi Hŭngmu, to tell your fortune and that of your kin. When their scheme came to light, they confessed their crimes. Although you were unaware, the matter reached the state, wherein the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments officials submitted a

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

23

memorial twelve times [urging me to punish the Wangs], and with resolve I resisted them for many days. Then, the officials great and lesser again submitted memorials to challenge my will. [In the end,] I only begrudgingly consented, and I want you to know this.

The agents then strangled Kongyang and his two sons.48 Such was the minimal courtesy that the court extended to the hapless last Koryŏ king. When offered the throne in 1389 by the future founder of Chosŏn who had deposed two previous monarchs, Kongyang initially refused, astounded and fearful.49 After killing Kongyang, at some point later the Chosŏn court would bring his remains from Samch’ŏk to Koyang, the county bordering Seoul to the north, for burial at an officially designated royal tomb. To this day, however, both locales claim his tomb.50 Recognizing a third location of the grave, in Kansŏng, the family of a Koryŏ loyalist has passed down from an unknown era an alternative account of Kongyang’s final moment. According to the family, their ancestor, Ham Puyŏl (1363–1442), followed the former king when the court moved him from Kansŏng to Samch’ŏk. A month later, when the court sent Chŏng Namjin to Samch’ŏk to kill Kongyang, accompanying him, according to the family account, was Ham Purim, none other than Puyŏl’s older brother and a dynastic foundation merit subject. Meeting Purim on the way, Puyŏl pleaded with him to collect only the bodies of other Wangs and then help Kongyang escape to Kansŏng. Ultimately, however, the two agents from the court felt bound to perform their duty, and an assassin that they sent to Kansŏng killed Kongyang on May 25—that is, eight days later than the officially recorded day of death by strangulation on May 17. Puyŏl buried Kongyang’s body near a local Buddhist temple in Kansŏng. In his will, Puyŏl commanded his family to bury him below the former king’s grave and to perform a rite at the royal grave first, before performing an ancestral rite for himself.51 Besides Kongyang, nine other victims are mentioned in the commentary in the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls, which erroneously excluded Kongyang’s son but included Wang U and his two sons. Actually, Wang U died in 1397, evidently of natural causes, and the sons died in 1398 as victims of political violence, as discussed below. The remaining six are Wang Tŭngmyŏng (n.d.–1394); Wang Sŭngbo (n.d.–1394), a former military commander especially known for his physical prowess; Wang Kyŏk, the Yŏngbok Kun (n.d.–1394), a fourteenth-generation descendant of Hyŏnjong through the Chŏnggan Wang; and Kwanŭmno (“slave of Avalokiteśvara,” n.d.–1394),

24

Chapter 1

Photograph 1.1.  A section of Sŏng Haeŭng’s commentary on the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls showing the Wang victims who were interned on Kŏje. Source: Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏngjae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.105sang.ab.

Mit’ano (“slave of Amitābha,” n.d.–1394), and Karajang (n.d.–1394), all recorded without surnames and thus presumably slaves, if not sons mothered by women of lowborn status.52 Then on May 20, the troops under Son Hŭngjong’s charge killed the Wangs interned on the island of Kŏje.53 At least 111 died on Kŏje, far outnumbering the victims of Samch’ŏk or Kanghwa, assuming that the commentary on the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls is reliable (photograph 1.1).54 The fact that a port commander accompanied Son suggests that killing the Wangs of Kŏje, the Korean Peninsula’s second largest island, likely entailed an operation requiring a convoy of ships. According to an unofficial account in circulation by the second half of the fifteenth century, the Wangs on Kŏje happily boarded the ships sent to transport them after being told that they were being allowed to live as ordinary people (sŏin) on other islands. During the ill-fated voyage, they drowned when divers drilled holes into the hulls, causing the ships to sink. When the ship that a Wang was aboard had sunk halfway, a Buddhist monk who knew him shouted from the shore. The royal spontaneously composed a poem, uttering “the lamenting sound of oars, out in the blue ocean, even if a monk is present, what good is it?” The monk wailed and turned back.55

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

25

Thus, within five days of T’aejo’s order, at least 135 male Wangs died, according to the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls. In spite of its uncertain provenance and some factual errors, the victim list seems credible. Although its source is no longer extant as far as I can determine, the content has survived, thanks to a scholar of Reformed Confucianism (Sirhak, “practical learning”), Sŏng Haeŭng (1760–1839), who provided an exegesis of the list. A story has been passed down, as related by Sŏng: the seventh Chosŏn king, Sejo, who through Buddhism sought to atone for his violent usurpation of the throne from his young nephew, Tanjong, once stayed at the temple, located in Kongju, Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, for three months and designated it as the edifice where the clergy were to pray for the souls of those who perished during the 1394 massacre of the Wangs and for those killed by him, Tanjong, and his supporters. Even when a fire consumed much of the temple in 1728, the original document scroll comprising thirteen “sheets” (yŏp) of paper is said to have survived, and the elderly monks used it whenever they performed a periodic ritual of prayer for the victims.56 Perhaps multiple versions of the victim list circulated after the massacre. In 1395, T’aejo ordered a temple near each of the three internment sites to perform the Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land every spring and autumn to pray for the dead Wangs. The ritual traditionally prays for the salvation of creatures that inhabit the most painful domains of Saṃ sāra, the repeating cycle of birth, life, death, and reincarnation, and also for a sentient being’s actions and consequences in the past, present, and future.57 Regarding three particular Wangs on the list, Sŏng correctly notes that two actually did not die during the massacre.58 Such errors suggest a corrupt text after repeated copying. If the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls is reliable aside from some demonstrable errors, then the court apparently divided the male Wangs into three groups, with young and old alike among the dead.59 Those banished to Samch’ŏk were the former king, his immediate relatives, and others who— even though extant sources do not reveal exact genealogical ties—probably had special ties to him. Although not an island, the location was remote and thus suited to keeping the vanquished royal household in isolation. As for Kanghwa, the court could claim that sending the Wangs there represented a special accommodation for them since the island was a former capital of Koryŏ; yet, historical prestige aside, Kanghwa was also vulnerable to raids by Wakō, who were pirates based on outlying Japanese islands, thus conveniently exposing the Wangs to the danger.60 Likely mindful of its proximity to Kaesŏng, the court interned there mostly the Wangs of more advanced age.

26

Chapter 1

Out of sixteen recorded in the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls, at least five had adult sons, as recorded in reliable extant sources.61 Kŏje, which accommodated the largest group, at least 111, was the internment site farthest from the capital, and the Wangs confined there were younger, including many who were sons or grandsons of those interned on Kanghwa. But Kŏje too was vulnerable to Wakō raids. Earlier, in the mid-fourteenth century, the Koryŏ government had to relocate a local administrative seat from the island to the mainland due to the pirates.62 Excluding 5 who were erroneously included, the 135 who died likely constituted a small fraction of perhaps thousands of descendants, at the time, of Koryŏ T’aejo through direct male descent.63 Four explanations are plausible. First, the list may be somehow incomplete. Second, the Chosŏn court targeted only the bona fide royal Wangs, numbering no more than hundreds and excluding the Kaesŏng Wang who were not descended from Koryŏ T’aejo, lived outside Kaesŏng city proper, and became hereditary local functionaries.64 Third, any direct male descendant more than two generations removed from a monarch usually did not enjoy recognition as full-fledged royal kin, although more remote descendants who, generally in late Koryŏ, married daughters of reigning monarchs do appear in the royal kin section of the History of Koryŏ.65 And fourth, throughout the Koryŏ period, many male royals either became monks or assumed the mother’s surname. In the cases of forty-one out of seventy-nine lay royals (excluding those who are known to have died without heirs) for whom the Koryŏ royal genealogy (Koryŏ sŏngwŏnnok) records no descendant, it states that the descendants adopted a maternal surname.66 Except for Wang U, his two sons, and the female Wangs, the court sought to exterminate the royal Wangs, however they were defined or understood, even prohibiting the use of the surname Wang. On the day of the third massacre, May 20 on Kŏje, the court ordered that any other Wang apprehended elsewhere in the country be killed, and this campaign lasted for two decades.67 Recorded cases of victims are reportedly illegitimate-son descent lines. Six days later, on May 26, the court even ordered those who had been granted the surname Wang by the Koryŏ dynasty and the descendants of such Wangs to revert to their original surnames. Other Wangs, even those not of royal descent, were to use their maternal surnames.68 The court spared the female Wangs—all three daughters of Kongyang and all five daughters of Wang U survived the massacre. Enfeoffed as princesses in 1390 after Kongyang ascended the throne (1389) and betrothed as teenagers, his three daughters were (1) Sungnyŏng Kungju (ca. 1370–fl. 1390), (2)

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

27

Chŏngsin Kungju (ca. 1372–fl. 1421), and (3) Kyŏnghwa Kungju (ca. 1373– fl. 1390). On the day Kongyang was deposed, T’aejo’s henchmen killed the husbands of the two younger princesses; their sister’s husband, who was a royal Wang and a distant patrilineal cousin, would die later with other male Wangs during the May 1394 massacre. Whereas the death years of her elder and younger sisters are unknown, we know that Chŏngsin Kungju lived at least until 1421, attracting the court’s attention. Among U’s five daughters, the second daughter, Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju (ca. 1381–1449), who was married to Yi Pangbŏn (the Muan Taegun [1381–1398], the ill-fated seventh son of T’aejo), and the youngest daughter would outlive all other Wangs as well as most of their family’s persecutors.69 Not a small number of even male Wangs probably survived. Those who were in seclusion may not have been aware of the orders of the court. Others who sensed what was coming might have gone into hiding before the massacre. Various stories claim that the Wangs who survived the massacre changed their surnames. In reference to such accounts, the official position of the Kaesŏng Wang today is that none of the changes have been substantiated.70 Also, at least in the case of the present-day Namyang Chŏn, their claim of descent from Wang Kang, who had been banished to Kongju before dying on Kŏje, is patently false. On close examination, the claimed connection reveals irreconcilable chronological discrepancies.71 In contrast, the case of an Ok lineage that reportedly reclaimed the surname Wang in 1918 is intriguing.72 To begin with, the surname Ok was already in existence in the early Koryŏ period as an indigenous surname (t’osŏng) of Ŭiryŏng, Kyŏngsang Province, and as of 2000 in South Korea, the Ŭiryŏng Ok account for 19,368 out of 22,964 Oks.73 By the mid-Chosŏn period, a Kaesŏng Wang family originally from Kwach’ŏn was thriving in Ŭiryŏng as a local elite lineage, distinct from the Ŭiryŏng Ok in Ŭiryŏng and Kŏje. The Origins of Descent Groups (Ssijok wŏllyu), compiled in the seventeenth century, records Wang Ŏnbak (n.d.)—a fifth-generation descendant of Wang Mi and the alleged father of the founder of the Ŭiryŏng branch of the Kaesŏng Wang, Wang Chiil (n.d.)—as heirless (muhu).74 The 1798 Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, however, records Chiil as Ŏnbak’s only son and the first member of the lineage to be buried in Tansŏng, about twenty-eight kilometers west of Ŭiryŏng, where Chiil’s only grandson, Wang Sŏ (n.d.), was the lineage’s first member to be buried.75 The 1918 Kaesŏng Wang genealogy notes that Chiil moved from Kwach’ŏn to Tansŏng.76 In fact, in 1804 when the Ŭiryŏng Ok compiled its first comprehensive genealogy based on the records of six individual branches,

28

Chapter 1

the compilers declared that the story of surname change from Wang to Ok was baseless.77 All the same, we can plausibly say that at least some surviving Wangs changed their surnames to Ok, as more than half of today’s Ŭiryŏng Ok in South Korea have their roots on Kŏje, one of the three internment sites before the 1394 massacre. Thereafter in the Chosŏn period, some Oks regarded Pansŏng, an alternative name of Kŏje, as their ancestral seat. However, none of the late Koryŏ–early Chosŏn ancestors that the Ok genealogy records as highlevel civil officials appear in standard dynastic histories. Furthermore, a source listing the majority of Chosŏn Korea’s elite descent lines, the two-volume Comprehensive Genealogy of Ten Thousand Surnames (Mansŏng taedongbo) published in 1931, does not include the Oks—not even in the “continuation volume” (sokp’yŏn) published in 1933 to accommodate the genealogical claims of vocal yet less distinguished descent lines. Well into the mid-Chosŏn period, the Oks are poorly documented. Even in the case of the military examination, the participation base of which was socially more diverse than that of the civil, licentiate, and technical examinations, not a single Ok-surnamed military examination graduate is known before 1637, when a Kyŏngju Ok, who was a freedman (myŏnch’ŏn) from Samga in Kyŏngsang and a son of a Loyal and Righteous Guard (Ch’ungŭiwi), and a Ŭiryŏng Ok palace sentinel (Sumunjang, various ranks), who was a son of a commoner infantryman (chŏngbyŏng) from Kimhae, also in Kyŏngsang, were 2 among the 5,536 men who passed the military examination that year. Up to 85 percent of the passers were manumitted slaves who had earlier defended Fort Namhan when it was under Manchu siege.78 Although the Ŭiryŏng Ok account for most of the Oks today in South Korea, seven other ancestral seats are represented among the fifteen Oks who are known to have passed the military examination in the remainder of the Chosŏn period.79 Moreover, some late Koryŏ–early Chosŏn figures that the Oks today claim as their ancestors are possibly the Wangs who appear in various primary sources. For example, the given name of Ok Andŏk (1309–n.d.), as recorded in the Ŭiryŏng Ok genealogy, is written with same characters as that of a historical figure of unknown ancestry, Wang Andŏk (n.d.–1392), who was a middle-aged senior military commander as of 1363 and active during the final decades of the Koryŏ. The Ŭiryŏng Ok genealogy records Ok Saon (1351– 1413), who passed the civil examination in 1389 (an examination roster records him as Wang Saon), as a son of Ok Andŏk, and according to an early twentieth-century encyclopedia, at the end of Koryŏ, Saon and his family moved

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

29

to the island of Kŏje. Also, an examination roster records an early Chosŏn civil examination passer, Ok Ko (1382–1436), as the son of a local magistrate (Kammu, 6a or 6b), Ok Sami (1355–n.d.), who the modern Ŭiryŏng Ok genealogy records as Saon’s brother. Comprehensive Genealogy of Korean Descent Groups (Chosŏn ssijok t’ongbo) records Ko as a Pansŏng Ok.80 While surviving Wangs sought safety one way or another, T’aejo stressed a clean break from the past. Two months after the massacre, on July 22, 1394, he declared in his royal instruction (kyoji) regarding governance that heaven had elevated him and exterminated the Wangs for the benefit of the people.81 Also, preparations to move the court away from Kaesŏng were well under way, and on November 29 T’aejo took up residence in Seoul. All the same, the king, a devout Buddhist, turned to religion to deal with his conscience as a benevolent ruler and to ensure the overall well-being of the new dynasty by addressing the needs of the living and the dead alike.82 Earlier, on August 13, 1394, he had ordered the performance of rituals to pray for the vanquished Wangs and commissioned four sets of the Lotus Sutra (Sanskrit Saddharma Puṇḍ arīka Sūtra, Ko. Pŏphwagyŏng) calligraphed in gold—to be kept at temples offering prayers for the Wangs.83 One of the most influential of all Mahāyāna sutras, the Lotus Sutra teaches that even after his apparent physical death, Buddha remains real and capable of communicating with the world.84 On March 15, 1395, T’aejo ordered that the Ritual of Water and Land be held every spring and autumn at three sites for the Wangs who had perished: Kwanŭm Hermitage on Kanghwa, Kyŏnam Temple in Kŏch’ang near Kŏje, and Samhwa Temple in Samch’ŏk.85 According to a legend documented by the turn of the twentieth century, after T’aejo had earlier shut down Kyŏnam and other temples that used to be patronized by the Wangs, a wailing noise emanated all day and night from a large rock facing Kyŏnam that shed torrential sweat and shook mountains nearby. Upon hearing this, T’aejo granted 150 kyŏl of land to the temple and sent incense every second and tenth lunar months for the Ritual of Water and Land.86 In the meantime, the Koryŏ ritual heir, Wang U, and his two sons remained vulnerable to attacks from officials intent on killing them, too. On May 14, 1395, Censorate officials memorialized T’aejo to punish the father and his sons. Contending that the thankless Wangs had betrayed the king’s magnanimity with a treasonous conspiracy before suffering their well-deserved sentence of extermination and that U had been the leader, the officials urged the king to forestall any trouble that might result from the mercy he had shown toward U. Also, noting that worrisome rumors from the north stemming from

30

Chapter 1

deteriorating relations with the Ming court suggested that U and his sons might flee to the Ming and that the Wangs’ conspiracy was the cause of unseasonable hail and rain, the memorial requested that the three men be interned at Kanghwa, but T’aejo refused.87 On the following day, the king again refused to heed the same advice from the Censorate.88 Leading a precarious existence, U died a little less than two years later on March 23, 1397, apparently from natural causes. Mindful of U’s status as the ritual heir of the vanquished dynasty, T’aejo ordered a proper funeral and honored him with a posthumous name (siho) in spite of the Censorate’s opposition.89 Other generous gestures toward the line of ritual heirs followed, albeit not immediately. Seven months later, on October 30, 1397, the court promoted the surviving elder son, Supreme General No Cho (formerly Wang Cho), to the highest court rank, transferred to him his father’s enfeoffment title, Kwiŭi Kun, with the Majŏn land that came with it, and restored his original surname, Wang.90 Though unrecorded in the veritable records, Cho and his younger brother had assumed their mother’s surname, No, presumably per the court’s order in May 1394. Also, sometime in 1397, the king ordered construction of a shrine to house the spirit tablet of Koryŏ T’aejo at the site of the former Angam Temple, thus marking the beginning of the Sungŭijŏn.91 According to a legend documented by 1705, before ascending the throne, Koryŏ T’aejo enjoyed visiting the edifice. After his accession, he made it the designated temple to perform prayers for himself, and, at the time of the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change, Angam Temple housed his portrait.92 Another story, also in existence by the late Chosŏn, relates that during a trip between Kaesŏng and Ch’ŏrwŏn, the second capital of Emperor Kungye (r. 900–918) of T’aebong (901–918), whom he served before overthrowing him, T’aejo rested and entertained himself at Angam Temple, especially appreciating the exquisite beauty of the scenery. Upon ascending the throne, T’aejo established a shrine at Angam. During the shrine’s construction, T’aejo appeared in the dreams of temple monks many times. Interpreting the dreams as warnings, the monks hurriedly moved various Buddha statues and ritual objects to another location. As soon as they were done, a violent storm blew the temple into the Imjin River, and the awed clergy built another shrine in honor of T’aejo at the site of their former shelter.93 Besides the line of ritual heirs, the court apparently spared other Wangs and even allowed them to remain in officialdom after the 1394 massacre, somehow not regarding them as bona fide Koryŏ royals. On August 17, 1397, the court stripped former inspector (Kam, 4a?) of the Office of Editorial Review

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

31

(Kyosŏgwan) Wang Mi of his credentials after a scandal. Reportedly, when Mi was having an affair with his female slave, his wife killed the slave and dumped her body on the roadside. When the Ministry of Punishments sought to arrest the wife for the murder, Mi ran away with her.94 Far removed from the main line of Koryŏ royal succession, Mi nonetheless belonged to the aristocracy. Both he and his well-documented father, Executive of the Department of the Chancellery (Munhabu Ch’ansŏngsa, 2a) Wang Pongmyŏng (fl. 1359–1388), married daughters of prominent aristocratic officials of the P’ap’yŏng Yun and Yŏhŭng Min descent groups, respectively.95 Also, Mi’s younger brother, Administrator of the Department of Chancellery (Chi Munhabusa, 2b) Wang Hŭng (n.d.–1401), married his daughter to King U, and, after his death, she remarried a high-ranking aristocratic official, Yu Ŭnji (1369–1441). Wang Mi and his immediate family members were the exception, and until 1413, the state continued its hunt for royal Wangs. On December 20, 1397, the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments beheaded Wang Paegan (Mongolian Bayan, n.d.–1397), Wang Yŏn’gŭm (n.d.–1397), and Wang Kŭmman (n.d.–1397), all reportedly illegitimate children (sŏŏl) of royal Wangs, after interrogating them about changing their names and traveling in Seoul and outside of it.96 Seven days later, on December 27, the Ministry executed a lowborn-status illegitimate child (ŏl) of a royal Wang, Wang Yaksano (“slave of Bhaiṣajyaguru,” n.d.–1397) by strangulation.97 Even those wrongly apprehended as royal Wangs underwent interrogation. On February 10, 1398, the court interrogated Wang Hŭngdo (fl. 1398) after an informant claimed that the individual, an illegitimate son of a Koryŏ royal, had changed his surname to Hwang. Subsequent investigation revealed that the accused was actually a high official’s former slave who had assumed the Wang surname in order to shirk his obligations as slave even before changing his surname again, from the by-then-condemned Wang surname to Hwang. Although Wang Hŭngdo himself was not punished, the court punished by caning and banishment the county magistrate who had allowed Wang to move to another locale after changing his surname to Hwang.98 Amid the state’s continuing hunt for remaining Wangs, the line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ came to an end. In October 1398, when Chosŏn T’aejo’s ambitious fifth son, Yi Pangwŏn, the future King T’aejong, killed his two half brothers, who were favored by their father, and all those supporting them, the ritual heir Wang Cho and his brother Wang Kwan also died because their sister was married to one of Pangwŏn’s half brothers. The veritable records simply state that the two brothers died.99 Considering that Pangwŏn and his

32

Chapter 1

troops killed his half brothers in cold blood, it is likely that both Cho and Kwan suffered the same fate. Distraught T’aejo abdicated in favor of his unambitious second son, who was the eldest surviving son, but Pangwŏn remained the actual power holder.100 Desiring to get away from Seoul, the site of fratricidal conflict, the new king, Chŏngjong, moved the capital back to Kaesong. In February 1400, after Pangwŏn defeated a full brother who was standing in his way to the throne, Chŏngjong, who had sons only by concubines, formally designated Pangwŏn as the heir to the throne. In April Pangwŏn implemented an edict, issued in the king’s name, that abolished private armies, placing the troops under centralized command. While dealing with weightier political matters, Chŏngjong’s court continued honoring Koryŏ, although the line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ was now extinct. On June 1, 1399, Chŏngjong ordered the Ministry of Rites to enshrine the spirit tablets of the eight greatest Koryŏ rulers: T’aejo, Hyejong, Sŏngjong, Hyŏnjong, Munjong, Wŏnjong, Ch’ungnyŏl, and Kongmin.101 Later in the year on November 16, when the by-then former king T’aejo visited Kaesŏng, the kingdom’s capital again since April 13, the court ordered a Ritual of Water and Land performed for Kongmin; T’aejo’s first wife, Queen Sinŭi (1337–1391); T’aejo’s second wife, Queen Sindŏk (1356–1396); and the dead sons and sons-in-law of T’aejo and the Wangs.102 Ascending the throne in November 1400 upon figurehead Chŏngjong’s abdication, T’aejong reigned as one of the strongest monarchs in Korean history. In December 1402, he suppressed a rebellion by Cho Saŭi (n.d.–1403), a maternal relative of the two half brothers whom T’aejong had killed in 1398.103 Then, in 1410 and 1416, T’aejong purged and executed his wife’s brothers, considering them disloyal.104 Bolstering his authority, T’aejong reorganized the central bureaucracy; facilitated tax collection by circulating a new form of currency; implemented a system of identification tags (hop’ae) to keep a more accurate count of the number of households; and set up a drum, Sinmun’go, at a palace gate tower for anyone to use to appeal a legal ruling. At the same time, T’aejong sought to propagate an official account of the past by commissioning compilation of the Abbreviated History of Korea (Tongguk saryak) and the History of Koryŏ, both of which would remain influential throughout the remainder of the Chosŏn period. Externally, Korea’s relations with Ming China stabilized, thanks to his earlier meeting with the Yongle emperor (r. 1402–1424) before their respective accessions and the mutual respect that had developed between the two since then.105

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

33

The improving position of the surviving Wangs reflects progress that T’aejong made in consolidating his power. In fact, as early as January 1401, T’aejong expressed admiration for Chŏng Mongju and other scholar-officials who had resisted the dynastic change as loyal subjects of Koryŏ,106 but his attitude did not immediately benefit the Wangs, among whom even females led a precarious existence. On January 26, 1403, the court banished Wang U’s second daughter, Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju, who was the widow of one of T’aejong’s half brothers who had been killed in 1398, and the widow of Kongyang’s crown prince, who had been strangled in 1394, when the Office of the Inspector-General reported that the two women were complaining excessively.107 At the end of the year, on December 28, the court also banished Madam Wang (fl. 1388–1403), who was the daughter of Wang Hŭng and formerly concubine of King U, and her second husband, Yu Ŭnji, after T’aejong ordered them to divorce. A remonstrance from the Office of the Censor-General (Sagan’wŏn) found the union despicable on the grounds that Yu, a former high official in the Koryŏ dynasty, had married a former Koryŏ monarch’s concubine, who, for her part, should have maintained her dignity as a royal widow.108 By November 2, 1405, though, T’aejong deemed the political turmoil of dynastic transition behind him, and he transferred the capital back to Seoul from Kaesŏng.109 T’aejo’s death in 1408 in Seoul marked the end of an era, and the son began extending benevolent gestures toward the female Wangs. For instance, on April 1, 1409, the court bestowed thirty sŏk of rice and beans upon Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju.110 Two years later, on April 21, 1411, she received twenty sŏk of rice.111 T’aejong’s earlier observation, on February 25, 1410, that among the Wangs even the young children had all died,112 presaged his decision in 1413 to end the persecution of former royals.

Edict of Toleration, December 23, 1413 The arrest of a twenty-se Wang man on December 8, 1413, marks the beginning of the end of the persecution. The case opened when Administrator of Memorials (Chisinsa, 3a) Kim Yŏji (1370–1425) reported that his retainer and neighbor in Kongju, Yi Milch’ung (fl. 1413), had sent a letter inquiring about what to do with a nephew, Wang Kŏŭromi (also known as Wang Kŏruŭm and Wang Mi, 1394–n.d.), whom his sister had mothered as a concubine of Wang Hyu (ca. 1362–1394, a son of Wang Sŭng, the Sunhŭng Kun, and thus a descendant of Koryŏ monarch Hyŏnjong), given that Kŏŭromi was now of the age to wear an identification tag (hop’ae). Kŏŭromi is said to have survived the

34

Chapter 1

1394 massacre because his mother was of mean origin and ignorant. Initially claiming that performing ancestral rites for his grandmother had prevented him from reporting this immediately after receiving the letter six days earlier, Kim later admitted that he had burned the letter, afraid that someone might see it. In response, T’aejong observed that hiding any surviving royal Wang violated the laws of the state, and the court immediately began an investigation, assigning the case to three officials, one each from the State Council (Ŭijŏngbu), the Ministry of Punishments, and the Censorate to assist the State Tribunal (Sun’gŭmsa).113 In investigating rumors that both Wang Hyu and another royal Wang descended from Hyŏnjong had surviving sons, the court had the State Tribunal interrogate twenty-four individuals. Regarding the rumor that Hyu had two sons who had become the monks Sŏngun (fl. 1413) and Sŏngyŏ (fl. 1413), the officials interrogated Hyu’s wife, who was an Andong Kwŏn (fl. 1413); Hyu’s sister’s husband, U Hongbu (ca. 1356–1414); U Hongbu’s two sons; Hyu’s two sons-in-law, Yi Un (fl. 1413–1440) and Yi Paengnyŏ (fl. 1413); Hyu’s older brother’s son-in-law, Yun Ŭn (ca. 1381–n.d.); and the two monks’ teacher. Both monks, however, testified that they were actually slaves of Hyu’s grandmother, and the teacher corroborated this. Regarding the rumor that Wang Kyu, the Suyŏn Kun (ca. 1340–1394), who was a twelfth-generation descendant of Hyŏnjong through the Chŏnggan Wang, also had a surviving son, the officials interrogated Kyu’s widow and her son-in-law, Kwak Chonjung (ca. 1366–1428), and the investigation concluded that the rumor was false. Twice interrogating Yi Milch’ung using torture, the officials obtained no testimony to substantiate the rumor, and Kŏŭromi stated that it was impossible for his father to have left behind two additional surviving sons. At that point, some officials urged that there be a face-to-face interrogation of Kim Yŏji and Kŏŭromi, but T’aejong did not approve. When the investigating officials reported that, according to Milch’ung’s testimony, a legitimate son of Hyu had resided in Ch’ungju in Ch’ungchŏng Province, as a Buddhist monk, but that now no one knew his whereabouts, the State Council ordered every province to review the birthplace and ancestry of each of its monks between fifteen and forty se in age.114 Eleven days later, on December 19, T’aejong issued a landmark edict of toleration. Opening his argument with the observation that prolonged incarceration during the cold season would be unbearable for the accused, he ordered a prompt verdict for everyone implicated. Contending that historically no dynasty had ever failed to enfeoff the descendants of its predecessor to per-

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

35

form ancestral rites, T’aejong declared that failure to do so violates a ruler’s “virtue of liking life” (hosaeng chi tŏk) and that he would preserve the progeny of Koryŏ for this reason. When the officials pleaded that at least the case of Monk Sŏngyŏ be investigated, he insisted that no one should be punished even if anyone among them—Wang Kŏŭromi and the two monks—turned out to be Hyu’s son. The Ministry of Punishments and the Censorate nonetheless urged that Kŏŭromi be executed. Noting that, in accordance with the principles of heaven and earth, dynasties rise thanks to their ancestors’ virtues and fall thanks to their lack of virtue, T’aejong expressed confidence in his family: “If the Yis are in accord with the Way (To, Ch. Dao), then what do we have to fear even if there are a hundred Wangs? If the Yis lack virtue, then even if there are no Wangs left, would someone else not arise with the Mandate of Heaven? Exterminating the Wangs at the beginning of the dynasty was not T’aejo’s intention. This matter is not to be discussed again.” T’aejong then issued an edict guaranteeing that whether a Wang comes forward on his own accord or is apprehended upon someone’s report, he shall enjoy a life in peace at a locale of his preference.115 The State Tribunal recommended harsh punishments for those whom it deemed especially culpable, but to no avail. The investigating officials argued that four among the accused who knew the identity of Wang Kŏŭromi and yet offered him shelter were subject to punishment by beheading. The investigators also contended that U Hongbu and nineteen others who were aware of the situation yet did not report it to the authorities were subject to punishment by a hundred strokes of caning and banishment to a locale three thousand ri (approximately 1,178 kilometers) outside the capital. In response, T’aejong questioned the logic of punishing others when Wang Kŏŭromi was being released, and he ordered that the sentence of each one implicated be commuted by two degrees—reasoning that not punishing them at all might set a bad precedent vis-à-vis informing the state of critical matters. T’aejong nonetheless made an exception with Kim Yŏji, merely dismissing him from office, stressing that, in the end, he had informed the court of Yi Milch’ung’s inquiry.116 Still challenging the edict of toleration, three days later, on December 22, the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments urged in vain that T’aejong execute Wang Kŏŭromi. Observing that preventing future trouble by dealing with the root cause in advance is the unchanging way of the state, they memorialized T’aejong to punish the apprehended. While acknowledging that T’aejo, the dynastic founder, had earlier desired to allow the Wangs to reside

36

Chapter 1

where they wished, the memorial reminded T’aejong that ultimately a treasonous plot by the former royals compelled his father and the officials to exterminate the Wangs. If making Kŏŭromi a piece of “meat on the chopping block” was not feasible, the memorial contended, then, at the least, the nearly sixty individuals in custody must be punished to prevent any future trouble. When the Censorate and the Ministry memorialized the throne again, this time specifically requesting harsher punishment for Kim Yŏji, T’aejong refused on the grounds that he had already been dismissed. The king also ordered them not to bring up the matter again.117 Not complying, on the following day, December 23, the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments again urged T’aejong to kill Wang Kŏŭromi, and he again refused. Advancing the rationale, by then too often used, of preventing any future trouble for the state, the memorial stressed the differences between large China and small Korea as well as the uniqueness of each historical circumstance to counter T’aejong’s claim that history provides no precedent for a succeeding dynasty regarding the extermination of former royals. In response, this time T’aejong declared that he would not punish the remaining Wangs, who themselves had done nothing wrong, and that exterminating the descendants of a previous dynasty was a deed befitting a foolish ruler. Even though T’aejong commanded the Censorate and the Ministry not to bring up the matter again, they requested that Kim Yŏji be punished, and the king refused.118 T’aejong won the tug of war. Later on the same day, when the State Tribunal informed him that the five people interrogated did not know whether Wang Sŏ, the Iksŏng Puwŏn’gun (n.d.–1394), who was a thirteenth-generation descendant of Hyŏnjong through the Chŏnggan Wang, had a descendant, T’aejong ordered their release. When informed that twenty-two people who knew about the Wang descendants and yet did not report them had been imprisoned, he commuted their sentences by two degrees. When briefed on a report by an informant that the surname of Kŏidu (Mongolian Qaidu? fl. 1413) was Wang, T’aejong ordered that the latter be released and that the informant’s punishment be commuted by two degrees. When told about an individual still in custody in conjunction with the investigation of whether Wang Yanggwi’s (n.d.–1394) son Kŏidu was alive, the king released the man. When the State Tribunal noted that the crime of Kŏŭrgŭm (fl. 1413), among those who gave shelter to Wang Kŏŭromi, was punishable by beheading, T’aejong commuted the sentence by two degrees. With regard to Wang Kŏŭromi’s wife’s sister, who reportedly claimed ignorance of the whole matter on the ground that

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

37

Kŏŭromi changed his name to Yi Yang, the king commuted her sentence by two degrees. For falsely reporting that the Suyŏn Kun Wang Kyu’s son was still alive, T’aejong added hard labor to a former official’s imprisonment and caning sentences, while substituting a hard labor sentence for the widow of a royal Wang, the Hoewŏn Kun (given name unknown, n.d.–1394), for a sentence of caning.119 Among the accused, Wang Kŏŭromi became the progenitor of a new line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ, as we will discuss in chapter 2. By the time the anti-Wang persecution ended in December 1413, hundreds of Wangs must have died at a minimum, and a number of legends purport to recount the fate of the Wangs. In one story that is openly critical of Chosŏn T’aejo, Koryŏ loyalists confront the usurper. On August 4, 1392, upon taking the throne, he summons the royal Wangs and officials. Declaring that heaven has elevated him as the fortunes of Koryŏ has waned, T’aejo orders them to become his subjects. When the Koryŏ loyalists loudly retort in unison that they cannot stoop so low as to become subjects of Koryŏ’s enemy with whom they cannot stand together under the heaven above, the enraged king banishes all the Wangs and pro-Koryŏ officials to Kanghwa, Samch’ŏk, and Kŏje, and he later kills them.120 This story appears in various editions of the Record of Tonghak Temple (Tonghakchi), and none that I have consulted date further back than the turn of the twentieth century. Of course, this does not preclude the possibility that the story had been transmitted orally for some time. In addition to such a story that portrays T’aejo in an unflattering light, various customs of Kaesŏng and its vicinity reflect the popular sentiment against him. When preparing choraengi ttŏkkuk, a soup of sticky rice cake indigenous to Kaesŏng, women squeeze and cut off a lump, pretending that it is T’aejo’s head, according to a popular legend. I have not seen a Chosŏn source that mentions this custom, which has survived only in the form of oral history. 121 For shaman rituals invoking the spirit of Ch’oe Yŏng (1316–1388), a famed military commander who resisted T’aejo’s coup against King U and ultimately suffered execution, residents of Kaesŏng and P’yŏngan Province boil a whole pig or wild boar as a sacrificial offering to Ch’oe. Noting that the subject of the curse was born in the year of the boar, the locals use T’aejo’s given name to refer to the food offering as “Sŏnggye meat” (sŏnggyeyuk) and the soup made with it as “Sŏnggye soup” (sŏnggyet’ang).122 I have yet to find a Chosŏn-era source that mentions the custom, which nonetheless must have been in existence for some time. In addition to poking fun at the usurper, some legends purport to explain how some Wangs survived. In one story dating at least as far back as the early

38

Chapter 1

eighteenth century, Koryŏ T’aejo appears in Chosŏn T’aejo’s dream after the 1394 massacre and scolds him: “Even though I benefited our people by uniting Korea (Samhan, “Three Han”), you have exterminated my descendants. Before long I will unleash my vengeance. I command you to be aware.” Chosŏn T’aejo wakes up shaken, and shortly thereafter he pardons the Wangs appearing on a page of the royal Wang genealogy.123 In another story, Koryŏ T’aejo appears in T’aejong’s dream and threatens: “If you do not stop killing the Wangs, then I will strike you with greater calamity.” After waking up, T’aejong takes no action, and about a month later, hundreds of army horses on the island of Cheju die from an unknown pestilence. Before long, the plague spreads north across the sea to Chŏlla, killing the livestock en masse.124 Only then does T’aejong stop persecuting the Wangs. The ancestors of most of the living Wangs, Wang Mi and Wang Hŭng, brothers who had changed their surname to that of their mother, Min, were now able to come out of hiding in Ch’ungju. I have yet to find this story in a written, pre-1910 source, but attribution of the end of the persecution to T’aejo’s remorse after having had an unusual dream and the tale of the two brothers coming out of hiding are known from writings dating at least as far back as the nineteenth century.125 Other accounts speak of the plight of surviving Wangs. According to folklore, many became cobblers. In discussing how his neighborhood had long been famous for cobblers, during a newspaper interview in 1924, a resident of Yŏn’gŏn subdistrict (tong) in the eastern part of Seoul within the city wall, related that, after the fall of Koryŏ, many Wangs took up the trade. Once the Yis had taken the country away from them, the Wangs wanted at least to make with their own hands all the shoes that would tread upon the land, the informant explained.126 Regardless of the veracity of the fate of the Wangs as articulated in legends such as this and when exactly such tales came into being, it is clear that the anti-Wang persecution in particular and the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change in general generated lasting, popular sympathy—articulated for centuries even after the official persecution of the Wangs ended.

From Toleration to Promotion, 1413–1450 Continuing to honor the legacies of Koryŏ, T’aejong insisted on maintaining the state-sanctioned Ritual of Water and Land for the perished Wangs. When he received memorials arguing against governmental sponsorship, T’aejong defended the status quo, emphasizing that a custom going back generations cannot be abolished easily. Initially held annually on the fifteenth day of sec-

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

39

ond lunar month, in 1415 the court changed the date to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.127 On this changed date, the court would continue to patronize the ritual until 1515, with a member of the Chosŏn royal house making offerings.128 T’aejong also posthumously honored the deposed last ruler of Koryŏ, Kongyang. In September 1416, following the recommendation of the Ministry of Rites, T’aejong promoted Kongyang in status from prince (kun) to king (wang) and dispatched an official with a prayer text and ritual goods to the tomb to offer a proper sacrifice.129 The gesture signified that Kongyang was now considered a legitimate king, who yielded the throne to T’aejong’s father, T’aejo, recipient of the Mandate of Heaven as the founder of a new dynasty. Unlike Kongyang’s immediate predecessors, U and Ch’ang, who were illegitimate occupants of the throne following Kongmin’s reign, according to official Chosŏn historiography, Kongyang was the legitimate successor to Kongmin and thus represented the continuation of Koryŏ before the dynastic change. In such a milieu, the last recorded case involving apprehended Wangs, all slaves, attracted T’aejong’s attention from late 1416 to early 1417. On November 19, 1416, the Censorate and the Ministry of Punishments instructed the State Tribunal (Ŭigŭmbu since 1414; formerly Sun’gŭmsa), to interrogate Wang Sangu (fl. 1416), a household slave captured after he ran away, and those who had helped him hide. According to a former magistrate of Kimhae, Yi Su (ca. 1380–1439), Wang was a slave, fathered by a royal Wang who had married Yi’s household slave.130 Four days later on November 23, the court released Sangu along with his younger brother, Wang Hwasang (fl. 1416). The court gave the two brothers and their offspring to their original owner, Yi Su, and also deliberated on punishment for those who had sheltered them, namely, degreeless scholars (haksaeng), Pak Hŭngmu (fl. 1416) and Yi Nansu (fl. 1416), and a private slave, Kim Yŏn (fl. 1416).131 Then, a month and a half later, on January 6, 1417, the State Tribunal arrested a former magistrate, Kang Wan (fl. 1417), and a degreeless scholar, Yi Sil (fl. 1413–1416). According to Yi Sil, as quoted by an informant, Kang had sheltered his wife’s brother, a royal Wang who had become a monk. After an investigation, however, the State Tribunal punished Yi Sil for falsely accusing Kang.132 The verdict effectively concluded the implementation of T’aejong’s edict of toleration, officially ending two decades of anti-Wang persecution. Although still active, in September 1418 T’aejong abdicated the throne in favor of his third son and heir, Sejong, who subsequently praised his father’s benevolence toward the Wangs as one of his many merits and virtues. When

40

Chapter 1

Chŏngjong died in 1419, Sejong’s officials, mindful of T’aejong, did not bother with a temple name. In contrast, on October 3, 1421, they beseeched the living T’aejong to accept an honorary title (chonho), which included preservation of Koryŏ’s legacy among a long list of his achievements. The officials praised T’aejong for venerating his own royal ancestors with utmost propriety and respect as well as for mercifully sparing the lives of descendants of the vanquished dynasty. Likely sensing that the end of his life was drawing near, T’aejong accepted the title.133 He died seven months later, on May 30, 1422.134 Groomed by T’aejong to ascend the throne, Sejong reigned for some three decades, arguably a golden age in Korean history. Initially, T’aejong, as the retired king, articulated the final voice on all matters, including the decision to execute Sejong’s father-in-law and supporters who were accused of treason. When ruling on his own, Sejong played a leading role in deliberations on such administrative matters as promulgating the Six Codes of Administration, institutional changes, and tax collection. Especially interested in branches of applied knowledge, Sejong established the Hall of Worthies (Chiphyŏnjŏn), which hosted the era’s brilliant young minds, such as Sŏng Sammun (1418– 1456) and Pak P’aengnyŏn (1417–1456), and produced such celebrated achievements as the invention of Han’gŭl, a phonetic alphabet; the promotion of an improved printing technology to facilitate knowledge propagation; and the introduction of observational instruments such as sundials, water clocks, and armillary spheres. At the same time, Sejong secured the borders and frontiers—repelling Jurchen raiders; establishing new counties and garrisons in the north; settling the region with farmers from the south; raiding the Wakō base, Tsushima; and designating the Three Ports (Samp’o) where Japanese with permits could participate in trade.135 Ruling a kingdom both externally and internally secure, Sejong continued his father’s policy of honoring Koryŏ’s legacy, though not uncritically. On October 28, 1425, when the State Council, the Six Ministries (Yukcho), and the Bureau of State Records (Ch’unch’ugwan) pointed out that honoring eight Koryŏ rulers was improper since the royal ancestral shrine (chongmyo) of a “feudal lord” (chehu) can honor only five (as distinct from that of the Son of Heaven which can honor seven), Sejong, after some discussion, decreased the number of Koryŏ honorees to four, namely, T’aejo, Hyŏnjong, Munjong, and Wŏnjong.136 Completed the following year, on December 31, the Amended Six Codes (Sok Yukchŏn) incorporated the new arrangement.137 Then, on September 9, 1428, Sejong approved the Ministry of Rites’ recommendation that two portraits and a statue of T’aejo, a portrait and a statue of Hyejong,

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

41

and portraits of Koryŏ merit subjects (kongsin), all located in Ch’ungch’ŏng or Chŏlla, be brought to Kaesŏng and buried alongside the respective royal tombs.138 A year and a half later, on March 30, 1430, when Sejong inquired about the number of Koryŏ tombs and learned that the identities of many were unknown, he ordered immediate repairs for the tomb chambers that had crumbled and also prohibited firewood gathering in the vicinity of each tomb.139 On August 18, 1437, Sejong ordered that King Kongyang’s portrait be moved from Ch’ŏngnyong Temple in Ansŏng to a Buddhist hermitage near his tomb in Koyang.140 Maintaining objectivity with regard to an old legend that the Wangs were a dragon’s progeny, during a royal lecture (kyŏngyŏn) on January 26, 1439, Sejong instructed his royal lecture commentator (Kŏmt’ogwan, 6b) to include the story verbatim in the History of Koryŏ then being compiled.141 In extending gestures of compassion toward the perished Wangs, Sejong was discriminating, and the Ritual of Water and Land is a case in point. On January 27, 1426, when Sangwŏn Temple in Kangwŏn, which was responsible for performing the Ritual of Water and Land, suffered damage from a fire, the king ordered that performance of the ritual there be discontinued.142 Nonetheless, the court continued to sanction performance of the Ritual of Water and Land elsewhere in honor of the deceased Wangs, and members of the Chosŏn royal house gave offerings. In 1433, when the Hyoryŏng Taegun (1396–1486), the younger of Sejong’s two older brothers, was the donor, the ritual held along the banks of the Han River attracted a sea of aristocrats and commoners alike, filling the roads.143 On May 12, 1449, Sejong ordered that the shrine for the Ritual of Water and Land be moved from Chin’gwan Temple in Seoul to Yŏngguk Temple in Yŏngdong, Ch’ungch’ŏng. Pointing out that repairing the shrine would also require fixing the main hall of Chin’gwan, which was not easily accessible, the minister of rites and other officials outlined the merits of Yŏngguk Temple. When the minister suggested that moving the shrine would be ill-advised if it had indeed been established by T’aejo as asserted by a Chin’gwan monk, Sejong pointed out that T’aejo had established the shrine for the Ritual of Water and Land for the Wangs, whereas the current rituals at the shrine in veneration of Yi royal ancestors had begun only after he (Sejong) had ascended the throne. When the officials agreed that this distinction made it feasible to move the shrine, Sejong ordered that the matter be discussed further with the monks concerned.144 In addition to preserving rituals to pray for the perished Wangs, Sejong also continued T’aejong’s policy of extending royal gestures of benevolence toward the surviving royal Wangs, all female. On February 14, 1421, when Chŏngsin

42

Chapter 1

Kungju pleaded for better upkeep of her parents’ joint tomb, she reminded the court that it had earlier promoted her parents’ posthumous standing to king and queen in 1416; selected an official name for the tomb; allocated a household to take care of the tomb; designated eight Koryŏ monarchs to be honored at the shrine in Majŏn; and ordered the Ministry of Rites to devise regulations accordingly. She then pointed out that the Ministry still had not done all that had been decreed earlier and that the local population still freely cultivated the land and cut down trees in the tomb’s vicinity. Sejong granted her request for a household of slaves near the tomb to be entrusted with the upkeep of the tomb. The king also pressed the Ministry to devise appropriate regulations and put them into effect.145 In the same spirit, on September 6, 1431, Sejong bestowed additional “chaste widow’s land” (susinjŏn) upon her cousin, Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju.146 According to the Rank Land Law of 1391, the state allowed a rank land recipient’s widow who did not remarry to keep all or half of that land out of respect for her chastity—all, if there were offspring; half, if there were not.147 At the same time, the court saw some room to be suspicious of the surviving female Wangs. On August 14, 1424, an ad hoc government agency in charge of securing virgins and horses as demanded by Ming China, the Tribute Payment Commission (Chinhŏnsaek), advised Sejong to exclude from consideration, in addition to members of the Chosŏn royal house, the Wangs, foreigners who had immigrated to Korea, and daughters of those who had committed crimes against the state, and the king followed this recommendation. 148 When, on May 12, 1425, Sejong indicated to Administrator of Memorials Kwak Chonjung that it would not be a problem to select a Wang as the bride for the crown prince as long as her family was neither treasonous nor rebellious, the official praised the king’s stance as sagacious.149 On April 21, 1426, when again discussing the selection criteria for virgins as demanded by the Ming, the agency advised Sejong to exclude from consideration the Wangs, even if they were loyal to the Chosŏn, and the daughters of those who had committed crimes against the state, and the king followed the recommendation.150 As the wives of members of scholar-officialdom, the female Wangs whose behaviors were deemed reproachable did not go unnoticed. For instance, after senior official and merit subject Kim Chŏnggyŏng (1345–1419) died in August 1419, court historians criticized his widow, Hwahye T’aekchu (1374–1468)—a daughter of Wang Hwa, the Namp’yŏng Kun, who had been convicted of treasonous conspiracy and executed in 1394—for marrying three times. Before a year had passed after Kim’s death, reportedly, she was indulging herself in such

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

43

pleasures as visiting a Buddhist temple and having her slaves sing and dance, earning the contempt of those all around.151 Her marital history would continue to haunt her and her son by Kim even during succeeding reigns. The issue of female chastity as one of the Three Cardinal Virtues of Confucianism and the question of her son’s entitlement to the full prerogatives of an aristocratic scholar-official would increasingly fuel debate. Besides female chastity, another one of the Three Cardinal Virtues, namely, filial piety, as expected of a woman toward her parents-in-law, concerned the court, and a case involving a female Wang is revealing. Reportedly, on the day of her mother-in-law’s sixtieth birthday celebration, Madam Wang (fl. 1443), whose family background is uncertain,152 expressed jealousy toward her husband Kim Poin’s (fl. 1443) concubine, a courtesan (kisaeng). Madam Wang ran furiously into her room without offering the congratulatory toast to her mother-in-law’s longevity. On May 28, 1443, when Sejong ordered the State Council to discuss the case, the third state councilor (U ŭijŏng, 1a) recommended that the king order the couple to divorce, since her misconduct clearly constituted disobedience toward the wife’s parentsin-law, one of the Seven Grounds for Divorce (Ch’il kŏ chi ak). The state councilor also recommended, though, that if Madam Wang were to regret her wrongdoing and sincerely look after her mother-in-law, then after a thorough review of the case, the court could order the couple to reunite, with the king’s permission.153 Sejong tended to resist any suggestion of punishing individuals for what he deemed minor offenses, and exemplary cases involve some female Wangs. On August 31, 1427, Second Inspector (Chibŭi, 3b) Kim Chongsŏ (1383–1453) reported that when Kwak Chonjung had earlier become administrator of memorials, he had received from Madam Wang (fl. 1427), widow of Wang Kŏ, the Yŏngp’yŏng Kun, 200 sŏk of grain and ten slaves. Referencing conduct inappropriate for an official, Kim requested that Kwak be punished, but Sejong questioned the inappropriateness of receiving goods from a close relative. Declaring that criticizing a good, trustworthy official such as Kwak for such a trivial matter was not right, the king denied Kim’s request.154 Then, from November 29, 1427 to April 6, 1428, when a lengthy deliberation on a legal dispute over slaves and other household properties involving Madam Wang and other female Wangs consumed the court, Sejong ultimately commuted sentences recommended by the Office of the Inspector-General for various individuals, including local officials who were hesitant to reach a verdict on the case involving members of powerful families.155 Toward the end of his reign,

44

Chapter 1

on May 15, 1449, when the Office of the Inspector-General sought to censure Governor (Kwanch’alsa, 2b) of Hwanghae Sin Chagŭn (ca. 1388–1454) for the inappropriate conduct of his wife, who was the youngest daughter of Wang U, Sejong did not approve. Reportedly, when Sin was traveling to the province to take up his post, his wife’s lavish use of a palanquin, horses, and slaves violated propriety befitting her station.156 While female Wangs remained members of the Chosŏn aristocracy, the deaths of the last surviving members of the Koryŏ royal house marked the end of an era. No extant document records the death year of Chŏngsin Kungju, the only one among King Kongyang’s three daughters who is known to have been alive after the dynastic change and who lived until at least 1421. She had descendants through a son and a daughter. Her elder sister, Sungnyŏng Kungju, had descendants through a daughter, whereas the youngest princess, Kyŏnghwa Kungju, evidently died childless. As for the three princesses’ first cousins, the five daughters of Wang U, the death year of the eldest is unknown, but she had descendants through sons. U’s second daughter, Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju, who was married to Yi Pangbŏn, the Muan Taegun, was childless and died on August 7, 1449—having outlived by more than half a century her father, brothers, uncle, and only male first cousin. Upon receiving the report of her death, Sejong ordered that appropriate officials supervise her funeral.157 This was Sejong’s final recorded gesture of respect toward a royal Wang, as he himself died seven months later, on March 30, 1450. Death years of U’s third, fourth, and fifth daughters are unknown, and all died without male offspring.158 In the meantime, the Kaesŏng Wang who were far removed from the line of Koryŏ royal succession, the descendants of Wang Mi, both maintained a presence in Chosŏn officialdom and achieved local elite standing. Not only do genealogies show Mi’s immediate descendants holding positions during this period, but also some are well documented in official sources such as the veritable records. For example, Mi’s eldest son, Wang Hyogŏn (fl. 1424–1425), was a magistrate of Munhwa, Hwanghae, when, in 1424, the court caned him with 100 strokes and banished him to Chŏlla. Reportedly, when a powerful figure covered the tribute tax (kongnap) owed the central government for the Munhwa magistracy, Wang repaid him by levying from local taxpayers a rice tribute worth more than what the potentate had contributed. The court released Wang in the following year and allowed him to live in an “outer region” (oebang) of his convenience.159 Also, the younger of Hyogŏn’s two younger

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

45

brothers, Wang Hyoch’ung (n.d.), appears in the veritable records as a former senior eighth-rank civil official when he was posthumously honored in 1460 as a third-class minor merit subject (wŏnjong kongsin).160 He and a brother unmentioned in the veritable records are direct ancestors of more than 80 percent of the living Kaesŏng Wang today, and the story of the Wangs we will discuss in chapter 2 and later chapters is increasingly about them.161 Evidently from a different descent line, Wang Ki (fl. 1447) also achieved state-sanctioned distinction. Either a son of a Kaesŏng Wang who survived the massacre or possibly a survivor himself, Ki was living in Kimhae when, in 1447, he passed the classics licentiate (saengwŏn) examination. He does not appear in the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, however, and I have yet to find him in any document that might shed light on his ancestry or post-examination career. Given that the population of surviving Wangs as of the early fifteenth century presumably was small and that the brothers apprehended in 1416, Wang Sangu and Wang Hwasang, were sons of a royal Wang who had fathered them by a female slave of the Kimhae magistrate, it is plausible that Ki was a son of one of these brothers. As the Chosŏn kings tolerated the Wangs, the Koryŏ dynasty found its sympathizers even among mainstream Chosŏn scholar-officials such as Yi Maenggyun (1371–1440). A grandson of Yi Saek (1328–1396), a famed NeoConfucian scholar-official and a Koryŏ loyalist whose career and life ended shortly after the dynastic change, the younger Yi was one of many descendants who weathered the regime change well and constituted a leading descent group in terms of achieving prominent positions in Chosŏn officialdom. Having passed a Royal Academy (Kukchagam) examination when he was just thirteen se (1383) and the civil examination two years later (1385), Yi held a wide range of important civil posts both in the capital and outside it, and he visited Ming China three times (1421, 1425, and 1429) as either envoy (sa) or deputy envoy (pusa). He was the fourth state councilor (Chwa ch’ansŏng, 1b) in 1440, when the Office of the Inspector-General censured him after his wife, jealous of his fondness for their female slave, killed her. As his punishment, on July 18, the court banished him to Ubong, Hwanghae. He fell ill and was released on September 16, but nine days, at the age of seventy se, he died in Kaesŏng while on his way to Seoul.162 The following Classical Chinese poem of his, a seven-syllable regulated verse (ch’irŏn yulsi), “Reminiscing the Past at the Pine Capital” (Songgyŏng hoego), expresses Yi’s feelings toward the dynasty that his celebrated grandfather had served loyally:

46

Chapter 1

Five hundred years of royal airs have ended. What did mastering Pheasant Forest and Duck-Green River achieve? The heroes once gone, all splendor finished. Men of talent moved south, the plazas left empty. Among the mists and clouds over the royal gardens after gentle rain, And the grass and trees by tomb mounds in sunset glow— Who knows how much anguish harbors this guest of autumn? Things bygone yet persist, so long as the water eastward flows.163

In the poem, Yi reflects on the physical remnants of the vanquished dynasty and the fleeting quality of all except nature. Evoking “Pheasant Forest” (Kyerim), which is a sobriquet for Silla, and “Duck-Green River” referring to the Yalu (Ko. Amnok) River, so named because its color approached the green-blue sheen of a drake’s head, the poet reminds the audience of the prowess of Koryŏ T’aejo, who unified the land and pushed the northern border of his realm toward the Yalu. For five centuries, T’aejo and his descendants ruled a country from the capital, for which the poet uses its literary name, “Pine Capital” (Songgyŏng, Songdo), so named because the city’s northern slopes featured a pine forest that Kang Ch’ung (fl. eighth century?), a legendary ancestor of T’aejo, planted when a Silla geomancer advised that by doing so, the locale would produce someone who would unify Samhan.164 Images of a glorious palace, bustling market, and countless men of talent who served Koryŏ function as a tribute to the vanquished state—symbolized by empty plazas, “the mists and clouds over the royal gardens after gentle rain,” and “the grass and trees” by Koryŏ royal tombs at dusk in autumn, as the ageless estuaries flow eastward into the Imjin River. The poem is both a eulogy and a lamentation.

Summary While ostensibly a unilineal internal development, the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change entailed the “founding of a [new] state” as the latter struggled with the legacies of the “vanquished state” before coming to terms with them. In 1392, the largely endogamous aristocracy comprised descent groups that had been staffing officialdom for centuries, and the fate of the Wangs was a critical security issue for the new regime. Not only entrenched in the erstwhile Koryŏ political establishment that the Chosŏn leadership took over, the Wangs were also tied to other aristocratic families by kinship. The new regime chose to destroy the former royal house by killing its male members, defined at the

D e at h a n d R e s u r r e c t i o n

47

time as those from descent lines entitled to privileges as royals by the Koryŏ dynasty. Once the dust settled, the Chosŏn state could explain away its cruelty by pointing to the Mandate of Heaven or by blaming some officials for pressuring the benevolent dynastic founder to slaughter the Wangs. The court sanctioned regular performance of the Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land to pray for the spirits of perished Wangs and established the Sungŭijŏn, where a line of Wangs performed ancestral rites. Addressing Buddhist, Confucian, and shamanistic concerns, such rituals legitimized Chosŏn as the successor of Koryŏ in addition to appeasing the dead, who could wreak havoc in the realm of the living.

C h ap t er 2

Search for a Ritual Heir, 1450–1589

In the mid-fifteenth century, the balance of power began shifting in favor of aristocratic officialdom at the expense of the throne. The trend began with the poor health and untimely death of Sejong’s eldest son and successor, Munjong, who was a conscientious, scholarly king in the mold of his father, and the minority of Munjong’s only son and successor, Tanjong. Officialdom split into those rallying around Tanjong’s ambitious uncle and usurper, Sejo, and their adversaries, who supported Tanjong. Although similar in persona and ability to his grandfather, T’aejong, Sejo had to be more mindful of the merit subjects who had helped him rise to power. The throne’s overall dependence on such officials continued during the successive reigns of his second son, Yejong, who died prematurely, and Sejo’s eldest son’s son, Sŏngjong, who took his duties seriously. When Sŏngjong’s eldest son and successor, the tyrannical Yŏnsan Kun, lost the throne, the merit subjects who deposed him and elevated his half brother, Chungjong, constituted an oligarchy that was perhaps the most powerful since T’aejo’s reign. Chungjong tried to play one group off against another, a strategy that his successors continued until the triumph of the Patriarchs over all others in the early eighteenth century. After the brief reign of Chungjong’s eldest son and successor, the sickly Injong, two princes in succes-

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

49

sion ascended the throne as minors, namely, Injong’s half brother, Myŏngjong, who was under his mother’s sway throughout most of his reign, and Munjong’s nephew, Sŏnjo, whose reign saw partisan loyalties become hereditary— beginning with the Easterner (Tongin)-Westerner (Sŏin) split of 1575. Both in the capital and outside it, the boundary between the aristocracy and other status groups became sharper, not just in terms of access to political power and social standing but also in terms of economic privileges and obligations. The early Chosŏn principle of universal military service by all males from sixteen to sixty se in age, except for the lowborn, became weaker in the late fifteenth century. By the late sixteenth century, whether one fulfilled any type of military obligation to the state—either through active duty or by paying the military cloth (kunp’o) tax in lieu of it—had become a de facto marker distinguishing the aristocracy, which enjoyed exemption, from other classes. Besides the descendants of concubines, the children and grandchildren of women who remarried also became marginalized in many ways, such as being prohibited from taking the civil examination. At the same time, ancient customs such as uxorilocal marriage persisted, a reflection of the overall importance of a woman’s place in the kin group for determining individual socioeconomic standing. Countering such practices, Neo-Confucianism increasingly shaped the political discourse and social norms, although Buddhism, shamanism, and other belief systems remained popular, especially among nonelites and women. When Sŏngjong died in 1495 and the royal house sought to make arrangements for a Buddhist funeral as it had done for previous kings, many scholarofficials who insisted on what they deemed correct ritual norms successfully resisted. For sure, Buddhism enjoyed resurgence during Myŏngjong’s reign when his mother, Queen Munjŏng (1501–1565), wielded power and patronized Monk Pou (1515–1565), who actively promoted the religion. Upon the queen’s death, however, the Buddhist revival suffered a crushing blow when her political adversaries purged her followers, including Pou, and the Confucian cultural transformation continued. While the aristocracy remained loyal to the language of the canon, Classical Chinese, use of Han’gŭl facilitated the spread of Confucian morality even among the nonelites. Also, the elites increasingly stressed the “rectification of names” (chŏngmyŏng), a doctrine that defined relationships and behaviors for social harmony. From this perspective, legitimate heirship and proper rituals assumed paramount importance, and the Chosŏn dynasty took seriously its self-identification as the successor of Koryŏ.

50

Chapter 2

The Shrine and the New Ritual Heir, 1450–1485 Groomed to be a king for some two decades by his father, Sejong, Munjong reigned for just two years. Upon his accession, Munjong actively sought opinions from a broader group of his officials. Interested in history and military matters, Munjong sought to standardize and categorize the relevant body of knowledge, and during his reign the court finished compiling the History of Koryŏ, the Essentials of Koryŏ History, and the Mirror of Korea’s Military Matters (Tongguk pyŏnggam)—all essential readings for the subsequent Chosŏn literati. His poor health, however, prevented him from more actively shaping the political discourse as Sejong and T’aejong had done, and two increasingly antagonistic political camps emerged: one the many Hall of Worthies–background officials and others loyal to the young crown prince, the future King Tanjong, and the other supporters of Munjong’s ambitious brother, the future King Sejo.1 While continuing Sejong’s policy of honoring Koryŏ legacies, Munjong promoted an official historiography that legitimized the dynastic change at the expense of the last three Koryŏ rulers. On October 5, 1451, he consented when the Bureau of State Records requested that “deposed king (p’yewang) U” as rendered in the veritable records of King T’aejo be changed to “Sin U.”2 The change reflected the official line, dating back to 1389 when the Yi Sŏnggye faction executed U and his son Ch’ang, that U was not a son of Kongmin but rather the son of Sin Ton (1322–1371), a former Buddhist monk who had pursued radical reform (1365–1370) with Kongmin’s blessing before his downfall and execution. Also, the Chosŏn historiography depicted Ch’ang’s successor, Kongyang, as a true Wang whose ineptitude as a ruler led to Koryŏ’s loss of the Mandate of Heaven to Chosŏn. Asserting the legitimacy of Chosŏn as the successor of Koryŏ, Munjong ordered a search for a male Wang to resume the Koryŏ ancestral rites that had been discontinued in 1398. On November 23, 1451, Munjong articulated the throne’s oft-used claim that scheming officials were responsible for the 1394 massacre of the Wangs, whereas T’aejo had wanted to spare them. Praising T’aejong’s landmark 1413 edict, which ended the persecution, and Sejong’s desire to find a Wang, Munjong ordered that an official from the Hall of Worthies summon literati to explain the royal intention and draft an edict that called for securing a ritual heir of Koryŏ. First Royal Secretary (To sŭng ji, 3a) Yi Kyejŏn (1404–1459), a grandson of Yi Saek and a first cousin of Yi Maenggyun, observed that preserving the Wangs and allowing them to enjoy

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

51

comfortable livelihoods was true to both the interest of the state and human compassion, and he praised Munjong’s intention. The first royal secretary noted that the command mirrored the wills of ancient China’s King Tang (ca. 1675–ca. 1646 BCE), founder of the Shang dynasty, and King Wu (ca. 1046– ca. 1043 BCE), founder of the Zhou dynasty—both of whom preserved the descendants of the preceding dynasty through, respectively, the Qi (n.d.–445 BCE) and the Song states.3 Munjong issued an edict five days later, on November 28. The edict asserted that treating a descendant of the previous dynasty as the guest (pin) of the current dynasty is universally righteous and reiterating the king’s understanding of his predecessors’ benevolence toward the Wangs, and it emphasized his desire to take up what he viewed as Sejong’s unfinished task of finding a Wang to perform the ancestral rites. It noted that all officials in the capital and outside it were to participate in the search and dispatch any Wang found to the court with all due respect and propriety, and concluded with the instruction to the State Council to execute the royal command and widely publicize it.4 In four months, a descendant of an eleventh-century Koryŏ monarch surfaced. On March 24, 1452, the Ch’ungch’ŏng governor found in Kongju a certain Che Uji (later name Wang Sullye, ca. 1420–1485), a descendant of Hyŏnjong, the eighth Koryŏ monarch, and sent him a post station horse by which to come to Seoul. Munjong bestowed upon Uji some clothes, a hat, shoes, a saddled horse, rice, and beans.5 Reportedly, while tilling his plot, Uji, who was in hiding, having changed his surname and given name, got into an argument with a neighbor over the plot boundary, and the latter then informed the local authorities.6 Uji was an illegitimate son of Wang Mi (not to be confused with Wang Mi, the descendant of Hyoŭn T’aeja) who, formerly known as Kŏŭromi or Kŏruŭm, was a son of Wang Hyu by his second wife.7 In contrast to Hyu’s second wife of unknown family background, who was Mi’s mother, the first wife hailed from a prominent aristocratic family, and their daughters all married aristocrats (figure 2.1).8 The fact that the court could verify only the names of Uji’s father, grandfather, and their closest royal ancestor suggests that in early Chosŏn society an individual did not commit to memory more detailed genealogical information in the way the aristocrats would do in late Chosŏn, when the compilation of a genealogy covering an entire lineage, and sometimes a higher-order descent group, became widespread. Not held back by such considerations, Munjong moved swiftly to elevate Uji as the ritual heir of Koryŏ. The following day, on March 25, the king ordered Uji to perform the ancestral rites at the shrine devoted to select Koryŏ

Figure 2.1.  The Wang Sullye line of ritual heirs, 1452–1540. Note: The names of Sungŭijŏn superintendents are boldfaced and numbered.

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

53

rulers, the Sungŭijŏn, in Majŏn. When the State Council inquired whether the number of Koryŏ rulers to be venerated at the Sungŭijŏn should be eight or four, which depended upon the legal code being consulted, Munjong decreed that it should be four, according to the most recent set of laws, the Amended Six Codes. Munjong stipulated that Uji was to be treated with propriety and given a comfortable livelihood but without political authority or too many slaves, and he ordered the royal secretaries to report back to him after discussing the details with the State Council.9 Thirteen days later, on April 7, 1452, Munjong approved the State Council’s recommendations and ordered the Ministry of Rites to devise regulations accordingly. The State Council made twelve recommendations: 1. Execute Sejong’s order of 1449 to repair the Koryŏ shrine. 2. Provide supervision by the state and supplies for ancestral rites to be performed every spring and autumn. 3. Designate Koryŏ rulers of special merit for the rites. 4. Increase to six the number of households responsible for the upkeep of the shrine. 5. Name the shrine as a “hall” (chŏn), refer to the descendant performing ancestral rites by the name of the shrine, name his post, designate its rank, and pay the post-holder monthly. 6. Have the eldest son or, if unqualified, a younger son inherit the post from Uji. 7. Grant Uji a fertile plot of ten kyŏl (perhaps roughly .1 square kilometer) near the shrine for cultivation, supplementing it with unused land in Majŏn and neighboring counties. 8. Supply Uji with oxen, tools, and provisions until his livelihood becomes more comfortable. 9. Grant Uji fifty able-bodied slaves selected from among those owned by an heirless descendant of Wang Sŭng, the Sunhŭng Kun, who died in 1394, and find Uji a woman from a good family to become his wife, supplying her with bridal goods. 10. Build a house for Uji. 11. Upgrade the administrative status of Majŏn to the level of a larger county (kun), appointing a reputable individual to oversee all matters relating to selecting sacrificial food and repairing the shrine, and post an instructional officer (kyogwan) with knowledge of the classics and moral

54

Chapter 2

behavior to instruct the ritual heirs and other Wang males, prohibiting improper behavior. 12. Have on-site officials who keep out or interact with miscellaneous outsiders.

In response, Munjong ordered the Ministry of Rites to devise appropriate regulations, but he died two months later, on June 1, 1452, before the Ministry could do so.10 Successor Tanjong’s court promptly moved forward with implementation of the measures relating to the newly found progeny of Koryŏ.11 Just five days later, on June 6, when the State Council presented recommendations more or less mirroring the previous ones, Tanjong, a child of twelve se, approved almost all of them, except that Uji would receive fifteen, rather than fifty, able-bodied slaves.12 With the relevant regulations in place, in the following month, on July 18, the court formally entrusted Uji with the duty of performing the ancestral rites at the Sungŭijŏn (photographs 2.1) as its superintendent at the senior fourth rank (Pusa) and also bestowed upon him a more dignified name, Wang Sullye (“following propriety”).13 Thus, after an interval of more than fifty years since 1398, Chosŏn secured a new ritual heir of Koryŏ—this time, a Wang who could claim only an eleventh-century monarch as his closest royal ancestor. Six months later, the court further highlighted the legitimacy of Chosŏn as the morally upright successor of Koryŏ by officially honoring a select group of worthies who had served Koryŏ well. On January 22, 1453, the court ordered that various merit subjects, loyal subjects, and famed military commanders of Koryŏ be venerated along with the four Koryŏ rulers at the Sungŭijŏn. Based on a report from the Ministry of Rites, the State Council highlighted the merits of sixteen officials from the reigns of the four monarchs honored, and Tanjong approved. Of the sixteen, twelve were military commanders, and the rest, including Chŏng Mongju, were civil officials who played critical roles in preserving the security of the throne.14 The timing of the court’s honoring the sixteen Koryŏ worthies likely was not a coincidence. By then, Tanjong’s ambitious uncle, the future King Sejo, had acquired a large retinue of followers, and both Sejo’s group and those against them emphasized loyalty to the throne. On November 10, Sejo gained power through a coup, with the support of Chŏng Inji (1397–1478) and others opposed to Kim Chongsŏ and the likeminded protectors of Tanjong. Sejo did so, accusing Kim and his supporters of abusing their power. Ostensibly

Photographs 2.1.  The Sungŭijŏn. Top: The main hall of the Sungŭijŏn. Bottom: A hall housing spirit tablets of select Koryŏ monarchs and worthies. Photographs taken by author.

56

Chapter 2

protecting the boy king, it was only a matter of time before the uncle would depose the nephew. Not affected by the turmoil, surviving female Wangs continued to enjoy full-fledged membership in the upper echelons of early Chosŏn aristocracy. On July 29, 1454, when Tanjong ordered that elderly widows of five deceased merit subjects were to receive wine and meat monthly, one of them was Hwahye T’aekchu, who was the daughter of Wang Hwa, the Namp’yŏng Kun, and the widow of Kim Chŏnggyŏng. The recognition was in accordance with the treatment of officials of upper-senior third rank or above (tangsanggwan) retiring at seventy se.15 After ascending the throne in July 1455, Sejo quelled the remaining opposition and went on to produce noteworthy accomplishments. In 1457, when the so-called Six Martyred Subjects (Sayuksin), including Sŏng Sammun, Pak P’aengnyŏn, and other loyalists, failed in their attempt to restore Tanjong, Sejo executed possibly eight hundred or more and abolished the Hall of Worthies, which had produced Sŏng, Pak, and many other loyalists. Later in the year, when one of his younger brothers also attempted in vain to restore Tanjong, Sejo made the former king a commoner—before putting him to death in January 1458. While relying on those who had enthroned him to both consolidate his position and secure the border, Sejo also sought to check their power by recruiting the Sarim (“rusticated literati”), who were younger, more idealistic Neo-Confucian scholars. Abounding in talent, Sejo’s court completed the first edition of the Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns (Kukcho pogam) and began compiling the Great Code of Administration (Kyŏngguk taejŏn) and the Comprehensive Mirror of Korea (Tongguk t’onggam).16 Because Sejo was a usurper concerned with self-legitimation, history mattered, and one of his first acts to that end concerned a portrait of Koryŏ T’aejo. On October 18, the Ministry of Rites advised that the portrait housed at the Sungŭijŏn should be buried near the shrine, according to the propriety of disposing of the spirit tablet of a more distant ancestor by burial, as prescribed in Zhu Xi’s Family Rituals (Jiali). Although the recommendation was in line with what Sejong had done with various other visual depictions of T’aejo and other Koryŏ rulers, Sejo commanded that the portrait be sent to Seoul instead of being buried.17 As a usurper with martial prowess himself, perhaps Sejo identified with Koryŏ T’aejo as a general who had gained power through a coup and unified Samhan, bringing peace to the land after countless battles. Understandably, Sejo put on a majestic display of authority, in a part of which Wang Sullye became a showpiece. On October 15, 1459, the court cen-

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

57

sured Sullye and stripped him of his post after deliberating about a report that he was favoring a concubine over his wife and behaving rudely.18 Three years later, on January 29, 1463, however, the court reinstated him, after which he would never again step out of bounds.19 Sullye must have understood that the all-too-powerful merit subjects whom Sejo had been rewarding repeatedly with land and slaves since gaining the throne were the real power holders. Any upstart seeking or exploiting the king’s special attention did so at his own peril. Sejo’s protocols treated Sullye as a guest rather than a subject (sin), with gestures both magnanimous and condescending. Summoning Sullye from Majŏn on June 17, 1465, Sejo invited him to a banquet eight days later. Sejo commanded Sullye to sit just behind the officials of second court rank, even though his rank was senior fourth, reminding him that he was now a guest of the royal house. Bestowing one of his tables as a gift, Sejo told Sullye, “I regard you as kin from a neighboring village.”20 Seven months later, on January 19, 1466, Sejo invited Sullye to the crown prince’s birthday banquet, where the era’s luminaries were in attendance. Again giving him a table as a gift, Sejo issued a written command that stated, “I am not extending my grace for personal reasons. King Sejong sought to secure an heir to the Wang family, but he could not do so, and King Munjong finally established the Sungŭijŏn for performing ancestral rites. You are a descendant of the previous dynasty, and I am merely fulfilling the will of my royal ancestors.”21 On January 7, 1467, during the crown prince’s next birthday banquet, Sejo declared, “All seated here are my subjects. Since you, however, are the progeny of the previous dynasty, according to the rules of propriety, I must treat you as my guest.” He commanded Sullye, seated with the officials of second court rank, to fill the majesty’s cup with wine, observing: In the past, a succeeding dynasty sought to exterminate the descendants of the preceding dynasty, and none survived. To the contrary, I give you a high office and a generous salary as well as allowing you to offer ritual sacrifices to your ancestors, and I promise to share joys [with you]. Preserve your family for generations by watching your conduct and being prudent. The Classic of Poetry (Shijing) says, “Considering how the Shang had to submit to the Zhou, the Mandate of Heaven is not constant.” This applies to your ancestors.22

Nine months later, on October 21, Sejo summoned Sullye again, this time to the king’s own birthday banquet.23 Additionally, Sejo provided more concrete benefits to Sullye. For instance, eight months earlier, on February 13, 1467, Sejo promoted him to the junior

58

Chapter 2

third court rank.24 In the same year, on October 5, Sejo approved the Ministry of Taxation’s (Hojo) request that Sullye’s salary be paid with grain from a capital granary since the Majŏn granary did not have enough.25 While honoring a male Wang as the newly found ritual heir of Koryŏ, Sejo defended the son of a female Wang who, by marrying three times, had thus violated the then-spreading ideal of a virtuous widow. Representing the consensus of the Office of the Inspector-General, on August 29, 1467, a fourth inspector (Chip’yŏng, 5a) pointed out that it was inappropriate for Kim Kae (1405–1484), a son of Hwahye T’aekchu, to take up his new position as the sixth state councilor (Chwa ch’amch’an, 2a), given that his mother had “abandoned her virtue of chaste widowhood.” In response, Sejo retorted: “Given that Kim Kae has attained the first court rank, how is it possible that he is holding his current post if he were a lowborn?” Then Inspector-General Yang Sŏngji (1415–1482), who was an eminent scholar-official of the era and a merit subject, and others submitted a memorial urging Sejo to revoke Kim’s appointment, again citing his mother’s compromised virtue. Since state councilors must meet a high moral standard, someone who cannot even manage his own household should not hold such a lofty position, the memorial argued, but the king did not agree.26 The concerned officials did not retreat, and Sejo too held his ground. Two days later, on August 31, the third censor (Hŏnnap, 5a) articulated the general concern within the Office of the Censor-General that the son had been appointed to a position commanding moral influence on society despite his mother’s infamous loss of virtue. Sejo objected, questioning why a flaw in one’s family background should matter if the person is truly talented. This time, the Censorate officials as a group submitted a memorial that not only stressed the position of moral influence of Kim’s new office but also argued that the Office of the Inspector-General records cases of a scholar-official’s wife marrying three [or more] times and bars the descendants from “prestigious posts” (hyŏnjik) not so much to punish “dead skeletons” as to improve social mores. Not even reading the memorial, Sejo sent it back to the Royal Secretariat (Sŭng jŏngwŏn).27 Three days later, on September 3, Yang and others again submitted a memorial repeating the request and expressing their concern that everyone would take lightly the state councilors, in particular, and the state, in general. Again, without reading the memorial, Sejo returned it to the Royal Secretariat.28 The controversy illustrates both that the surviving female Wangs were members of the privileged aristocracy and also that Confucian moral rhetoric

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

59

was gaining strength in court politics. In stark contrast to Wang Sullye, who emerged from obscurity thanks to the court’s effort to secure a ritual heir to perform the ancestral rites for Koryŏ kings, Hwahye T’aekchu and other surviving Wang women were the wives and mothers of male aristocrats. As the elites as a whole sought increasingly to apply Confucian moral norms in judgment of their peers, the notion that a mother’s moral standing should affect her children’s status also continued to consume the attention of officialdom far beyond Sejo’s reign. A day before his death in September 1468, the gravely ill Sejo abdicated in favor of his second son, Yejong, who went on to rule for just fourteen months. Purges during the brief reign were symptomatic of effort at all cost—by the establishment figures who had rallied around Sejo—to eliminate challenges to the status quo. For the most part, the Chosŏn dynastic rule, then some seven decades old, was secure, with its administrative principles codified. The court completed the Great Code of Administration, although Yejong died, at just age twenty, before its promulgation.29 Originally not in the line of succession, Yejong’s nephew and successor, Sŏngjong, ascended the throne at age thirteen and reigned as the first more purely Confucian monarch. After a regency by his grandmother, Sejo’s widow, Sŏngjong actively promoted the Sarim, who advocated governance according to the “kingly way” (wangdo) as understood through Nature and Principle Learning (Sŏngnihak). Nonetheless, his effort in this way to check the power of those who had been rewarded repeatedly with the title of merit subjects was unsuccessful, and the royal in-laws wielded strong influence. Overall a diligent, scholarly king, Sŏngjong secured the frontier regions in addition to promoting agriculture and scholarship. Furthermore, his court completed the compilation of the Comprehensive Mirror of Korea and promulgated the Great Code of Administration (1471).30 The new code reaffirmed, among other stipulations, the responsibilities of the Sungŭijŏn superintendent to perform ancestral rites for select Koryŏ rulers. Filled by the Kyŏnggi governor, the position was to be one of four levels, namely Sa (3b), Su (4a), Yŏng (5b), or Kam (6b)—all civil posts.31 As Sejo had done, Sŏngjong occasionally invited Wang Sullye to join the dignitaries of the day, together with others whom the throne deemed deserving of royal grace. On August 15, 1471, when Sŏngjong entertained royal kin, state councilors and ministers, and on-duty guard generals (Wijang, 2b) at Ch’angdŏk Palace, Sullye was in attendance.32 More than a year later, on December 7, 1472, when Sullye wanted a horse to travel from Majŏn to

60

Chapter 2

Kongju to take care of his foster mother, the king gave him one along with some “nourishing food” (yagi).33 Three years later, on August 28, 1476, when Sŏngjong hosted a banquet at the palace, Sullye joined the invited luminaries of the time, such as Chŏng Inji, one of the era’s most prominent scholarofficials and a four-time merit subject. The king honored Sullye by seating him inside the royal audience hall rather than in the courtyard in front where most of the guests sat.34 A few months later, on January 15, 1477, when Sŏngjong hosted the Lunar New Year’s Day banquet at the palace, again Sullye was invited, along with some Japanese and Jurchen guests.35 Honored by the throne, Sullye pursued his entitlements, and his attempts to acquire more slaves show that the court and the aristocracy were still wrestling with the concept of heirship as influenced by the mother’s status. On February 5, 1482, after a royal lecture, the inspector-general reported that for the second time since 1478, Sullye memorialized the throne to claim the slaves of his first cousin, Yi Yŏngsang (ca. 1410–n.d.), who was a son of Sullye’s grandfather Wang Hyu’s daughter by his first wife, whereas Sullye himself was a son of Mi, fathered by Hyu’s “second wife,” if not concubine. While not dismissing Sullye’s rightful observation that in the past a husband typically had two wives, the inspector-general suggested that, all things considered, Sullye’s family did not seem to be aristocratic. When Sŏngjong solicited the opinions of others present, the second state councilor observed that it was up to his majesty to decide, since the purpose of his royal ancestors’ search for the previous dynasty’s descendant had been to continue the line, irrespective of the heir’s mother’s status as wife or concubine. Sŏngjong then ordered that the matter be handled according to relevant cases from previous reigns, making no such distinction.36 In effect, the king’s decision enabled Sullye both to assert his status as the sole full-fledged patrilineal grandson of Hyu and also to contest his first cousin’s claim as the only grandson with a pedigree untainted by illegitimacy. Sŏngjong was mindful of the legacies of Koryŏ in other ways. For instance, on July 16, 1477, upon receiving the Kaesŏng magistrate’s (Yusu, 2b) report that Kwanŭm Hermitage, which was entrusted with performing the Ritual of Water and Land for the perished Wangs, had crumbled during a recent thunderstorm and resulting landslide and that repair would be difficult, the Ministry of Rites requested that the magistracy be allowed to use another temple for the ritual, and the king approved.37 The decision reflects the importance that the court continued to attach to Buddhist rituals for managing Koryŏ legacies and promoting the security of the country. Such overarching concern would inform the court’s deliberation upon Sullye’s death eight years later.

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

61

Successors of Wang Sullye, 1485–1540 When Sullye died on July 21, 1485, the court, after a discussion of eligibility, allowed his only son, by a concubine, to inherit the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship. Reporting the death to the throne, the Ministry of Rites inquired about having an on-site official give incense and prayer text to the surviving family members, per the established custom requiring the court to do so within three years. Sŏngjong ordered his high officials to discuss the matter. While acknowledging that propriety demanded funerary rituals and the granting of condolence goods to the family, the third state councilor suggested that the Ministry devise appropriate regulations for ancestral rites for the Wangs within three years, since Sullye had no legitimate son, and the king agreed.38 Four days later, on July 25, citing the protocol for a deceased official who held an actual, salaried post (silchik) of junior second rank or higher, the Ministry advised Sŏngjong to bestow condolence goods upon the family (photographs 2.2). Moreover, the Ministry recommended appointing Sullye’s illegitimate son as the new Sunguijŏn superintendent, according to the Great Code of Administration, and Sŏngjong approved.39 Accordingly, the son, Wang Ch’ŏn’gye (n.d.–1516?), became the fourth ritual heir of Koryŏ, continuing the line of succession from the last Koryŏ king’s brother Wang U to Wang Cho to Wang Sullye.40 The court’s decision in 1485 shows that the state and the elites’ notions of marriage and descent were in transition. Earlier in Koryŏ, an aristocratic male could have several wives (ch’ŏ) concurrently, and their sons enjoyed equal legal and social standing in terms of eligibility for office and property inheritance, among other things.41 Although advocates of the ideal of one husband–one wife began criticizing the polygamy in late Koryŏ, Chosŏn T’aejo himself had two wives for twelve years or so before he ascended the throne.42 T’aejong’s hatred of his stepmother and killing of his half brothers on his rise to power prompted him and his officials to regard any wife other than a husband’s first wife as a concubine, and in July 1415, the court formally barred the sons of concubines, as well as their descendants, from prestigious posts.43 Legal implementation of discrimination against illegitimate sons and their descendants was completed when the final version of the Great Code of Administration, put into effect in 1485, made them ineligible to take the civil or licentiate examination.44 All the same, evidently the court’s desire to continue the line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ through Sullye’s only son outweighed any concern that the latter was an illegitimate son.

Photographs 2.2.  The grave of Wang Sullye. Above: The grave mound and tombstone in the middle, flanked by memorial pillars. Right: The tombstone close up. Photographs taken by author.

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

63

Nine years later, in January 1495, Sŏngjong died, and subsequently his eldest son and successor, the Yŏnsan Kun, ruled as a tyrant before being dethroned. Early in the Yŏnsan Kun’s reign, Korea successfully repelled raiding Wakō and Jurchen. Settlement of the northeast with more colonists from the south strengthened control of the region. Before long, an internal political crisis escalated. Punishing the Sarim who opposed his effort to posthumously restore his mother to the position of queen, the king purged them in 1498. Soon alienating the powerful high officials who had sided with him, in 1504 he purged them and the remaining Sarim. Increasingly hedonistic, despotic, and cruel, the Yŏnsan Kun abolished the Office of the Royal Lectures, the Office of the Censor-General, and the Office of Special Counselors; downsized the Office of the Inspector-General and the Office of Royal Decrees (Yemun’gwan); banned the use of Han’gŭl after discovery of an anonymous complaint, about him, written in the vernacular; and used the Confucian Academy and a major Buddhist temple for training courtesans.45 Unsurprisingly, the Yŏnsan Kun’s gestures honoring Koryŏ legacies are limited to the early part of his reign when the young king was still under the sway of his Neo-Confucian teachers. For instance, on February 26, 1497, when the Ministry of Rites recommended that Wang Ch’ŏn’gye regain his original post and resume performing ancestral rites for Koryŏ kings since he had completed his own family mourning obligations, the king agreed.46 Eight months later, on October 26, when advising the Yŏnsan Kun to dispatch physicians to Ch’ŏn’gye who had fallen ill, the Ministry mentioned that the state had earlier established the Sungŭijŏn to honor the heirs of Koryŏ through upholding virtue and visually depicting the worthies. The king approved.47 In September 1506, a group of high officials and generals deposed the Yŏnsan Kun and elevated the eldest among his younger half brothers, Chung­ jong, who struggled to enhance royal power. In 1510, the court instituted the Border Defense Council (Pibyŏnsa) which, as a larger, ad hoc deliberative body of relevant officials, would eventually eclipse the State Council. By promoting Cho Kwangjo (1482–1520) and other Sarim, from 1515 Chungjong sought to strengthen his position through a program for reform which threatened the interests of entrenched power wielders. But, tired of Cho’s endless moralizing, in 1519 Chungjong condoned a purge led by Cho’s adversaries. After further playing off one faction against another and getting rid of a strongman in 1537 with the help of his in-laws, Chungjong relied on the latter for support. In the meantime, the Japanese traders’ riot in the Three Ports (1510), Jurchen attacks (1522), and Wakō raids (1523) heralded larger, looming foreign threats.48

64

Chapter 2

During his eventful reign of nearly four decades, Chungjong gave attention to matters concerning the Sungŭijŏn and the ritual heirs of Koryŏ, but it was not enough. For instance, on June 27, 1514, Chungjong ordered an official to perform a “lesser sacrifice” (soroe) using a sheep and a pig at the Sungŭijŏn.49 Also, the increasingly strong anti-Buddhist ethos among younger scholar-officials in general and Confucian students (yusaeng) in particular contributed to the end of state sponsorship of the Ritual of Water and Land in 1515.50 Moreover, Wang Ch’ŏn’gye’s son and successor, Wang Chŏk (n.d.–1540), was not very well off. During an evening royal lecture (sŏkkang) on October 24, 1516, an official observed that even though the court was allowing Chŏk to perform the ancestral rites in accordance with the hallowed tradition of Zhou King Cheng (r. 1042?–1021? BCE), who enfeoffed a descendant of the Shang dynasty, by this time most of the more than thirty slaves who used to work for the Sungŭijŏn had died. The number of those still performing their duties on each occasion of the ancestral rites was inadequate, the official reported.51 Chungjong’s court wrestled with issues concerning proper ancestral rites in general, and a discussion during the morning royal lecture (chogang) on November 16 reveals the complexities. When two royal lecture officials stressed the importance of state-sponsored ancestral rites for the deceased without heirs, Chungjong was concerned that the agencies in charge might not be performing their duties with utmost sincerity. One of the officials reasoned that since the state performed the rites for high officials who died heirless, individuals must do likewise for a family member who died heirless. This time, referring to the ancestral rites for Koryŏ rulers, Chungjong again noted that those in charge of rituals did not seem fully devoted. In response, the chief state councilor suggested that the higher authority must intervene if a deceased is heirless, and he urged the king to consider the matter carefully. When Chung­ jong admitted that he did not know that close kin could continue an extinct line, Fourth Censor (Chŏngŏn, 6a) Im Kwŏn (1486–1557) asserted that finding an heir to perform the sacrificial rituals for a vanquished state was a kingly gesture of benevolence, whereas performing the rites for a spirit that should not be venerated violated propriety. Im then urged Chungjong to abolish the Office of Astrological Rituals (Sogyŏksŏ), which was a Daoist institution charged with overseeing rituals to the gods of various stars that were performed by Daoist priests, and to ban all shamans and shamanistic shrines. Chungjong did not approve.52 In addition to becoming part of the discussion about prohibiting non-Con-

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

65

fucian ancestral rituals, the issue of Tanjong’s loyal subjects provided another politically sensitive context in which the court discussed ancestral rites for Koryŏ rulers. Nine months later, during the morning royal lecture on August 21, 1517, the third inspector and the third censor observed that adherence to upholding the cardinal virtue of loyalty had declined in recent times—an oblique reference to the many merit subjects who had switched sides on more than one political transition. Praising the previous kings’ efforts to revive the ancestral rites for Koryŏ rulers, the two urged Chungjong to prevent local magistrates from using torture while interrogating the Wangs for even minor offenses. The inspector and the censor also praised the previous kings who honored Koryŏ loyalists such as Chŏng Mongju and Kil Chae (1353–1419) even though they had refused to serve Chosŏn T’aejo, and they argued that the king should do likewise with Sŏng Sammun, Pak P’aengnyŏn, and others who sacrificed their lives trying to restore Tanjong. While he agreed with them about honoring the Koryŏ loyalists and better treatment of the Wangs, Chungjong—who owed his throne to those hailing from families of merit subjects who had supported Sejo—tactfully deferred the matter to the high officials.53 Despite the rhetoric, the Sungŭijŏn suffered from relative neglect. A year later, on December 26, 1518, during the morning royal lecture, Chungjong took note of a text referring to how China’s Song dynasty (960–1279) had appointed Chai Ying (fl. 1059), a descendant of Emperor Shizong (r. 954–959) of the Later Zhou dynasty (951–960), the Song’s predecessor, to perform appropriate rituals for his ancestors. The king complained that the Ministry of Rites was not diligently overseeing the ancestral rites for Koryŏ. The censorgeneral (Taesagan, 3a) observed that earlier, when he was posted in Kaesŏng, he found Koryŏ royal tombs covered with weeds and trees, indistinguishable from the surrounding hills. He recommended prohibiting the local population from taking firewood and grazing livestock in the vicinity. Then a royal lecture official observed that, in the past, the state had appointed the Wangs as junior third-rank or senior fourth-rank Sungŭijŏn superintendents to also manage the Koryŏ tombs, rather than treating the superintendents as ordinary officials, but now that duty was a mere formality, with the goods used for the ancestral rites no longer of high quality. The third state councilor recommended occasionally dispatching an official to the shrine to oversee its rites.54 Six years later on February 7, 1525, Chungjong dispatched secret royal inspectors (amhaeng ŏsa) to report on Confucian sacrificial rituals, schools, farming, and wrongful punishments in all provinces, and also to report on the state of the Sungŭijŏn.55

66

Chapter 2

Nonetheless, during Chungjong’s reign, official ritual protocols that concerned the Koryŏ founder’s tomb and the Sungŭijŏn became more secure. During the morning royal lecture on September 8, 1534, a royal lecture special counselor (Kyŏngyŏn T’ŭkchin’gwan, 2b or higher) advised Chungjong to send an official to the Sungŭijŏn to perform the ancestral rites, since the edifice was en route when the king paid a visit to the tomb of Queen Sinŭi, the first wife of Chosŏn T’aejo. The special counselor reminded Chungjong that his majesty had already ordered honoring all the filial sons, dutiful grandchildren, virtuous wives, and chaste widows of every district that was on the route for the royal procession to Sinŭi’s tomb, and he noted that, in the past, the court had provided a prayer text and ritual items without fail for performing ancestral rituals at every eminent official’s grave that was along the path of a royal procession. Although he had no such plan, as he had not yet reviewed protocols, Chungjong conceded that the recommendation was appropriate.56 Later, on the day of travel, when referring to the recommendation, the king noted that in the past the court did not consider the Sungŭijŏn to be en route for the royal procession to Sinŭi’s tomb and thus did not send an official to the shrine. Chungjong reasoned that officials should be sent to the graves of all those particularly important to the royal house if an official were to be dispatched to the Sungŭijŏn, and he ordered the Ministry of Rites section chiefs (Chŏngnang, 5a) and assistant section chiefs (Chwarang, 6a) to discuss the matter with the three highest state councilors.57 Then, in the following year, in October 1535, during his trip to pay respects at Sinŭi’s tomb, Chungjong dispatched an official to perform the proper rites at the Hyŏnnŭng, the joint tomb of Koryŏ T’aejo and his first wife.58 The court was making progress with instituting various protocols vis-à-vis the spirits of the Koryŏ dynasty, but five years later appointing a new Sungŭijŏn superintendent would demand a drawn-out deliberation.

Securing the Third Line of Ritual Heirs, 1540–1589 On November 19, 1540, the minister of rites reported that upon the death of Wang Chŏk, the junior sixth-rank superintendent of Sungŭijŏn, many Wangs had begun competing for the position. Upon investigation, the Ministry of Rites learned that all such Wangs were of illegitimate-son descent lines. Also, Wang Inwi (ca. 1520–fl. 1540), a degreeless scholar (“young scholar,” yuhak) claimed to be a thirteenth-generation descendant of King Ch’ungnyŏl, although the exact relationship was not verifiable. Responding to the minister’s

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

67

request to select a Wang of legitimate-son descent line, Chungjong ordered the officials to deliberate on the matter since the superintendentship was a civil post, and appointing someone of an illegitimate-son line would not be righteous.59 In stark contrast to the earlier, more flexible attitude of Sŏngjong and his officials in 1485 upon Wang Sullye’s death, the court’s attitude in 1540 reflects the further marginalization of illegitimate children.60 The court moved forward with the search for a Wang of a legitimate-son descent line. Later on the same day, November 9, Chungjong acknowledged a recommendation from the state councilors and ministers that the Ministry of Rites interview suitable candidates among such Wangs.61 Then on the following day, Chungjong ordered the Royal Secretariat to select two or three qualified Wangs for further consideration. He also wanted the Ministry to investigate and report on the number of descendants for each finalist, as the king feared that the line of an otherwise well-qualified appointee could quickly become extinct again.62 The search took some time, and eight months later, the court discussed various candidates before Chungjong approved a Wang of obscure background. On July 14, 1541, Chungjong had the Royal Secretariat confirm each candidate’s residence and ascertain whether he had a son. In addition to trying to minimize the risk of the newly chosen line of ritual heirs becoming extinct again, Chungjong also rightly observed that it would be easier for someone living in Seoul to concentrate on his duties at the shrine in Majŏn without burdensome travel between it and his home locale. The court discussed six candidates, including Wang Sunson (fl. 1541), whom the Royal Secretariat had mentioned but ultimately excluded from the list of five finalists because he claimed to be a descendant of King Ch’ungnyŏl without knowing the number of intervening generations. In the end, Chungjong approved the Ministry of Rites’ choice, Wang Hŭi (1496–1561).63 Later, the court and other Wangs would question his family’s claim of descent from the Koryŏ dynasty. By then, the search was becoming difficult for the court because of the increasing Wang population of varying shades of social status, although most of the elites among them were descendants of Wang Mi. A little before the death of Wang Chŏk, a steady stream of Kaesŏng Wang began passing the examinations, and two civil, at least three military, and at least one technical examination degree holders as well as at least six licentiates are known, excluding those documented solely in the Wang genealogy. Also, at least thirtyfive of the descendants of Mi and his brother Hŭng held positions in central officialdom, according to the genealogy.64 In terms of examination success

68

Chapter 2

Figure 2.2.  The major lineages descended from Wang Mi and Wang Hŭng.

and office holding, the lineage descended from Mi and based in Kwach’ŏn, neighboring southern Seoul, was the standard bearer (figure 2.2). Among the Kaesŏng Wang, the Kwach’ŏn lineage produced the highest number of men who achieved degrees, court ranks, or offices, including those who gained more politically important positions in the government. Other Kaesŏng Wang lineages were further removed from officialdom, and those based in Kaesŏng, Kurye, and Sangju—all descended from Mi— are illustrative cases. The Kaesŏng lineage descended from Mi’s youngest son Hyoch’ung’s great-grandson, Wang Chang (ca. 1490–n.d.), who was a senior third-rank official of the Royal Stable Administration (Saboksi) and the first in the line to be buried in Kaesŏng, and the lineage produced several other minor officeholders.65 In contrast, their kin in Kurye, Chŏlla, formed a classic local elite lineage.66 The lineage descended from a son of Provincial Army Commander (Pyŏngma Chŏltosa, 2b) Wang Chongin (fl. 1468, a great-grandson of Mi), Five Guards Directorate (Owi toch’ongbu) Adjutant (Kyŏngnyŏk, 4b) Wang Chŏng (fl. 1470), who became the founding ancestor of the lineage when he relocated from Kwach’ŏn to Kurye in the mid-fifteenth century.67 The

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

69

Kurye lineage’s presence in the central political arena was weak, amounting to a classics licentiate (1546, a great-grandson), two preceptors (Kyosu, 6b, a son and a great-grandson), and two royal tomb superintendents (Ch’ambong, 9b, a grandson and a great-grandson).68 The lineage of the Kaesŏng Wang of Sangju in Kyŏngsang descended from Chongin’s nephew, Wang Tang (ca. 1490–n.d.), who moved from Kwach’ŏn to Sangju, where his in-laws resided. A military examination graduate, Tang attained the posts of lesser garrison commander (Manho, 4b) and county magistrate (Kunsu, 4b).69 Compared with the well-documented lineages of Kurye, Kaesŏng, and Kwach’ŏn, the social status of a known Seoul lineage of this period is ambiguous. Descended from Wang Su (n.d.), a younger brother of the founder of the Kurye lineage, the Seoul lineage produced just one officeholder during this period, Su’s great-great-grandson, who served as the auditor (Chubu, 6b) of the Military Training Administration (Hullyŏnwŏn). For four reasons, we can postulate that the social status of the Seoul lineage was—or at least was on its way to becoming—that of commoners who resided in the eastern part of the capital and performed military service for generations. First, the early history of the lineage is poorly documented—for only one of Su’s six sons does the genealogy provide continuous coverage beyond the grandchildren’s generation, that is, through the Military Training Administration auditor, and even for later generations, the coverage is spotty. Second, the late nineteenth-century descendants, as documented in the extant household registers, were commoners residing in Seoul, and according to the genealogy, they were buried in Yangju, bordering northeastern Seoul. Third, the lineage produced only a few men who held a court rank or an office, and none had a meaningful career in central officialdom. And fourth, none of the fathers-in-law was anyone of note.70 Another Seoul lineage of this period, which produced a certain Wang Inwi who was mentioned during the court’s discussion in 1540, was chungin in status. Not only was Inwi’s father, Wang Uk (fl. 1510), a physician, but Inwi’s elder brother, Wang In’gŏl (ca. 1530–1568 or thereafter), passed the medicine examination (ŭikwa) with the highest honor (changwŏn) and served as a court physician. Then, in 1568, two of In’gŏl’s sons passed the licentiate examination, but their achievements did not enable the family to achieve upward mobility: not only was the court at the time skeptical about Inwi’s claim that he was a thirteenth-generation descendant of King Ch’ungnyŏl, but also his ancestry is not traced beyond Uk’s grandfather in any edition of Kaesŏng Wang genealogy that I have examined. Also, the subsequent history of the family beyond those members mentioned here is unknown.

70

Chapter 2

The origins of the northern Kaesŏng Wang are also murky, and the problem is typical of northern Korean families as a whole. The Kaesŏng Wang genealogy traces the oldest of the northern Wang lineages back to Mi’s younger brother Hŭng through the elder of his two sons, Wang Tŭkto (fl. 1392), who is said to have moved to Tŏkch’ŏn, P’yŏngan, during the Ming Hongwu era.71 In the period discussed in this chapter, that is, from 1450 to 1589, none of Tŭkto’s descendants are known to have obtained an examination degree, a court rank, or an office.72 At the same time, in various regions, Wangs of obscure origins began claiming royal descent. Including the family of Wang Hŭi chosen by the court as the Sungŭijŏn superintendent, four lines would later secure acceptance into the official, comprehensive genealogy of the Kaesŏng Wang in or after the late nineteenth century as descendants of Koryŏ monarchs Hyŏnjong, Sinjong, Kojong, or Ch’ungjŏng through princes unrecorded in the royal kin section of the History of Koryŏ. According to the genealogy, in the period under consideration for this chapter, members of the lineages claiming descent from Hyŏnjong, Kojong, and Ch’ungjŏng were buried in, respectively, Ŭnjin, Sinch’ang, and Suwŏn (the first two in Ch’ungch’ŏng Province and the last in Kyŏnggi Province). Among the three, the Sinch’ang lineage members at some point apparently began claiming Kaesŏng as their ancestral seat, although a certain member Hŭi’s ancestral seat was documented in the household register as Chuch’ŏn, and that of his son Wang Wŏnbo (ca. 1515–n.d.) was reportedly recorded in the military examination roster as Chŏnju. The Suwŏn lineage members’ burial locations began shifting to Hapch’ŏn, Kyŏngsang, in the mid-sixteenth century. In contrast, for the lineage claiming descent from Sinjong, the genealogy does not record grave locations until it lists a member who was born in 1558, who is said to have moved from the south and was buried in P’ungdŏk, Kyŏnggi, and from that point on at least some members resided in nearby Kaesŏng.73 Besides uncertainties surrounding their residence, all four obscure Wang lineages comprised members without irrefutably elite marriage ties or careers. In the cases in which the genealogy records a wife for a male Wang, either she is genealogically untraceable or the claimed connection to the in-laws shows chronological discrepancies. And among these Wangs, nine appear in the genealogy as degree, court rank, or officeholders, none of whom I could independently verify: a minister without portfolio (Chungch’ubusa) with no rank indicated; a senior fifth-rank Five Guards military officer (Sajik); a senior sixth-rank Five Guards military officer (Sagwa); a junior sixth-rank

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

71

Five Guards military officer (Pu sagwa); a preceptor; an eighth-rank civil official (Pongsa); a senior civil fifth-rank holder; a Loyal and Obedient Guard (Ch’ungsunwi); and a literary licentiate (chinsa).74 Determining the veracity of less known Wang descent lines likely was not feasible for a court embroiled in political turmoil. In November 1544, when Chungjong abdicated a day before his death, Injong ascended the throne at thirty-one se, and he reigned for just eight months as a monarch whose position was insecure. The new monarch ordered the posthumous rehabilitation Cho Kwangjo and other Sarim victims of the 1519 purge and sought to recruit worthy men from a broader political base, but his ambitious stepmother, Queen Munjŏng, relentlessly pursued more power for herself and her kin. Furthermore, Injong was in poor health.75 In August 1545, when his older half brother Injong abdicated three days before death, Myŏngjong ascended the throne when he was just twelve, and his mother Queen Munjŏng and her brothers wielded power during much of his reign. By 1547, one of her brothers and the strongman Yun Wŏnhyŏng (1509–1565) had purged officialdom of Injong’s maternal kin and their largely Sarim supporters. As Myŏngjong sought to improve his position by playing one faction off against another, political turmoil escalated. Also, various forces breeched the country’s security from within and without. In 1555, Japanese traders raided Chŏlla, and the incident accelerated transformation of the Border Defense Council into the permanent, deliberative body of high officials that it would remain until 1864. And from 1559 to 1562, the celebrated banditry of Im Kkŏkchŏng (1504–1562) fueled a rumor that he stole from the rich and gave to the poor.76 Whereas Im used violence to achieve his aims, his contemporary among the nonelites, Hwang Chini (ca. 1506–ca. 1567), employed poetic sensibilities to express feelings about her time and space, including Kaesŏng. Chini was born the illegitimate daughter of a literary licentiate from the city and a mother who was either a courtesan or a commoner, and she was a courtesan, also known by her professional name, Myŏngwŏl (“bright moon”). Of legendary beauty, quick wit, formidable intellect, and assertive independence, she excelled in poetry, prose, painting, and calligraphy. Chini interacted with many of the famed literati and aristocrats of her time, exchanging poems and prose writings as well as winning and breaking their hearts. In her famous poem “Fond Thoughts of Full Moon Terrace” (Manwŏltae hoego),77 Chini reflected on the site of the old Koryŏ palace in a terse yet powerful manner:

72

Chapter 2

Desolate the old temple beside the palace stream; Sunset on the towering trees makes men sad. Misty twilight’s chill is what remains of the monk’s dream, The good times have shattered against the pagoda top. The golden phoenix has fled; only sparrows come and go. Cattle and goats graze where azaleas flourished. Remember the glory days of Pine Ridge Mountain; Who could have known that spring would feel like autumn?

A seven-syllable regulated verse, Chini’s Classical Chinese poem captures the melancholy of a poet at dusk, fondly referring to the city’s sobriquet, Song­ak (“Pine Ridge”). Seeing a lone old Buddhist temple still standing by a small stream flowing through the palace site and the evening sky beyond a tall tree, the poet is pensive. Likening a temple monk’s dream to “misty twilight’s chill,” she is saddened by the pagoda that crumbled over time. Honoring principled Koryŏ loyalists as the golden phoenix and azaleas, Chini laments that now only sparrows fly in the sky where the phoenix used to soar and that cattle and goats graze where azaleas used to grow—sparrows, cattle, and goats symbolizing small men. Thinking of the glory of Koryŏ as symbolized by Pine Ridge Mountain, Chini feels like it is autumn, even though spring azaleas have just withered. Given the endless court intrigue and power struggles at the time, Chini’s reflections on the old Koryŏ palace site may well be deploring a world full of petty individuals oblivious to the transience of all things. Compared with Kaesŏng, the transtemporal presence of Koryŏ was stronger in Majŏn, thanks to the Sungŭijŏn and a newly secured line of ritual heirs, but Myŏngjong’s court could little attend to them. In November 1549, in urging the king to dispatch an official to repair the Sungŭijŏn, Deputy Director of the Office of the Royal Lectures (Chi Kyŏngyŏnsa, 2a) Im Kwŏn observed that “for long” the shrine had been neglected even though its main honoree, Koryŏ T’aejo, had secured the people’s survival by unifying Samhan.78 A year and a half later, in May 1551, an official noted that the earlier practice of Chung­ jong’s court performing proper rituals at the Sungŭijŏn on a regular basis had ceased.79 Little concerned with the Sungŭijŏn per se, Queen Munjŏng’s promotion of Buddhism with Pou at the helm fueled turmoil as the Sarim scholarofficials fought back. In particular, the reestablishment of the doctrinal (Kyo) and the meditational (Sŏn, Ch. Chan, Ja. Zen) schools of Buddhism elicited vocal criticism. On March 10, 1551, Confucian students of Kaesŏng submitted

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

73

a memorial urging the throne to reconsider. Referring to several temple sites in the city’s vicinity where clear traces of old buildings reportedly remained, the students claimed that all passersby scoffed at the Wangs for ruining Koryŏ through their belief in Buddhism. Myŏngjong, with a perfunctory acknowledgement of the memorial as an expression of their love for the king and concern for the country, declared that the reestablishment of the two Buddhist schools did not mean that he was honoring another teaching in addition to Confucianism, and he commanded them not to bring up the matter again.80 Among the Confucian scholar-officials who resisted Pou in spite of the mighty Munjŏng’s patronage was a Kaesŏng Wang from the Kwach’ŏn lineage, Wang Hŭigŏl (1505–1553). Hŭigŏl was a grandson of Wang Chongŭi (n.d.), who was Wang Mi’s great-grandson and a minor official, and he was the first Wang to pass the civil examination (1543) in the Chosŏn period. Afterward, he went on to enjoy an impressive career that no other Kaesŏng Wang would match until the late nineteenth century. He achieved a series of significant offices, including staff official (Nanggwan, 6b) of the Border Defense Council (1550), magistrate (Kunsu) of Chasan (1551), first secretary (Sain, 4a) of the State Council (1552), and first counselor of the Office of Special Counselors (n.d.).81 During the 1545 Literati Purge, while serving as a secret royal inspector, he was bold enough to report to the throne that the king’s half brother, who had been implicated in a treasonous plot, was hiding under the protection of the all-powerful Pou, patronized by the queen dowager. Upon the queen’s death in 1565, Pou fell from grace after a series of anti-Buddhist memorials to the throne by the Confucian literati, and Yun Wŏnhyŏng also fell from power. When Myŏngjong banished Pou, Hŭigŏl’s report served as critical evidence in the case against the monk. Interacting with the towering Neo-Confucian figures of the time such as Yi Hwang (pen name T’oegye, 1502–1571), Hŭigŏl also excelled in prose writing, calligraphy, and painting. After his death and well into the seventeenth century, the Kwach’ŏn lineage would continue to produce civil and military officials, albeit none of them as prominent.82 When Myŏngjong died sonless at thirty-four se, his nephew and designated successor, Sŏnjo, began his long reign of some four decades with an ultimately unsuccessful effort to govern, guided by the vision of the Sarim. Sŏnjo was just sixteen when he ascended the throne in August 1567, and he was under the regency of Myŏngjong’s widow until he began ruling in person the following year. Assisting him were a large number of scholars whom he promoted, including the celebrated Yi Hwang and Yi I (pen name Yulgok, 1536–1584). Before long, officialdom split over issues and personalities into two parties.

74

Chapter 2

With the Yi Hwang school of Neo-Confucianism generally constituting Easterners (Tongin) and the Yi I school forming Westerners (Sŏin), bitter mutual criticism continued and increasingly limited officialdom’s ability to implement sensible policies, even for matters such as national defense. A general repelled a Jurchen attack in 1583, but in the meantime, a recently unified Japan prepared for a massive invasion.83 As a king whose reign began with the triumph of Sarim political rhetoric, Sŏnjo was more attentive than some of his predecessors in promoting the historical legacies of Koryŏ and others. In June 1576, he approved requests by the Office of Royal Lectures that entailed (1) sending officials to the tombs of two deposed Chosŏn rulers, Tanjong and the Yŏnsan Kun, to perform sacrificial rites; (2) better maintaining the tombs of the rulers of past dynasties, including prohibiting firewood gathering and livestock grazing in the vicinities; (3) sending officials to the graves of loyal subjects and righteous scholars of previous dynasties to perform sacrificial rites; and (4) inspecting the graves of Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn (857–fl. 908), An Hyang (1243–1306), and Sŏl Ch’ong (658?–n.d.), all milestone figures in the history of Korean Confucianism.84 Then, during an evening royal lecture in 1583, Sŏnjo issued an order prohibiting firewood gathering and the grazing of cows in the vicinity of the former dynasty’s tombs. Upon receiving an on-site inspection report from Magistrate of Kaesŏng Yi Hŏn’guk (1525–1602), the king ordered all crumbling Koryŏ tombs to be repaired, the Ministry of Rites to send incense sticks, the Ancestral Rites Administration (Pongsangsi) of the Kaesŏng magistracy to prepare other ritual goods, and the Kyŏnggi governor’s office to appoint magistrates from the province, as needed, to perform rituals.85 In the same spirit, Sŏnjo also sanctified the Sungŭijŏn with the metaphysical presence of Koryŏ T’aejo by transporting a portrait from a provincial temple and reenshrining it at the Sungŭijŏn. On June 11, 1576, Sŏnjo ordered that T’aejo’s portrait housed at Yongch’ŏn Temple in P’unggi, Kyŏngsang, be relocated to the Sungŭijŏn.86 A month later, on July 5, Sŏnjo followed up by ordering the Ministry of Rites to mobilize manpower to transport the portrait from the temple by proper ceremonial carriage to the shrine, and all counties through which the procession was to pass had to have appropriate ceremonial artifacts ready. In addition, the court prepared for performance of a reenshrinement ritual (ianje).87 Such use of a portrait of Koryŏ T’aejo is comparable to the better-known Orthodox Christian veneration of an icon, which embodies the holiness of the depicted subject to a degree not recognized in Catholic and Protestant

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

75

churches. Earlier in history, Eastern Christianity had undergone intense debates over the meaning of images depicting holy figures, and each debate had political and theological dimensions as well.88 Beings so depicted and honored in the Orthodox tradition include not only those officially recognized as saints but also Byzantine emperors honored as universal rulers, each the vicar of God.89 The Korean monarchs of the earlier Koryŏ period also claimed to be universal rulers, at least domestically, albeit being limited in reality by continental powers such as the Khitan Liao dynasty (916–1125) and the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234), both of which demanded ritual submission.90 Sanctified by the metaphysical presence of Koryŏ T’aejo, the Sungŭijŏn needed his true ritual heir as its superintendent, and many Wangs contested the legitimacy of the Wang Hŭi line that Chungjong’s court had chosen in 1541. Earlier, when Hŭi died in 1561, the second of his five sons, Wang Wŏnp’il (1518–1586), assumed the post and was in turn succeeded by his only son, Wang Ŏnjang (1535–1591). Even earlier, during Chungjong’s reign, when Hŭi’s eldest son, Wŏnbo, passed the military examination, many Kaesŏng Wang noticed that the examination roster recorded his ancestral seat as Chŏnju. Accordingly, in 1570, Wang Hun (ca. 1520–1590), a sixth-generation descendant of Wang Mi and thus a descendant of Koryŏ T’aejo’s fifteenth son, Hyoŭn T’aeja, submitted a memorial complaining that Hŭi was not of royal descent and that the court must secure a rightful heir, but a prominent statesman, perhaps acting on Wŏnp’il’s behalf, reportedly prevented the memorial from reaching Sŏnjo. Eighteen years later, in 1588, Hun again submitted a memorial, this time one that captured Sŏnjo’s attention, and the court ultimately stripped Ŏnjang of the shrine superintendent position. Upon investigation, the court learned that Hŭi’s household register recorded his ancestral seat as Chuch’ŏn.91 Considering that the genealogy records just one male for each of the seven generations between an alleged royal unrecorded in the History of Koryŏ and Wŏnp’il, his father Hŭi did not hail from a well recognized, organized descent line, much less lineage. Regardless of whether Hŭi was of royal descent, the fact that he claimed to be a Kaesŏng Wang suggests that, by the mid-sixteenth century, being a descendant of the Koryŏ dynasty could mean perquisites. Not only were the Wangs now free to boast of royal descent, rumors that both U and Ch’ang, deposed by Yi Sŏnggye before the founding of Chosŏn, were true Wangs were also in circulation, in spite of official historiography to the contrary.92 When Ch’a Sik (1517–1575) was serving as the magistrate (Kunsu) of Kosŏng in Kangwŏn, he met Yang Saŏn’s (1517–1584) seventy-se

76

Chapter 2

father-in-law, Yi Sich’un (n.d.), who related a story that he had heard from his great-grandmother of more than ninety se, who was living in Kangnŭng. When she was twelve, the great-grandmother heard that the former king was going to be executed, and she had gone to the site. U declared: “We Wangs are descendants of a dragon. Every Wang has three scales under the left armpit, and this has served as our mark for generations.” When he removed his upper garment, the scales, each of coin size and shining gold, were visible. All those present were awed and saddened. More or less the same story was in circulation by the sixteenth century, and it was mentioned in an eighteenthcentury work quoting an obscure earlier source.93 According to a collection of tales compiled by Yang and Ch’a’s contemporary, Yi Ki (1522–1600), who was a descendant of a first cousin of Yi Maenggyun and thus a descendant of Koryŏ loyalist Yi Saek, every Wang, being of dragon’s stock, has a telling scale somewhere on the body, no matter how remote or unworthy a descendant. U also had one the size of a Paduk (Ch. Weiqi, Ja. Go) stone on his left shoulder, never showing it to anyone. Before dying, however, he turned to someone beside him, bared his shoulder, and shouted: “If I do not show this now, how will you all know that I am not a Sin?” Yi noted that although it is unrecorded, the people of Kangnŭng have transmitted this story orally.94 The above accounts of U’s final moments are chronologically problematic, although without a doubt, an understandably sympathetic attitude toward him was widespread by the mid-sixteenth century. If all the date-related information, separate from the descriptive details about U’s body, were to be taken literally, then an overlap of even just a few years between Yi Sich’un—who presumably heard the story from his great-grandmother when he was a child old enough to remember what he heard—and his great-grandmother, allegedly in her nineties, is rather unlikely. What is clear, however, is that if U was indeed put to death publicly, then the Yi Sŏnggye faction’s presumed intent to publicize the crime of the alleged pretender backfired. Largely ignorant of the details of court politics, ordinary people at the scene and subsequent tellers of the tale must have had their feelings kindled by the sight of the former king being put to death. And if U indeed acted as if he was displaying the mark of a true Wang, then regardless of whether or not he had any scale, his final act would have influenced the popular imagination for generations to come—as it did. While maintaining that U and Ch’ang were Sins, after dismissing Ŏnjang in 1588, the Chosŏn state conducted its third search for a line of Koryŏ ritual heirs. In the following year, on August 14, when Sŏnjo ordered the Royal Sec-

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

77

retariat to consult high officials about selecting a new ritual heir and report back in detail, the chief state councilor suggested two desirable qualities for the ideal candidate: (1) being of the closest genealogical distance to the line of Koryŏ royal succession; and (2) having many descendants. Noting that the appropriate ministry should handle the particulars of the search, the second state councilor advised that if Wang Yŏ (fl. 1589) was indeed the lineage heir (chongson) of Koryŏ T’aejo’s son Hyoŭn T’aeja as he claimed, then he and the descendants of his father’s first cousin, Wang Hŭigŏl, who was the most prominent scholar-official that the Wangs had produced since the persecution, should receive special consideration. In light of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, in which Yŏ appears as a literary licentiate and a holder of court rank titles, his claim to lineage heirship suggests that factors other than genealogical seniority determined inheritance of the position in mid-Chosŏn: his great-grandfather, Wang Chongŭi, had an elder brother, Wang Chongin, who had descendants residing in the southwest and Seoul. Most likely, the fact that Chongin’s descendants lived either far away from Seoul or, in the case of those in Seoul, were of nonelite status, explains why the lineage heirship was passed down through Chongŭi instead. Confessing ignorance of all the details, the third state councilor argued that even if Yŏ was indeed the lineage heir, appointing him was ill-advised if he resided in the countryside, whereas appointing Wang Hwi (fl. 1589) would pose no problem if he was a prominent enough figure. Then a fourth official suggested that, if necessary, a well-known person should be chosen, although the appropriate ministry should handle the matter.95 Sŏnjo, who approved of the overall goal as articulated by the chief state councilor, favored Wang Hun. Lamenting that it had been forty-nine years since the last performance of ancestral rites for Koryŏ by a rightful heir, he expressed his gratitude toward Hun and others for rectifying the situation. Among five candidates mentioned, three were absent, and Sŏnjo regarded Hun, who was of advanced age, as the most suitable since he was genealogically the most senior and had many descendants, whereas Hwi did not have many descendants. When Sŏnjo wanted to confirm the identity of the leader of the effort petitioning the court to secure a rightful ritual heir, the Ministry of Rites reported that, not knowing who the leader was, it would question Hun and others to find out. Then the king ordered the Royal Secretariat to consult again with high officials about selecting the best candidate.96 On the following day, August 15, Sŏnjo chose Hun after having the Royal Secretariat interview him and confirm that he was of a clear mind in spite of his advanced age. Prior to the decision, the second state councilor noted that

78

Chapter 2

since Hun had many descendants and Hwi was of sound character, everyone regarded both as suitable. The third state councilor, however, urged caution, pointing out that although both were descendants of the Koryŏ dynasty, honoring the virtues of their royal ancestors was a weighty matter, so the court should carefully choose the right person. Then an official, who had earlier been vocal about the eligibility of former strongman Yun Wŏnhyŏng’s illegitimate son for heirship, deferred to Sŏnjo, suggesting that since the surviving Wangs were close to one another in terms of their genealogical generations and it was impossible to know much about every candidate, the matter should be left to his majesty’s sagely decision. At this point, Sŏnjo appointed Hun as the new Sungŭijŏn superintendent.97 Four days later, on August 19, the court added a final ceremonial touch to the appointment of the new ritual heir. Based on a report from the Ministry of Rites, the third royal secretary (U sŭngji, 3a) advised that the court send to the Sungŭijŏn a prayer text and other ritual items for an officiant to inform the spirits of Koryŏ monarchs of the court’s appointment. The royal secretary also recommended having the Kyŏnggi governor carefully prepare the ritual goods and entrust a specially selected ritual officer (hŏn’gwan) to deliver the prayer text and the goods. Sŏnjo approved.98 In contrast to the three previous lines of ritual heirs, the newly secured fourth line that began with Hun would increase in population as a lineage, with the descendants as recorded in the most recent edition of the comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy (2004) numbering well over one thousand.99 Sŏnjo’s court also began appointing junior ninth-rank tomb superintendents (Ch’ambong) to manage Koryŏ royal tombs, likely in the 1570s. Initially, the superintendent took care of only the Hyŏnnŭng, the joint tomb of Emperor T’aejo and his first wife, and only much later, in Kojong’s reign, would the oversight be extended to all extant Koryŏ royal tombs.100 Through the end of the Chosŏn dynasty, the court would appoint at least fifty-four Wangs to the position of Koryŏ royal tomb superintendent (Yŏrŭng Ch’ambong), beginning with Wang Hangnyŏng (1539–1617, a distant cousin of Wang Hun), who initiated a line of position holders. Although Hangnyŏng originally lived in Koyang, upon his appointment he moved to Kaesŏng, where his descendants continued to reside.101 In a way, the arrangement presaged the emergence of the Kaesŏng lineage as the most prominent descent line as symbolized by examination graduates, court rank holders, and officials, whereas the Majŏn lineage members remained focused on performing their duties as the ritual heirs of the Koryŏ dynasty.

S e a r c h f o r a R i t ua l H ei r

79

Summary The rehabilitation of surviving Wangs served the Chosŏn dynasty’s interest in further bolstering its security and enhancing its legitimacy. Citing Chinese historical precedents and mindful of the contemporaneous Ming court’s treatment of a Yuan prince, the Chosŏn court established a shrine, the Sungŭijŏn, to honor select Koryŏ monarchs and officials, and secured a new line of Wangs to perform ancestral rites. Early Chosŏn kings such as Sejo repeatedly referred to Wang Sullye, the first of the restored ritual heirs, as the Chosŏn dynasty’s guest rather than a subject, but the gesture was more about following the Chinese historical precedents used for establishing the legitimacy of Chosŏn than about vesting Sullye with any political power. When Sullye was appointed as the shrine superintendent in 1452, his father’s birth as an illegitimate son did not hold Munjong back, and in 1485, upon Sullye’s death, Sŏngjong’s court recognized his illegitimate son, Wang Ch’ŏn’gye, as the successor. Subsequently, the notion that an illegitimate son was ineligible for lineage heirship gained strength, and decades passed before the court secured a new, qualified, and lasting line of ritual heirs. In 1540, when Ch’ŏn’gye’s son and successor Wang Chŏk died, Chungjong’s court was mindful of social norms vis-à-vis illegitimate sons and heirship. Rather than appointing one of Chŏk’s sons, all of whom were illegitimate, the court searched for a new line of ritual heirs, and the following year, Chungjong appointed Wang Hŭi, who was reportedly an aristocrat with multiple sons and who resided not too far from Majŏn. Nearly five decades later, in 1589, however, Sŏnjo’s court stripped Hŭi’s grandson of the superintendentship upon concluding that his line was not that of a true Kaesŏng Wang. After using the earlier search criteria and making sure that the seemingly best candidate’s advanced age did not compromise his overall mental acuity, Sŏnjo appointed Wang Hun, who could claim only Koryŏ T’aejo as his closest regal ancestor through Wang Mi, the direct ancestor of most of the living Kaesŏng Wang. Although not known for wielding political power at the highest level for generations, some of Mi’s descendants maintained a degree of representation in officialdom and established local elite lineages in various parts of Korea, including the Kaesŏng lineage, which produced an increasing number of examination passers, court rank holders, and officials as well as candidates for the newly created Koryŏ royal superintendentship. All the same, the descent lines of Hŭi and other Wangs of similarly obscure origins—who were not accepted by the Kaesŏng Wang as their kin—would continue claiming descent from the Koryŏ dynasty.

C h ap t er 3

The Court and Society, 1589–1724

Mid-Chosŏn partisan politics turned increasingly hereditary, with political power concentrated within the aristocracy based in Seoul and its vicinity. Upon the triumph of Sarim political rhetoric, its adherents began debating issues ranging from foreign relations to court rituals to interpretations of metaphysical concepts to personality clashes. Naturally, existing groups began to subdivide into smaller ones. In 1589, the Easterners split into the Northerners (Pugin) and the Southerners (Namin), and the subdivision process continued. The Imjin War (1592–1598), the Chŏngmyo War (1627), the Pyŏngja War (1637), and postwar reconstruction further fueled partisan strife as factions wrangled over a wide range of issues. The next major division occurred in 1680 when the Westerners split into the Patriarchs and the Disciples (Soron). At the same time, the dethronement of Sŏnjo’s second son and successor, the Kwanghae Kun, and the defeat of the Northerners backing him commenced a funneling process that involved disenfranchisement of one defeated party after another. The strife peaked in intensity in the reign of Hyŏnjong, whose only son and successor, Sukchong, played one group off against another. By the end of the reign of Sukchong’s eldest son and successor, Kyŏngjong, only two par-

The Court and Societ y

81

ties maintained a meaningful presence in officialdom—the Patriarchs and the Disciples, with the latter on the defensive. Although political turmoil persisted at the court, the boundaries separating social status categories crystalized, with each undergoing substratification. By the early seventeenth century, four status groups were distinct: (1) the yangban, aristocracy comprising families of scholars and officials who could claim descent from late Koryŏ officeholders without any non-yangban in the intervening generations; (2) the chungin, state-employed experts in various branches of knowledge or sectors of administration; (3) the yangin or yangmin, commoners or the “good people,” comprising farmers and others who bore tax and military obligations to the state; and (4) the ch’ŏnmin, the lowborn, most of whom were slaves owned either by the state or private individuals. While the aristocracy became increasingly differentiated into those who had a presence in central officialdom, on the one hand, and those who were members of a more purely local elite, on the other hand, some nonelites who were profiting from a progressively commercialized economy wielded influence and also accumulated cultural capital. While Chosŏn culture as a whole remained pluralistic, Neo-Confucianism triumphed as the decisive force at the elite level, and it increasingly influenced nonelites as well. To be sure, shamanism and Buddhism remained important in the lives of ordinary Koreans, but both traditions and Confucianism syncretically influenced one another. Also, a number of Korean visitors to China came into contact with the Jesuits and Western Learning (Sŏhak), although for the most part this influence was limited to interest in European cartography and calendrical calculation rather than Catholicism per se. Specifics of cosmology aside, indeed a broader Confucianism shaped moral and political discourse in ways that transformed all levels of society, and the Wangs were no exception.

Wars, Politics, and Identity, 1589–1649 By the late sixteenth century, the Kaesŏng Wang as a whole comprised distinct descent lines that dealt with the mid-Chosŏn wars and political turmoil in various ways. The population of the Wangs, mostly descendants of Wang Mi, increased from perhaps a couple of hundred as of 1589 to at least several hundred by 1724, but the steady stream of Kaesŏng Wang examination graduates that had begun in the early sixteenth century continued at the same level, without reflecting the overall Wang population increase. The Kaesŏng Wang

82

Chapter 3

as a descent group produced two civil (no change from the earlier period, 1450–1588), at least five military (up from three), and no technical (down from one) examination degree holders as well as at least five licentiates (down from six)—excluding those documented only in the Wang genealogy. In contrast, the pattern of office holding changed markedly. In contrast to nine out of ten examination passers from 1450 to 1588 who are known to have held an office (counting only once any individual holding more than one degree), just three of ten degree holders from 1589 to 1724 did so.1 By then, Wangs were residing in every one of the eight provinces, and patterns of examination success and office holding varied among the dispersed lineages. In terms of sizable population and social cohesiveness, seven are noteworthy: the branches of Kaesŏng, Kurye, Kwach’ŏn (spreading out to Nam­ yang, Ch’ŏngju, and other counties in Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng), Majŏn, Sangju, Seoul, and the north. Also, four descent lines of obscure origins that claimed later Koryŏ monarchs as their ancestors increased in population. Overall, while the Majŏn lineage continued to provide the Sungŭijŏn superintendents, the center of gravity in terms of examination success and office holding shifted from the Kwach’ŏn lineage to the Kaesŏng lineage, while all others were of a social status that ranged between local aristocrats and commoners. Contributing to the segmentation of the elite descent groups, including the Kaesŏng Wang, was a bitter partisan strife that incapacitated the officialdom of Sŏnjo court as an effective governing body. Quarrelling over the issue of designating one of Sŏnjo’s sons—none of whom had been mothered by the queen—as the crown prince, in 1589, the Easterners purged the Westerners, but the victors soon split into Northerners and Southerners over the issue of the degree to which the Westerners should be punished. In such a milieu, rational discussion of even a grave national security matter was not feasible. When two envoys sent to Japan in 1591 to assess Japan’s potential threat presented conflicting assessments, the more senior envoy of the two, Kim Sŏngil (1538–1593), who was a famed scholar-official and a leading Southerner, downplayed the threat; because his party was dominant at the time, Sŏnjo accepted his view. The result was that the Imjin War that commenced with a massive Japanese invasion in May 1592 caught Korea ill prepared. Thanks to Ming China’s military intervention, brilliant naval victories by Admiral Yi Sunsin (1545–1598), the tenacity of “righteous armies” (ŭibyŏng) of self-organized militias, and the death of the invasion’s mastermind, the Japanese ultimately withdrew in December 1598, but only after inflicting tremendous loss of life and property.2

The Court and Societ y

83

Many of the landed-elite families of the south, including members of the Kaesŏng Wang lineage of Sangju in Kyŏngsang such as Wang Chundo (1566– 1631), took up arms during the war. Chundo led a righteous army against the Japanese, and the court rewarded him with the largely honorary post of fourth-rank military officer in the Five Guards (Hogun, 4a).3 His actions did not result in an increase in his lineage’s presence in central officialdom, however. Some time later, one of his grandsons, Wang Chŏngsŏl (1631–1707), passed the military examination, but he is not known to have held any office. As a local elite lineage with Southerner party affinity, the Wangs of Sangju nonetheless maintained marriage ties to their social peers. For example, one of Chŏngsŏl’s nephews married a great-great-granddaughter of Kim Sŏngil.4 To the west in Chŏlla Province, a father-son duo of the Kaesŏng Wang lineage of Kurye became celebrated war heroes and solidified the lineage’s social standing as a local elite. In October 1597, when, for the second time, the Japanese took the county seat of Kurye and attacked Sŏkchu Pass, a strategic gateway between Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang, Wang Tŭgin (1556–1597) recruited about 50 fighters. Not daunted by the prospect of engaging an enemy army numbering about 34,000, he died while fighting bravely. Thereafter, in December, his son, Wang Ŭisŏng (fl. 1597–1637), and 5 other local leaders again engaged the Japanese at Sŏkchu. After they killed 60 Japanese and rescued 200 Korean captives, 153 Buddhist monks joined. When the Koreans attacked the Japanese yet again at the pass, all militia leaders died except for Ŭisŏng. Thereafter, the people of Kurye honored the leaders, including Ŭisŏng, as the “Righteous Seven Literati of Sŏkchu Pass” (Sŏkchu’gwan ch’il ŭisa), and this enhanced the Kurye Kaesŏng Wang’s standing as a leading local elite family. Including Ŭisŏng, nine from the lineage served as local council members (hyangwŏn).5 Typical of a late-Chosŏn local elite lineage, the Wangs of Kurye had little presence in central officialdom. Of those who continued to reside in Kurye, just two appear in the genealogy as officeholders: Ŭisŏng as auditor of the Ritual Guest Agency (Yebinsi Chubu, 6b) and his father’s distant cousin as general of the Inner Sanctum Guard (Naegŭmwi Chang, 2b).6 Farther north, in central Korea also, many Kaesŏng Wang, including members of the Kwach’ŏn lineage, fought against the Japanese. One of the most renowned among the local Wangs at the time was Wang Ok (1547–n.d.), who was a son of Hŭigŏl’s first cousin and the first member of the Kwach’ŏn lineage to settle in Ch’ŏngju. Ok passed the classics licentiate examination (1579) and the civil examination (1583) before serving as magistrate, ministry assistant section chief, and State Council first secretary. During the war, he led a righ-

84

Chapter 3

teous army, and after his death, the court honored him posthumously as first royal secretary and second deputy director (Chik chehak, 3a) of the Office of Royal Decrees.7 The Wangs who could not or did not take up arms sought safety, and among them was Wang Sŏ (fl. 1592). The only grandson of Wang Chiil, who had moved from Kwach’ŏn to Tansŏng in Kyŏngsang, Sŏ and his family fled farther south within the province and found refuge in Kosŏng. On their way home after the war, they settled in Ŭiryŏng instead, and subsequent generations of descendants spread out, establishing residences elsewhere in southern Kyŏngsang, including Chinju, Haman, Hapch’ŏn, and Ulsan. Before the war, the lineage had minimal ties to central officialdom, and afterward no member is known to have obtained a degree, a court rank, or an office. Considering that two male members were married to daughters of licentiates and that various family members appear in late Chosŏn local gazetteers, Sŏ’s descendants as a whole apparently enjoyed local elite social standing.8 The mid-Chosŏn warfare even more widely scattered the Wangs who were less rooted in their locales, including those of obscure origins who claimed descent from a late Koryŏ king, Ch’ungjŏng. Sometime in mid-Chosŏn, they dispersed from Hapch’ŏn in western Kyŏngsang to various counties farther west in Chŏlla—perhaps seeking safety in the region protected by Yi Sunsin and his navy. By the mid-seventeenth century, if not earlier, the Wangs possessed state-sanctioned status trappings. According to the genealogy, Wang Aebok (1594–1655), who was a great-grandson of a sixteenth-century literary licentiate, held an eighth-rank office in the Military Training Administration. Each of his two sons held the same office, and the elder son also passed the military examination. Other than their distant cousin (1624–n.d.) buried in Chinan, whom the genealogy records as a recipient of the posthumous honor of a senior third court rank title, no other member from the descent line appears to have obtained a degree, a court rank, or an office. The genealogy records many fathers-in-law with degrees, ranks, or offices, but none of the alleged examination passers appear in extant examination rosters.9 This line of Wangs did not gain admittance into the comprehensive genealogy of the Kaesŏng Wang until 1881. During the Imjin War, other Wangs moved north, and their history is poorly documented. Wang Hangnyŏng, whom the court had appointed as the first Koryŏ royal tomb superintendent, had five younger brothers, and the second and the fourth, Wang Hakchŏng (1545–1629) and Wang Hakkŭn (n.d.), respectively, both moved to P’yŏngyang. According to the genealogy,

The Court and Societ y

85

Hakchŏng, a senior third civil court rank holder, moved in 1592 to the city to flee the Japanese, and his immediate descendants settled in Kangdong and Sukch’ŏn, located northeast and northwest, respectively, of P’yŏngyang. According to the genealogy, Hakchŏng’s eldest son was an auditor, and, including two of his younger brothers, eleven of his descendants passed the military examination during the period considered in this chapter. None of the degree holders, however, appear in the genealogy as holders of a court rank or an office, a common pattern in the late Chosŏn period among military examination passers from the north. As for the northern Wangs descended from Hakkŭn, who was buried in P’yŏngyang, only the elder of the two recorded grandsons, Wang Isŏng (ca. 1648–n.d.), who served as a Koryŏ tomb superintendent until 1681, was known to have held a court rank or an office during this period. In fact, the genealogy’s coverage of this line stops with Isŏng’s three sons, two of whom were illegitimate. Unrecorded in the 1798 genealogy, Hakkŭn’s second son, born in 1630, continued the line, which was based in P’yŏngyang.10 In contrast, the Kaesŏng Wang lineage of Majŏn had to stay where they were because they had the unique responsibility of performing the sacrificial rites at the Sungŭijŏn. Once the court had settled on Wang Hun after the controversy surrounding Wang Hŭi’s line, Hun and his family took up residence in Majŏn. The Majŏn lineage was growing in population and monopolized the position of the Sungŭijŏn superintendent throughout this period. Including Hun, five lineage members served as superintendent, and the average length of tenure was about twenty-eight years, that is, roughly a generation. Each superintendent was the lineage heir, that is, the predecessor’s only son, elder son, or eldest son—with one exception, a case in which the predecessor outlived his heir apparent and the post went to the eldest grandson (figure 3.1).11 Except for Hun, who served as an intern (Sŭptokkwan) at the Office of Palace Physicians (Naeŭiwŏn) and as Office of the Inspector-General bailiff (Kamch’al, 6a), none of them held any other central office. Among other lineage members who resided in Majŏn, just three are known to have obtained a court rank or an office: (1) Hun’s second son, who had passed the military examination (1584) and served as a junior eighth-rank official (Pongsa) of the Military Training Agency; (2) Hun’s third son, who held a junior sixth civil rank; and (3) one of Hun’s great-grandsons, who served in the Loyal and Righteous Guard.12 The impact of the war on the Sungŭijŏn was small, thanks to the wisdom and courage of its superintendent, Wang Yugyŏng (ca. 1545–1618), the eldest

86

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1.  The Wang Hun line of ritual heirs, 1589–1724.

son and successor of Wang Hun. In 1592, before the Japanese troops reached the area, Yugyŏng did not abandon the shrine even while hiding out in the grassy fields. Within the shrine compound, he hid the spirit tablets of the four Koryŏ monarchs and sixteen merit subjects as well as other ritual objects. When a band of five or six Japanese arrived, they eventually found the ritual objects, but in the middle of the night Yugyŏng snuck inside the compound to salvage the spirit tablets and hide them again at a secure location. After the Japanese left, he kept the tablets at the house of a shrine slave. Later, in 1595, Yugyŏng petitioned the court for permission to repair the Sungŭijŏn, to reenshrine the spirit tablets, and to officially assume his father’s position, somehow vacant since 1590, when the latter died, and the court approved.13 Stories told near and far thereafter spoke of how, thanks to the divine power of Koryŏ T’aejo, the Sungŭijŏn alone remained standing, even though elsewhere the war reduced countless edifices, public and private alike, to ashes.14 Much later, the Sungŭijŏn would also survive the next devastating war for the country, the Korean War (1950–1953). Indeed, the Sungŭijŏn inspired the popular imagination as an edifice protected by supernatural forces. According to an early seventeenth-century account, a thief stole some sacrificial meat from the shrine, and that night, the

The Court and Societ y

87

ritual officiant had a dream in which three enraged monarchs recognized and dragged out the perpetrator and beheaded him. The next day, the officiant found and interrogated the thief, who readily confessed his crime and received an appropriate punishment. According to another story from the early seventeenth century, someone tried to steal various ritual objects from the Sungŭijŏn, but before reaching the entrance, he felt as if his arms and legs were bound—and the superintendent caught him. Accordingly, local functionaries in charge of sacrificial rites performed their duties with the utmost sincerity, respect, and solemnity.15 The Sungŭijŏn also enjoyed earthly patronage as Sŏnjo’s court paid respectful attention to it, along with other shrines honoring various founders of earlier Korean states. On July 25, 1603, when the Ch’ungch’ŏng governor recommended to Sŏnjo that the shrine of the founder of Paekche (trad. 18 BCE–660 CE), King Onjo (r. trad. 18 BCE–trad. 28 CE), be repaired, he mentioned that in the previous year, the Sungŭijŏn had been repaired, along with the shrine dedicated to Kija (Ch. Jizi, a legendary Shang dynasty prince traditionally credited with bringing civilization to Korea) and the shrine honoring the three legendary founders of T’amna (n.d.–1402), the indigenous Cheju island state. The governor said that currently the court granted ritual incense and prayer text to each shrine’s spring and autumn ancestral rites, and he recommended that Onjo’s shrine be treated the same. Sŏnjo approved.16 In 1605, the court appointed Yugyŏng’s only legitimate son, Wang Kon (1576–n.d.), as the junior sixth-rank superintendent of the Sungŭijŏn when Governor of Kyŏnggi Yi Chŏnggwi (1564–1635) requested incense sticks for performing rituals at the shrine.17 Paralleling the Confucian rituals in honor of Koryŏ at the Sungŭijŏn, the Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land in memory of the victims of the May 1394 massacre continued to enjoy popularity across status boundaries. For instance, the one held in the sixth lunar month of 1606 outside Ch’angŭi Gate, the northwestern gate of the capital’s wall, brought crowds of aristocrats and commoners alike who filled the streets.18 Nonetheless, the ritual was no longer sanctioned by the state and was not comparable to its Confucian counterpart performed at the Sungŭijŏn, which occupied an important position in the Chosŏn dynasty’s rhetoric of legitimate succession to Koryŏ. Even after being stripped of the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship in 1588, Wang Hŭi’s grandson, Wang Ŏnjang, and his descendants, perhaps mindful of the attention that the court paid to the Sungŭijŏn, continued to reside in Majŏn. Likely reflecting the less than bona fide elite status of the family, the

88

Chapter 3

Wang genealogy does not record an heir for any of the four uncles of Ŏnjang. Also, for his two sons who are included, the genealogy records an heir only for the elder son, Wang Un (1559–1637), allegedly a senior third civil rank holder. Un’s only recorded son, to whom the genealogy attributes a senior fifth civil court rank, had four sons, and from that generation on, the genealogy finally provides continuous coverage for multiple males of a generation—clearly indicating that until then, the Wangs did not constitute a socially meaningful, organized descent group in any sense, much less a lineage. Later in the seventeenth century, the second son, Wang Anse (1624–1689), passed the military examination and held the post of sixth-rank Five Guards military officer (Sagwa, 6a)—the only office that the genealogy records for a member of the family before 1724.19 Since no member of this line appears in any extant examination roster, household register, or other type of primary source for this period, we do not know whether or not they continued claiming Kaesŏng as their ancestral seat. Conflicting claims of legitimacy, certainly not confined to the issue of Koryŏ ritual heirship, consumed the national politics of Chosŏn royal succession. Upon Sŏnjo’s sudden death in March 1608, his second son and the crown prince, the Kwanghae Kun, began his tumultuous, fifteen-year reign that would end with his dethronement by a coup. At thirty-four se upon his accession, the Kwanghae Kun had acquired crisis management experience as the crown prince after being elevated at the outbreak of the Imjin War. Subsequently, the birth of Sŏnjo’s only son by a queen in 1606 intensified partisan strife. The opposition from the Westerners who supported the youngest son of Sŏnjo stymied the Kwanghae Kun’s efforts to keep the war-devastated country out of the escalating conflict between the declining Ming and the rising Jurchens. Giving in to his political base, the king acceded to the demands of the Northerners and put his half brother to death, stripped the latter’s mother of the rank of queen dowager, and even killed a full brother and a nephew—all because the Northerners perceived them as threatening royal legitimacy.20 In such a milieu, discussions about the Sungŭijŏn referred to the shrine as the epitome of the present dynasty’s benevolence toward its predecessor. On December 25, 1609, and on September 12, 1610, while advising the Kwanghae Kun on better upkeep of the tombs of the two deposed rulers, Tanjong and the Yŏnsan Kun, Yi Chŏnggwi, then the minister of rites, cited the ritual protocol of performing ancestral rites even for rulers of previous dynasties, such as those conducted at the Sungŭijŏn. The Kwanghae Kun approved Yi’s various

The Court and Societ y

89

recommendations.21 Since all kings after Tanjong were descendants of Sejo, who deposed his nephew Tanjong, and all kings after the Yŏnsan Kun were descendants of Chungjong, who was a younger brother elevated by coup leaders to succeed the Yŏnsan Kun, the issue of proper ritual protocols for the tombs of the two deposed rulers remained politically sensitive. Not surprisingly at the time, both tombs were suffering from relative neglect by the state, and as fate would have it, the Kwanghae Kun himself would be deposed. At the same time, the Sungŭijŏn served as a model that the dynasty should follow in honoring Kija, and the court transposed the practices associated with the Sungŭijŏn to the Kija shrine. On November 18, 1611, when the P’yŏngan governor memorialized the throne to appoint a Sŏnu-surnamed descendant of Kija to revive ancestral rites for Kija that had been discontinued for eleven hundred years, he cited the Sungŭijŏn as a precedent. Noting that it would please the province’s literati and the ordinary people alike, the governor stressed the utmost importance of his proposal. The king approved.22 When the court considered the existence of the Sunginjŏn, a shrine built in 1325 in P’yŏngyang to honor Kija, the issue under discussion was that of instituting state-sanctioned rites. Six months after the P’yŏngan governor’s memorial, on May 27, 1612, when he was making recommendations with regard to the Sunginjŏn, Minister of Rites Yi Chŏnggwi lamented that its ritual protocols were inferior even to those of the Sungŭijŏn, thus suggesting that the Sungŭijŏn was better off than the Sunginjŏn, which evidently was more important to him. Yi argued that in the same way that China venerates Confucius, Korea must honor Kija and repay his grace in transforming the people of the east from barbarians into members of the civilized world (Chunghwa, Ch. Zhonghua). Yi mirrored the practices associated with the Sungŭijŏn when he recommended that the court dispatch officials to perform on-site ancestral rites, appoint the Sŏnus, whom the court regarded as descendants of Kija, as superintendents of higher ranks while abolishing the junior ninthrank position then in place, exempt the descendants from military service, and allow them to live near the shrine to perform the rites. Approving the recommendation, the Kwanghae Kun dispatched an official to perform the rites, and Yi composed text for a commemorative stele to be erected next to the Sunginjŏn.23 Thus, more than 160 years after instituting regulations to govern a state-managed shrine in honor of Koryŏ T’aejo, the court did likewise for an analogous shrine for Kija. Taking cues from a court not only concerned with historical matters and legitimacy but also plagued by conspiracies, local authorities wrongfully ar-

90

Chapter 3

rested a Wang with an allegedly subversive name before releasing him. Upon his arrest on April 10, 1614, for his bizarre (hwangdang) behavior by the office of the Kyongsang governor, the man, Kim Tŏngnyong (n.d.–1615), said that a military commander was to “become king and govern the state” (wang ch’iguk) and provided names. Construing wang ch’iguk as a name, the Chŏlla governor’s office arrested Wang Ch’un’gyŏng (1545–n.d.), reportedly solely because of his surname. When interrogated, Wang pleaded innocence, asking how he, as an old man and not even an aristocrat, could commit treason to “become king and govern the state.” The governor’s office eventually decided that the three characters did not indicate an individual’s name and requested the court’s permission to release him. The State Tribunal concluded that the authorities had been looking for a man who did not even exist and then had wrongfully arrested Wang, on May 12. The Kwanghae Kun agreed when the State Tribunal urged him to release the man and order the authorities not to continue to search for a Wang Ch’iguk.24 As it turns out, the individual, who would eventually overthrow the Kwanghae Kun, was not a Wang but rather the king’s own nephew. After Injo succeeded the Kwanghae Kun as a result of the Westerners’ coup in April 1623, he faced the ascendant power of the Jurchens, who became the self-renamed Manchus in 1635. Injo openly pursued a pro-Ming policy that invited two invasions. The first, the Chŏngmyo War, forced Korea to recognize the Jurchen Later Jin dynasty (1616–1912, renamed Qing in 1636) as the “elder brother.” Continuing defiance by Injo’s court prompted the second invasion, the Pyŏngja War, which ended with capitulation and the transfer of Chosŏn Korea’s allegiance as vassal from the Ming to the Qing. The crown prince’s interest in Western Learning that he had encountered while being held hostage at the Qing court aroused his father’s anger. When the prince died suddenly after returning to Korea, Injo killed his widow, her siblings, and their mother, in addition to banishing the prince’s three sons. Injo then elevated his second son, the future King Hyojong, as the crown prince.25 As a way of bolstering his legitimacy as a king elevated by a coup and then humiliated by the Manchus, whom the Koreans regarded as barbarians, Injo paid particular attention to matters concerning legitimacy. On December 5, 1623, during the midday royal lecture (chugang), when an official recommended posthumously honoring Chŏng Ku (1543–1620) for opposing what the court deemed the morally heinous acts of the Kwanghae Kun, Injo approved. Accompanying that measure, the court similarly honored various other figures from the previous reign and dispatched officials with ritual goods

The Court and Societ y

91

and prayer texts to the Sungŭijŏn, the Sunginjŏn, and the tombs of Chŏng Mongju and Kil Chae.26 Injo’s assertion of legitimacy faced a challenge when Yi Kwal rebelled (1624), and at least one Kaesŏng Wang, Wang Yusin (fl. 1624), distinguished himself and brought honor to the Seoul lineage. Unlike the earlier technical specialist chungin line, the fate of which is unknown, this period’s only documented Kaesŏng Wang line based in Seoul, descended from Wang Su, likely was of commoner social standing. The genealogy shows only the greatgreat-grandson of Su as an officeholder; he was auditor of the Government Arsenal (Kun’gisi) and a posthumous honoree as the second minister of works (Kong jo Ch’amp’an, 2b). The latter distinction was most likely thanks to his only recorded son, Yusin, who, according to the genealogy, was a lesser garrison commander whom the court rewarded as a minor merit subject for his role in quelling the Yi Kwal Rebellion. In fact, Yusin is the de facto founder of the Seoul lineage: in the genealogy, he is the fifth—and the last—of five consecutive generations of single-line descent. All the same, Yusin’s feat did not help his immediate descendants gain an office or a court rank; the genealogy records no office for his two sons and four grandsons. All family members were buried in a family grave plot in Yangju.27 The Yi Kwal Rebellion presented an opportunity for obscure Wang lines too. A case in point is a lineage claiming, as of 1881, descent from the eighth Koryŏ monarch, Hyŏnjong, through the Chŏnggan Wang. Among the members living in the seventeenth century, scattered in Chŏlla and Ch’ungch’ŏng Provinces rather than in a single county, the genealogy records nine with degrees, court ranks, or offices. One of them, Wang Ŭiun (fl. 1624), hailing from Yŏsan in Chŏlla as suggested by his burial location, was a military examination graduate and a minor merit subject for service during the rebellion. Presumably these distinctions enhanced his family’s social standing; later, in 1650, one of his distant cousins, Wang Chongnok (1599–n.d.), who resided in Hansan, Ch’ungch’ŏng, was a classics licentiate. In spite of the lineage’s problematic genealogical claim, the fact that the examination roster at the time recorded his ancestral seat as Kaesŏng and his father’s service obligation (chigyŏk) to the state as a deceased degreeless scholar suggests that the lineage claimed aristocratic status.28 The two foreign invasions of the century also prompted some Kaesŏng Wang to take up arms. During the Chŏngmyo War, Wang Chundo of the Sangju lineage, at fifty-nine se, was willing to fight again, but before reaching the enemy, he learned that the court had capitulated. After that, feeling no

92

Chapter 3

desire to serve in officialdom, he instead devoted the remainder of his life to intellectual exchanges with other scholars, particularly those focused on the Way and the path to righteousness.29 In January 1637, during the Pyŏngja War, Wang Ŭisŏng of the Kurye lineage recruited fighters and gathered provisions before heading to Fort Namhan, where Injo’s court was under siege. Upon reaching Ch’ŏngju, however, Ŭisŏng heard the news that the court had surrendered to the enemy. Wailing bitterly, he returned home.30 Other Wangs such as Wang Ik (1564–1648) managed to actually engage the enemy. Ik was a sixth-generation descendant of Wang Tŭkto, the ancestor of the Tŏkch’ŏn lineage, which was the oldest among the various Kaesŏng Wang lines based in the north, and he was the only one among Tŭkto’s descendants in the period examined in this chapter to acquire an office—passing the military examination (1612) and becoming the Military Training Administration auditor. Upon encountering a band of Qing troops during the Pyŏngja War, Ik fought hard, killing many and taking their horses and weapons, and the court rewarded him with an office. Perhaps enjoying enhanced social standing thanks to Ik, the line descended from him increased rapidly in population, and the members spread out from Tŏkch’ŏn, settling in various counties in P’yŏngan Province. Just one among Tŭkto’s descendants, though, gained an office.31 The Manchu subjugation of Chosŏn and conquest of the Ming spurred Chosŏn intellectuals to further reflect on the cardinal virtue of loyalty, and privately compiled histories are revealing. For instance, the discovery of a literary anthology, Un’gok’s Verse History (Un’gok sisa) authored by a Koryŏ loyalist, Wŏn Ch’ŏnsŏk (1330–n.d.),32 spurred some intellectuals to question the official position that Koryŏ kings U and Ch’ang were false Wangs justly deposed and executed by Chosŏn T’aejo—as maintained by the court-commissioned History of Koryŏ, completed in 1452. Criticizing the depiction in the History of Koryŏ as unfounded, Un’gok’s Verse History began swaying authors of privately produced historical works to offer modified or alternative views.33 A case in point is Wonders of the Pine Capital (Songdo kii) by Yi Tŏkhyŏng (1566–1645), which outright challenged the official historiography. Yi assumed his post as the Kaesŏng magistrate in 1629, and both out of boredom and with the intent to share with others, he collected local stories and completed the work in 1631. He not only recorded many entertaining tales about famous individuals from the city, such as Hwang Chini, but also included in an appendix (purok) an in-depth discussion of whether U and Ch’ang were true Wangs.34

The Court and Societ y

93

Yi’s story about the dream of a Kaesŏng resident, Ch’oe Yŏngsu (fl. 1537), made no secret of the author’s sympathy toward Koryŏ loyalists. Educated in letters, Ch’oe was considered to be talented since childhood and many times passed the preliminary examination (ch’osi) but not the metropolitan examination (hoesi). In 1537 when a Ming envoy visited, Ch’oe served as the repair supervisor (Suri Kamgwan) for T’aep’yŏnggwan, the residence for Chinese envoys. He repainted the residence’s decorative coloring, tanch’ŏng, and prepared the floor surface in a very fancy, beautiful fashion.35 On the eve of the envoy’s arrival, Ch’oe was sleeping in the staff quarters and had a dream in which King Kongmin, some of his officials, and a woman appeared. In the dream, an official on horseback first arrived, looked around the edifice, and announced his majesty’s imminent arrival. Before long, Ch’oe could hear a commotion outside, and when he looked out, he could see a procession of armored soldiers and banners that stretched for several ri. After the royal carriage entered the gate, the king seated himself in front of the northern wall of the main hall. Stern in countenance, he also appeared to be deep in thought. The attendant announced, “He is King Kongmin.” Then a grayhaired general in golden armor stood on the king’s left, and his dignified bearing was fearsome. The attendant said, “He is General Ch’oe Yŏng.” Also, six high officials were prostrating on the king’s right, and the attendant said, “The one in the highest position is Mogŭn [Yi Saek]; the one thereafter is P’oŭn [Chŏng Mongju].” Although he stated the names of the rest, Ch’oe forgot them. A lady in white dress was present, and she looked emaciated. She came out after entering the palace with a memorial, and her appearance was like that of someone petitioning the king on an ordinary day. At this point, the king appeared to be turning to the general to tell him something. Suddenly, when another attendant relayed an order, fierce soldiers appeared from all directions, brought a criminal into the courtyard, and shackled his entire body. All present stated, “He is Chŏng Tojŏn.” The official in the last position stood and told the king, “Since the imperial envoy will be entering the compound tomorrow, this is not a fitting place to question a criminal.” The king nodded. Suddenly, yawning and stretching, Ch’oe Yŏngsu woke up, realizing that it was just a dream. He considered his dream strange and told a number of learned elderly in the city about it.36 All who heard were sympathetic to those who fell with Koryŏ. When Ch’oe asked, “Does anyone know who the lady in white was,” someone replied, “Surely, she must have been Sin U’s mother protesting the error of the accusation [that he was Sin Ton’s son].” Commenting on Ch’oe’s dream, Yi could

94

Chapter 3

only marvel that bitterness of the victims was deep and still unresolved, and even a hundred years after the fall of Koryŏ, they still appear in dreams. Even though Chŏng Tojŏn was not the only crafty official who betrayed the state, he alone was being punished in Ch’oe’s dream, so how could it not be that he was the ringleader of the wicked gang, Yi asked rhetorically?37 In an appendix, Yi Tŏkhyŏng praised Koryŏ loyalists and criticized the official historiography’s depictions of U and Ch’ang. Yi regarded Wŏn Ch’ŏnsŏk’s unofficial history and Yu Hŭich’un’s (1513–1577) “secret history” (pisa) as two authoritative sources that convincingly established the two monarchs as true Wangs. Noting that transmitted records offer numerous other accounts besides these two, Yi Tŏkhyŏng did not doubt that U was Kongmin’s son. He observed that when the allotted life span of Koryŏ was about to expire, the moral fabric of its kings declined, military commanders and high officials formed factions, each with its own army, and the state was in grave peril. At that point, seeking wealth and fame, the gang of Cho Chun and Chŏng Tojŏn conspired to depose U. They recognized that since Koryŏ was a five-hundredyear-old dynasty of antiquity, toppling it was feasible only by making the people believe that their king was evil. Spreading a vague rumor alleging that U was not Kongmin’s son, Cho and Chŏng finally replaced Koryŏ with a new dynasty. They killed U and Ch’ang, whom they had served for twenty years, and in Cho and Chŏng, Yi lamented, the way of humanity had dissipated.38 Yi Tŏkhyŏng reasoned that no state lasts forever and that the changing of the state was feasible only through a change in the Mandate of Heaven rather than at the hands of a group of scheming men. From this perspective, Yi had no doubt that Koryŏ T’aejo had founded a new dynasty with the Mandate of Heaven. T’aejo had distinguished himself as a famed commander leading countless campaigns across Samhan, and he heeded the cry of lament of the people who suffered under the tyrannical Kungye. The latter’s downfall and the ascension of T’aejo was as a result of a change in the Mandate of Heaven, not due to human scheming. Yi noted that even though a Lü took the throne of Qin (ninth c.–207 BCE) and a Niu took the throne of Jin (265–420), no one dared to speak out until after the Qin and the Jin had ended, and he criticized such figures as Cho Chun and Chŏng Tojŏn for defiling their rulers’ names over an uncertain matter, that is, U’s paternity. Those who were treacherous at the end of Koryŏ spread a rumor, which even in Yi’s time some believed, but others did not. Without fail, he said, later generations had rendered the deposed monarchs as, respectively, “Sin U” and “Sin Ch’ang.” If the two were around to know this, they would be utterly resentful. A state coun-

The Court and Societ y

95

cilor, Yun Kŭnsu (1537–1616), observed that although U was a Wang, wicked officials labeled him with another surname. The literary anthology of Sin Hŭm (1566–1628) also stated that Yi Saek’s argument for elevating the deposed U’s son, Ch’ang, was a stance truly befitting a major official. Yi Tŏkhyŏng declared that since both men wrote excellent prose and were well read, they must have consulted a large body of sources, and thus their assessments should be regarded as truthful.39 Toward the end of his appendix, Yi Tŏkhyŏng freely articulated his belief that U and Ch’ang were true Wangs, as well as his admiration for Koryŏ loyalists: As I have been feeling vexed and sighing ever since first reading the History of Koryŏ, now I am appending my thoughts at the end of this book and await men of virtue capable of discerning what is right and wrong. . . . ​Wŏn Ch’ŏnsŏk was a man from the waning years of Koryŏ. In an unofficial history, he wrote that Sin U was King Kongmin’s son. Enjoying reading about old matters, Yu Hŭich’un once saw in an underground storage chamber of the Office of Royal Decrees the veritable records covering the final years of Koryŏ, and they too recorded U as Kongmin’s son. Without fail, progeny of a Koryŏ king have dragon scales on their bodies. Upon U’s death, his concubine Madam Ch’oe, who was Ch’oe Yŏng’s daughter, showed the dragon scales on U’s body to many, called aloud for her husband, and asked, “Is he not a son of a Wang?” The spirit tablet of U’s mother had been enshrined with that of Kongmin, but upon U’s death, her tablet was discarded. Yi Saek is said to have been saddened and lamented this. Among the servants who remained faithful to their principles—Chŏng Mongju sacrificed his body before the [Koryŏ] state fell; Yi Saek, his son Yi Chonghak [1361–1392], Yi Sungin [1347–1392], and Kim Chinyang [n.d.– 1392] all died soon after the dynastic change; Third Inspector Sŏ Kyŏn [fl. 1356–1392] retired after the fall of Koryŏ and died in old age; and Kil Chae submitted a memorial and did not serve at the court anymore—there were only these seven. Also, unheard of are the names of others of fame who humbly took up the remaining mats and got by eating out of the rows of cooking pots.40

In an appendix to Yi Tŏkhyŏng’s Wonders of the Pine Capital, written in 1636, Yi Sik (1584–1647), who vigorously opposed Injo’s capitulation to the Manchus, praised the work in many ways. Earlier, when reading the History of Koryŏ, Yi Sik had felt skeptical about its depiction of Koryŏ kings and officials as obscene, dissolute, wicked, or shallow. He observed that the people of Kaesŏng, being sincere and warmhearted even though said to be fond of commerce, worked diligently to amass property but not to the extent of fighting with others over it; their villages did not have courtesans who are prosti-

96

Chapter 3

tutes, as Kaesŏng men and women were not fond of entertainment; and their households did not follow trends and change with the times, as their clothing and cuisine remain those of Koryŏ. Upon the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change, those officials who did not follow the new court remained in Kaesŏng, and the families of its residents lacked distinctions between the noble and the base. From the outset, they looked down upon Chosŏn laws and its system of official recruitment. He wrote that as those of ability had come and gone, many becoming an era’s heroes, one could imagine the human talent and customs of Koryŏ, but those writing history to denigrate Koryŏ had buried them. Yi Sik praised the Wonders of the Pine Capital for its content worthy of transmission to posterity in order to draw lessons from the past. He concluded that this work left out content that would be inappropriate for educating the world, even if merely strange rumors or sayings, and used proper judgment in correcting erroneous records; in comparison, even the veritable records as written by those telling Koryŏ history fell short.41 A passion for uncovering the truth was inextricably linked to upholding righteousness—moral rhetoric that further intensified factional strife.

Partisan Strife at Its Peak, 1649–1674 Hyojong ascended the throne at thirty-one se upon the death of his father, Injo, in June 1649. The first truly martial monarch since Sejo, Hyojong centered his legitimacy around avenging his father’s humiliation by the Manchus. Trying to check the power of the dominant Westerners who had enthroned Injo in 1623, Hyojong promoted the Westerner “rustic literati” (sallim), such as Song Siyŏl (1607–1689). With the support of Song and other idealistic scholar-officials who saw Chosŏn Korea as the guardian of civilization with the Manchus now ruling in China, Hyojong pursued a “northern expedition” (pukpŏl) policy of preparing to invade the Qing, but he died suddenly in June 1659, at just age forty-one se.42 During Hyojong’s reign, which was an era of political transition, the presence in officialdom of the flagship Kaesŏng Wang descent line of Kwach’ŏn began decreasing. Four out of six members whose examination degrees are verifiable independently from the genealogy earned their degrees in 1639 or earlier, including two civil examination graduates (1605, 1613), after whom no Kaesŏng Wang would pass the civil examination until 1866. Instead, the Kwach’ŏn line produced at least four military examination passers (ca. 1614, ca. 1647, 1670, 1706), but in the early eighteenth century, this too became

The Court and Societ y

97

minimal. Among these six examination graduates, each of the examination passers except one military examination passer is known to have held an office. Also, the Wangs began moving away from Kwach’ŏn, which neighbored Seoul to the north, to Namyang, Ch’ŏngju, and other counties in Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng Provinces.43 From mid-Chosŏn on, an aristocratic family’s relocation farther away from Seoul reflected not just increasing detachment from officialdom but also decreased success in examinations, and the Wangs were no different.44 Despite their decreasing presence in court politics, the Kwach’ŏn line could still boast of prominent individuals whose accomplishments enhanced the social standing of the family as a whole. Among its military men, Wang Chijŏng (ca. 1617–n.d.) stands out. Chijŏng was a resident of Ch’ŏngju and a great-great-grandson of Wang Hŭigŏl, the first Kaesŏng Wang to pass the civil examination in the Chosŏn period. He passed the military examination (ca. 1647) and received an appointment coveted among new military examination graduates, royal messenger of the Office of Transmission (Sŏnjŏn’gwan).45 In contrast, his distant cousin and Wang Ok’s great-grandson, Wang Chijwa (1642–n.d.), was not an examination passer, having instead received an appointment, through recommendation, as a royal tomb superintendent. Chijwa studied under the celebrated Neo-Confucian luminary and leading figure among the Westerners and the Patriarchs, Song Siyŏl.46 A great-grandson of Hŭigŏl’s first cousin, Wang Kukpin (1610–1668?) is known to have held three low-level civil offices. Kukpin wrote a Classical Chinese poem, “Passing by the Pine Capital” (Kwa Songgyŏng), representing changing public discourse vis-à-vis the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change, as he reminisced about his royal ancestors:47 Sunset on the way to the Pine Capital; A chilly day, by the tomb of T’aejo. Passing by ruins, I sing the Song of Ripened Wheat; But who is here to recognize the scion of past kings?48

Compared with other, previously mentioned, poems reflecting on Kaesŏng or reminders of Koryŏ, this poem makes more distinctly political references. Most importantly, the poet mentions the Koryŏ founder by name and the founder’s tomb, which was still extant. It is also important to note that, as a government officeholder rather than an obscure rural scholar, the poet nonetheless makes clear his subjectivity as a progeny of Koryŏ by referring to the “Song of Ripened Wheat” (Ch. Maixiuge, Ko. Maeksuga). According to

98

Chapter 3

the Shiji, when passing by the destroyed Shang capital, Jizi, who was a relative of the wicked last Shang ruler, sang a song that lamented the collapse of the Shang by describing the wild wheat growing over the then desolate site.49 Furthermore, Kukpin expressed his wish to be recognized as “scion of past kings.” This stance would have been unthinkable for his earlier Chosŏn forebears, and the contentious nature of the poet’s assertion becomes clearer in light of the fact that, legally, the Chosŏn dynasty limited recognition of even a Chosŏn monarch’s direct descendants as royal kin to those no more than four generations removed—through the direct male line of descent only—from an officially recognized king. Such a king could be a posthumously honored monarch (such as Injo’s father, who had never reigned, or even all four generations of Chosŏn T’aejo’s nonregal, patrilineal ancestors) but could not be a deposed monarch (such as the Yŏnsan Kun or the Kwanghae Kun). During the reign of Hyojong’s only surviving son and successor, Hyŏnjong, partisan strife intensified. Just nineteen se when he ascended the throne, Hyŏnjong was a relatively austere person, married just once and never having had a concubine, but his indecisive personality fueled two rounds of rites controversy. Upon his accession, the Westerners won a debate on proper mourning rituals for Hyojong, but in 1674 a debate on proper rituals upon the death of Hyojong’s widow ended with a Southerner victory. Each time a political party prevailed, it purged the losers before splitting up over the issue of the degree to which the losers should be punished.50 While the rites controversies continued, matters concerning the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship attracted the court’s attention. On October 25, 1659, when Hyŏnjong gave an audience to Chief State Councilor Chŏng T’aehwa (1602–1673) and the minister of personnel (Ijo P’ansŏ, 2a), Chŏng noted that the shrine superintendents of various ranks performed ancestral rites in honor of select Koryŏ monarchs. When the minister suggested that there should be a proper system of promoting a superintendent if he had been at the post for many years, Chŏng recommended instituting appropriate regulations so that after fifteen years of service a superintendent would be promoted. The king approved.51 Three months later, on February 7, 1660, according to the Ministry of Personnel (Ijo), Wang Kon, the third member of Wang Hun’s line to assume the position, was in his eighties, and Hyŏnjong approved a recommendation related to him, the details of which are unknown due to four characters that are missing from the original source text.52 Since it is known that at some point his eldest grandson, rather than his eldest son who presumably was dead, assumed the post and that the grandson was an adult of twenty-six se at

The Court and Societ y

99

the time, the Ministry’s most likely recommendation was that Kon be released from his duty.53 Eight months later, the court responded favorably to an effort by the Wangs of the Majŏn lineage to secure exemption from military duties and corvée as well as a prohibition against outsiders’ cultivation and burials near the Sungŭijŏn. Led by Wang Hŭp (1603–n.d.), who was the most senior member after the lineage heir, on October 7, 1660, twelve Wangs noted in their memorial that the previous Chosŏn kings had established the shrine for the performance of ancestral rites every spring and fall, entrusting court-appointed superintendents with the responsibility. Also, the Wangs pointed out that the past monarchs had prohibited cultivation and tree cutting in the vicinity by posting guards and had also exempted the Wangs from military duties and corvée. The petitioners complained that enforcement of relevant laws and regulations had lapsed over time, with illegal cultivation and burials now rampant and proper rites not performed at the shrine as diligently as they used to be. They argued that conscription of the Wangs serving at the shrine was counter to the royal ancestors’ intentions. In response, the Ministry of Rites concurred that previous kings had granted exemptions to the Wangs for a reason and that if the situation now was indeed as they described, then it was unacceptable. The Ministry recommended that, from this point on, cultivation and non-Wang family burials in the Sungŭijon’s vicinity be prohibited and that the Wangs be exempted from military duties. Hyŏnjong concurred.54 Then, on the following day, October 8, Hyŏnjong ordered that his officials report on those who were illegally maintaining graves in the vicinity of the Sungŭijŏn. Observing that proper maintenance of the shrine was of utmost importance and that illegal graves could not be tolerated, he expressed indignation toward the Ministry of Rites for having allowed the problems to persist. After Chŏng T’aehwa had chimed in, the third state councilor declared the state could not take lightly the performance of the proper ritual protocols honoring Koryŏ T’aejo’s merit of unifying Samhan. Hyŏnjong ordered that the authorities of Kyŏnggi Province immediately investigate those who were maintaining illegal graves and deal with them according to the law.55 A month later, the court moved forward by first inspecting the illegal burials. On November 9, the Kyŏnggi governor reported that such burials numbered 170, and the Ministry of Rites initially recommended three options for each, depending on its proximity to a Koryŏ royal tomb: leave an illegal grave as is, relocate it, or outright remove it. Outraged, Hyŏnjong reiterated the importance of abiding by the laws of the state and approved the Ministry’s

100

Chapter 3

recommendation. He also decreed that in the future, anyone violating the law would be subject to severe punishment.56 The court then ordered the Ministry to repair the royal tombs and triennially report on their conditions to the court.57 Almost two years elapsed while the court worked to devise appropriate regulations, and all the while non-Wangs in the area suffered hardship. On October 7, 1662, on behalf of the Ministry of Rites, a royal secretary, Yi Ŭnsang (1617–1678), reported that earlier in the year the court had dispatched the Ministry staff officials not only to report on violations vis-à-vis the Hyŏnnŭng and seven other Koryŏ royal tombs but also to designate the distance for each of thirty-five others at or near which cultivation, grazing, and illegal burial would be prohibited as well as to instruct the Kyŏnggi provincial authorities to enforce the guidelines. Yi then noted that, given the number of tombs, designation of an area up to 150 paces from each had resulted in the removal of people’s dwellings, and prohibition of cultivation and grazing within such a broad zone had deprived many of their livelihoods. Not knowing where a burial would be allowed and where not, the people were relocating graves with known caretakers while digging up and discarding the remains of others. Those affected were trying to determine what to do with each grave depending on how much the body had decomposed. Yi suggested setting the off-limits zone around each tomb according to the merit of the monarch buried therein. Since a distance of 200 paces had been set for the Hyŏnnŭng, Yi proposed 150 paces for each of the tombs of Koryŏ Hyŏnjong and later monarchs honored at the Sungŭijŏn, and 100 paces for each of seven other tombs and the thirty-five additional ones recently identified. Once the prohibited zone for each tomb had been determined, the local authorities should be instructed accordingly. Also, Yi inquired about possibly letting the local Wangs with information on any wrongdoings by others keep a record for the court to consider later. In response, the king ordered that on another day the officials should report on the matter and execute the court’s decision.58 A month later, the court adopted reduced distance measures, finding even Yi’s recommendations too drastic. On November 17, the Ministry of Rites dispatched its staff officials to Kaesŏng to examine the tombs before prohibiting cultivation and non-Wang burials within 100 pace’s distance from each tomb. For measuring distance in designating the off-limit zone for each tomb, the court reckoned 100 paces for the Hyŏnnŭng and 50 paces each for the tombs of the three other Koryŏ monarchs honored at the shrine, namely, Hyŏnjong, Munjong, and Wŏnjong. Also, the court entrusted the Wangs residing in

The Court and Societ y

101

Kaesŏng with the duty of protecting the area, with power to report violators to the authorities and pass sentences.59 With appropriate regulations in place, the court began implementing measures to improve the upkeep of the Koryŏ royal tombs and the Sungŭijŏn alike. Six years later, on December 2, 1668, during a royal audience, Second Minister without Portfolio (P’an Chungch’ubusa) Song Siyŏl advised repairing the shrine’s spirit tablets, all of which he found in bad condition during his recent visit. In response, Hyŏnjong ordered that the Kyŏnggi provincial authorities perform immediate repairs.60 Two years later, on December 5, 1670, the court repaired the Hyŏnnŭng and performed ancestral rites. Thereafter, in response to the Kaesŏng magistrate’s request, the court assigned three guardsmen to the tomb—paying each a monthly salary equal to that of a Wang appointed as the Koryŏ tomb superintendent (Sujikkwan, 7a or lower). Likewise, for each of the other tombs, the court had the administrative authorities of a given tomb’s locale post three guardsmen.61 More than two years later, on April 14, 1673, after a royal lecture, the second state councilor pointed out that unlike the Hyŏnnŭng and others that were located in Kaesŏng, P’ungdŏk, or Changdan and were managed by local Wangs, King Kongyang’s tomb in Koyang was distant from Kaesŏng and thus difficult for the Wangs to look after. In response, Hyŏnjong ordered the Kyŏnggi governor to have the Koyang county authorities make appropriate arrangements.62 While the court’s attention to Koryŏ tombs and the Sungŭijŏn increased, the fortunes of the Kaesŏng lineage of the Wangs improved. In terms of examination degrees, court ranks, and offices, the lineage was beginning to eclipse the Kwach’ŏn line, which had enjoyed its golden era in the sixteenth century with prominent members such as Wang Hŭigŏl. The Kaesŏng lineage, comprising the descendants of Wang Hangnyŏng, who was the first superintendent of Koryŏ royal tombs, and his younger brothers, rapidly increased in population. Except for some members who moved farther north and formed new lineages, the descendants as a whole continued to reside in Kaesŏng. During this period, the Kaesŏng lineage produced four military examination passers (three of them independently verifiable) and thirteen officeholders.63 All the same, the Kaesŏng lineage’s presence in officialdom was weaker than that of the Kwach’ŏn line in its best years. Above all, just one among the thirteen officeholders was a military examination graduate, and the degree per se did not lead to an appointment. The experience of the Kaesŏng lineage was in stark contrast to the seventeenth-century military examination graduates from the capital military aristocracy, who shared the highest, most important posi-

102

Chapter 3

tions in the military bureaucracy with members of the capital civil aristocracy: among the four members of the Kaesŏng lineage who earned their degrees in this century (ca. 1600, ca. 1674, ca. 1674, 1683), just one is known to have held an office, Five Guards battalion commander (Pujang, 6b). Also, among the rest of the thirteen officeholders from the lineage, four were Koryŏ royal tomb superintendents. Unlike the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship that a Majŏn lineage heir typically inherited, this was not the case with the Koryŏ royal tomb superintendentship, even though each position holder had a legitimate adult son.64 The court evidently used other criteria for a new appointment. What set the Kaesŏng lineage apart from the rest of the Kaesŏng Wang are indications of social standing based on wealth, which must have helped the members obtain high court ranks and offices not tied to incumbency. Among the thirteen officeholders, two were recipients of high offices for the elderly, including Wang Hŭiji (1516–1600), who was the father of Hangnyŏng and who received a senior third-rank sinecure. A lineage member—who, as an elder, received a senior third civil rank title, per official practice that was increasingly common since Sejong’s reign—and at least four others obtained such a rank title or an office without reaching an advanced age.65 And at least one member acquired a senior third civil rank title by contributing grain (napsok). Still, these status trappings were beyond the reach of an illegitimate son. Among the seven labeled as such in the 1798 edition of the genealogy, none obtained a court rank or an office. Considering that by then, the court was doling out such distinctions to nonaristocrats of advanced age, influence, or wealth, the seven illegitimate sons in question apparently did not qualify on any of these grounds. Also, in six of the seven cases, the genealogy does not provide coverage beyond the illegitimate son, and in the exceptional case, the coverage stops with the illegitimate son’s great-grandson.66 Besides the Kaesŏng lineage, some Wangs of obscure origins were members of families of means who had acquired state-sanctioned status trappings, such as those claiming descent from Sinjong through Wang Hwa, the Yŏngp’yŏng Kun. The genealogy records a member of the lineage, based in Kaesŏng, Wang Sinnam (1602–1667), with a senior third civil rank title. Considering that the only other member recorded in the genealogy with a degree, a court rank, or an office during this period is his eldest son, Wang Hyosaeng (1621–1701), whose longevity won him a junior second civil rank title, we can surmise that, at the least, the family had enough socioeconomic resources to garner the attention of the court. Sinnam obtained his court rank through a grain donation, whereas Hyosaeng presumably was influential enough to make sure that

The Court and Societ y

103

the authorities honored him for his longevity, in accordance with the common custom in late Chosŏn. Also, for males during this period in many cases, including Sinnam and all three of his sons, the genealogy records the wife’s father, grandfather, and maternal grandfather, but none of these in-laws had a meaningful career in officialdom or achieved distinction as a scholar.67 In general, individuals with less than bona fide aristocratic status increasingly acquired court ranks and offices as the throne promoted royal legitimacy by broadening its social base of support.

Toward a Stronger Kingship, 1674–1724 Succeeding Hyŏnjong as his only surviving son in September 1674, Sukchong reigned for forty-five years, enhancing royal power by playing one party off against another. Only thirteen se upon his accession, Sukchong ruled in person and quickly learned to manipulate deadly partisan strife to his advantage. Several years later, in 1680, the Westerners triumphed—only to divide into the Patriarchs and the Disciples over the issue of how harshly the Southerners should be punished. Then, in 1689, the Southerners returned to power following a debate over the elevation of Sukchong’s concubine Hŭibin Lady Chang and her son as the new queen and crown prince, and the killing of Song Siyŏl, arch-leader of the Patriarchs. In 1694, regretting his abandonment of his earlier queen, Sukchong reinstated her and later, in 1701, put Hŭibin to death. Her supporters, the Southerners, were out, and the Patriarchs and the Disciples regained power.68 Always in the middle of the fray, young Sukchong nonetheless paid attention to matters concerning the Koryŏ tombs and the Sungŭijŏn. Fourteen months after his accession, on November 18, 1675, when a Ministry of Rites official reported that the superintendents were impoverished, Sukchong doubled the monthly remittance of rice from 5 to 10 tu, that is, from an amount between 45 and 60 liters, to one between 90 and 120 liters.69 A little less than two years later, on September 19, 1677, the fourth inspector reported that the Majon magistrate, a disreputable character who had advanced in his career thanks to connections, used rotten meat as sacrificial offerings for the county school’s biannual rites in honor of Confucius and for the quarterly rites at the Sungŭijŏn, pocketing the saved expenses. Noting the utmost importance of the rituals in question, the inspector urged that the magistrate be interrogated and punished. Sukchong approved.70 Nine months later, on June 23, 1678, the minister of rites reported that through a memorial submitted to the Minis-

104

Chapter 3

try, Wang Chŏngsam (1629–n.d.) and two other Wangs requested soldiers to protect the unguarded tombs of Koryŏ T’aejo, Hyŏnjong, Munjong, and Wŏnjong. Citing the Ministry’s relevant report of 1662, the minister recommended posting two or three guardsmen for each tomb by recruiting from local residents regardless of whether they were commoners or slaves and exempting them from other duties. Sukchong approved.71 The problem of illegal burials and cultivation within the proscribed zones of Koryŏ tombs persisted. Three years later, on June 23, 1681, the court punished those who had made illegal burials and ordered them to relocate the graves by a certain deadline. Also, as Koryŏ Tomb Superintendent Wang Isŏng (ca. 1648–n.d.) was old and negligent in performing his duties, the court dismissed him and ordered a search for a successor.72 Isŏng, who hailed from the Kaesŏng lineage when the court had begun appointing a line of Koryŏ tomb superintendents, was actually the second or the third member of his line to be a resident of P’yŏngyang instead.73 Although I have yet to secure any relevant information, Isŏng and his family’s relocation to P’yŏngyang may account for the difficulty he had in performing his duty. Three years after the order, on October 11, 1684, the minister of rites requested permission to have the magistrate inspect the tombs according to the precedent of 1681, rather than triennially dispatching from Seoul a ritual officer to do so. According to the minister, in 1681, a year of poor harvest, the court had the magistrate inspect the tombs rather than following the custom of dispatching a ritual officer from Seoul triennially. In response, Sukchong ordered that local officials conduct an inspection and submit a detailed report on any illegal cultivation or burials for each tomb.74 Sukchong, as a young king coming of age surrounded by self-righteous aristocratic officials endlessly fighting for power, perhaps found Koryŏ T’aejo particularly inspiring. At the end of September in 1693, after visiting the tomb of Chosŏn T’aejo’s first wife, Queen Sinŭi, and the joint tomb of Chosŏn Chŏngjong and his wife, Queen Chŏngan (1355–1412),75 Sukchong was in Kaesŏng when he dispatched a royal secretary to various Koryŏ tombs to perform ancestral rites. He ordered that the rites be performed every spring and autumn.76 At the Hyŏnnŭng, the royal secretary read the king’s invocation: Long ago, in the final years of Silla filled with the turmoil of war, the people were thrown into distress. You, the monarch, saved them and unified Samhan. Your feat of establishing five hundred years of rule was grand, its glory radiating far and wide. As the rise and fall are never constant, the fortunes of Koryŏ

The Court and Societ y

105

were exhausted, and I have come out of my palace to visit your tomb. Your regal energy has waned, but it remains. Your great merits truly manifested themselves over the East Sea. How can I not feel lingering emotion? Presenting this ritual cup filled with wine, I sincerely desire that your spirit would accept our modest offerings.77

Sukchong honored Koryŏ T’aejo, but giving special privileges to the Wangs as his progeny was another matter, and their exemption from the military cloth tax, as decreed by earlier Chosŏn kings, remained contested. After all, beginning in the sixteenth century, the aristocracy as a whole was shunning all forms of military duty, including the tax, and even nonaristocrats sought ways to secure exemption. During the midday royal lecture on June 21, 1701, Royal Lectures Special Counselor Min Chinhu (1659–1720), who was the elder brother of the king’s second queen and a leading Patriarch, reported in his memorial to the Ministry of Rites that, according to a complaint by a Wang, local authorities were demanding bribes from the Wangs in exchange for exemption from the military cloth tax, even though previous kings had decreed that the Wangs were exempt. Min noted that even for the descendants of a Chosŏn king such an exemption was limited to those no more than eight generations removed from the monarch, and he argued that the exemption for the Wangs was excessive. He recommended consistent criteria, and Sukchong ordered the State Council to deliberate on the issue.78 Efforts by those claiming descent from past worthies to secure such an exemption were not limited to the Wangs but were widespread, and the court continued to wrestle with the issue. For instance, nine years later, on November 6, 1710, when Sukchong was discussing land surveys, the Hyŏnnŭng, and other issues with members of the Border Defense Council and other high officials, Min noted that the regulations of 1675 did not allow anyone to be exempted from military obligations (whether by performing active-duty service or paying the military cloth tax) except the descendants of past worthies, together with capital government office runners (chorye), the State Tribunal guards (najang), assistants for government guests (ilsu), maritime transport workers (chogun), marines (sugun), beacon fire soldiers (ponggun), and post station personnel (yŏkchol). When Min argued that therefore the Wangs should be treated accordingly, a royal secretary chimed in, complaining that the descendants of Kija, An Hyang, and Mun Ikchŏm (1329–1398, who was widely appreciated for introducing cotton to Korea), citing regulations from the past, had used various strategies to seek exemption from corvée. Also, the

106

Chapter 3

royal secretary added that Kims claiming to be descendants of Silla’s King Kyŏngsun (r. 927–935) had colluded with administrative functionaries of the Ministry of War in collecting the relevant royal commands in order to petition for exemption. In response, Sukchong ordered that strict instructions be issued to the appropriate agencies.79 All the same, the court began discussing recruiting more Wangs into officialdom, and the frequency of such discussions increased during the remainder of the eighteenth century. Nine years earlier, on August 18, 1701, when Sukchong was discussing various matters with members of the Border Defense Council and other officials, the Kaesŏng magistrate noted that currently no Wang was serving at the court. The mayor pointed out that Song Siyŏl had petitioned Hyojong for the Wangs to be recruited into officialdom and that Hyojong’s approval had not been executed, and he urged Sukchong to do so. In response, Sukchong ordered the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War to act accordingly.80 For the most part, matters of personnel and logistics related to the upkeep of the Sungŭijŏn and Koryŏ tombs attracted more attention from the court during the remainder of Sukchong’s reign. Seven years later, on April 8, 1709, while discussing a text concerning a state’s rise and fall during the midday lecture, a reader, O Myŏnghang (1673–1728), who was a leader of the Disciples, praised the king’s recent appointment of Wang Seman (1661–n.d.), who was a son of Wang Chŏngsam of the Kwach’ŏn line, as the new superintendent of the Koryŏ tombs. Then, after deploring that according to an earlier inspection report received by the Ministry of Rites, a Koryŏ tomb had a hole through which weeds had grown inward, O noted that understaffed tomb superintendents were unable to inspect all tombs thoroughly—ultimately delaying submission of reports from Kaesŏng to the Ministry. He recommended appointing superintendents for tombs and the Sungŭijŏn taking into account each appointee’s character and reassigning them to tombs with problems, as necessary, in order to thoroughly inspect the condition of the tombs and report directly to the Ministry. When another official pointed out that the overall hardships facing the superintendents rendered prompt submission of reports directly to the Ministry difficult, Sukchong agreed and approved the role of the Kaesŏng magistracy as intermediary between a superintendent and the Ministry.81 A year later, on May 17, 1710, the court followed up when the Ministry of Personnel presented the Majŏn lineage heir, Wang Sŏngwŏn (1670–1736), as the sole candidate for the vacant Sungŭijŏn superintendent-

The Court and Societ y

107

ship. In effect, Wang Sŏngwŏn was succeeding his father and the previous superintendent, Wang Mok (1634–n.d.).82 Clearly, primogeniture had become the norm for the Chosŏn state-sponsored Koryŏ ritual heirship. Ten years later, upon Sukchong’s death in July 1720, his eldest son Kyŏngjong ascended the throne at thirty-three se and reigned for four years, during which time the power struggle between the Patriarchs and the Disciples never ceased. Before his accession with the support of the Disciples, Sukchong and the Patriarchs had put his mother Hŭibin to death. Also, Kyŏngjong was in poor health and childless, and the issue of designating his half brother as the heir apparent and allowing him to assume the position of royal deputy (taeri ch’ŏng jŏng) fueled a violent conflict between the two political parties (1721–1722). Two years into the arrangement, in October 1724, Kyŏngjong died suddenly after an illness of just a few days, producing a rumor, especially among Kyŏngsang Province’s Southerners who supported the king, that he had been poisoned by the half brother or his supporters.83 At Kyŏngjong’s court, advocates of Kyŏngsang, including the remaining Southerners, as well as the Disciples, cited the Sungŭijŏn as a model for proper recognition of the province’s historical state, Silla. On June 5, 1721, when he was submitting a memorial advocating employment of talented individuals from the province, Governor of Kyŏngsang Cho T’aeŏk (1675–1728), a Disciple, not only listed many past worthies, including both Chŏng Mongju and Kil Chae, but also lamented that most of the Silla tombs, covered with weeds, were no longer identifiable. And the local population was managing the shrine of Silla founder Pak Hyŏkkŏse (trad. r. 57 BCE–4 CE), built in Sejong’s reign. Noting that the state managed both the Sungŭijŏn and the Sunginjŏn with government-appointed superintendents chosen from among the descendants, Cho urged Kyŏngjong to do likewise for the Pak Hyŏkkŏse shrine and to bestow upon it an official name. Kyŏngjong agreed and ordered the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites to implement all recommended measures.84 The court moved forward, and by July 17, 1723, it had formally named the shrine “Sungdŏkchŏn,” dispatched officials to perform the rite of informing Pak’s spirit of the court’s decision, and instructed the governor to report on selecting two junior ninth-rank superintendents (Ch’ambong) from among Pak’s descendants, granting them appointment certificates and supplying food.85 A century after serving as the model for honoring Kija appropriately at the Sunginjŏn as a state-managed shrine, the Sungŭijŏn likewise served as the model for honoring Pak Hyŏkkŏse at the Sungdŏkchŏn.

108

Chapter 3

Summary The Kaesŏng Wang shared the fate of the non-Seoul aristocracy who, as a whole, were increasingly marginalized from the central political arena. To be sure, the Kaesŏng lineage, which was rapidly increasing in population, began to eclipse the Kwach’ŏn line in terms of the number of examination passers, court rank recipients, and officeholders among its ranks. The success of the Kaesŏng lineage, however, was not comparable to that of the Kwach’ŏn line during its golden age in the sixteenth century. Including members of the Kurye lineage, the Wangs who took up arms during the Imjin, Chŏngmyo, or Pyŏngja Wars and thereby won the court’s recognition enhanced the standing of their respective lineages as local elite families, but their presence in central officialdom was minimal. Furthermore, whatever trappings of state-sanctioned status such as examination degrees, court rank titles, and offices that the Wangs of obscure origins, scattered throughout Korea, acquired thanks to influence and wealth did not translate into meaningful careers in officialdom. Nonetheless, in the seventeenth century, the Kaesŏng Wang as the progeny of Koryŏ enjoyed a degree of attention from the throne and powerful statesmen. The court continued to wrestle with reports about illegal use of the land in the proscribed vicinity of the Sungŭijŏn and various Koryŏ royal tombs for graves, cultivation, or harvesting lumber. Clearly, the presence of government personnel headed by the court-appointed Sungŭijŏn superintendent was inadequate to prevent this, even with the Kaesŏng magistrate occasionally reporting on local conditions to the court. Later in the century, the court began paying more attention to the upkeep of the Sungŭijŏn and Koryŏ tombs, and the overall policy continued for the remainder of the Chosŏn period. In practice, what was likely more effective at ensuring better maintenance was the growing population of both the Majŏn and the Kaesŏng lineages who were entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of, respectively, the Sungŭijŏn and Koryŏ tombs through members appointed as superintendents. At the same time that the official rhetoric behind the gestures toward reminders of Koryŏ honored the founders of past states, a wide range of unofficial accounts were in circulation that articulated a critical stance toward the official historiography that rationalized the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change and the initial persecution of the Wangs. Although the succeeding court of Yŏngjo would attempt to reconcile the two, the tension would persist until the end of the Chosŏn dynasty.

C h ap t er 4

Renewed Attention to the Koryŏ Legacies, 1724–1864

In late Chosŏn Korea, a small minority of the aristocracy wielded political power at the national level. By the end of the eighteenth century, about a dozen Seoul-based aristocratic lineages, predominantly of the Patriarchs party, monopolized the most important positions in officialdom.1 Suppression of the 1728 Yi Injwa Rebellion by the court of Yŏngjo was the death knell for the Disciples and the Southerners parties as significant political players. After Yŏngjo put to death his only son and heir apparent, Prince Sado (1735–1762), who, besides being mentally unstable, was a victim of court intrigue and his demanding father’s high expectations, officialdom argued over whether the king’s action was justified. As the throne went to Sado’s eldest son, Chŏngjo, the argument divided the political arena into the Principle faction (Pyŏkp’a) and the Expediency faction (Sip’a). Both Yŏngjo and Chŏngjo were conscientious rulers and pursued a Policy of Impartiality (T’angp’yŏngch’aek) geared toward containing partisan strife and bringing about a more stable monarchy built around a strong king. However, with Chŏngjo’s successors, Sunjo, who ascended the throne at eleven se, followed by Hŏnjong, who was just eight when he became the new king, and then Ch’ŏlchong, who was nineteen and

110

Chapter 4

entirely unprepared, political power fell into the hands of royal in-laws and their allies. While court politics evolved into an oligarchy, social hierarchy in the country as a whole underwent a transformation. Generally, a local aristocrat without an examination degree, a court rank, or an office had to be content with ascriptive status.2 As such, an elite’s political clout even at local levels weakened as upwardly mobile nonelites increasingly wielded influence, thanks to their accumulated wealth. In fact, local elite registers, which in early and mid-Chosŏn had recorded representatives of the most prominent aristocratic lineages of the locale, began also listing individuals from new families. Even in many of the more socioculturally conservative counties in the south, the exasperated old elites stopped bothering with updating the register and instead found other ways to set themselves apart from the social newcomers. In the meantime, the northern regional elites enjoyed impressive success in both the civil and the licentiate examinations.3 Such northerners were of secondary status in the late Chosŏn social hierarchy, however, and were unable to win meaningful representation in the power structure. Others of secondary status, such as the specialist chungin of Seoul and local functionaries, continued to demand—and win—greater access to more traditional coveted positions in officialdom. Many among the above-mentioned social newcomers converted wealth to cultural capital that enabled them to engage the aristocracy on a more equal footing, particularly in the arts and learning. In spite of Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, other cultural currents were vibrant. Beyond an unyielding adherence to the Nature and Principle Learning and its teachings on the moral universe as interpreted by past masters such as Zhu Xi, Yi Hwang, Yi I, and Song Siyŏl, late Chosŏn intellectuals increasingly understood Korea as “little China” (So Chunghwa) and preserver of the Way—since China, the original heartland of civilization (Ch. Zhonghua, Ko. Chunghwa), had remained under Manchu rule since the seventeenth century. Still, a growing segment of scholar-officials grew impatient over what they deemed “empty learning” that was engrossed in useless metaphysics. Committed to the presentation of real solutions to real problems through “practical learning” (Sirhak), the Reformed Confucianism movement shifted the focus from the revitalization of rural agrarian communities to globalized commerce. Introduced by scholar-officials who brought back various texts from China, Western Learning also gained a following, especially among advocates of Reformed Confucianism. In the late eighteenth century, even Western Learning’s religious component, Catholicism, began winning converts across social

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

111

boundaries before suffering through a series of violent persecution drives by the state in the early nineteenth century. And in May 1860, an illegitimate son of an impoverished rural scholar experienced a spiritual awakening that inspired him to propagate Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”), especially among the downtrodden, as the East’s answer to Western Learning. Thus, all the seeds of the coming end-of-the-Chosŏn-dynasty turmoil had been sown by this point, although matters related to the previous dynasty continued to attract more attention from the court, especially under Yŏngjo and Chŏngjo.

The Sage King and the Vanquished State, 1724–1776 Yŏngjo ruled for fifty-two years, the longest reign on the Korean Peninsula since the fifth century, and arguably achieved dynastic revival. Ascending the throne with the political support of the Patriarchs in October 1724, he purged the extremist Disciples (1727), who had accused him of killing Kyŏngjong, and suppressed the Yi Injwa Rebellion (1728), supported by many Disciples and Southerners. To check the power of the Patriarchs, though, in 1729 Yŏngjo began promoting moderate Patriarchs and Disciples through his Policy of Impartiality. At the same time, he sought to bolster his legitimacy based on “the people” (min). The Amended Great Code (Sok Taejŏn, 1746) reduced cruel punishments, and the Equal Service Law (Kyunyŏkpŏp, 1752) reduced the burden on existing military taxpayers, albeit while continuing to exempt the bona fide aristocracy. Thereafter, Yŏngjo suffered the trauma of both a political setback and a personal tragedy. Earlier, in 1749, his only surviving son, Prince Sado, who was mentally unstable, had assumed royal deputyship. Because Sado was close to the Disciples, the Patriarchs pushed back, and in 1762, Yŏngjo had him killed by locking him up in a rice chest. Having then no choice but to designate Sado’s eldest son as successor, in 1775 the aging Yŏngjo appointed him as deputy. Overall diligent and scholarly, Yŏngjo commissioned the compilation of some important works, including the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea (Tongguk munhŏn pigo) and the Supplement to the Five Rites of State (Kukcho sok Orye ŭi).4 Yŏngjo was a conscientious student of history and consistently expressed concern for both the material and the human legacies of Koryŏ and made sure that the court took appropriate measures. The king paid attention to the upkeep of the Sungŭijŏn and Koryŏ royal tombs as his predecessors had done, but in three ways he was more attentive. Above all, Yŏngjo continually articulated his desire to employ the Wangs and the descendants of Koryŏ loyalists

112

Chapter 4

in officialdom, although the built-in mechanism by which the late Chosŏn political arena recruited its actors was such that it was off-limits to any new social element. All that Yŏngjo could do was to repair or rebuild various material legacies of Koryŏ in and around Kaesŏng. His visit to the city inspired not only the Wangs and the descendants of Koryŏ loyalists but also the residents of the city. Early in his reign, Yŏngjo was interested in seeking out and promoting the descendants of previous dynasties. Eight months after his accession, on June 28, 1725, during the midday royal lecture when he and various officials discussed the Analects (Lunyu), the royal lecture reader (Sidokkwan, 5a) took note of a passage on resurrecting the family of a vanquished state. He praised King Wu of Zhou’s enfeoffment of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, trad. 2697/98–2597/98 BCE), Emperor Yao (trad. 2333–2234 BCE), Emperor Shun (trad. 2233–2184 BCE), and the Xia dynasty (ca. 2070– ca. 1600 BCE) as an admirable model for all later rulers. Then, praising how Chosŏn had done likewise, a royal lecture participant (Ch’amch’an’gwan, 3a) cited the shrines of Tan’gun and Kija as well as the Sungŭijŏn. When he noted this as something for the court to keep in mind in its effort to employ obscure worthies from the countryside, Yŏngjo concurred.5 Yŏngjo’s expressed desire to seek out and promote the Wangs and other descendants of past states was so clear that it made scions of the Chosŏn dynasty feel excluded. Four months later, on October 26, in response to Yŏngjo’s directive seeking advice on employing talented individuals, a memorial from a literary licentiate who was a scion of the Chosŏn royal house made suggestions for recruiting worthies. More importantly, the licentiate lamented the way that he and other descendants of Chosŏn T’aejo and his four immediate patrilineal ancestors had been neglected by the court and left out of public notice in the countryside, while the Sŏnus, as descendants of Kija, and the Wangs enjoyed such benefits as the inheritance of shadow privilege posts (ŭmjik) even though they were the progeny of vanquished states. Judging the petitioner’s intent to be sincere, Yŏngjo replied that the memorial was worthy of deliberation and would be handled by the State Council.6 Even as he was showing sensitivity to royal scions, Yŏngjo moved forward to put his thoughts about employing the Wangs into action, although the effort took time. Seventeen months later, on March 26, 1727, during the midday royal lecture, Second Deputy Director of the Office of the Royal Lectures (Tong ji Kyŏngyŏnsa, 2b) Kim Yugyŏng (1669–1748) observed that in spite of Sukchong’s order that the descendants of Koryŏ be appointed to offices, the

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

113

court at that time had no Wang in office, and he advised Yŏngjo to appoint Wangs to offices. The king expressed full sympathy, stressing that recently he had instructed the newly appointed magistrate of Kaesŏng to better protect the Koryŏ tombs by strictly enforcing restrictions on the unauthorized gathering of wood. Asserting that some Wangs must be suitable for shadow privilege appointments even though the Wangs were “small in number and undistinguished,” Yŏngjo ordered the concerned ministries to proceed with the implementation of his command, and instructed the magistrate to recommend worthy Wangs.7 The immediate results of Yŏngjo’s efforts were modest. Three months later, on July 9, the Kaesŏng magistrate, while reporting on various matters in his jurisdiction, reminded the king of his earlier instruction to Kim Yugyŏng to search for worthy Wangs for official appointments. The magistrate reported that when he visited the Wangs in Kaesŏng, more than ten excelled in Confucian learning or martial skills, and they considered Wang U (1680– 1742)—of the Kaesŏng lineage—to be the best among them. The magistrate recommended that the concerned ministry be instructed to employ U for a significant post. In response, Yŏngjo ordered that as long as U was indeed of the character and talent reported, he should be appointed.8 Five months later, on December 3, during a midday royal lecture, Yŏngjo ordered the newly appointed Kaesŏng magistrate, before his departure to take up his post, to repair various Koryŏ tombs and report on the Wangs worthy of appointments. In his further instructions to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, Yŏngjo even expressed outrage over the absence of a Wang among the latest appointments.9 In the meantime, Yŏngjo continued his predecessors’ effort to keep Koryŏ tombs and the Sungŭijŏn in good repair. For instance, two months later, on February 5, 1728, the fourth royal secretary (Chwabu sŭngji, 3a) requested that the Sungŭijŏn superintendent, Wang Sŏngwŏn, be promoted in rank—as he had been serving for ten years without a promotion. The fourth royal secretary also advised Yŏngjo to employ the ritual heirs of Koryŏ loyalists Chŏng Mong­ju, Kil Chae, and Kim Chu (1365–n.d.); Kim was in Ming China as an envoy in August 1392 and chose not to return to Korea upon hearing news of the dynastic change. Yŏngjo approved all the recommendations,10 and seven days later, on February 12, Sŏngwŏn was promoted from the junior fifth-rank to the junior fourth-rank superintendentship.11 Yŏngjo’s apparent determination to promote the Wangs likely received a further boost from the fact that some Wangs of the Kurye lineage took up

114

Chapter 4

arms in defense of the government during the Yi Injwa Rebellion from April 23 to May 1. In Kurye, Wang Chiu (1681–1743) organized the local literati, together with his nephews, Wang Ch’ŏsam (1701–1744) and Wang Ch’ŏjung (1709–1786). They manned the town wall and defended it from the enemies until the rebellion was quashed. These Wangs and other volunteers appear in the Record of Integrity and Righteousness in Honam (Honam chŏrŭirok), published decades later in 1799.12 Four months after the rebellion ended, on September 19, while he was discussing various matters in regard to Kaesŏng with its magistrate, Yŏngjo noted that although the Koryŏ tombs were being protected, currently the court still had no Wang holding an office. He ordered the magistrate to inform the court of any worthy Wang.13 More than three years later, Yŏngjo was still frustrated by the lack of progress. On February 6, 1732, while reading and discussing the Mirror of the Tang Dynasty (Tang jian), which was an eleventh-century Song Chinese critique of the history of Tang dynasty (618–907), Yŏngjo ordered that worthy Wangs be recommended for appointments. As the king and the officials discussed the work, the royal lecture expositor (Siganggwan, 4a) observed that Tang Emperor Gaozu (r. 618–626) had not only spared the lives of the descendants of the preceding Sui dynasty (581–618) but even employed them, an action of utmost virtue. The expositor then noted that putting the Wangs aboard ships and drowning them by sinking the ships in early Chosŏn had been the stratagem of Chŏng Tojŏn and his clique, rather than King T’aejo’s intention. In response, Yŏngjo complained that even though he had earlier ordered that worthy Wangs be recommended for appointments, the Kaesŏng magistrate had yet to recommend any. When the expositor responded, noting that Wangs resided not just in Kaesŏng but throughout Kyŏnggi Province, Yŏngjo ordered the Kyŏnggi governor to recommend qualified Wangs.14 Three and a half years later, having seen no progress, Yŏngjo continued to express his desire to see employment of the Wangs in officialdom. On September 24, 1735, during the midday royal lecture, Yŏngjo ordered a broad search for worthy Wangs for appointment to offices. Expressing admiration for China’s Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties for each treating the previous dynasty’s progeny generously, Yŏngjo observed that no Wang was to be found among officeholders in recent times, even though T’aejong had ordered that Wangs be so employed. Reasoning that appointing Wangs should be no problem in light of his recent edict allowing Kaesŏng residents to hold even the prestigious posts, the king ordered the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War to search broadly for suitable for Wangs to employ.15

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

115

Officialdom continued to pay only lip service to the royal command. Six months later, on March 26, 1736, the royal lecture commentator likened the benevolence of Chosŏn toward the Wangs as shown through the Sungŭijŏn to that of Tang Emperor Gaozu when he employed descendants of Shi Le (r. 319–333), the founder of Later Zhao (319–351)—in contrast to the way that Sui Emperor Yang (r. 610–618) tried to exterminate them. Then, pointing out that at the time not a single Wang was among officeholders, the commentator suggested that taking pity on and appointing them was to act according to the benevolent intentions of the royal ancestors. In response, Yŏngjo ordered that the upper-senior third-rank officials of the concerned ministry look further into the lack of progress in appointing the Wangs.16 Three months later, on July 9, 1736, Yŏngjo expressed his frustration, noting that even though the benevolence of the previous kings toward the Wangs was clearly recorded in the Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns, only one Wang had been identified to receive his first office ever, despite the king’s repeated orders. Then Yŏngjo indicated that he looked forward to the individual actually receiving his appointment during the upcoming personnel deliberation. The Wang in question was none other than Wang U, who was recommended to the court nine years earlier, in 1727.17 Subsequently, U would hold posts of junior ninth-rank royal ritual edifice superintendent, junior eighth-rank Military Procurement Administration (Kunjagam), and junior seventh-rank Office of Palace Food and Weaving Necessities (Naejasi) posts, each a far cry from a politically significant office.18 The court was better about attending to the Sungŭijŏn per se in terms of its upkeep and personnel. Four years earlier, on August 10, 1731, upon returning from the shrine after overseeing its ancestral rites, First Royal Secretary Pak Munsu (1691–1756) reported that, including the present superintendent of the junior fourth rank, Wang Sŏngwŏn, none since his great-grandfather had been promoted to the senior fourth-rank superintendentship and that his first cousin, Wang Chŏngwŏn (1678–1755), was someone worthy of an office. Yŏngjo ordered that Sŏngwŏn be promoted and that Chŏngwŏn receive his first-ever office.19 The following day, Pak reported that the Sungŭijŏn overall was in a sorry state. Yŏngjo ordered that the concerned ministry perform repair work.20 Seven years later, on August 5, 1738, the Ministry of Personnel presented Wang Sebin (1717–1799) as the sole nominee for the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship (figure 4.1). He would be succeeding his grandfather, Sŏngwŏn, who had outlived Sebin’s father. 21 Besides continuing to sponsor an unbroken line of ritual heirs of Koryŏ,

116

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1.  The Wang Hun line of ritual heirs, 1724–1864.

Yŏngjo’s court promoted a cult of Koryŏ loyalists of Tumun-dong (literally “village of shut doors”) in Kaesŏng. By the eighteenth century, the legend of the Tumun-dong worthies was one of many that criticized the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change. Various versions of the story of the literati of Tumun-dong claimed that seventy-two scholars had refused to serve the new dynasty, instead choosing seclusion in Tumun-dong and ultimately dying when the court set the neighborhood ablaze. Other place names, such as Pujohyŏn (“Hill of those not serving”) and Kwaegwanhyŏn (alternatively Katkŏrjae, “Hill of hung hats,” a slope where Koryŏ loyalists were said to have taken off and hung their hats before entering Tumun-dong), had also come to commemorate their moral probity.22 On September 21, 1740, while giving an audience to high officials, Yŏngjo asked whether Kaesŏng still had Koryŏ edifices extant, even if small, humble abodes. When Magistrate of Kaesŏng Kim Yangno (1694–1753) replied that there did not seem to be any, the third state councilor pointed out that the city featured Tumun-dong. When Yŏngjo asked where it was, the councilor replied that it was located within the jurisdiction of Kaesŏng and that when Koryŏ fell, its loyalists had entered Tumun-dong to die there, hence its name.23 Yŏngjo’s promotion of the cult of Koryŏ loyalists culminated with his visit to Kaesŏng in the fall. On October 21, upon arriving at his lodging in P’ungdŏk and learning how Pujohyŏn got its name, Yŏngjo ordered his officials to write seven-syllable regulated verses praising the loyalists. While traveling on the palanquin, Yŏngjo looked around and asked where Tumun-

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

117

dong was and why it had gotten the name. A recorder (Chusŏ, 7a) of the Royal Secretariat explained that when T’aejong had administered a government service examination, some fifty prominent families of Kyŏnggi refused to participate, not venturing out of their homes. When Yŏngjo reached Pujohyŏn, he stopped and remarked to the officials nearby that even though the righteousness of the ruler and his officials had vanished at the end of Koryŏ and although centuries had passed, learning how the slope got its name chastened one, as if one had actually met the loyalists. The king ordered a royal secretary to compose a seven-syllable regulated verse using characters, together meaning “Strive to continue for generations the righteousness of the vanquished state’s loyal servants” (sŭngguk ch’ungsin myŏn kyese), and he had the other accompanying officials present their verses also. In addition, Yŏngjo personally wrote the three characters for the name “Pujohyŏn,” ordering that a commemorative stele be erected on the spot.24 On the following day, October 22, Yŏngjo recruited some local talent. At Manwŏltae, he personally oversaw the civil and military examinations, awarding degrees to three and ten candidates, respectively. After the ceremony announcing the passers, the king observed: “The reason the court gives special treatment to Hamgyŏng Province is that it is the home of our dynastic founder. Is Kaesŏng not also the home of a dynastic founder?” He then ordered that those carefully selected from among the descendants of Koryŏ be employed and that those who excelled in the latest archery contest receive border commander posts. Later in the day, the court appointed Wang Chedo (1695–1742), who was a nephew of Wang U from the Kaesŏng lineage, as the auditor of the Military Training Administration.25 On his way back to Seoul, Yŏngjo again honored the Tumun-dong worthies. On the next day, October 23, as he was passing through Tumun-dong, he issued a verse extolling the loyal servants of the vanquished state and ordered the royal secretaries, historians, and special counselors (Oktang) to present connecting verses, one after another.26 Then, on the following day, Yŏngjo ordered Royal Secretary Kim Sangno (1702–1767) to have the Kaesŏng magistracy add an inscription, “Loyal servants of Koryŏ in Tumun-dong” (Koryŏ ch’ungsin Tumun-dong), to a commemorative stele in honor of Koryŏ loyalists.27 Understandably, those especially moved by Yŏngjo’s visit to Kaesŏng were the local Wangs, such as Wang Chinuk (1676–1746), who exemplified a late Chosŏn Wang whose fortune was on the rise. Chinuk hailed from a descent line that had produced Hyŏnnŭng superintendents for four consecutive gener-

118

Chapter 4

ations, including himself, and he was the son of a military examination graduate. Although his household was poor at first, he diligently saved money, so that by his later years he had become one of the wealthiest residents in the area. In fact, Chinuk was laying the foundation for the future successes of his family. Of the six grandsons of his only son, two passed the military examination (including one who was a top passer), and two became literary licentiates.28 Chinuk’s personal success came at a time when the court was becoming more attentive to Koryŏ legacies, and he assumed leadership during the relevant government projects. While visiting Kaesŏng, Yŏngjo paid homage to the celebrated Sŏnjuk (good bamboo) Bridge, where Chosŏn T’aejo’s henchmen had struck down Chŏng Mongju and bamboo shoots are said to have sprouted from his blood. Yŏngjo wrote a poem extolling Chŏng’s loyalty to Koryŏ and ordered that the poem be inscribed on a commemorative stele near the bridge. Upon hearing of these royal gestures, Chinuk was tearful and overwhelmed with emotion. Throughout the project of constructing and erecting the stele, he led his kinsmen every day. When a tortoise-shaped base stone was completed for the stele, it was too heavy even for almost ten thousand men to transport. Since the day for erecting the stele had already been set, the official in charge was fearful that he would miss the deadline. When Chinuk removed his shirt and pulled the rope with a roaring cry, everyone was inspired to pull harder, and the base stone finally began moving—thus earning him praise for his courage and prowess. When constructing the protective pavilion over the stele, the official in charge sought to bring material for the foundation stones from the site of the old Koryŏ palace rather than searching afar for better stones. Confronting the official, Chinuk asked, “How can the terrace of the old palace be torn down, considering the worthy that this construction project is intended to commemorate?” At a loss for words, the official breathed a sigh of resignation, declared that Chinuk was right, and instead ordered that the material for the foundation stones be brought from elsewhere. Overall, Chinuk worked tirelessly to repair or restore stone objects and ritual vessels for Koryŏ tombs—submitting requests to the Kaesŏng magistrate and reports to the Ministry of Rites.29 The visit by Yŏngjo that inspired Chinuk, however, did not suddenly result in improvements in the state’s care of the material remains of Koryŏ or in an increase in the employment of Wangs in government. Seven months after Yŏngjo’s return from Kaesŏng, on May 27, 1741, during the midday royal lecture, the Kyŏnggi governor reported that while visiting counties suffering from disaster, he passed by the Sungŭijŏn, inspected it, and found the edifice

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

119

in need of repair. He pointed out that in the previous year his majesty had dispatched an official to oversee the ancestral rites at the shrine and had also ordered that worthy Wangs be appointed to offices, and the governor noted that the only Wang so appointed, Wang Chŏngwŏn, was now idle, after having quit his post, and that currently no Wang held an office. He recommended Chŏngwŏn’s younger brother, Wang Iwŏn (1681–1746); Chŏngwŏn’s first cousin and Sŏngwŏn’s grandson, Wang Sebin; Sŏngwŏn’s fourth son, Wang Ch’im (fl. 1737–1741); and Iwŏn’s son, Wang P’il (1711–1758) as all worthy of shadow privilege appointments, and he asked that his majesty order the Ministry of Personnel to employ them. As for the Sungŭijŏn, the governor lamented that it had been neglected for years. In response, Yŏngjo ordered that qualified Wangs be appointed without fail and that going forward the governor should inspect the Sungŭijŏn every spring and autumn.30 Even though maintenance of the Sungŭijŏn and Koryŏ tombs did not improve immediately, the shrine continued to serve as a model for edifices being proposed to honor other founders of historic states. If anything, however, the standing of the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship had declined since early Chosŏn. By the time the court printed the Amended Great Code in May 1746, only the two lowest ranked among the original four Sungŭijŏn superintendents were still actually being appointed, that is, at junior fifth and junior sixth ranks.31 Nonetheless, the state-sanctioned upkeep of the shrine and the Koryŏ tombs remained a point of reference for others seeking similar arrangements for their royal ancestors. Almost two years later, in April 1748, when Kim-surnamed Confucian students of Kyŏngju sought better treatment of their alleged ancestor King Kyŏngsun’s tomb and submitted a memorial, they referred to the way that the state had recognized the Wangs as Koryŏ tomb superintendents for generations.32 Then, three years later, in April 1751, when a Pak-surnamed degreeless scholar (yuhak) of Taegu memorialized the throne seeking better treatment of the Sungdŏkchŏn, which honored Pak Hyŏkkŏse, he referred to the Sungŭijŏn and the Sunginjŏn.33 After a series of deliberations, in October, Yŏngjo approved a memorial by Pak Munsu and scores of other Paks who sought to get the spirit tablet housed at the Sungdŏkchŏn and the memorial stele changed such that Pak Hyŏkkŏse was referred to not as the “founder of Silla” (Silla sijo) but instead as the “founding king of Silla” (Silla sijo wang)—in line with precedents for the Sunginjŏn and the Sungŭijŏn.34 Furthermore, twenty-three years later, in July 1774, a rural degreeless scholar petitioned for improvement of the upkeep and ritual protocols of the tomb of his alleged ancestor King Suro (trad. r. 42–199) of Kŭmgwan Kaya (trad.

120

Chapter 4

42–532) to conform with the examples of the Sungŭijŏn, the Sunginjŏn, and the Sungdŏkchŏn. Yŏngjo ordered that the provincial authorities repair the tomb and that the Kimhae magistrate attend to the ancestral rites in honor of Suro, addressing him as king. All the same, Yŏngjo declared that the government could not treat the tomb of the founder of Kaya, which had become “attached” to Silla, in the same manner as the three other shrines for rulers who had founded new states.35 In fact, Yŏngjo had previously expressed appreciation for the special status of Koryŏ T’aejo in the politics of historical memory and dynastic legitimacy. For instance, twelve years earlier, on June 3, 1762, while discussing matters concerning the Koryŏ dynasty and its legacies, Yŏngjo had personally composed prayer texts for the upcoming ancestral rites at the Hyŏnnŭng. Declaring that his gesture was unprecedented, Yŏngjo ordered that an appropriate date be chosen for a designated official to visit the tomb with the prayer text and ritual goods to oversee the rites. Also ordering that a royal secretary inspect other Koryŏ royal tombs in Kaesŏng, Yŏngjo instructed the Kaesŏng magistrate to repair various stone structures associated with the tombs and visit the Wangs in Kaesŏng to identify those worthy of appointments.36 While making little progress on employment of more Wangs in the government, Yŏngjo’s efforts to seek out the descendants of Koryŏ loyalists continued. On August 9, 1745, Yŏngjo recalled that during his visit to Kaesŏng in 1740, he had heard that the descendants of the Tumun-dong worthies had all become merchants. In response, Minister of War Kim Yangno, formerly the Kaesŏng magistrate, noted that the veracity of that statement could not be confirmed and also that since his majesty had ordered that the descendants be appointed to offices, some Kaesŏng residents were now falsely claiming descent from the Tumun-dong worthies. Chastened, Yŏngjo ordered that the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War search for qualified men of Kaesŏng without limiting the search to the descendants of Tumun-dong scholars.37 Five months later, on January 27, 1746, while discussing personnel matters, Yŏngjo expressed his regret that, although he had wanted to find descendants of Tumun-dong worthies while visiting Kaesŏng, in the end he was unable to do so.38 Information on the Tumun-dong worthies, allegedly numbering seventytwo, was limited, and even more so for their descendants. Nearly six years later, on October 25, 1751, after reviewing the troops and observing their martial skills, Yŏngjo read a memorial from a Kaesŏng resident and inquired about the author’s character. He then ordered that the family lines of Koryŏ loyalists be

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

121

preserved for generations. The king remarked that reading the memorial and learning about the writer made him feel as if he were in Tumun-dong, and he asserted that the Kaesŏng man in question must be a descendant of one of the Tumun-dong worthies. He ordered the Kaesŏng magistracy to visit the author and then submit a report.39 Then twenty days later, on November 14, Yŏngjo ordered ancestral rites for the seventy-two Tumun-dong worthies and employment of their descendants. Also, he wrote a calligraphic text to be inscribed on a commemorative stele that was to be erected, noting that he was honoring the integrity of loyal servants of Koryŏ and acknowledging their immortal fame. Lamenting that now just two surnames, Im and Cho, were known among the seventy-two, he ordered that the concerned agencies identify descendants of either surname who were qualified for immediate employment and present their names.40 Three and a half months later, a Kaesŏng man caught Yŏngjo’s attention in conjunction with his effort to employ descendants of Tumun-dong worthies. On March 6, 1752, while inquiring about erecting the commemorative stele, Yŏngjo asked whether any descendants of the seventy-two worthies of Tumun-dong were now being appointed, and the director (Chejo) of the Royal Medical Bureau (Yakpang) replied that the appointees were insignificant in number. The associate director (Pu chejo) elaborated, noting that the latest appointments did not include any of them and that the royal command, issued at the time of the recent martial skills contest, that Ch’oe Ch’anghyŏk (fl. 1728–1752) be so employed had not yet been executed. When Yŏngjo characterized Ch’oe as the most feasible candidate, the associate director concurred, praising Ch’oe as the most worthy among the martial men of Kaesŏng.41 As suggested by Ch’oe’s known appointments, Yŏngjo’s intervention did little to help his unremarkable career. Almost twenty-four years prior, in April 1728, when Ch’oe must have been at least in his thirties, the court had appointed him as a lesser garrison commander in the northeast, but twelve days later he was dismissed upon his excuse that accepting a remote assignment as an only son whose father was seventy se would be difficult.42 Five years later, in September 1733, when the court appointed him as a port commander, again in the northeast, he was relieved on the following day based on his excuse that accepting a remote assignment would be difficult, as he had to look after his mother who was seventy-six se.43 Then almost seven years later, in June 1740, when he was appointed as a commander of a port near Kaesŏng, he resigned after fourteen days, this time without citing a reason.44 The remainder of Ch’oe’s documented career was directionless. He is known to have received a

122

Chapter 4

sinecure, a largely honorary military post, and a civil court rank title, all senior third rank or higher.45 Progress was slow in Yŏngjo’s efforts to appoint even the descendants of Tumun-dong worthies to offices. Seven months after his latest inquiry, on October 10, 1752, Yŏngjo ordered that the relevant ministry move forward with employing the descendants of Tumun-dong worthies whom the Kaesŏng magistrate’s report had mentioned by name.46 Almost two months later, on December 4, when Yŏngjo inquired about his order, Second Minister without Portfolio Kim Sangno, formerly a royal secretary who had transmitted Yŏngjo’s directives on Koryŏ legacies during his visit to Kaesŏng, replied that he did not know. In response, Yŏngjo issued an order through the fourth royal secretary, stipulating that if the descendants had not already been employed, then the Ministries of Personnel and War were to appoint them.47 Three years later, on January 24, 1756, the court ordered that a Kaesŏng resident, Im Sŏch’u (fl. 1751–1756), who was identified as a descendant of one of the seventy-two Tumun-dong worthies, Im Sŏnmi (fl. 1392), be appointed to an office.48 Given that Im, a degreeless scholar as of 1751, had already received the post of King Tanjong’s tomb superintendentship in 1754, what Yŏngjo desired was a more important position for him.49 I have yet to find any evidence that Im ever received such an office. Eight months later, on September 28, while discussing the employment of talented individuals from more diverse backgrounds, Yŏngjo asked rhetorically, “Does Kaesŏng not have anyone of talent? Among the remaining descendants of Tumun-dong loyalists, have all become merchants?” Perhaps deliberately missing the point, in response, the minister of personnel praised the residents, observing that in some three hundred years since the fall of Koryŏ, not a single person of Kaesŏng had committed a state crime and that all respected the law and were mindful of their conduct.50 Nearly two years later, Yŏngjo personally made gestures to a group of Kaesŏng residents visiting Seoul. On August 23, 1757, when he summoned them and asked whether they were farmers or market folk, the visitors replied that some were merchants, but others were of the leisure class (hanyu chi min). Yŏngjo said, “I visited your city in 1740, and I have not forgotten about you. You know my intention in summoning all of you this year, and your purpose in visiting the capital is noble. I am granting some food items for your ancestral rites. Take them and depart.” When Yŏngjo asked whether there was an open market, the people replied that one opened daily. Commanding them to state their names, Yŏngjo commented, “Among you, now all merchants, there must certainly be descendants of Tumun-dong worthies.”51

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

123

The court continued to make progress in terms of identifying the families of Tumun-dong worthies and their descendants. Five months later, on February 11, 1758, while discussing appointing Kaesŏng men to positions, Yŏngjo retorted, “Thinking of the worthies of Tumun-dong, how can they not be pitied—not allowed to serve in the government even to the present?” The Kaesŏng magistrate stated that one man had been appointed upon royal command, but that currently he was said to be in mourning. When Yŏngjo asked for his name, the magistrate only remembered the surname, Im.52 A year and a half later, on September 10, 1759, during the midday royal lecture, Yŏngjo asked about the old families of Koryŏ in Kaesŏng. In response, an attending military official (musin) explained that they were precious few and that the city had only descendants of Tumun-dong worthies. Then Yŏngjo asked how many martial men of Kaesŏng had come to Seoul, and the official replied that the most recent examination had recruited the largest group ever. When Yŏngjo then asked how many Confucian students had come to the capital, the official replied that he did not know whether the number, fifty or sixty, represented many or few. In response, Yŏngjo declared that, given the small area of Kaesŏng, this was indeed many.53 Possibly reflecting Yŏngjo’s repeated urging, some additional appointments occurred during the remainder of his reign. On December 20, 1768, the second minister of personnel (Ijo Ch’amp’an, 2b) reported that when the concerned ministry heeded the king’s command and searched for descendants of Tumun-dong worthies, indeed, many were found.54 Five years later, on December 4, 1773, in response to the latest report by the Kaesŏng magistrate, Yŏngjo ordered that the relevant ministry give preferential treatment to three men who were descendants of Tumun-dong worthies and employ them. In the end, the Ministry of Personnel employed one surnamed Im and another surnamed Cho, both of whom were degreeless scholars, and the Ministry of War employed a third man who was famous for his martial talent.55 In the meantime, Yŏngjo continued to insist on the employment of Wangs, almost in vain. Almost four years earlier, on February 22, 1770, praising how his predecessors had treated the Wangs benevolently and citing their exemption of the Wangs from military service and corvée as examples, Yŏngjo ordered a search for Wangs in the capital and outside it who would be suitable for employment.56 A month later, on March 19, when a royal secretary reported that, according to the Kaesŏng magistrate’s report, the appropriate agency representatives had gathered to discuss selecting suitable Wangs, Yŏngjo ordered that the concerned ministries proceed accordingly.57

124

Chapter 4

Yŏngjo was more successful in helping the nonelite Wangs, including those in Seoul who were commoners or lowborn. A month earlier, on February 25, 1770, he had invited fifteen Kaesŏng Wang in the capital who were elderly or infirm, asked their names and ages, and given each two tu of rice and two bolts of cotton. Among them, some who performed socially denigrated duties (ch’ŏnyŏk) had asked the Ministry of Taxation for permission to find substitutes. Accordingly, the king assigned them to auxiliary troop units (poch’ungdae), instituted in the fifteenth century to allow those who were legally commoners but socially de facto lowborn to become bona fide commoners after completing their terms of service. Turning to the others, Yŏngjo appointed Wang Yundo (fl. 1770–1771) to be a supernumerary (kasŏl) military instructor (kyoryŏn’gwan) of the Sanctum Guard Division (Kŭmwiyŏng); Wang Hanjwa (fl. 1770–1805) to be a military instructor of the Royal Division Command (Ŏyŏngch’ŏng) upon completion of his ritual mourning obligations for a death in the family, but instead to be a supernumerary military instructor of the Sanctum Guard Division if no such post was open at that time; and Wang Hanp’yŏng (fl. 1770–1793) and Wang Tŭkchun (fl. 1770–1782) to be Sanctum Guard Division and Royal Division special military officers (pyŏlmusa).58 In explaining his action, Yŏngjo noted that he had been inspired by his reading of relevant parts of the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea that the court had begun compiling in the previous year.59 On the following day, February 26, when the Sanctum Guard Division inquired whether Yundo and Tŭkchun, both referred to as “idlers” (hallyang, dutyless martial devotees), indeed were to be appointed as, respectively, military instructor and special military officer, the king commanded the division to proceed accordingly.60 The career trajectories of the four Wangs varied. Presumably indicating that his order had not yet been carried out for more than a year in the cases of Yundo and Hanjwa, on November 8, 1771, Yŏngjo issued the same order for both men.61 Yundo’s career is not documented thereafter, whereas in July 1782 the court appointed Tŭkchun as a lesser garrison commander.62 Hanp’yŏng was appointed as a garrison special commander (Pyŏlchang, 9b) in August 1787,63 and Hanjwa went on to have the longest-documented career among the four—recorded as a port commander as of September 1795.64 None of the four, however, appear in the Wang genealogy. Given that those recorded as members of the Seoul lineage were commoners in the late nineteenth century, the four Wangs likely descended from one or more of the recorded members’ ancestors’ brothers, for whom the genealogy stops coverage after their children’s generation.65

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

125

Other Wangs of humble station in life earned Yŏngjo’s attention. A few days after extending benevolence toward the fifteen elderly Wangs from Seoul, on March 1, 1770, Yŏngjo commuted the death sentences of three artisans, Wang Kwich’an (fl. 1769–1770), Pyŏn Segi (fl. 1770), and Im Uch’un (1735?–n.d.), who were all found guilty of forging the royal seal, and instead banished them to distant locales. Prior to this act of royal grace, after the three had been interrogated, Pyŏn’s wife, Yŏni (fl. 1770), beat the Sinmun’go, a drum that King T’aejong had set up at a palace gate tower for anyone to appeal a ruling, and Yŏngjo had the minister of punishments read aloud the interrogation records for Pyŏn. Upon hearing that Yŏni had carried loads of soil—an arduous labor—during the construction of the joint tomb of Sukchong and his two wives, Yŏngjo asked whether this was true, and the minister confirmed that it was. Touched by Yŏni’s humble work, the ever-emotional Yŏngjo commuted Pyŏn’s death sentence to banishment. Unable to punish Wang and Im more harshly for the same crime, Yŏngjo commuted their sentences likewise. When the minister protested the royal grace in light of the seriousness of the crime, Yŏngjo asked rhetorically how the husband of a woman who carried the soil used for constructing the tomb of the king’s own parents could be treated merely according to the law. Reasoning that he could not exempt some Wangs from lowborn duties, as he had done a few days ago, while executing other Wangs of similar status, Yŏngjo ordered all concerned officials to discuss the matter, “even if late into the night,” and implement his decision accordingly.66 Yŏngjo’s benevolence also extended to the lowborn Wangs. Later in the month, on March 22, the Ministry of Taxation reported on the outcome of discussions with owners in regard to either finding substitutes or compensating them for their Wang-surnamed slaves who were under review for manumission. Citing a report that it had just received from Kyŏnggi provincial headquarters, the Ministry reported that (1) none of the owners of Wang Kwigŭm (fl. 1770) and five other Wangs wanted either a substitute or compensation; (2) Wang Poksam (fl. 1770), who was a Sungŭijŏn slave, and Wang Man’gŭm (fl. 1770) were masterless, and thus the issue of whether their owners were entitled to compensation or substitute slaves was irrelevant; (3) all of the owners of Wang Maburi (fl. 1770) and seven other private slaves in Yangju wanted compensation; and (4) all of the owners of Wang Ch’adong (fl. 1770) and ten other private slaves in Changdan also wanted compensation. Following the decision during a recent royal lecture, the Ministry informed Yŏngjo that it would consult with the State Council regarding indemnifying an owner seeking compensation with three sŏk of rice per slave and instructing the pro-

126

Chapter 4

vincial authorities to use whatever grain was available to immediately ship to the counties concerned for distribution to the owners. The king acknowledged the report.67 Yŏngjo’s effort to emancipate the enslaved Wangs continued. Fifteen months later, on June 30, 1771, a royal secretary informed the king of a case involving manumission of several Wangs, all private slaves. According to the royal secretary, one of them, Wang Sun’gŭm (fl. 1771), who lived in Changdan, petitioned on the basis of a report by the Ministry of Punishments. As explained in the memorial, during the spring of the previous year, Yŏngjo had ordered that children of Wangs residing outside Seoul, public or private slaves alike, were to be freed. While Sun’gŭm’s patrilineal uncle and first cousin, both private slaves, were undergoing the manumission process, Sun’gŭm, his three brothers, four sisters, and the son of one of the sisters, all private slaves, were not on the list of those to be freed. The memorial claimed that the applicable ministry should be instructed to follow the example of the uncle’s manumission and free the rest by securing substitutes. Reasoning that Sun’gŭm’s claim was not baseless in light of the king’s earlier order that the Wangs registered as lowborn were to be manumitted, the royal secretary recommended that the rest of the family also be emancipated by having the governor of the concerned province complete an investigation, secure substitutes, and supply each of the affected towns with three sŏk of rice per slave. Yŏngjo replied that he understood.68 Toward the end of his life, when Yŏngjo reflected on the five decades of his reign and extended benevolence toward various marginalized groups, he was mindful of the Wangs. On March 14, 1774, that is, a day before receiving congratulatory greetings from his officials and performing a ritual of gratitude, the eighty-one-se Yŏngjo modestly articulated the shortcomings of his governance and ordered that from the following day until April 10, all capital residents should be exempted from corvée. He then declared that for ten days, the government would not collect criminals’ time redemption payments (sokchŏn) from eastern Seoul’s Panch’on residents who, numbering thousands, were slaves performing various functions for the Confucian Academy—including butchers preparing sacrificial meat for rituals. The king also ordered that the authorities of all five districts of Seoul check on the welfare of Ming refugees’ descendants born in or after 1700 and report on them. Furthermore, Yŏngjo observed that the current dynasty would not exist without the previous one and that not forgetting about matters of the past was a part of the wisdom of his royal ancestors, and he ordered that the Kaesŏng magistrate report on any Wangs who might be more closely related to the Koryŏ royal house.69

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

127

Yŏngjo granted words and deeds for the benefit of the Wangs, Koryŏ loyalists, and the material legacy of Koryŏ, but the situation also demanded that at times he and his officials had to justify the 1392 dynastic change. For instance, five years after his accession, on May 18, 1730, his envoy returning from Beijing reported that the History of Ming (Ming Shi) that the Qing court was compiling discussed the final four decades of Koryŏ with errors that put T’aejo’s founding of Chosŏn in a bad light. Parroting the official line, the envoy asserted that what T’aejo did was no different from the way that the founder of the earlier Song dynasty had assumed the throne and that, at the time of T’aejo’s rise to power, U, a son of Sin Ton, had been elevated because the royal Wang line was extinct. The envoy explained that both heaven and the people had turned to T’aejo to found a new dynasty; therefore, leading his troops to depose Sin Ton’s son was an undertaking of great righteousness—no different from what the founders of the earlier Tang and Song dynasties had achieved.70 Never the type to easily put his mind to rest, Yŏngjo continued to wrestle with the issue of the legitimacy of T’aejo’s accession in light of Confucian understandings of analogous events from Chinese history. Fourteen years later, on July 3, 1744, during the nighttime royal lecture (yadae), while discussing a section on China’s Shu Han state (221–263) in the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (Zizhi Tong jian), Yŏngjo took note of Zhu Xi’s commentary that the state’s founder and a scion of the Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), Liu Bei (r. 221–223), had initially “elevated himself as Prince of Hanzhong.” Yŏngjo then mentioned the criticism of other earlier Confucian scholars who had said about Liu that one “cannot elevate oneself.” In response, the commentator explained that since the last Han emperor was under the wicked strongman Cao Cao’s (155–220) duress and no vassal could aid the throne, Liu’s self-elevation was righteous and in accordance with the will of heaven and the wishes of the people. Then Yŏngjo turned to Chosŏn T’aejo’s accession, feeling disturbed by the fact that the Qing court’s recently compiled History of Ming described the accession as self-elevation. Likening the waning years of Koryŏ to those of China’s Sui dynasty and pointing out that Confucian scholars would have found no fault even if the Tang founder had assumed the throne without making it appear that he had received it upon the last Sui emperor’s abdication, the commentator insisted that T’aejo was merely responding to the will of heaven, as Koryŏ had exhausted its fortune. Arguing that T’aejo’s rise against U accorded with the rectification of names, the commentator noted that despite ascending the throne yielded by Kongyang, in fact, T’aejo had founded a new dynasty as the recipient of the Mandate of

128

Chapter 4

Heaven. Furthermore, the commentator argued that not only was determining whether or not U was a Wang unnecessary, but even if he were, T’aejo had elevated himself upon having received the Mandate of Heaven. Only then did Yŏngjo declare that he was at ease with the earlier Confucians’ notion of “self-elevation”—an act not so much demonstrating selfishness as one of a worthy individual acting in accordance with the will of heaven.71 Two months later, however, Yŏngjo and the commentator repeated more or less the same discussion.72 Such a defensive posture by Yŏngjo and his officials likely reflected many intellectuals’ increasingly open challenge to the official historiography’s denunciation of kings U and Ch’ang as false Wangs. For instance, the Annotated Account of Korean History (Tongsa kangmok), which was completed by the famous Reformed Confucian scholar An Chŏngbok (1712–1791) in 1759, and a number of other privately authored historical works treated U and Ch’ang as true Wangs and thus legitimate Koryŏ rulers.73 All the same, in line with the commentator’s assessment, the perception that denouncing the two Koryŏ kings as the progeny of Sin Ton was unnecessary for legitimizing the founding of Chosŏn was widespread. As criticism of the official historiography’s treatment of U and Ch’ang gained strength, even mainstream aristocrats such as Pak Chiwŏn (1737–1805) outright expressed sympathy for the post-Koryŏ plight of the Wangs. A celebrated scholar, Pak composed an epigraph for Wang Chinuk upon his death in 1746. Pak observed that, upon chŏnghyŏk, which is an abbreviation for chŏngsin hyŏkko, literally “taking up the new and abandoning the old,” or in this case a reference to the 1392 dynastic change, the Wangs who were royals during the Koryŏ period came to fear for their lives, changed their surnames, fled, and hid. According to a story passed down for generations, many Wangs became Oks, Kŭms, Mas, Chŏns (“all”), and Chŏns (“field”). Pak explained that in concealing themselves, they devised a secret language to recognize one another: A man donning jade (ok) [befitting an aristocrat] does not forget his origin, a kŏmun’go (kŭm) without strings is like a deaf person. Feeding that horse (ma) with unseemly grain, the man lives between fields (chŏn), readily under another person.74

When two Wangs in hiding happened to encounter one another while walking in the field, they exchanged greetings through a song with the above lyrics. Explicitly mentioning four of the five surnames that the surviving Wangs al-

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

129

legedly adopted, the song alludes to the fifth, Chŏn (“all”), indirectly by referring to its bottom and top components—the character for Wang below the character for “person” (in). Considering that the allusion to the five surnames and the Wangs is not very subtle, the story is not so much about an actual secret language as a reflection of the widespread empathy toward the progeny of fallen royals, expressed even by monarchs seeking to enhance royal legitimacy.

Legacies of Koryŏ and the Final Phase of Dynastic Renovation, 1776–1800 Yŏngjo’s effort to broaden the sociopolitical basis for royal legitimacy continued in the twenty-four-year reign of his grandson and successor, Chŏngjo. Ascending the throne at twenty-five se in April 1776, Chŏngjo promoted more Disciples and Southerners while checking the dominant power of the Principle faction, which justified his father’s death. Accordingly, Chŏngjo established the Kyujanggak library to which he assigned reformist scholars as advisers; formed the Brave and Robust Regiment (Changyongyŏng) of troops loyal to him; and moved his father Sado’s tomb to Suwŏn, which he visited often to display both filial piety and his own power. Upholding his royal legitimacy in the eyes of the Principle faction, Chŏngjo executed an aristocratic Catholic for failing to perform a proper ancestral rite for his mother, advocated a “return to the correct style of writing” (munch’e panjŏng), and posthumously elevated Song Siyŏl to the same status as Confucian sages of the past. At the same time, Chŏngjo implemented some ideas from Reformed Confucianism through such measures as allowing a growing number of merchants outside the city wall to trade legally, making it easier for ordinary people to submit memorials, and rejecting any party’s claim that its own view was the public consensus (kongnon). His court also produced the Comprehensive Great Code (Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn) and the Expanded Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea (Chŭngbo Tongguk munhŏn pigo).75 In a continuation of Yŏngjo’s policy and ever mindful of royal legitimacy, Chŏngjo paid attention to the Sungŭijŏn. Thirteen and a half years after his accession, on January 24, 1790, Chŏngjo renovated the shrine under the supervision of the magistrate of Majŏn. He observed that the policy of constructing a shrine hall and allowing the ancestral rites to continue for generations through descendants of the Koryŏ dynasty was intended to emulate the Zhou dynasty’s enfeoffment of the descendants of the Yu (Emperor Shun), the Xia, and the Shang, and to respectfully uphold the magnificent intentions of royal

130

Chapter 4

ancestors. Chŏngjo noted that in 1727 Yŏngjo had repaired the Sungŭijŏn and that, a few years later, he had dispatched an official with prayer text and ritual goods to oversee the ancestral rites. Reasoning that sixty years had passed since then and that repair alone would not be sufficient, Chŏngjo again ordered that an official be dispatched to oversee the ancestral rites and ensure they were performed according to precedent. Then he pointed out that in 1727 Yŏngjo had ordered the Ministry of Personnel to restore the original practice of promoting the shrine superintendent every ten years from the junior sixth rank to the junior fifth rank to the junior fourth rank, and he declared that the recent abolition of the practice was wrong. Chŏngjo ordered that the Kyŏnggi provincial headquarters refer to relevant regulations before instructing the concerned agency to immediately promote the current superintendent in rank.76 Four days later, on January 28, the court dispatched a royal secretary to perform the rite at the Sungŭijŏn.77 Chŏngjo also made sure that an appropriate member of the Majŏn lineage filled the superintendent post. Almost nine years later, on November 5, 1798, the Kyŏnggi governor reported that when he visited the Sungŭijŏn for an inspection, its superintendent was absent—later learning that the superintendent, Wang Sebin, was past eighty se and could not move about freely. Also, since no local official appointed by the court regularly performed an inspection, water leaked through the roof, and some parts of the hall had collapsed. Noting that Sebin, who had been serving since 1738, had attained the highest rank allowed for his position, the governor recommended that his eldest son receive the post and perform an inspection on the first and the fifteenth day of each lunar month. The governor then recommended that every spring and autumn a local official visit the shrine with its superintendent to perform an inspection and to instruct the responsible local authorities to perform repairs whenever necessary.78 Fifteen days later, on November 20, the Ministry of Personnel presented Sebin’s eldest son, Wang Kyŏnghyo (1742–1812), as the sole candidate for the superintendent position at the junior sixth rank, and Chŏngjo approved.79 Although the state’s maintenance of the Sungŭijŏn still left much room for improvement, the shrine continued to be an inspiration for the alleged descendants of other past monarchs seeking better treatment of their associated edifices. Nearly two decades earlier, on March 9, 1780, a Kim-surnamed military officer had petitioned for the erection of a memorial stele at Tongch’ŏnmyo, a shrine for Silla’s King Kyŏngsun not too far from the Sungdŏkchŏn, and Chŏngjo had consented. Tracing the history of the edifice since Injo had el-

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

131

evated its status to that of a king’s shrine and appointed the Kims as superintendents, the petitioner asserted that out of respect for previous dynasties the present dynasty had been maintaining the shrine no differently than the Sungdŏkchŏn and the Sungŭijŏn. In making the case for a stele, Kim presented Kyŏngsun as the virtuous last Silla monarch who voluntarily surrendered his kingdom to a worthy ruler, Koryŏ T’aejo.80 The Sungŭijŏn even inspired a proposal that a Korean descendant of Confucius be appointed as the superintendent of a shrine honoring the sage, and Chŏngjo, as the sovereign of Little China, was receptive. Twelve and a half years later, on October 6, 1792, when Chŏngjo ordered special treatment of Confucius’s descendants in Korea, the minister of punishments noted that the Sŏnus and the Wangs had been holding the superintendentships for the Sunginjŏn and the Sungŭijŏn, respectively, for generations. The minister then suggested that more or less the same system be adopted for the descendants of Kong Sŏrin (1483–1541), a prominent early Chosŏn scholar-official whom the court regarded as a descendant of Confucius. At the same time, the minister stipulated that an appointment should consider the candidate’s abilities rather than solely being bound to the custom of passing the shrine superintendentship down from one descendant to another.81 The discussion was well in line with Chŏngjo’s expression of joy a year and a half later, on March 16, 1794, when he received a report that a Kong had passed the latest civil examination and another Kong, the latest military examination. The king exclaimed that Confucius’s descendants had come to Korea and passed the examination.82 Considering that the fifteenth-century treatise on geography included in the veritable records of King Sejong records Kong as an indigenous surname (t’osŏng) of Ch’angwŏn (Ŭich’ang) in Kyŏngsang and that the Origins of Descent Groups compiled in the seventeenth century does not trace Sŏrin’s ancestry back more than five generations,83 the studious Chŏngjo, who could not have been unaware of such historical facts, clearly was engaging in political rhetoric to support his royal legitimacy as the monarch of Little China. Along with other state-sponsored shrines honoring the founders of various historic states, the Sungŭijŏn served as a model when Chŏngjo approved a name for the shrine honoring the founder of Paekche. A year and a half later, on October 30, 1795, the Kwangju magistrate’s aide (P’an’gwan) suggested that the Office of Royal Decrees select a name in line with those of the Sungŭijŏn and the Sungnyŏngjŏn for the shrine founded in 1625 in Kwangju, Kyŏnggi, to honor the founder of Paekche, King Onjo. In response, Chŏngjo noted that all shrines honoring the founding rulers of various states had formal names, that

132

Chapter 4

is, the Sunginjŏn for Kija, the Sungnyŏngjŏn for Tan’gun, the Sungdŏkchŏn for Pak Hyŏkkŏse, and the Sungŭijŏn for Koryŏ T’aejo. Chŏngjo pointed out that only the Paekche founder’s shrine did not have such a name, which was regrettable, and that the circumstance of various documents using a temporary name for the shrine was unacceptable. He ordered that major works recently compiled by the state, namely, the Supplement to the Five Rites of State, completed in 1744; the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea, completed in 1770; and the Comprehensive Great Code, printed in 1785, all be immediately revised to use “Sungnyŏlchŏn” as the formal shrine name. In addition, Chŏngjo insisted that the name should be written in calligraphy by a highlevel official to be inscribed on the shrine’s stele. Insisting on composing the prayer text himself for the ancestral rites, the king instructed that the Kwangju magistrate be dispatched to the site to perform the rites on the date of hanging the stele at the shrine.84 While he upheld the Sungŭijŏn and other state-sanctioned shrines honoring various founders of historic states as the standard, Chŏngjo did not readily recognize additional Koryŏ loyalists. For instance, sixteen years earlier, on April 15, 1779, 352 Confucian students (yusaeng) of Kyŏnggi memorialized the throne for a royal charter for Chŏngjŏlsa, a shrine built by some scholars in 1712 in Yangju to honor two Koryŏ loyalists, Nam Ŭlchin (fl. 1355–1392) and Cho Kyŏn (1351–1425). The petitioners praised them as the two most outstanding among those who remained loyal to Koryŏ, and they noted that both Nam and Cho had declined T’aejo’s invitation to serve in officialdom—winning the new king’s admiration. When he had finished reading the memorial, without commenting, Chŏngjo dismissed all the officials in attendance.85 Five years later, on April 20, 1784, when 255 Confucian students of Kyŏnggi memorialized the throne again for a royal charter for the shrine honoring Nam and Cho, they reiterated the same points, likened the two to some celebrated loyalists of ancient China, and noted that donations from many local literati had funded the shrine’s construction. In response this time, Chŏngjo ordered the Ministry of Rites to review the memorial and implement it.86 Eight months earlier, on August 11, 1783, Magistrate of Kaesŏng Sŏ Yubang (1741–1798) had submitted a lengthy memorial on the worthies of the city, past and present, and his three main recommendations deserve a close look. First, Sŏ proposed that three of the seventy-two Tumun-dong scholars, Cho Ŭisaeng (fl. 1392), Im Sŏnmi, and a Maeng-surnamed man whose given name is unknown, be added as honorees to the Sungjŏlsa. With a royal charter, the shrine venerated native sons who had suffered martyrdom in 1592 at the hands

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

133

of the invading Japanese during the Imjin War. Lamenting that Cho, Im, and Maeng were the only ones among the seventy-two Tumun-dong worthies known by name, Sŏ praised Chŏngjo for his gestures recognizing and honoring acts of loyalty and filial piety since his accession.87 Second, Sŏ recommended that, together with the likewise-stymied northwesterners, Kaesŏng men, too, should be appointed to prestigious posts from time to time. He observed that in the past the city had also produced many renowned individuals and countless others of renown for filial piety or chaste widowhood, and he lamented that the “Pine Capital” had become the despicable home of all seeking material wealth, regardless of their original vocations as Confucian scholars, military men, farmers, or merchants. Although some displayed talent or skills in writing, moral conduct, archery, or horsemanship superior to the rest, fundamentally all residents were of lowly status, and officials administering the city or handling personnel matters had not dared to recruit anyone from the city in spite of the throne’s command that those so talented be employed. Even though Kaesŏng was once the home of loyal subjects, righteous scholars, and high officials and thus should not be inferior to the politically marginalized northwest, its native sons who were appointed as civil officials attained no more than unimportant magistracies or ministry staff official positions. Those who somehow attained more prestigious offices were either permanently out of office once dismissed or frequently transferred from one post to another. Even for an appointment as a preceptor, they waited, counting the years.88 Third, Sŏ recommended that since positions were limited in number and military personnel seeking posts were many, those who had served for long at the provincial headquarters or frontier commander positions should rotate. After having rotated within the Three Sanctum Armies (Kŭmgun samch’ŏng) as infantry commanders (Ch’ŏnch’ong, 3a), special commanders, and staff military officers (chipsa), those who had served for a long time, passed the military examination, held at least a junior second civil court rank, or attained a regular, incumbent post of at least upper-senior third rank should be assigned to the Loyal and Robust Guards (Ch’ung jangwi) or the Loyal Winged Guards (Ch’ungigwi) whenever there were openings. If someone whose turn came was a military examination graduate and had attained at least a sixth-rank post but no higher than a lower senior third-rank office, then he should be appointed to a Military Training Command (Hullyŏn togam) position. According to Sŏ’s assessment, former and active-duty military men from Kaesŏng, paid or not, altogether numbered more than one thousand on the Kyŏnggi provincial

134

Chapter 4

army roster, but at the time, only one frontier commander post was available for them. Because such an appointment was in rough terrain in the far north, nine out of ten appointees did not report to their post. Seeing no practical value in such an appointment, such military officers preferred to remain on the provincial army payroll.89 For the most part, Chŏngjo agreed with Sŏ’s assessment. Noting that honoring the three Tumun-dong worthies at the Sungjŏlsa allowed no room to doubt the merit of doing so as part of the court’s promotion of the virtue of loyalty, he ordered the immediate implementation of Sŏ’s recommendations. Also, stressing that Kaesŏng deserved to benefit no less than the northwest did, he ordered the Ministry of Personnel to appoint qualified men of the city to appropriate civil posts. Furthermore, after praising Kaesŏng for its martial talent and noting its critical importance for national defense, the king ordered that the Ministry of War appoint qualified military examination passers and others with martial skills from the city to appropriate military posts.90 Chŏngjo’s attention to Koryŏ loyalists extended beyond those in Kaesŏng. Fifteen years later, on October 14, 1798, he bestowed a posthumous name upon a Koryŏ loyalist, Kim Che (fl. 1392), who was an elder brother of Kim Chu, whom the court had earlier honored with a posthumous name upon memorial by Confucian students of Kyŏngsang. Kim Che reportedly sailed out to sea when Koryŏ fell, never to be heard from again, and traditionally fishermen and other ordinary folks performed rituals for his spirit. Explaining that customs of the land were unenlightened before Kija introduced morality, Chŏngjo credited “nine worthies,” including Chŏng Mongju, Yi Saek, Yi Sungin, and Kil Chae, with properly expounding upon its meaning. Praising other Koryŏ loyalists, Chŏngjo also cited the seventy-two Tumun-dong worthies. Then, lamenting that he had learned about Kim Che belatedly, Chŏngjo ordered the Office of Special Counselors to discuss the protocol of bestowing a posthumous name. Reasoning that invoking the spirit of someone such as Kim was more than fitting, Chŏngjo ordered that, on the day the posthumous name was to be bestowed upon him, an altar be set up on the shore where Kim was said to have sailed off and that proper rites be performed.91 Besides attending to Koryŏ loyalists, the city of Kaesŏng, the Sungŭijŏn, and Koryŏ tombs, Chŏngjo made a devoted effort to recruit and promote talented Wangs regardless of status. For instance, Wang T’ae (also known as Wang Hansang, fl. 1776–1799), who was a son of Wang Yundo, was a renowned poet and had also secured an appointment as an official. Not only was his father from Seoul as documented and discussed previously, the “Han”

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

135

character in T’ae’s alternative name, Hansang, was the same as that used by a generation of recorded Seoul lineage members who were his contemporaries. T’ae himself resided in the capital and was a member of a fellowship of Seoul chungin poets, Songsŏgwŏn sisa (“Pine Rock Garden Poetry Society,” 1786– 1818). Excelling in both poetry and prose, he even had an opportunity to demonstrate his talent as a poet in Chŏngjo’s presence upon recommendation by a high-level civil official. On May 1, 1799, T’ae passed the king’s special poetry examination (ŭng je). Subsequently, he also passed the military examination and served as a garrison special commander.92 Chŏngjo’s conversations with officials about three years earlier show that although he was not knowledgeable about the post-Koryŏ history of the Wangs, at least some officials were. On July 7, 1796, while he was giving Magistrate of Kaesŏng Cho Chin’gwan (1739–1808) an audience, Chŏngjo asked him how many Wangs resided where the Koryŏ royal tombs were, and Cho explained that although many Wangs lived there, all such Wangs were descendants of mid-Koryŏ or earlier monarchs. Pointing out that in ancient China, vassals of the Zhou king politely declined to take the seats of enfeoffed descendants of vanquished states, as the latter were regarded as the present dynasty’s guests, Chŏngjo lamented that hardly any Wangs of Kaesŏng were on the current roster of officeholders. He commanded Cho to seek out talented Wangs for offices.93 Twenty-one days later, on July 28, Chŏngjo again asked Cho how many Wangs there were. In response, Cho explained that the official register of Koryŏ left out many of the collateral lines of the royal house and that among those omitted were the ancestors of the Wangs who had been serving as the Sungŭijŏn and Koryŏ tomb superintendents. Then when Chŏngjo asked whether a superintendent had a term, Cho replied that it was sixty months. When the king asked whether the Koryŏ tombs were all at the same location, Cho explained that seven were in Kaesŏng, and that the rest were scattered in Koyang and on Kanghwa. At that point, the third state councilor noted that Changdan also had Koryŏ tombs and that the court had been dispatching inspection officials there in the intervening years.94 To their credit, all the responses from both the magistrate and the state councilor were factually accurate. Perhaps mindful of the court’s favorable attitudes, in the following year, 1797, the Kaesŏng Wang compiled their first-ever comprehensive genealogy, a two-volume set published the next year. The compilation was a milestone in the history of the Wangs not only because it came more than four centuries after the 1394 massacre of the Wangs but also because it was late in comparison

136

Chapter 4

to such genealogies produced by other descent groups, the two oldest extant ones being the Andong Kwŏn and the Munhwa Yu genealogies published in 1476 and 1562, respectively. The preface, written by none other than Cho Chin’gwan, celebrates the significance of the publication of the first comprehensive genealogy of the Kaesŏng Wang. It likens the Chosŏn dynasty’s establishment of the Sungŭijŏn and appointment of the Wangs as superintendents to the Zhou dynasty’s enfeoffment of a Shang prince in the state of Song, and it praises some prominent Wangs: two officeholders, Hŭigŏl and Chongsin, as beneficiaries of the grace of Chosŏn kings, and Wang Ok as a loyal subject in fighting against the invading Japanese. Referring to the massacre of the Wangs, the preface declares that the inability of the high officials to imitate the benevolence of the Zhou toward the progeny of the Shang deviated from Chosŏn T’aejo’s intention. Then it states that the present genealogy covers only the line descended from Hyoŭn T’aeja, since others during the Koryŏ period had become obscure due to the turmoil of military rule or the Koryŏ practice of excluding cadet lines from the royal lineage by, among other customs, turning princes not in the line of succession into monks.95 Regardless, the 1798 genealogy was a long-overdue record of the ancestry of the Kaesŏng Wang, who had increasingly attracted the court’s favorable attention. This would change somewhat in the successive reigns of weak monarchs.

Koryŏ Legacies and the Chosŏn Dynasty in Turmoil, 1800–1864 Upon Chŏngjo’s death in August 1800, his son of eleven se, Sunjo, ascended the throne, and decades of royal in-law governance commenced. In 1801, Yŏngjo’s widow, Queen Chŏngsun (1745–1805), led, as regent, the Principle faction in carrying out the first-ever mass anti-Catholic persecution as a way of purging the Expediency faction, killing more than three hundred followers. In 1803, when Sunjo ostensibly began his personal rule, his in-laws, the Andong Kim, who were members of the Expediency faction, gained power. Corruption among their cronies who were appointed as local officials—along with a devastating famine (1809), the Hong Kyŏngnae Rebellion (1812), and the spread of an epidemic in the northwest (1821)—exacerbated the social turmoil. In 1827, Sunjo sought to check the power of the Andong Kim by deputizing his son, Prince Hyomyŏng (1809–1830), who then tried to promote his own in-laws, the P’ungyang Cho, but Hyomyŏng died three years later.96 As a weaker monarch, Sunjo more or less limited his gestures toward the Wangs to duly continuing the line of Sungŭijŏn superintendents selected from

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

137

the Majŏn lineage and seeking to improve upkeep of the shrine. Ten months after his accession, on June 21, 1801, the Ministry of Personnel presented Wang Kyŏnghyo, who had succeeded his father as the Sungŭijŏn superintendent in 1798, as the sole candidate for the higher Sungŭijŏn superintendent post, at the junior sixth rank.97 Seven years later, on February 23, 1809, a report from the Kyŏnggi Province secret royal inspector recommended implementing a regulation such that the Royal Cuisine Office (Saongwŏn) would triennially supply the Sungŭijŏn with ritual goods, and Sunjo approved.98 About three years later, on January 6, 1812, the Ministry presented Kyŏnghyo as the sole candidate for appointment again as superintendent of the junior sixth rank.99 On the following day, however, the Ministry changed the nomination to that of a superintendent of the junior fifth-rank, hence promoting him.100 Ten months later, on November 28, though, Kyŏnghyo died, and the position somehow went to a distant cousin from the lineage, Wang Kyŏngju (1764–n.d.). This unusual succession pattern may have been due to the fact that Kyŏnghyo had no natural son and his adopted son, Wang Yundong (1790–1880), who was twenty-two se at the time, was perhaps considered too young for the post.101 The year of Kyŏngju’s death is unknown, but on March 6, 1815, the Ministry of Rites reported that it had been a long time since a new Sungŭijŏn superintendent had been appointed. Because the upcoming spring ancestral rites had no one to perform them, the Ministry of Rites advised Sunjo to have the Ministry of Personnel fill the position, and the king approved.102 Accordingly, on November 11, 1819, the Ministry of Personnel presented Kyŏnghyo’s adopted son, Yundong, as the sole candidate for appointment as the junior fifth-rank superintendent.103 In a similar manner, Sunjo’s court duly continued appointing superintendents of Koryŏ tombs, chosen from the Kaesŏng lineage of Wangs. For instance, eleven years later, on January 29, 1831, the Ministry of Personnel reported that according to a report from the Kaesŏng magistrate, the current tomb superintendent, Wang Sahŏn (1790–1859), had been at his post beyond his service term. Nonetheless, since none among the Wangs were comparable to him in abilities, the Ministry recommended that, for the time being, Sahŏn should retain his position, and Sunjo approved.104 In stark contrast to the Sungŭijŏn and the Koryŏ royal tomb superintendents, one exceptional Kaesŏng Wang had a more noteworthy career. An elder brother of Sahŏn, Wang Sahŭi (1787–1861) is known to have been appointed to at least nine offices from 1817 to 1831, including his three highest-level ones, which were each of junior fifth rank.105 Although all three were royal tomb su-

138

Chapter 4

perintendentships and thus hardly the distinctions of a major political player, Sahŭi’s career in the government most likely won him the role of writing the preface for the 1850 edition of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy. His success also presaged the attainment of much more significant positions by his immediate kin and their descendants during Kojong’s reign. While the Kaesŏng and the Majŏn lineages continued their respective ritual duties as sanctioned by the state, the Kurye lineage invested considerable effort to stress their descent from illustrious forebears. A breakthrough came when the lineage secured the court’s formal recognition of its mid-Chosŏn members as righteous army leaders during the Imjin War. On October 5, 1804, the Ministry of Rites requested that, along with five others who either died while fighting against the Japanese in 1597 or volunteered to fight against the Manchus in 1637, Wang Tŭgin and his son, Wang Ŭisŏng, be posthumously honored with offices, and Sunjo approved.106 Three months later, on January 22, 1805, the court granted Tŭgin a senior fifth-rank civil office, the fourth inspector, and Ŭisŏng a senior third-rank civil office, the second royal secretary (Chwa sŭng ji).107 Then, about eight years later, on November 15, 1812, the court ordered that commemorative gates in their honor be constructed at their village.108 The court’s recognition helped the Kurye lineage reaffirm its standing as a local aristocratic family, especially since this was confirmed by the local elite register of Kurye, which records ten members of the lineage. Their prominence was demonstrated not solely by honors or birth; the lineage also owned much land and a large number of slaves.109 All the same, securing a greater presence in officialdom or improvement in the upkeep of the tombs of their royal ancestors remained an elusive goal, and a memorial by a Wang five years later is telling. On March 30, 1818, the Seoul magistracy reported on a memorial submitted by a resident, Wang Chimin (fl. 1818), who was a degreeless scholar. According to the memorial, illegal burials numbered over a hundred, each located within a distance of one hundred paces from a Koryŏ royal tomb. In the case of Kim It’an (fl. 1818), he was said to have secretly entered a village (tong) in southwestern Kaesŏng and created a grave atop the area’s fourth royal tomb mound, half of which was flattened and the other half crumbling with various stone objects surrounding the tomb buried. Citing the commands of royal ancestors, Chimin pleaded for all illegal graves to be removed and for the fourth tomb mound to be restored. Concurring with the memorial, the Seoul magistracy condemned the burials, including Kim’s, and advised Sunjo to order the Ministry of Rites to dispatch a staff official to work with the Kaesŏng magistracy to investigate the matter, and if

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

139

Chimin’s allegations were found to be true, remove the graves at once, rebuild the fourth tomb mound on an auspicious day, and prosecute Kim and all others like him according to the law. Condemning illegal graves, especially Kim’s, as heinous crimes that disregarded the relevant commands of his royal ancestors, Sunjo ordered that the Kaesŏng magistracy and the adjutant of the Five Guards Directorate, who had failed to prevent the burials, be dismissed. Sunjo also ordered the old practice of triennially dispatching ritual officials to the tombs and having the adjutant submit an annual inspection report in the late autumn be revived. Furthermore, observing that no Wang had served in officialdom for a long time, Sunjo ordered that the appropriate ministries search for qualified candidates and appoint them to offices.110 The Kaesŏng magistrate’s report that Sunjo received thirteen days later indicates how difficult it was for the state to even take stock of the Koryŏ tombs. On April 12, 1818, the magistrate reported on the tomb damaged by Kim’s illegal burial. After removing the recent burial, the magistrate mobilized manpower to dig into the alleged royal tomb, but he was unable to determine that it was indeed a royal tomb. Dismayed by the contradictory assessments between Wang Chimin’s memorial and the magistrate’s report, Sunjo ordered the Office of Special Counselors to report on the total number of Koryŏ tombs in Kaesŏng and outside of it. Reasoning that those who lived in the area could be aware of the identity of the persons buried in the tombs, even if one happened to be an old grave of an ordinary scholar-official family, Sunjo deemed it reprehensible that the magistrate excavated without obtaining the court’s permission, even though he thought the grave might have been a royal tomb. Insisting that setting royal tombs apart from ordinary private burials should not be postponed, Sunjo ordered another round of investigation, including additional interrogation of Kim.111 Rationale for preserving the material and human legacies of Koryŏ remained the official line of the Chosŏn dynasty as the legitimate successor of Koryŏ. A year and a half later, on November 4, 1819, while reading and discussing a passage from the Record of Venerable Deeds of Royal Ancestors (Yŏlcho kaengjangnok), the compilation of which Chŏngjo had earlier commissioned, a reader noted that, upon accession, Chosŏn T’aejo had enfeoffed a Wang to perform ancestral rites and that the meaning of T’aejo’s gesture was the same as that for King Wu of Zhou, who enfeoffed the last Shang king’s brother in the state of Song to perform ancestral rites. Given the jealousy and suspiciousness of founders of new states in general, the act of preserving the progeny of a vanquished state was rare in history, and Chosŏn T’aejo was exceptional—his

140

Chapter 4

abundant virtue surpassing that of one hundred kings, the reader declared.112 On the following day, as the reading and discussion of the Record of Venerable Deeds of Royal Ancestors continued, the reader asked, rhetorically, how could the feat of Koryŏ T’aejo’s unification of Samhan be forgotten? Observing that the royal ancestors treated the Wangs with the utmost propriety, the reader beseeched Sunjo to reflect deeply on their virtues.113 The official line on the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change itself remained the same as before. Seven months later, on May 30, 1820, while reading and discussing Shang Lu’s (1414–1486) Continuation of the Annotated Account of the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government (Xu zizhi tong jian gangmu), a reader commented on a passage, finding parallels between the accessions of Song Emperor Taizu (r. 960–976) and Chosŏn T’aejo and judging both to be righteous and legitimate. First, before their ascension, both were military men toward whom the Mandate of Heaven shifted, together with popular support. Second, the previous dynasty that each had served was facing an external military threat. Third, both were reluctant when elevated by their subordinates, and both then looked after members of the previous royal house and its loyalists. Overall, both men rescued their country from chaos or misrule, their virtuous righteousness was manifest, and their divine martial prowess shunned indiscriminate killing. Unlike the Song dynasty, which had just two wise rulers after Taizu, the Chosŏn dynasty had been ruled by one sagely monarch after another, with the country enjoying stability and peace for a long time, the reader proudly asserted.114 Particularities about dynastic legitimacy aside, making gestures toward dead Koryŏ loyalists was easier than appointing more living Wangs, and the list of Tumun-dong worthies identifiable by name continued to grow. For instance, two years and eight months later, on February 6, 1823, in response to a memorial from Confucian students, the court added two Koryŏ loyalists to those honored at the P’yojŏlsa, established in 1783 at the Koryŏ Confucian Academy in Kaesŏng.115 Then, eight and a half years later, on August 26, 1831, Sunjo approved the Ministry of Rites’ recommendation to bestow a posthumous name upon a Koryŏ loyalist, Chang Anse (fl. 1382–1392). Explaining that information about Chang was available in local gazetteers and various scholars’ literary anthologies, the Ministry noted that at the time when many scrambled to distinguish themselves for the new dynasty, Chang declined its repeated invitations to accept an office and instead spent the rest of his life in the countryside. Sunjo approved the recommendation.116

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

141

In the succeeding fourteen-year reign of Sunjo’s successor, Hŏnjong, royal in-law governance continued with an incessant power struggle between the Andong Kim and the P’ungyang Cho. As Hŏnjong was just age eight se upon his accession in December 1834, Sunjo’s widow, an Andong Kim, exercised regency for seven years. In 1841, at fifteen se, Hŏnjong ostensibly began ruling in person, but as a monarch with little power, he increasingly overindulged in drinking and women. The country as a whole sank into turmoil, with rampant nepotism as a result of the royal in-laws’ power monopoly; “three administrative abuses” that affected the state’s management of the land tax, military service tax, and grain loans; two rounds of anti-Catholic persecution (1839, 1846); and the appearance of Western ships in coastal waters.117 Throughout his reign, discussions of Koryŏ legacies by Hŏnjong and his officials adhered to the official line on the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change. For instance, on December 6, 1845, while reading and discussing the Record of Venerable Deeds of Royal Ancestors, the attending officials explained to eighteen-se Hŏnjong that because the sagely rulers of antiquity such as the kings of Zhou could not bear to treat the progeny of a vanquished state as subjects, Zhou ritual protocol treated the descendants as guests of the Zhou. They cited the way that King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed a Shang prince to the state of Song so that he could continue performing ancestral rites, and they praised the way that early Chosŏn kings allowed Kongyang’s brother to perform ancestral rites in Majŏn.118 Then, twenty days later, on December 26, while reading and discussing the Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns, the second diarist (Taegyo, 8a) praised Chosŏn T’aejo for resisting the Censorate’s petition to punish the Wangs, instead striving to allow the Wangs to live comfortably.119 A discussion two months later suggests that, rhetoric aside, at least some at Hŏnjong’s court did not know the facts about the living Wangs at the time. On March 4, 1846, while reading and discussing the above work, Hŏnjong inquired whether Wang Sullye was a descendant of the Koryŏ dynasty. Answering in the affirmative, a reader explained that the royal ancestors had appointed Sullye as the superintendent of the Sungŭijŏn as a way of honoring Koryŏ T’aejo at the shrine and treating the previous dynasty with the utmost respect by allowing the Wangs to perform proper ancestral rites. When Hŏnjong asked whether Sullye was the only descendant of Koryŏ and whether the present-day Wangs were all his descendants, the reader replied that Sullye was not the only one at the time, and that currently some Wangs were his descendants. Then the commentator spoke up to say that Sullye was the only

142

Chapter 4

Wang at the time and that currently all Wangs were indeed his descendants.120 Whereas Hŏnjong was merely not knowledgeable enough, the commentator’s statement was just plain wrong. While the gestures of Hŏnjong’s court toward the material and human legacies of Koryŏ remained limited to lip service and articulation of the official line, a Kaesŏng Wang made a name for himself as a singer (kagaek). Wang Sŏkchung (1799–1849), who was a grandson of a Koryŏ tomb superintendent, son of a classics licentiate who also served as a Koryŏ tomb superintendent, and nephew of a military examination graduate, associated with other singers early in life. At first, no one knew that he sang well. One day when he came forth quietly and began clapping in rhythm and singing, the other vocalists stopped and listened for a long time. Reportedly awed, many gave up singing as their vocation. As the singers helped one another improve through competitions, Sŏkchung stood out for his clear voice and natural musical sensibility— capable of singing something well on his own, without a teacher, after merely hearing someone else sing the song. Later, when a singer visiting Kaesŏng complimented Sŏkchung and offered lessons, the teacher also urged him to work harder to become a more accomplished performer. Sŏkchung continued to practice daily, ultimately becoming known as one of the best vocalists of his time and entertaining listeners from all walks of life.121 In the same year that Sŏkchung died (1849), the king, Hŏnjong, also died, sonless, and his successor, Ch’ŏlchong, who was nineteen se and a second cousin of Prince Hyomyŏng, reigned under the sway of the Andong Kim royal in-laws. As the closest living relatives of Hŏnjong, Ch’ŏlchong and his brothers were grandsons of Sunjo’s uncle, whom the Principle Patriarchs had pressed the throne to banish to Kanghwa before putting him to death in 1801. Born and raised on Kanghwa, Ch’ŏlchong lacked the proper education or training for his new role. In 1851, Ch’ŏlchong married an Andong Kim, and even when he officially commenced his personal rule the following year, the in-laws continued to wield power. Rampant bureaucratic nepotism and the three administrative abuses ignited riots that swept across scores of counties in the south and elsewhere in 1862. In search of salvation, many people flocked to Catholicism, which enjoyed a respite from the previously violent persecution because some Andong Kim were Catholics. At the same time, a new indigenous religion, Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”), gained a following, especially among the peasantry and rural poor. In the palace, the powerless king gave himself over to carnal pleasures.122 Hardly in a position to effect any significant change, Ch’ŏlchong nonethe-

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

143

less ordered the upgrading of the Koryŏ tomb superintendentship from a sinecure to a position eligible for promotion. As reported by the second state councilor on November 22, 1852, a memorial from Magistrate of Kaesŏng Kim Siyŏn (1810–1877) pointed out that even though the appointment of superintendents of the Sungnyŏngjŏn, the Sunginjŏn, and Koryŏ tombs was an expression of the current dynasty’s gratitude toward its predecessors, as of 1824, the court had made only the Sungnyŏngjŏn and the Sunginjŏn superintendents eligible for promotion while keeping the Koryŏ tomb superintendentship a sinecure. Arguing that this was unfair, Kim’s memorial sought redress. In response, the second state councilor advised Ch’ŏlchong to consult high officials and others of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War about transferring a Koryŏ tomb superintendent to another position after his completion of fifteen months of service. Ch’ŏlchong did so and ordered that all of their recommendations be implemented.123 Given that most aristocrats were not officeholders by this time, demonstrating aristocratic descent was crucial, and in 1850, the Kaesŏng Wang compiled an updated edition of their genealogy. Unlike the previous edition of 1798, a Wang authored the preface—none other than Wang Sahŭi who, sixtythree se at the time, had long been retired after having had by far the most distinguished career in officialdom among the Wangs of his time. Noting that all the present Kaesŏng Wang had descended from Koryŏ T’aejo’s fifteenth son, Hyoŭn T’aeja, Sahŭi explained in the preface that the actual genealogy of the Kaesŏng Wang began with the prince as the founding ancestor because ministers and officials (kyŏng taebu) could not dare to refer to a monarch as their “ancestor” (cho). Sahŭi also dismissed an apparently widespread myth at the time that the Wang had descended from the Yellow Emperor—an understanding for long accepted in China for its Wangs. Then, reckoning that Wang Mi was a twelfth-generation descendant of Hyoŭn T’aeja, Sahŭi related that, upon the dynastic change, Mi had used his mother’s surname to avoid the calamity of 1394, until a dream moved T’aejong to search for the progeny of Koryŏ, and the king appointed Mi to an office. Sahŭi noted that Mi had three sons, all of whom attained offices, and declared that all Wangs with the ancestral seat Kaesŏng had descended from the three.124 By so doing, he was effectively ignoring the Wangs who claimed descent from later Koryŏ royals. In contrast to Sahŭi of the Kaesŏng lineage, his distant kin Wang Sŏkpo (1816–1868) of the Kurye lineage achieved fame as a prominent Confucian scholar without obtaining a degree, court rank, or office. A seventh-generation descendant of Wang Ŭisŏng, who was a righteous army leader, Sŏkpo was

144

Chapter 4

engrossed in Daoist mysticism as a youth. From his middle years, however, he devoted himself to the Confucian classics. His intellectual legacy continued through his own sons and grandsons as well as through disciples such as Hwang Hyŏn (1856–1910), who was a relative by marriage and a prominent poet, scholar, and social critic. For the most part, they remained rusticated scholars, content to tour scenic places, compose poems, and enjoy wine, rather than seek positions in officialdom. Not unlike the scholars of Kurye, many culturally sophisticated nonaristocrats were more detached from Confucianism, and Chŏng Chiyun (also known as Chŏng Sudong, 1808–1858) is a case in point. A member of a chung­in Tongnae Chŏng lineage especially known for its interpreters, including his own son, Chŏng himself did not serve as an interpreter. Free spirited and disinterested in matters concerned with earning a livelihood, he harbored discontent toward society and lived his life as a vagrant madman. Exceedingly bright and capable of comprehending even the most abstruse texts, Chŏng behaved as if he were ignorant, albeit his words and deeds through satire revealed a brilliant mind. In composing prose and poetry alike, he tended to be unconventional, minimalist, and natural, rejecting formality. Aristocratic luminaries of the time, such as Kim Chŏnghŭi (1786–1856), cherished his talent and sought to provide material comfort, but, rejecting such help, Chŏng lived free until dying from heavy drinking at fifty se. One of his surviving poems is a seven-syllable regulated verse, “Full Moon Terrace”: The peak of Pine Ridge Mountain reaches half across the sky, Like the enterprise of the Koryŏ kings, gallant and heroic. When the moment came, they united a kingdom divided in three; With their fortune gone, their palaces, acres vast, fell to decay. I know that numinous sprits yet wander in moonlit nights, But no more are the elders who yet lament the winds of spring. Rise and fall are not matters for those such as ourselves, Though our hearts still pain when we face the light of dusk.125

Chŏng’s poem tersely expresses a mix of emotions vis-à-vis the ebbs and flows of history. Compared with other poems on the Koryŏ legacy, in this work, the tone in which Chŏng expresses his feelings is more assertive, likely reflecting the known life and personality of the author. Rather than just a reminder of nature continuously undergoing rebirth, the line “The peak of Pine Ridge Mountain reaches half across the sky” suggests that the spirits of Koryŏ remain strong—as those of “gallant and heroic” deliverers, especially T’aejo,

R e n e w e d At t e n t i o n t o t h e K o r y ŏ L e g a c i e s

145

who rescued the land from division, chaos, and wars. Indeed, the spirits wander freely in the sky lit by the moon, an eternal object that Chŏng and other literary figures associated with the site of the Koryŏ royal palace. To Chŏng, not only do mortals who lament the change of season come and go, so do dynasties—a matter beyond the purview of nonaristocrats such as himself, who can only feel melancholy when viewing the ruins of the vanquished state.

Summary The lot of the Kaesŏng Wang continued to improve, thanks to official sanctioning of the preservation of the Koryŏ legacy and the spreading cult of Koryŏ loyalists, though the Wangs had no meaningful presence in officialdom. As relatively strong monarchs who promoted royal legitimacy and cardinal Confucian virtues such as loyalty and filial piety, both Yŏngjo and Chŏngjo paid special attention to honoring the founders of various historic states, including Koryŏ T’aejo, as well as Koryŏ loyalists. Even visiting Kaesŏng, Yŏngjo in particular repeatedly ordered that the Wangs be recruited, but the relatively small number of those appointed were mostly minor officeholders. Even among the members of Kaesŏng linage, which commanded significant wealth, those who were successful tended to be licentiates, military examination graduates, or honorary court rank recipients at most. Other Wangs, such as the Majŏn lineage, maintained local elite standing enhanced by mid-Chosŏn wartime heroics of ancestors honored by the court. Using the past to strengthen the collective identity of the Kaesŏng Wang as a descent group gained momentum with the compilation of their first-ever comprehensive genealogy in 1798 and an updated edition in 1850. When an oligarchy of royal in-laws wielded paramount power for some six decades after Chŏngjo’s death, the court’s gestures vis-à-vis the legacy of Koryŏ were less frequent, but alternative interpretations of the Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change gained strength. All of these developments foreshadowed a new era when the Wangs would assume active roles in a Chosŏn Korea fighting for survival.

C h ap t er 5

Modernity, Kinship, and Individuals, 1864–1910

Chosŏn Korea struggled to strengthen itself as a modern nation state prior to colonization by Meiji Japan. Elevating to the throne a son who was a minor through behind-the-scenes negotiations with the queen dowager, the Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn’gun (1820–1898) ended royal in-law governance, improved the government’s finances, and resisted Japanese and Western demands for trade before falling from power in 1873. The son, Kojong, then ruling personally, pursued treaty relations with Western nations and the increasingly aggressive Japan, while Qing China imposed more direct control over its long-time vassal through the posting of a resident viceroy. Internal disturbances such as the Imo Mutiny (1882) and the Kapsin Coup (1884) provided further pretext for China and Japan to intervene. Upon Japan’s victory in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Russia replaced China as Japan’s rival in the region. Kojong, threatened by the Japanese, who raided his palace and killed his wife, Queen Myŏngsŏng (1851–1895), took refuge in the Russian legation in 1896. With Russia holding Japan back, he assumed an imperial title, declared the inauguration of the Empire of Korea (1897–1910), and pursued more-sweeping reforms—brought to an end when Japan won the Russo-Japanese War (1904– 1905) and turned Korea into a protectorate. As Kojong continued to resist, the Japanese replaced him with his heir, Sunjong. Having already suppressed any remaining active resistance, Japan’s formal annexation of Korea in August 1910 was a fait accompli. Kojong’s effort to build a strong modern nation state entailed broadening the social base of political participation, while at the same the demise of the rigid status hierarchy accelerated. To be sure, the most prominent aristocratic

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

147

lineages based in the capital and its vicinity still dominated court politics, but others, including specialist chungin and northwestern local elites, made inroads, becoming county magistrates and other centrally appointed local officials who were backed by political players if not the monarch himself. Even in the more socially conservative regions such as the inland counties of Kyŏngsang Province, new families with wealth and influence married into the local aristocracy and acquired positions in the central government. Treaty ports and the expanding economic presence of foreign powers presented both challenges and opportunities for many, across status boundaries. As social mobility increased, Korea’s cultural landscape became more variegated across status boundaries. Beginning in the 1890s, many people readily espoused Western ideas and customs, while others resisted; the majority just tried to adapt as they saw fit. The rallying cry of conservative ideologues who viewed Korea as the last bastion of civilization, morally superior to Manchuruled China, was “defend orthodoxy, reject heterodoxy (wijŏng ch’ŏksa).” Their worldview, informed by the Sinographic classic texts, continued to shape the cultural outlook of the rural intellectuals who had come of age during this period. In contrast, those educated in Seoul and other urban areas generally accepted Western ideas and institutions, especially those of Britain, the United States, and Meiji Japan—viewing them as models for “enlightenment” (kaehwa). As the Kaesŏng Wang now inhabited more or less every province, they too had varied responses to the new times and world.

The Taewŏn’gun’s Conservative Reform, 1864–1873 Korea began adjusting to imperialism during the forty-three-year reign of Kojong, beginning with his father’s de facto regency (1864–1873) and its reform.1 At thirteen se, Kojong became king in January 1864 as the posthumously adopted son of Prince Hyomyŏng. Kojong’s biological father, the Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn’gun, who was Hyomyŏng and Ch’ŏlchong’s second cousin, wielded power. The Taewon’gun’s overarching aim was to restore royal power, which had plummeted during some six decades of royal in-law oligarchy. Accordingly, he reduced the size of the aristocratic decision-making entity by transferring the deliberative function from the Border Defense Council to the State Council, promoted those loyal to him from more diverse backgrounds, and rebuilt Kyŏngbok Palace in spite of the exorbitant cost. Also, putting an end to the three administrative abuses and shutting down most of the private academies (sŏwŏn), which were tax havens for local elites, contributed to a govern-

148

Chapter 5

ment revenue surplus. At the same time, recognizing that the growing Western and Japanese demands for trade meant unequal treaties, he sought to improve military defense and fought off a series of incursions. And viewing Catholics as colluding with France and others, he carried out a bloody persecution, killing some eight thousand followers of the faith. Under the Taewŏn’gun’s leadership, focused as it was on overall dynastic restoration, the material legacies of Koryŏ and other historic states received the court’s attention and care at a level unseen since Yŏngjo’s reign. On October 29, 1868, Kojong, then seventeen se and becoming more knowledgeable about the affairs of the state, remarked that various Koryŏ royal tombs had been repaired recently and that the Sungŭijŏn housed Koryŏ T’aejo’s spirit tablet. Postulating that the old shrine must surely be suffering from “rotting columns and a leaky roof,” he bestowed upon the edifice 1,000 yang and instructed the Kyŏnggi governor and the Kaesŏng magistrate to consult each other about repair work.2 Four months later, on March 6, 1869, the Ministry of Rites reported that, according to the governor, the magistrate’s office would be performing the seasonal rite (chŏlsa) at the shrine on the coming March 18 (the sixth day of the second lunar month) and would commence the repairs on March 23. The magistracy requested a prayer text and incense for the ritual preceding the temporary relocation of Koryŏ T’aejo’s portrait to another shrine and also for another ritual upon reinstating the portrait after the project’s completion. In response, the Ministry advised the king that the magistracy should be instructed to report the undertaking to T’aejo’s spirit at the same time that the seasonal rites were being performed, move the portrait on the day the repair work began, and return the portrait to the shrine with another ritual upon completion of the repairs. The Ministry also recommended that the king first order the Office of Royal Decrees to compose the prayer text so that it could be sent to the magistracy, used for the rituals, and then burned afterward. Kojong approved.3 At the same time, while it was under the Taewŏn’gun’s sway, Kojong’s court further changed regulations such that those pertaining to the Sungŭijŏn personnel were in line with those for the Sunginjŏn and the Sungdŏkchŏn. Reflecting the Taewŏn’gun’s intent to streamline the government bureaucracy and his goal of austerity, the Great Code Reconciliation (Taejŏn hoet’ong), which was completed in 1866, was a long-overdue update of the legal code and reduced the number of superintendents to just one.4 Then on September 23, 1870, as part of the implementation of the new regulations according to the Great Code Reconciliation, the court replaced the remaining junior

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

149

fifth-rank and junior sixth-rank superintendent posts with a junior ninthrank superintendent (Ch’ambong) post—in conformity with the post of the Sungdŏkchŏn, which honored Pak Hyŏkkŏse. During the discussion, the State Council reminded Kojong of his earlier order that the long-neglected Sungdŏkchŏn and all ten tombs of Pak-surnamed Silla rulers be renovated immediately by the provincial authorities and that the State Council deliberate on securing personnel to manage them. Then the State Council advised Kojong to follow the example of the Sunginjŏn, the shrine for Kija, by having the Kaesŏng magistracy and the Kyŏngju magistracy secure, respectively, a qualified Wang and a qualified Pak for the Ministry of Personnel to present as sole nominees for the Sungŭijŏn and the Sungdŏkchŏn superintendent posts. The State Council also recommended that, after ninety months of service, each superintendent should be promoted to a sixth-rank civil office, and the king approved.5 Although the Majŏn lineage of Kaesŏng Wang had been supplying the superintendents of the Sungŭijŏn since 1589, they had never attained more meaningful positions in the central government. Given that promotion to the sixth rank (sŭngyuk) was a milestone in an officeholder’s career, this institutionalized guaranty of a sixth-rank civil office for a long-serving Sungŭijŏn superintendent was a welcome change for the Wangs as a group that had had a minimal presence in central officialdom after the sixteenth century. At last, the Sungŭijŏn was more than just a local landmark in the county (photograph 5.1), with its superintendent holding a higher court rank. More was to come as during Kojong’s reign, five among the Kaesŏng Wang, all from the Kaesŏng lineage, passed the civil examination. The first of them was Wang Chŏngyang (1824–1894), a son of Hyŏnnŭng Superintendent Wang Sahŏn and a nephew of Wang Sahŭi. Chŏngyang had held a relatively long, continuous series of civil offices before authoring the preface to the 1850 edition of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy. On February 18, 1867, he came to the attention of Kojong, who, after learning that he was the scion of the vanquished state, expressed delight in the fact that this was his first degree and noted that his aspirations were high. Kojong ordered that Chŏngyang be appointed as the third minister of war (Pyŏng jo Ch’amŭi, 3a) in order to demonstrate the court’s desire to look after the descendants of the previous dynasty.6 The appointment of a new examination graduate to a civil office of senior third rank was an extraordinary gesture, and on the following day, the Ministry of Personnel duly took up the king’s command.7 Kojong would continue to pay special attention to Chŏngyang. While making gestures toward the human and material legacies of previous

Photograph 5.1.  Map of Majŏn (1872) showing the Sungŭijŏn. The shrine is indicated inside the black oval (added by the author). Source: “1872 nyŏn chibang chido Majŏn-gun chido.” Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University. Catalog Kyu 10366. Reprinted with permission.

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

151

dynasties, the Taewŏn’gun eliminated most of the hundreds, if not thousands, of private academies due to the abuses associated with them. Not opposed to Confucianism per se, the Taewŏn’gun blamed the private academies, which lorded over local populations, for a wide range of abuses associated with tax collection, military service, and factional strife. The royal edict issued on May 9, 1871, effectively shut down all but forty-seven of the private academies over the following eleven days.8 Closure of the private academies earned the Taewŏn’gun enmity, especially among the more conservative Confucian literati. In many ways, Kojong’s visit to Kaesŏng eleven months later reaffirmed the state’s commitment to honoring true Confucian worthies and Koryŏ legacies, as Yŏngjo had done. On April 12, 1872, after paying his respects at the Koryŏ State Confucian Shrine, Kojong, who was now a young adult of twenty-one se, met with local Confucian students who were participating in the ritual procession. Bestowing gifts upon them, Kojong stressed the importance of maintaining a high eligibility standard for inclusion in the local Confucian student register (yuan) in light of Kaesŏng’s status as the city of Chosŏn T’aejo’s long-time residence before he ascended the throne and as the former capital of Koryŏ. Observing that the court had not had a chance to look after the progeny of Koryŏ, Kojong ordered that, from this point on, Wangs from good families should be employed at entry levels as civil, military, or shadow privilege appointees. After paying his respects at a former residence of Chosŏn T’aejo, Kojong proceeded to Sŏnjuk Bridge and inspected the pavilion housing a commemorative stele with an inscription in Yŏngjo’s calligraphy. Upon viewing the portrait of Chŏng Mongju, Kojong ordered that a new storage box be made. Praising Chŏng as a foundational figure for the country’s Confucianism and deeming his fidelity to the principle of righteousness potent enough to “pierce the sun and the moon,” Kojong ordered that the Kaesŏng magistrate be dispatched with a prayer text and ritual items to the private academy where Chŏng’s spirit tablet was enshrined. The king also ordered that Chŏng’s nonoffice-holding descendant who performed the ancestral rites in his honor be identified for presentation as a candidate for his first official appointment.9 Upon arriving at Manwŏltae, the site of a Koryŏ royal palace, Kojong oversaw the civil and military examinations that were held to recruit local talent. First, he discussed with his officials the procedural details for the examinations and the latest reported incidents arising from military personnel’s disciplinary problems, although Kojong showed leniency rather than punished anyone. Then, upon his order, the civil examination, held in the courtyard, selected

152

Chapter 5

five men. Noting that one of them, Wang Sŏnghyŏp (1850–1895), was none other than a son of Wang Chŏngyang, now a royal secretary, Kojong ordered a special musical performance in Sŏnghyŏp’s honor and appointed him as a fifth counselor (Kyori, 5a) of the Office of Special Counselors. Observing that the sun had already set, Kojong ordered that the successful candidates for both the civil and the military examinations be announced in an abbreviated ceremony at Manwŏltae. After another discussion of reported problems involving royal procession personnel, Kojong again chose leniency. Chŏngyang was entrusted with the ceremonial duty of overseeing the closing and reopening of the gate of the compound where the royal entourage was lodging, and he beat the drum at certain hours and performed military music.10 Kojong devoted the following day to tending to the Koryŏ royal tombs in the company of the Wangs. At the hour of the dragon (chinsi, between 7 and 9 a.m. local time), Kojong arrived at the Hyŏnnŭng and personally conducted the sacrificial rites. The king ordered that when he offered the sacrifice at the tomb, the newly appointed Fifth Counselor Wang Sŏnghyŏp and two other Wangs who had passed the civil examination—Wang Ŏnsang (1855–n.d.) and Wang Yongju (1840–n.d.), both of whom were Sŏnghyŏp’s local lineage kin— presented themselves to the spirit of T’aejo. After personally offering the ritual sacrifice at the Hyŏnnŭng, Kojong asked whether anyone among the Wangs was particularly well versed in letters. When Chŏngyang explained that in the past there had been many but that this was no longer so, Kojong commanded that from this point on, a suitable Wang be presented as a candidate whenever the Hyŏnnŭng superintendent post became vacant. Then, turning to Chŏngyang and lamenting the fact that the Wangs, as descendants of the previous dynasty, had been unable to achieve office and instead had remained obscure for a long time, Kojong ordered that from then on the Wangs should study hard and make names for themselves. Later, Kojong ordered that magistrates of higher rank from Kyŏnggi Province be dispatched to other Koryŏ tombs, including those on the island of Kanghwa, with prayer texts and ritual goods. The king also ordered that Chŏngyang and Sŏnghyŏp inspect various other tombs in the vicinity of the Hyŏnnŭng.11 Later in the day, Kojong extended gestures of royal grace to local residents, including the Wangs who had passed the examination. He asked the officials to assemble the city’s officeholders and ordinary people alike and inquire whether his visit had imposed any burden on them. Upon learning that it had indeed and hearing some relevant details, Kojong ordered a more thorough report and promoted all officials seventy se and older and “scholarly

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

153

men” (sain) eighty se and older; granted certificates of official appointment (ch’ŏpka) to commoners age eighty se and older; and bestowed rice and meat upon people age seventy se and older. When the sun set, Kojong personally received the new examination graduates’ greetings of gratitude (saŭn). Waiting at the bottom of the hall’s stairs were the top passer of the civil examination, Wang Sŏnghyŏp; the top passer of the military examination; and others. Wang Ŏnsang, however, was reportedly unable to attend on time. Upon a suggestion by the first royal secretary, the new examination graduates who were in attendance, except for the military examination passers other than the top passer, were ordered to come up the steps to the hall to state their names and occupations, and a royal messenger (Sŏnjŏn’gwan) did so for the rest of the military examination passers. Afterward, the king ordered the first royal secretary to congratulate them by putting a customary black ink mark (mukhŭi) on each graduate’s face. When the ceremony was over, it was the evening’s first watch (ch’ogyŏng, between 7 and 9 p.m.).12 A memorial submitted fifteen days later, on April 28, 1872, by Wang Chŏngyang suggests that Kojong’s visit to Kaesŏng elicited an overwhelming response from the Wangs, as Yŏngjo’s visit had done earlier. As a scion of the vanquished state and clearly the most eminent of the Wangs at the time as the second minister of works, Chŏngyang expressed his gratitude to the Chosŏn dynasty for honoring Koryŏ with ritual propriety; for employing the Wangs, as guests of the present dynasty, as the Hyŏnnŭng superintendents; and for commemorating Chŏng Mongju’s loyalty to Koryŏ through enshrining his spirit tablet at a private academy in Kaesŏng. Chŏngyang praised Kojong’s utmost virtue and exceeding goodness in personally offering the ritual sacrifice at the Hyŏnnŭng, a gesture that not even the Shang had shown in honor of Yu the Great (trad. ca. 2200–2101 BCE), the founder of the Xia, or the Zhou had shown in honor of Tang, the founder of the Shang. Chŏngyang then explained why he did not think he deserved his majesty’s special grace: An insignificant scion of the Koryŏ royal house of old, your servant is experiencing a magnificent time. Among the ranks of those attending to your majesty at proximity, I have handled the matters of state while kneeling and prostrating in your presence. Rains poured down and winds aroused by spirits produced desolate chilliness. It was as if I could hear and see the spirits of my ancestors in the dark netherworld sobbing aloud, shedding tears of emotion. Even if all members of your servant’s Wang lineage were to try to repay your majesty’s grace through countless reincarnations for eternity, it will not amount to even one ten-thousandth of your royal grace. On the day when my son passed the

154

Chapter 5

government service examination, your majesty gloriously honored him with a musical performance and an Office of Special Counselors post, thus treating him as your favorite. Afterward, upon receiving your command through a royal secretary, I learned that you were promoting me to the junior second rank. Alas, for some four hundred years, the Wangs, as a vanquished state’s progeny with little talent, did not even dare to join the ranks of scholar-officials. However, as your servant has benefited from your majesty’s boundless grace, since beginning my career as an official, I have administered larger districts in the provinces and have held one prestigious post after another in the capital.13

Then, reminding Kojong that his promotion to the junior second rank came shortly after he had been appointed to the Five Guards Directorate and the Ministry of Works positions, Chŏngyang expressed concern that his majesty’s overwhelming grace would elicit public opinion criticizing the promotion as an honor far above his station. Instead, Chŏngyang suggested, receiving a sinecure and being able to enjoy the remainder of his life praising the king’s grace with elderly kin would be more befitting. Kojong, acknowledging that he understood the sincere concern of Chŏngyang’s words, commanded him not to resign and instead to continue his official duties.14 In the following year, a series of events ended the Taewŏn’gun’s rule and commenced personal rule by Kojong, then twenty-two se, who had solidified his own political base of loyal supporters such as Wang Chŏngyang. On January 24, 1873, Pak Kyusu (1807–1877), the godfather of the Enlightenment Party (Kaehwadang), returned after visiting the Qing court as an envoy. He reported that the people of China wanted their monarch, the Tongzhi emperor (r. 1861–1875), who had ascended the throne as a child and was then eighteen se (Ch. sui), to commence his personal rule. Because Pak also reported progress in China’s Self-Strengthening Movement (1861–1895) and the empire’s improved international standing, Kojong likely desired to free himself from his father’s sway and pursue new policies for Korea in a changing world.15 When Tongzhi began direct rule on February 23, Kojong sent a congratulatory embassy. Evidently inspired by the Chinese model, the embassy reported on October 4, upon returning to Seoul, that Korea had no reason to fear Western powers as long as its “fundamentals” (kŭnbon) were secure.16 Thereafter, Kojong not only paid close attention to the reports of various embassies returning from China but also began discussing foreign affairs with his officials in ways that challenged his father. As the Taewŏn’gun showed no signs of relinquishing power, Ch’oe Ikhyŏn (1834–1907), a spirited, principled rural scholar, initiated the denouement.

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

155

On October 17, Kojong articulated his opposition to the Taewŏn’gun’s highly unpopular capital city gate tax and began pursuing his own policies.17 In support, Ch’oe; Kim Siyŏn, who had once served as the Kaesŏng magistrate; and Sim Ŭit’aek (1832–1892) criticized the Taewŏn’gun, and on November 29, Kojong expressed his trust in the three by appointing them as royal secretaries.18 Fifteen days later, on December 14, when Ch’oe submitted a memorial criticizing the Taewŏn’gun’s policies, some high officials who supported the Taewŏn’gun condemned Ch’oe, but Kojong defended him.19 Eight days later, on December 22, Ch’oe submitted another memorial, this time criticizing the Taewŏn’gun’s regency itself as misrule and urging that he relinquish power.20 On the following day, the confident Kojong declared the commencement of his own personal rule in the presence of all high officials, and the Taewŏn’gun left Kyŏngbok Palace.21

The Eastern Ways–Western Implements (Tongdo Sŏgi) Reform, 1873–1894 For two decades, Kojong pursued the Eastern Ways–Western Implements Reform, which adopted aspects of Western civilization that he deemed most useful.22 While Korea was making such efforts as sending learning missions abroad and adopting new institutions and ideas, the nation increasingly found its position in the world to be vulnerable. The Japan-Korea Treaty of February 1876 formally marked the beginning of Korea’s integration into a world dominated by imperialism. Despite Japan’s provocation and a divided officialdom, Kojong and the more progressive officials understood that Korea’s entering into treaty relations with Japan and the Western powers was inevitable, and that, combined with China’s urging, led to the signing of the treaty. Kojong sought to resist domination by a single major power by forging treaty relations with the various Western powers also, but Korea became a contested zone between China and Japan. Before what befell their country affected their lives, the Wangs suffered an internal conflict that pitted two lineages against each other for two and a half years over the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship. Following Kojong’s earlier order that Wang Sahŭi (1848–1885) be appointed as the new superintendent, on March 21, 1876, the Ministry of Personnel presented him as the sole candidate for the position.23 Sahŭi was none other than a descendant of Wang Hŭi, whom the court had appointed in 1541 as the superintendent before eventually concluding that he was not a Kaesong Wang and stripping his grandson

156

Chapter 5

and Sahŭi’s ancestor, Wang Ŏnjang, of the position in 1588.24 Considering that Wang Hun’s descendants in Majŏn had been serving as the Sungŭijŏn superintendents for nearly three centuries, Sahŭi’s appointment was an outrage to the Majŏn lineage. When its members belatedly visited the Kaesŏng magistracy with supporting documents to protest the appointment, the authorities sided with Sahŭi, who had lobbied effectively to secure their support. The Majŏn lineage took the case to Seoul. On April 28, 1876, a member of the lineage, Wang Indong (1810–1876), who was a degreeless scholar, petitioned with kyŏkchaeng, that is, beating a gong to gain the king’s attention. Complaining that recently Sahŭi and his supporters had stolen the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship, Indong sought rectification of the matter.25 A descendant of Hun, Indong was a distant cousin of the grandfather of Wang Chaegi (1845–1918), who was the last superintendent from the Majŏn linage before Sahŭi’s appointment.26 Although kyŏkchaeng was legal, conventionally, the court allowed a petitioner to present a case only after being subjected to light caning as a nominal punishment for having caused a disturbance. Also, the court limited the legitimate grounds for kyŏkchaeng to matters concerning the petitioner’s criminal punishment; an individual’s paternity; the legitimacy of a man’s wife or a child; the determination of whether the petitioner was a commoner or lowborn; and other significant issues. A petitioner wrongfully using kyŏkchaeng was liable to punishment by a hundred strokes of caning and banishment to a locale three thousand ri distant.27 On May 2, the Royal Secretariat reported that the State Tribunal was transferring Indong to the Ministry of Punishments.28 Then, two days later, when the Ministry recommended that Indong be punished, Kojong approved.29 Considering that Indong, who was sixty-seven se old, died less than three months later, on July 25, according to the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy,30 it seems that the punishment—presumably one hundred strokes of caning and banishment—contributed to, if not caused, his death. For the Majŏn lineage, a more realistic prospect for redress emerged, thanks to a secret royal inspector, and the eventual restoration of a lineage member to the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship took a year. Sometime in the tenth lunar month (November 5–December 4) of 1877, Wang Chaegi related in detail what had transpired to Yi Hŏnyŏng (1837–1907), who was the secret royal inspector assigned to Kyŏnggi Province.31 In the following spring, on April 11, 1878, when Kojong gave him an audience, Yi reported that, when he investigated the case upon the Majŏn lineage’s submission of its memorial, he had supplemented his report with relevant documents demonstrating how

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

157

King Sŏnjo’s decision had been implemented and with various other certified documents from the Ministry of Rites. In response, Kojong observed that the Wangs could now celebrate because the dispute had been resolved, and he expressed dismay over how the former Kaesŏng magistrate was duped by his staff military commander (pijang), who had taken a bribe from Sahŭi’s group and the administrative functionaries colluding with him.32 By the summer, the court was discussing measures to prevent what had happened from recurring. On July 21, 1878, the court fixed the tenure of the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship at sixty months.33 The measure likely took into consideration the obvious competition for the post among the Wangs in a society that valued such state-sanctioned status trappings as examination degrees, court ranks, and office posts. Then, the following month, on August 17, the State Council reminded Kojong that, in 1589, Sŏnjo had designated a rightful descendant of Koryŏ T’aejo, Hun, and his descendants to perform the ancestral rites after stripping Hŭi’s line of the role for falsely claiming such descent. The State Council characterized the resolution of the recent dispute as restoring the correct descent line to ritual heirship, which had been usurped by Hŭi’s descendant, Sahŭi. On the grounds that the precedent established by Sŏnjo and the evidence gathered through Yi’s investigation were clear, the State Council recommended that the Kaesŏng magistrate appoint a member of the Majŏn lineage as the new Sungŭijŏn superintendent and punish any false claimant according to the law. Kojong approved.34 Two months later, the court officially closed the case. On October 26, 1878, the State Council reported that it had asked the Kaesŏng magistrate to investigate and work on implementing the royal command to rectify the matter. Earlier, according to the State Council, when Magistrate of Kaesŏng Cho Kyŏngha (1844–1897) brought the members of both lineages together and scrutinized the relevant Ministry of Personnel documents and Wang genealogies, he found that both sides made their cases based on official documents. Cho requested that, in accordance with the implementation of Sŏnjo’s decision in 1589, the State Council deliberate on the dispute and obtain the king’s approval to appoint Hun’s descendant as the new superintendent. Besides recommending Sahŭi’s dismissal, the State Council advised the king to order the magistrate to ensure that Hun’s descendants continuously hold the position— with the ruling not to be violated ever again. Kojong approved.35 The court appointed Wang Kisu (1819–1892), who was a son of the petitioner Indong’s second cousin, as the new superintendent.36 From that point on, the restored Majŏn lineage monopolized the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship for decades,

158

Chapter 5

but interestingly a son, a grandson, or a brother of a superintendent could no longer assume that he would inherit the position. Three years after the rectification of the matter of the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship, the publication, in 1881, of an updated edition of the comprehensive genealogy further united the Kaesŏng Wang. The 1881 edition has two prefaces, and the author of one is Kim Suhyŏn (1825–1895), a prominent civil official who held a series of key offices, such as Kaesŏng magistrate, Hamgyŏng governor, minister of personnel, and fourth state councilor. Referring to the Wangs as the “progeny of the vanquished state” (sŭngguk huye), Kim observed, without explaining their downfall, that for nearly five hundred years the Wangs had not fared well. Then he noted that this had changed recently when his majesty (Kojong) had ordered that every Koryŏ tomb be renovated, following protocols equal to any of the present dynasty’s royal tombs. By so doing, Kim emphasized that the court had made clear its intent to honor the legacies of Koryŏ.37 The author of the second preface is Wang Chŏngu (1816–1905), who was a son of one of the preface authors for the 1850 edition, Wang Sahŭi, from the Kaesŏng lineage. Chŏngu not only served as a Koryŏ tomb superintendent as many other members of his lineage had done but also attained more civil posts, such as county magistracies.38 Chŏngu’s preface adds a more personal touch: praising his majesty for funding renovation of Koryŏ tombs, Chŏngu acknowledged his great-grandfather, Wang Ido (1726–1799), who once served as superintendent of the Hyŏnnŭng, and his father, Sahŭi (not to be confused with the Sungŭijŏn superintendent dismissed by the court as a usurper), for each contributing a postscript to the 1798 edition and a preface to the 1850 edition. Then, at some length, he explained how the compilation of the present edition materialized during his earlier assignments as a magistrate.39 Considering that in late Chosŏn an appointment as a magistrate was a breakthrough in the career of an officeholder not from the Seoul aristocracy, Chŏngu’s gratitude is understandable. While the Wangs were benefiting from Kojong’s personal rule, which relied on a broader base of political participation, Korea experienced spreading discontent that sparked the Imo Mutiny of July–August 1882.40 The mutiny, which was the first major domestic disturbance since the riots of 1862, unleashed troops of poorly treated, old-style units. The rank and file were upset about the government’s preferential treatment of its new-style unit, created in the previous year to train soldiers in tactics of more modern warfare under a Japanese military instructor. Enraged upon receiving poor-quality rice from

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

159

the government after having not been paid for thirteen months, the mutineers directed their rage toward Queen Myŏngsŏng, her Yŏhŭng Min kinsmen, and their allies, blaming them for spreading government corruption and promoting foreign interests. The insurrection reinstated the Taewŏn’gun, who rescinded many of Kojong’s reform policies, but China quashed the insurrection by dispatching troops and taking the father to China. Not only did the queen and her supporters return to power, but increasingly radical reform advocates, the Enlightenment Party, also secured more significant positions in the government. Two years later, the Enlightenment Party engineered the Kapsin Coup, which again invited foreign intervention.41 On the evening of December 4, 1884, during the inauguration ceremony for the new postal administration building, the party leadership, which had become impatient with what they viewed as Korea’s slow progress vis-à-vis its reforms, launched a putsch. Moving Kojong and the queen to another palace with a prearranged escort of Japanese legation troops, the coup participants attacked the Mins and their supporters, killing some of them. Two days later, the Enlightenment Party announced a new reform program that would, among other things, denounce Chinese intervention, abolish the social hierarchy based on hereditary status and family background, employ officials based on talent, and adopt a more rational tax system. Later the same day, China dispatched an army that suppressed the coup by the following day, and the members of the Enlightenment Party who did not stay with the king fled to Japan. The abortive coup not only spurred China’s more aggressive efforts to protect its interests in Korea through posting Yuan Shikai as resident viceroy of Seoul (1885–1894) but also spurred Japan to intensify its drive to challenge the expanded Chinese presence. All the political turmoil in Seoul had little effect, if any, on the court’s appointment of the Wangs of the Majŏn and Kaesŏng lineages to various offices. A year before the Kapsin Coup, on December 31, 1883, the Ministry of Personnel recommended Wang Iksu (1822–1888) as the sole candidate for the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship.42 Iksu was a second cousin of his predecessor, Wang Kisu, whom the court had appointed in 1878 upon resolution of the disputed superintendentship.43 Four years later, on July 8, 1888, the Ministry presented Wang Chaejun (1837–1897) as the sole candidate for the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and Wang Ŏn’gam (1838–1915) as the sole candidate for the supernumerary auditor position of the auxiliary (pun) Ancestral Rites Administration.44 Chaejun was succeeding Iksu, who was his father’s first cousin, whereas Ŏn’gam was a second cousin of the father of the civil examination passer from the Kaesŏng lineage, Wang Yongju.45 Then, four years later, on

160

Chapter 5

March 17, 1893, the court appointed Wang Sŏngmok (1858–1894) as the superintendent of the Hyŏnnŭng and presented for the king’s approval Wang Chaeso (later name Chaesŏl, 1852–1888) as the sole candidate for the post of the Sungŭijŏn superintendent.46 Sŏngmok was a son of a civil examination graduate, Wang Chŏngyang, and Chaeso was a distant cousin of his predecessor, Chaejun.47 For these individuals, descendants of Koryŏ monarchs and thus guests of Chosŏn, looming on the horizon was the rise of the Empire of Korea, their host in its new guise, amid spreading sociopolitical turmoil and worsening foreign interventions.

The Rise and Fall of Imperial Korea, 1894–1910 The Tonghak Uprising from February to December 1894 reflected nativist discontent over government corruption, social injustice, and foreign interventions, and it led to the First Sino-Japanese War and the Kabo Reform. Besides wanting to clear the name of the founder of their religion, the Tonghak were inspired to take up arms by widespread corruption among local officials and overall sociopolitical turmoil.48 A Tonghak army of some 8,000, spurred into action in February 1894 by a notoriously rapacious local magistrate in Chŏlla Province, defeated government troops in battles in April and May, and occupied Chŏnju on May 31. On June 2, the court requested military aid from China, which, four days later, dispatched 2,800 troops and notified Japan. On June 9, Japan in turn landed more than 8,000 troops, and two days later, not wanting to provide a pretext for foreign powers to intervene, the Tonghak and the field commander of the Korean government’s troop agreed to a truce. The government’s demand that Japan withdraw its troops was in vain, and efforts in this regard by China, as well as Russia and the United States, also failed. The First Sino-Japanese War commenced on July 23 when the Japanese troops occupied Kyŏngbok Palace and set up a pro-Japanese government, launching the Kabo Reform.49 In the latter half of 1894, Japan strengthened its position in Korea through both the Kabo Reform and the First Sino-Japanese War.50 The first phase of the reform ( July–November 1894) reconfigured the central bureaucracy, featuring the Deliberative Council (Kun’guk kimuch’ŏ) headed by Kim Hongjip (1842–1896), the Royal Household Department (Kungnaebu), and the State Council, which oversaw the former Six Ministries, then reorganized as eight offices (amun). Also, a new bureaucratic hierarchy of twelve ranks (tŭng) replaced the nine-centuries-old system of nine ranks. Initially, for a little more

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

161

than a month, the Taewŏn’gun wielded power, but his self-serving maneuvers, such as discrete communications with the Tonghak, propelled the pro-Japanese government to force him out. In the meantime, the war continued, with Japan making significant gains against China, including taking P’yŏngyang (September) and Lüshun (November). Simultaneously, in collaboration with the Korean troops, the Japanese annihilated the regrouped Tonghak in Kongju (November). In the following months, Japan secured victory over China, while the Korean government’s modernization effort made further progress during a second phase of the Kabo Reform (November 1894–May 1895). Supported by Japan, a coalition government of Kim Hongjip and Pak Yŏnghyo (1861–1939), who was a surviving Kapsin Coup leader, replaced the State Council with the Cabinet (Naegak) and replaced the eight offices with seven ministries (pu). The reform entrusted the ministers with the power to appoint other officials, replaced the eight provinces with twenty-three regional centers (pu), and transferred judiciary power and military command from local officials to the central government. Also, the reform abolished both the examination system and the hereditary social hierarchy based on aristocrat-commoner distinctions. In the meantime, by March 1895, the Japanese troops were within eyesight of Beijing, and the Treaty of Shimonoseki formally ended the First Sino-Japanese War (April 17). By the terms of the treaty, China renounced its claim of suzerainty over Korea, paid an indemnity to Japan, granted special commercial rights to Japan, and ceded the Liaodong Peninsula and Taiwan to Japan. The subsequent Triple Intervention (April 23), however, forced Japan to withdraw from the Liaodong Peninsula, and Russia rapidly expanded its presence in both Manchuria and Korea. Amid internal rebellions and international war, the Chosŏn Korean state’s appointment of Wangs to offices in the context of accommodating the progeny of the Koryŏ dynasty continued as before. On June 19, 1895, the Royal Household Department reported on the latest appointments of various royal tomb superintendents and other dynastic-ritual-related officials, including Wang Chinyŏl (fl. 1867–1906) as the seventh-rank (tŭng) superintendent (Yŏng) of the tomb of Tanjong’s wife, Queen Chŏngsun (1440–1521); Wang Chaeso as the eighth-rank superintendent (Ch’ambong) of the Sungŭijŏn; and Wang Ŏnbak (1841–1896) as the eighth-rank superintendent of the Hyŏnnŭng. I have been unable to determine Chinyŏl’s place in the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, but Ŏnbak was a younger brother of Wang Ŏn’gam from the Kaesŏng lineage.51 Considering that the superintendent post had belonged

162

Chapter 5

to the lowest of the eighteen tiers of the old bureaucracy and that the reorganized bureaucracy featured twelve ranks, the appointment of these Wangs as seventh- or eighth-rank superintendents puts them in significantly higher positions in the new bureaucracy than in the old. While some Wangs enjoyed appointments in the government, Korea underwent the third phase of the Kabo Reform (August 1895–February 1896), by far the most pro-Japanese. The government adopted the solar calendar on the seventeenth day of the eleventh lunar month of 1895, which became New Year’s Day of 1896 according to the new Gregorian calendar. Effective from that day, Kojong adopted a new era name, Kŏnyang (“lustrous inauguration”). Other significant new measures included requiring men to cut their traditionally long hair (worn in a topknot), launching a government-administered vaccination program, and reestablishing a postal service. In particular, the hair-cutting order caused an uproar, and the Japanese raid on Kyŏngbok Palace and murder of Queen Myŏngsŏng on October 8, 1895, sparked nationwide armed resistance against the Japanese.52 Fearing for his safety, Kojong sought to free himself from de facto confinement by the Japanese. On the pretext of protecting his legation, the Russian consul-general brought a hundred naval troops into Seoul. In collaboration with the legation, on February 11, 1896, Yi Pŏmjin (1852–1911), who was a proRussian official, orchestrated Kojong’s flight from Kyŏngbok Palace to the Russian legation. On the same day, Kojong dismissed Kim Hongjip and other leading members of the cabinet from their posts and ordered the arrest of others. In flight, Kim and others were lynched by a mob, although some managed to flee to Japan. The remaining officials were pro-Russian, including Yi Pŏmjin. Subsequently, a growing demand of the Independence Club (Tongnip hyŏphoe) that Kojong return to his palace and pursue modernization reforms encouraged him to do so.53 On February 20, Kojong left the Russian legation and took up residence in nearby Kyŏngun Palace (the present Tŏksu Palace). For the first time since the thirteenth century, a Korean Peninsula–based monarch reasserted universal rulership.54 On August 17, Kojong adopted a new era name, Kwangmu (“shining and martial”). A barrage of memorials urging him to become emperor followed, and on October 3, Kojong assented. Reasoning that Korea must posture itself as an empire in order for the country to make its resolve to remain independent clear and to enhance Korea’s international stature, Kojong performed the ritual to heaven on October 12, changed the nation’s official name from Chosŏn to the Empire of Korea (Taehan cheguk), and ascended the imperial throne. France and Russia formally

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

163

recognized the new Korean empire, and their heads of state congratulated Kojong, whereas Britain, Germany, and the United States expressed their de facto recognition in other ways; perhaps not surprisingly, only later would China and Japan do likewise. In a gesture expressing national resolve, the Independence Club tore down Yŏngŭn Gate, the site of formal reception of Qing envoys. Construction of its replacement, the Independence (Tongnip) Gate, was completed on November 20. While Russia held back Japan, Emperor Kojong pursued the Kwangmu Reform (1897–1904), precolonial Korea’s most sweeping modernization program by far. Through the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Wŏnsubu), created in 1899, the emperor exercised supreme command over all army and navy units, and the Military Academy (Mugwan hakkyo, 1896–1909) trained a new generation of military officers. Promulgated in 1899, the nation’s first constitution vested the emperor with executive, legislative, and judicial powers while making no provision for a legislature or any other institution to check royal power. As the first step toward taking stock of national assets, the government began to conduct a nationwide cadastral survey and to issue modern land deeds. At the same time, the reform implemented modern infrastructure and institutions, beginning with electric lighting, electric streetcars, and telephone and telegraph services. Kojong paid special attention to the introduction of modern knowledge through government schools that offered instruction in commerce, foreign languages, industry, medicine, pedagogy, and technical skills. And newly founded institutions such as Hansŏng Bank (Hansŏng ŭnhaeng, 1897) and the Kwangjewŏn (1899), a state-run hospital, promoted commerce and modern medicine.55 Struggling to survive in the age of modern empires, Korea cited its own history of imperium, previously enjoyed by the Koryŏ dynasty. Koryŏ T’aejo chose an abbreviation of the name of an earlier state, Koguryŏ (37 BCE?–668 CE), which his immediate predecessor, Kungye, had initially adopted, thereby asserting Koryŏ’s place in history as the successor of glorious Koguryŏ. T’aejo also used an era name, as did Kungye. At least two later Koryŏ era names are documented, both used by the fourth emperor, Kwangjong, who had formally designated Kaesŏng as the “imperial capital” (hwangdo). Now that its monarch was an emperor on the same footing as the sovereigns of neighboring nations and others, Imperial Korea took stock of its edifices honoring various worthies from the nation’s past. In July 1898, the government made some significant changes to the budget allocation for each of the 155 shrines or tombs for which a local administrative jurisdiction funded sacrificial

164

Chapter 5

Table 5.1.  Budget changes for state-funded sacrificial rites, July 1898. Reported expenditure (wŏn)

New allocation (wŏn)

Tan’gun of Old Chosŏn, Tongmyŏng of Koguryŏ

500

15

P’yŏngyang

Kija of Old Chosŏn

300

15

13

20

6

10

Facility

Location

Honoree

Sungnyŏngjŏn

P’yŏngyang

Sunginjŏn Sungnyŏlchŏn

Kwangju

Onjo of Paekche

Sungdŏkchŏn

Kyŏngju

Pak Hyŏkkŏse of Silla

Sungsŏnjŏn

Kimhae

Suro of Kaya

Sungŭijŏn

Majŏn

T’aejo of Koryŏ and three others among his successors

Kyŏnggijŏn

Chŏnju

T’aejo of Chosŏn

8

10

40

20

180

20

Sub-total (7)

1,047

110

148 others

1,417

780

TOTAL (155)

2,464

890

Source: Sim Sanghun, “Kak chibang hyangsa e kwanhan ch’ŏngŭi.” Note: All wŏn figures are rounded. The original source reported budget figures in yang, chŏn, p’un, and ri for 135 out of 155 facilities (no reported budget for 20 facilities), and the new allocation figures were in wŏn for all 155. This table shows each reported budget figure in wŏn, using the conversion rate of 1 wŏn = 10 yang = 100 chŏn = 1,000 p’un = 10,000 ri.

rites. In order to reduce the overall budget for such expenses, a document sent from the acting (sŏri) home minister (Naebu Taesin) to the head of the State Council (Ŭijŏngbu Ch’amjŏng) showed the cost and frequency of the rites at each facility as reported by the county of jurisdiction, and the newly allocated amount as presumably determined by the Home Ministry. The central government slashed the overall budget by at least 64 percent, from at least 2,464 wŏn (excluding twenty facilities for which no reported amount is recorded) to just 890 wŏn (for all 155 facilities). At the time, in both Seoul and Ulsan, a wŏn was roughly the value of 10 tu (or two-thirds of a sŏk) of rice—enough to feed a farming household of four or five persons for ten days.56 The budget cut was especially drastic for the seven shrines that honored the founders of past states; their budget was cut by 89 percent, as the budget decreased from 1,047 wŏn to 110 wŏn. The budget for the Sungŭijŏn decreased by a more modest 50 percent, from 40 wŏn to 20 wŏn, whereas that for three shrines devoted to the founders of Paekche, Silla, and Kaya actually increased—54 percent, from 13 to 20 wŏn, for Paekche; 67 percent, from 6 to 10 wŏn, for Silla; and 25 percent, from 8 to 10 wŏn, for Kaya. All the same, the difference in the budgets among the seven shrines decreased from the largest having been more than eightythree times the smallest (500 wŏn for the shrine honoring Tan’gun and the

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

165

Photograph 5.2.  Map of Majŏn (1899) showing the Sungŭijŏn. The shrine is indicated inside a black oval (added by the author). Source: Majŏn-gun ŭpchi. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University. Catalog Kyu 10725. Reprinted with permission.

founder of Koguryŏ and as little as 6 wŏn for the Silla founder’s shrine) to the largest being just two times the smaller (20 wŏn each for the shrines honoring Paekche, Koryŏ, and Chosŏn founders as compared with 10 wŏn each for Silla and Kaya founders) (table 5.1, photograph 5.2). Although it adjusted budget allocations for all the state-managed shrines, the Imperial Korean government continued to appoint new Sungŭijŏn superintendents, chosen from the Majŏn lineage. For instance, on December 6, 1901, upon his request, the court relieved Sungŭijŏn Superintendent Wang Ŭngjong (1875–1924), who was Wang Chaeso’s successor and Wang Chaegi’s son, of the post. In his place, the court appointed Wang Chaeha (1835–1905), who was a distant cousin of Chaegi and a third cousin of Wang Chaejun.57 The predispute pattern of more or less father-to-son succession was long behind them, and the new practice may indicate that both the state and the Majŏn lineage membership viewed the superintendent position as an appointment

166

Chapter 5

for suitable members, considered in terms of age, intellect, leadership, and influence rather than genealogical distance to the predecessor. Not limited just to honoring the Koryŏ dynasty and its progeny, the Imperial Korean government also continued making gestures to Koryŏ loyalists. A year and a half later, on May 6, 1903, the director of the Office of Ceremonies (Changnyewŏn Kyŏng) praised Kojong’s decision to repair the pavilion over Yŏngjo’s commemorative stele honoring the seventy-two Tumun-dong worthies and reported that the residents of Kaesŏng were moved and inspired by the imperial majesty’s grace. The director also pointed out that Yŏngjo had ordered the construction of an altar and performance of a sacrificial rite in honor of the worthies, and he reported that what remained of the altar was being rebuilt. In response, the emperor observed that the rite performed by his sage royal ancestor was a grand, virtuous affair and declared that it was certainly fitting that such a measure be taken.58 Thirteen days later, on May 19, following the repair of the pavilion over the commemorative stele, Kojong issued an edict that bestowed on a local official the ritual text and incense to perform a rite in honor of the worthies. In the edict, Kojong stated that thinking about the benevolent gestures of his royal ancestor filled him with emotion.59 A certain degree of affectation aside, we might wonder whether these statements reflected the emperor’s appreciation for the virtue of loyalty in an age of modern nation building in which the increasingly aggressive Japan seemed to be achieving ever-greater success. Bent on avenging the humiliation of the Triple Intervention, Japan kindled the Russo-Japanese War, the outcome of which sealed Korea’s fate as independent nation. As tensions escalated in Russo-Japanese relations and the AngloJapanese Alliance ( January 30, 1902) signaled Britain’s support for Japan as an ally to check Russia’s southward advance in Asia, in September 1902, the Korean government began to develop P’yŏngyang as a secondary capital, and on January 21, 1904, it declared Korea’s neutrality. The war began on February 8 when a Japanese fleet launched a surprise attack against a Russian fleet docked in the harbor of Lüshun. The following day, a Japanese fleet destroyed the Russian fleet docked in Inch’ŏn harbor and occupied Seoul, disregarding Korea’s neutrality. On February 23, Japan imposed the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1904, which established an alliance between the two countries. In and around Korea and Manchuria, Japan won battles against Russia, culminating with a naval victory over Russia’s Baltic fleet in the Battle of Tsushima on May 27. A series of other events abroad tightened Japan’s choke hold on Korea: the Taft-Katsura Agreement ( July) with the United States, which affirmed Japan’s

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

167

special interest in Korea and American occupation of the Philippines; renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (August); and the Treaty of Portsmouth, brokered by the United States, which formally concluded the war (September). Then Japan imposed the Japan-Korea Treaty of November 1905, turning Korea into a protectorate. Subsequently, in February 1906, Japan established the Residency-General of Korea.60 Anti-Japanese resistance continued at all levels. Kojong himself secretly supported righteous armies and other forms of nationalist activities. In June 1907, the emperor dispatched three confidential emissaries to the Second Hague Conference to publicize the illegality of the Japan-Korea Treaty of November 1905. Outraged, on July 20 the resident-general deposed Kojong, replacing him with the crown prince.61 Unwillingly elevated, Emperor Sunjong was a figurehead in whose name the Japanese issued, at the end of the month, an edict disbanding the Korean army. Around that time, Kojong sent substantial funds to Korean nationalists in Vladivostok, and by May 1908, about five thousand Koreans, including An Chunggŭn (1879–1910), had organized themselves into the Righteous Army of Korea (Taehan ŭigun), which repeatedly crossed the Tumen (Ko. Tuman) River into Korea to engage Japanese troops.62 In the meantime, within Korea other righteous armies, joined by former soldiers, fought the Japanese. In 1908 alone, approximately seventy thousand Koreans clashed with the Japanese in more than 1,450 engagements, according to Japanese army statistics.63 Joining the anti-Japanese resistance was Wang Hoejong (1879–1925), who chose to put the nation before his ancestors. A village school teacher in Majŏn since he was eighteen se (1896), in April 1905 he succeeded his third cousin, Wang Ŭngjong, as the Sungŭijŏn superintendent.64 In the following year, while still holding the post, Hoejong organized a righteous army in neighboring Yŏnch’ŏn, and, together with a group led by Kim Chinmuk (1876–n.d.), he led some five hundred fighters in engaging the Japanese. Waging guerrilla warfare, the fighters took P’yŏnggang in northern Kangwŏn and Sin’gye in Hwanghae and advanced as far north as Hyesan in Hamgyŏng. They joined forces with other righteous army leaders, and in August 1907 Hoejong led more than one thousand fighters as they entered Yangju, P’aju, and Chŏksŏng in northern Kyŏnggi. At the time, when the Japanese troops set Hoejong’s home village ablaze, his mother declared that she had no regrets about dying since her son was fighting for the country, and she sought to jump into the fire, but was reportedly held back by the Japanese. All seventy Kaesŏng Wang households in Majŏn were among those destroyed. Even after a combined

168

Chapter 5

force of righteous armies from all the provinces under the command of Hŏ Wi (1855–1908) suffered defeat outside Seoul in January 1908, Hoejong and the surviving leaders continued their struggle in eastern central Korea. Upon Hŏ’s capture in June and execution in October, Hoejong went into exile in Manchuria, where he would concentrate on youth education. Later, he secretly reentered Korea, only to be apprehended and imprisoned. Eventually released, he had injuries from the days of battles that caught up with him, and he died from illness in 1925.65 Wang Hoejong’s anti-Japanese resistance and the waning fortunes of Imperial Korea did not immediately affect the Sungŭijŏn. When Hoejong requested dismissal from his Sungŭijŏn superintendentship on March 7, 1907, the court appointed Wang Chaehyŏng (1856–1931), who was a first cousin of a previous superintendent, Wang Chaegŏl.66 The following year, upon deliberation among Majŏn Magistrate Wang Usun (1857–n.d.), who was a member of the Kaesŏng lineage; Sungŭijŏn Superintendent Chaehyŏng; and the county clerk (Kun Chusa), the county office decided to repair the shrine.67 Considering that Usun’s father, uncle, and first cousin had all served as Koryŏ tomb superintendents, and so too would his own son, Usun’s service as the magistrate of Majŏn and his role in the repair of the Sungŭijŏn must have meant a great deal to all Wangs at the time.68 The Sungŭijŏn was one of many sites of historical memory to which Emperor Sunjong paid homage as he discretely kindled national spirit. On January 27, 1909, while touring the northwest, Sunjong issued a series of ordinances recognizing eminent individuals whose shrines or graves were located along the route of the royal procession. Praising Koryŏ T’aejo for benefiting the people by uniting the land, Sunjong ordered that local officials be sent to the Sungŭijŏn with sacrificial goods and prayer texts to make ritual offerings and that they inspect the Hyŏnnŭng and other Koryŏ tombs, performing repairs where necessary. The emperor did likewise with Kaesŏng’s Sungyang Academy; founded in 1573 and having received a royal charter in 1575, the academy housed the spirit tablets of Chŏng Mongju, Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk (1489–1546), and other famed scholar-officials. Sunjong praised the academy for gathering the energy of righteousness and serving as the foundation of the land’s Nature and Principle Learning. The monarch also honored other key figures in the history of Korean Confucianism, including An Hyang and Yi I, as well as Koryŏ civil officials who served the country as military commanders, namely, Kang Kamch’an (948–1031), who repelled the invading Khitans, and Yun Kwan (n.d.–1111), who led expeditions against the raiding Jurchens.69

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

169

The imperial homage to historical worthies was a wistful reflection on Korea’s erstwhile reality, and two months later, Japan took its final steps to turn Korea into a colony. On April 10, 1909, Japan’s prime minister, foreign minister, and the resident-general of Korea agreed to proceed with the annexation of Korea. Three months later, on July 6, the Japanese cabinet formally decided to annex Korea. A year later, on June 30, 1910, the Residency-General of Korea abolished the Korean police. Forging Sunjong’s signature, on August 22, Japan formally annexed Korea by treaty. A week later, on August 29, the Korean government promulgated the treaty, and Sunjong abdicated. A month later, on September 30, Japan duly replaced its administrative instrument, the Residency-General of Korea, with the Government-General of Korea.70 The passing of Korea as a sovereign nation also stripped the Sungŭijŏn of its official status as a state-sanctioned shrine dedicated to honoring the preceding dynasty. In the final months of the Empire of Korea, the government under the control of the Residency-General of Korea divested the shrine of its revenue lands. For instance, on April 14, 1909, the Ministry of Finance (T’akchibu) instructed the Bureau of Financial Supervision (Chaemu kamdokkuk) to return the fields and paddies attached to the Sungŭijŏn to their previous owners for cultivation. Since the lands in question had already been returned to local cultivators, the Ministry also ordered the Bureau to assess taxes accordingly.71 Thirteen months later, on May 26, 1910, the head of Majŏn county’s Finance Office (Chaemusŏ Chang) informed the Sungŭijŏn superintendent, Wang Chaehyŏng, that the Office would collect the tax assessed in 1906 on lands attached to the shrine. The official reportedly took Chaehyŏng’s abode, even including the caldrons and pots.72 The official careers of other Kaesŏng Wang also ended sometime during the Japanese protectorate period, and not even one of the most prominent among them, Wang Sŏngsun (1868–1923), was able to escape that fate. A son of Wang Chŏngyang’s distant cousin from the Kaesŏng lineage, Sŏngsun carried on their lineage’s civil examination success in Kojong’s reign, passing the civil examination at nineteen se (1887). Sŏngsun went on to achieve traditionally prestigious but by then largely honorary posts such as the third inspector of the Office of the Inspector-General, but overall he was not enthusiastic about remaining in officialdom. Declaring that he would do as he wished, Sŏngsun left the government, choosing instead to study prose under a fellow Kaesŏng native and an advocate of the city’s heritage, Kim T’aegyŏng (1850–1927), who would later go into exile in China in 1905. Before long, regretting that his scholarship had been overly skewed toward literature, Sŏngsun decided to

170

Chapter 5

concentrate on studying the classics. In the interim, he turned down all new appointments from the court. Upon the promulgation of the Japan-Korea Treaty of November 1905, he wrote to Kim, expressing a desire to join him in exile in Shanghai.73 Sŏngsun’s activities as a scholar would continue after Japan’s annexation of Korea. While mindful of their nation’s precarious position in a changing new world, the Kaesŏng Wang of the Kurye lineage chose to remain scholars, and the intellectual legacy of Wang Sŏkpo survived. To begin with, the lineage had reason to feel confident about its social standing as a local elite. Earlier, in 1868, the residents had constructed a shrine to house the spirit tablets of Wang Tŭgin and six others, collectively known as the “righteous seven” (ch’irŭi), all officially honored by the court. As scholars with local clout, Sŏkpo’s sons, grandsons, and disciples toured scenic sites, composed poetry, and enjoyed wine, rather than seeking positions in officialdom. At the same time, widespread government corruption and the foreign infiltration of Korea intensified their sense of discontent as social critics. Among Sŏkpo’s disciples, Hwang Hyŏn, who was his sister’s husband’s nephew, stands out in particular. While remaining grounded in traditional learning, Hwang was a critical yet fairminded intellectual. For example, during the First Sino-Japanese War, he took note of the discipline of the Japanese troops occupying P’yŏngyang. Fundamentally a man of righteous principles, Hwang took his own life in protest upon Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910.74 Among Wang Sŏkpo’s own children, three out of four sons were accomplished in their own rights. The eldest son, Wang Sagak (1836–1895), was a poet and an educator who demonstrated poetic sensibilities from childhood. Sagak moved to Seoul to prepare for the government service examination, but after witnessing all the sociopolitical turmoil that the nation’s capital was undergoing, he returned home. Sagak devoted the remainder of his life to teaching youth while composing poems, especially regulated verses. In contrast, Sŏkpo’s second son, Wang Sach’ŏn (1842–1906), was better known for his prose. Even as a child, he impressed Hwang Hyŏn, who reportedly deemed him more than worthy to serve as a minister of war or a minister of taxation. Sŏkpo’s third son, Wang Sach’an (1846–1912), excelled in both poetry and prose. After an unsuccessful attempt to pass the government service examination, he devoted his talents to teaching youth and expressing his creativity. Praising his poems to the utmost, Hwang regarded Sach’an as one of the three best poets of southern Korea.75 Regardless of the Kaesŏng Wang’s reputations as scholars, if not officials,

M o d e r n i t y, K i n s h i p, a n d I n d i v i d ua l s

171

the perception that they were the eternally condemned progeny of Koryŏ persisted, as expressed in a poem by Sŏng Hyeyŏng (1845–1912). From Hadong in Kyŏngsang, Sŏng studied under Wang Sŏkpo, to whom he introduced the well-known Evidential Learning scholar and poet, Kang Wi (1820–1884). Sŏng participated in the Yukkyo sisa (“Sixth Bridge Poetry Society”), a fellowship of specialist chungin poets centered around Kang, and he exchanged letters with Hwang.76 In his seven-syllable truncated verse (ch’irŏn chŏlgu), “Miscellaneous Quatrain on the Pine Capital” (Songgyŏng chapchŏl), one of many that he composed while visiting Kaesŏng, Sŏng offered a poetic observation of what he found to be peculiar scenery: In a wide-brimmed straw hat he plows at high noon; I ask him his name, but he gives no answer. Making their homes among the spring grass by the City of Yan, They are all leftover subjects, scions of past kings.77

The man celebrated in Sŏng’s poem symbolizes noble, undying loyalty to the vanquished state. A wide-brimmed straw hat, satkat, is a form of headgear that is good on a rainy day, but a traveling individual can also don it to minimize either being seen by, or seeing, others. Desiring neither to see the people of Chosŏn nor to be seen by them, the farmer that Sŏng encountered in the City of Yan—a reference to Beijing, the imperial capital of the Ming and Qing and used here to stand for the Koryŏ capital—wears a satkat and works the land. The farmer who wishes to remain withdrawn from the world does not answer when Sŏng asks his name. And the imagery of the farmers and others like him living in abodes amid the “spring grass” evokes an image of an old capital now in ruins, where its residents live humbly. Perhaps some are Wangs. What mattered to Sŏng was not so much the reality of Kaesŏng as a bustling commercial city and the Wangs whose fortunes had improved there as it was the enduring quality of loyalty as a cardinal virtue. A reader of Sŏng’s poem can only wonder whether the poet was mindful of his nation’s passing and the varied reactions of his countrymen.

Summary The upheaval that Korea as a nation underwent during the final decades of the Chosŏn dynasty increasingly affected the lives of the Kaesŏng Wang. To be sure, the court continued to make gestures toward the material and human legacies of Koryŏ, including ordering inspections of tombs and the uninter-

172

Chapter 5

rupted appointment of Sungŭijŏn superintendents, albeit for fixed terms. Other than a brief usurpation (1876–1878) by a member of a descent line that the court had declared to be false Kaesŏng Wang in 1588, the Majŏn lineage held the superintendentship continuously. After the court weighed in and reaffirmed the Majŏn lineage’s sole claim to the office, however, the traditional practice of the previous superintendent’s son typically assuming the post gave way to one of a lineage member passing to another in an increasingly haphazard manner. Clearly, the state was acknowledging and sanctioning the new trend in which the position could go to any member of the Majŏn lineage—especially those of influence or means. At the same time, the Kaesŏng lineage maintained its position as the flagship branch of the Wangs. For the first time since 1613, when a member of the Kwach’ŏn lineage had passed the civil examination, Wangs earned the coveted degree—five civil examination graduates from the Kaesŏng lineage. Moreover, the five graduates, in addition to others from the lineage, received appointments that were more significant than those attained previously in late Chosŏn by the Wangs. In contrast, the Kurye lineage remained a typical local aristocratic family known for private scholars who were detached from officialdom. The rest of the Wangs were of marginal elite status at best—including the branches newly admitted into the comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy during this period. In the final years of Chosŏn Korea as it transitioned from an independent nation state to a Japanese protectorate to a Japanese colony, some Wangs went so far as to take up arms and fight against the national enemy. Most, however, went on with their lives, befitting their respective social standing as officeholders or former officials, court rank holders, examination graduates, private scholars, merchants, or peasants.

Epilogue

Japan’s colonization of Korea unleashed new forces. The end of the Chosŏn monarchy removed the final barrier that had prevented the Wangs and their sympathizers from articulating an understanding of the past that challenged the self-serving Chosŏn interpretation of the 1392 dynastic change. Their newfound freedom, facilitated by the emergence of genealogy as the most popular genre of publication, allowed the Wangs to assert openly that kings U and Ch’ang were true Wangs and thus rightful monarchs. At the same time, the post-Chosŏn plight of the Wangs also reflected that of their countrymen as a whole. Some chose to resist their colonial masters, while others—especially those with education, status, wealth, or any combination thereof—worked with them. Most went on with their lives, often struggling to survive. The end of colonial rule and the division of Korea presented new opportunities and challenges. From its inception, the state of North Korea tolerated the preservation of material Koryŏ legacies such as the Sungŭijŏn, although the Kaesŏng Wang conformed to the rest of society in steering clear of such “feudal practices” as referring to one’s ancestral seat and compiling genealogies. In the 1990s, when the increasingly isolated North Korea, driven by nationalism, began restoring Koryŏ sites and tombs, the Wangs began to express more openly their personal sense of connection to the Koryŏ dynasty.

174

Epilogue

In South Korea, too, it took some time for both the state and society to express greater appreciation of the material legacies of Koryŏ. After surviving the devastating Korean War, the Sungŭijŏn suffered destruction by local troops, although the superintendent position remained in place. As the economy began to take off, both government and private initiatives put greater effort into historical preservation and restoration. With government support, the Wangs rebuilt the main hall of the Sungŭijŏn in 1974. Also, real estate values in the Kangnam district where the Kaesŏng Wang kin group association (chongch’inhoe) was headquartered began skyrocketing in the late 1980s, thus increasing the value of the assets collectively owned. Furthermore, as postwar industrialization and urbanization turned modern education and wealth into more powerful determinants of social status, in the 1960s the Sungŭijŏn superintendent position began rotating among various lineages. Since the post-Chosŏn Kaesŏng Wang no longer attracted the attention of the state as the progeny of the preceding dynasty, the above generalizations leave ample room for subjectivity. After all, the Wangs spanned the entire status hierarchy of early modern Korea well before the end of the Chosŏn dynasty. What follows is a set of vignettes. In colonial Korea, the Sungŭijŏn superintendents were no longer governmentappointed officials, but the shrine fared well nevertheless. Above all, the notion of “Eight Shrines” honoring the major founding rulers of Korean history remained intact. For instance, in 1938, a popular daily newspaper, the Tonga ilbo, featured a piece, “On the Eight Shrines and the Six Tombs” (P’alchŏn yungnŭng ko). The Eight Shrines referred to the Sungnyŏngjŏn (Tan’gun of Old Chosŏn and King Tongmyŏng of Koguryŏ), the Sunginjŏn (Kija of Old Chosŏn), the Sungdŏkchŏn (Pak Hyŏkkŏse of Silla), the Sungnyŏlchŏn (Onjo of Paekche), the Sungsŏnjŏn (Kim Suro of Kaya), the Sunghyejŏn (King Kyŏngsun of Silla), the Sungŭijŏn, and the Sungsinjŏn (Sŏk T’arhae of Silla).1 In fact, the Government-General of Korea financially supported ritual activities at the Sungŭijŏn, which featured a spacious main hall with the major crossbeam as long as the lengths of three men combined. The shrine also had huge pillars, too big for even a large man to put both of his arms all the way around. According to a local legend, anyone who could put his or her arms all the way around a pillar would have a son. Those who made the effort tried so hard that their white clothing became stained with red from the pillar, eliciting observers’ laughter.2 The survival of the Sungŭijŏn reflected favorably on the standing of the

Epilogue

175

Majŏn lineage as a local elite. The shrine superintendent continued to command respect in local society, being addressed as the “honorable superintendent” (Ch’ambong nari).3 Not surprisingly, many lineage members jockeyed to obtain the appointment. Competition could be intense, and a hopeful candidate could exhaust his resources on networking. For instance, Wang Hongjong (1915–1986), who was a second cousin of the righteous army leader Wang Hoejong, squandered his assets on efforts to obtain the position, which eluded him until 1975; by the end of the colonial era, his household had no land.4 Maintaining its traditional right to the shrine superintendentship, at one point the Majŏn lineage comprised as many as one hundred households. Many lineage members not only had servants (hain), but newlywed brides from the local Hong lineage—with whom the Wangs had intermarried for generations—also typically brought personal servants (momchong) with them. Another continuing tradition of the local Wangs was a self-imposed prohibition against marrying a Chŏnju Yi, the descent group to which the Chosŏn dynasty belonged.5 While the Majŏn lineage continued to perform ritual duties throughout the colonial period, their kin in Kaesŏng sought to correct what they saw as the Chosŏn dynasty’s distortion of Koryŏ history. First and foremost, the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy began recording kings U and Ch’ang as members, reclaiming them as true Wangs and thus asserting their place in history as rightful Koryŏ kings. As the first comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy published after the end of the Chosŏn dynasty, the 1918 edition deserves a close look. The edition has two prefaces, one of them by Wang Sŏngsun, who authored other works expressing his patriotism, including a revisionist history. Because of Japan’s annexation of Korea and the news that a Chinese scholar and historian, Tu Ji (1856–1921), had compiled an anthology of his teacher Kim T’aegyŏng’s writings, Sŏngsun wanted to move to China, but ultimately his father’s advanced age dissuaded him. Remaining in colonial Korea, Sŏngsun devoted himself to various compilations, including Selected Writings of Ten Masters from Koryŏ to the Korean Empire (Yŏhan sipka munch’o, 1921). In 1922, Sŏngsun wrote to Kim, urging him to revise the History of Koryŏ, which for centuries had propagated a narrative that fundamentally justified the founding of the Chosŏn dynasty. Before Kim completed A New History of Koryŏ (Sin Koryŏsa), Sŏngsun died in the following year at fifty-five se. Along with Wang Suhwan (1865– 1926), who wrote the second preface to the 1918 genealogy, and Chŏng Inbo (1893–1950), who is a founding figure in modern Korean historiography, Kim

176

Epilogue

and Wang Sŏngsun were members of a circle of prominent intellectuals based in Kaesŏng.6 Compared with the prefaces to earlier editions of the genealogy, Sŏngsun’s preface provides a more objective, detailed discussion of the plight of the Wangs in early Chosŏn. The preface begins with some passages taken from Pak Chiwŏn’s epigraphy, though Sŏngsun went further in explicitly mentioning the deaths of Wangs at the time of the dynastic change. Then Sŏngsun noted that his ancestor, Wang Mi, had indeed changed his surname to his mother’s and hid in Ch’ungju before Chosŏn kings allowed the Wangs to live without fear, at which point the number of descendants increased. He recounted that the first Kaesŏng Wang genealogy appeared in 1798, followed by updated editions in 1850 and 1881—in total numbering fourteen volumes (kwŏn).7 Wang Suhwan, who authored the second preface, was a scholar and a poet from the Kurye lineage. A son of Wang Sagak, Suhwan diligently pursued learning even though his household was poor—they made and sold straw shoes. Having studied under Hwang Hyŏn, Suhwan played a leading role in publishing an anthology of his teacher’s writings in 1911, after Hwang’s protest suicide at the time of Japan’s annexation of Korea. Suhwan also associated with Kim T’aegyŏng as an intellectual colleague. Among Suhwan’s own writings, more than 870 poems are extant.8 Suhwan’s preface is even more explicit in challenging the official Chosŏn historiography. He began his preface with the observation that in the same way that a state has history, a family has genealogy. Then, he asked, rhetorically: if a historical work does not record the truth, then how can it be a historical work? Lamenting that previous editions of Kaesŏng Wang genealogy did not record the full truth, Suhwan complained about the exclusion of the two “deposed kings” (p’yewang), U and Ch’ang.9 The 1918 edition indeed records U as Kongmin’s son and as a deposed king, and Ch’ang as U’s son and as a “later deposed king” (hu p’yewang). In referring to their given names and deaths, the genealogy uses Chinese characters that are reserved for monarchs, hwi (taboo name) and sosi (killed as a monarch).10 Perhaps in part to emphasize the continuation of Kongmin’s line after his death through U and Ch’ang, the edition includes a portrait of Kongmin as well as one of Koryŏ T’aejo.11 At the same time, the 1918 edition follows many older conventions. For instance, adhering to the traditional taboo against referring to a monarch as a descent line’s founding ancestor, the edition lists each line as founded by a prince rather than his royal father. The explanatory notes (pŏmnye) section

Epilogue

177

states that for all four descent lines recorded in the genealogy, that is, those who claimed T’aejo, Sinjong, Kojong, or Ch’ungjŏng as their last ancestor who was a monarch, the generations are so listed.12 Also, the edition continues the late Chosŏn custom of recording legitimate children before illegitimate children, based on the notion of rectification of names and of recording sons before daughters to emphasize the original lineage (ponjong).13 Since Wang Mi was the ancestor of most of the living Kaesŏng Wang, the epigraph on Mi that Kim T’aegyŏng composed deserves a closer look as well. Dated 1919, the text begins with a customary overview of Mi’s ancestry, followed by an account of the calamity that had befallen the Wangs in 1394. Kim tactfully blamed the officials who feared that sparing the Wangs would not be beneficial to the country and accordingly urged T’aejo to eliminate them. He claimed that the king ordered only that the Wangs be interned on various islands, but subsequently the officials succeeded in pressuring T’aejo to have the Wangs drowned in the sea. After recording the story of how the surviving Wangs changed their surnames and the riddle-like song of the secret greeting among Wangs, as earlier related by Pak Chiwŏn, Kim then explained that, at the time, Mi and his brother Hŭng had changed their surname, and they came out of hiding only when T’aejo was moved by a dream and began seeking out the Wangs.14 Although it was T’aejong who formally ended the persecution in 1413, by the early twentieth century, Kim and others were crediting T’aejo instead. Meanwhile, some Kaesŏng Wang, such as Wang Kwangyŏn (1871–1950), were confronting the Japanese. A descendant of Wang Hŭigŏl, who was the first Kaesŏng Wang to pass the Chosŏn civil examination, Kwangyŏn was born in Hwasŏng, Kyŏnggi. On March 26, 1919, at forty-nine se, he raised the Korean flag at a district office in neighboring Suwŏn and, together with a crowd of some one hundred, participated in a pro-independence demonstration. Two days later, upon hearing that a demonstration leader who had refused the order of the local authorities to disband had been shot in the shoulder by a Japanese police officer, Kwangyŏn rushed over to the site. Fearing an angry mob, the officer fled when Kwangyŏn arrived. Catching up with the officer on the road, Kwangyŏn and others killed him. For his role in the action, Kwangyŏn spent eight years in prison.15 Other Wangs, such as Wang Chaedŏk (1858–1934), did not openly advocate Korean nationhood so much as work to serve their communities through philanthropy. An educator, enterprising farmer, and Christian, Chaedŏk came from a branch of the Kaesŏng lineage that had relocated in the seventeenth century to Sinch’ŏn, Hwanghae. Chaedŏk was born the daughter of a man

178

Epilogue

who passed the preliminary stage of his classics licentiate examination and the granddaughter of a literary licentiate, and at eighteen se (1875) she married, only to be widowed at twenty-nine (1886). Subsequently, she harvested about two hundred sŏk of rice, becoming a wealthy landlord and eventually reaping six thousand sŏk per year. With a donation of about 20,000 wŏn, in 1929 she founded Sinch’ŏn Agricultural School (Sinch’ŏn nongŏp hakkyo) and continued to support it annually with more than 5,000 wŏn. Chaedŏk also donated 120,000 wŏn worth of rice paddies and dry fields to establish a foundation for the school as she continued to promote education in agriculture. Yet again contributing from her personal assets, in 1934 she built a church in Sinch’ŏn.16 In the meantime, Koreans of education, wealth, influence, or any combination thereof generally worked with the Japanese. For instance, on August 22, 1910, which was the day of the Japanese annexation of Korea, Wang Usun was appointed as the magistrate of Sangnyŏng in Kyŏnggi immediately following his magistracy of Majŏn (1908–1910), and he retained his post for three and a half years until relieved of his position in February 1914. Also, in December 1910 he was among 393 colonial bureaucrats—Japanese and Koreans—to be promoted in Japanese court rank (ikai). Then in August 1912, he was one of at least 8,522 individuals—mostly leading Japanese figures, members of the Korean royal house, and former Korean officials—who received a commemorative medal (kinyŏmjang) from the colonial government on the occasion of the second anniversary of the annexation.17 Despite their dim memories of an independent Korea, some younger Wangs who came of age in the colonial era, such as Wang Chaeil (1904–1961), became nationalists. Chaeil’s adoptive father, Wang Suhwan of the Kurye lineage, taught him why Korea must regain its independence. After graduating from common school (pot’ong hakkyo) and entering a higher-level school, Chaeil dropped out due to his family’s circumstances. Instead, he attended speaker events of the Kwangju Youth Association (Kwangju ch’ŏngnyŏnhoe), which educated the public about national independence. Eventually, he resumed his schooling, entering a six-year higher common school (kodŭng pot’ong hakkyo).18 In the 1920s when colonial Korea was undergoing a social revolution, Chaeil worked with students and farmers, in particular, to pursue economic justice. In 1926, together with some of the prominent pro-independence activists such as Chang Chaesŏng (1908–1950), who would later become a socialist, Chaeil organized the Association for Awakening and Advancement (Sŏngjinhoe), which was a secret student activist group dedicated to anti-

Epilogue

179

Japanese resistance. Before long, however, he learned that some members were pro-Japanese informants, and the following year, Chaeil disbanded the group. The Kwangju Student Movement began on November 3, 1929, and Chaeil was an active participant. He was arrested and imprisoned until December 1931. Far from discouraged, in 1932 Chaeil joined a farmers’ strike in Changhŭng, and in 1933 he also joined a secret organization, the South Chŏlla Council on Social Movements (Chŏnnam sahoe undong hyŏbŭihoe). He was arrested in 1936 on the charge of organizing a farmers’ cooperative (nongmin chohap) in Changhŭng and spent two years in prison. Thereafter, until the end of the colonial rule, he stayed out of trouble—working for years as a journalist and local historian following Korea’s liberation.19 As the Wangs were experiencing life under the colonial state, other Koreans expressed various thoughts and feelings about Koryŏ monarchs. For instance, in 1924 a resident of Seoul recalled an old legend that attributed special powers to the spirit of Kongmin. At the time, the clerks of government offices in Seoul and its vicinity maintained village guardian deity shrines (pugundang). One of these, the shrine of the Palace Meat and Heating Supply Office (Sajaegam, abolished in 1882), which was located to the west of Kyŏngbok Palace, honored the king. The power of his spirit was said to be such that anyone who tried to steal from the office would get stuck on the wall.20 But not everyone feared Kongmin’s spirit; such famous scholars as Yi Nŭnghwa (1869–1943) still did not recognize U and Ch’ang as Kongmin’s progeny, even though in the History of Koryŏ, Kongmin claimed U as his son.21 While discussing Buddhism and Korean culture in an article published in the May 1, 1928 issue of Pyŏlgŏn’gon, a popular monthly magazine geared toward entertainment and hobbies, Yi referred to U as “King Sin U” (Sin U Wang).22 Ch’a Sangch’an (1887–1946) held a different perspective, backed by a reasoned argument. A Pyŏlgŏn’gon issue published on January 1, 1929, which was the kisa (“Earth Snake”) year in the traditional East Asian sexagenary cycle, featured a contribution in which Ch’a reflected on some of the most eventful kisa years throughout Korean history. A poet, essayist, and journalist, Ch’a begins with various legendary events that go as far back as the twenty-fourth century BCE. Describing some of the most tumultuous kisa years of earlier times, for the year 1389 he discusses Yi Sŏnggye’s deposition of Ch’ang. Sympathetic to the boy king, his father U, and the Koryŏ loyalists, Ch’a not only relates a series of well-known events associated with Yi’s rise to power after eliminating his rival, Ch’oe Yŏng, in the previous year but also treats U and Ch’ang as Wangs.23

180

Epilogue

In insisting that U and Ch’ang were Kongmin’s son and grandson, Ch’a highlights the circumstances under which Yi had gained power. He notes how Yi had deposed Ch’ang on the grounds that he and U were Sins and the fact that Yi subsequently killed both, and argues that Yi could not have succeeded in usurping the throne without accusing the two of being false Wangs—given the fact that there were still other powerful officials, that popular sentiment had not yet turned in his favor, and that Ming China was monitoring the situation in Korea. Ch’a then commiserates with U and Ch’ang: they not only lost their thrones, suffered banishment and execution, and became anguished spirits, but their true surname also remained unknown to many. Ch’a observes that, according to many unofficial accounts, both the father and the son had golden scales on their left ribs, as royal Wangs were supposed to as the progeny of a dragon, and he rhetorically asks how the two could fail to withhold their tears of anguish for a thousand years in the netherworld, since the so-called official history duly refers to them as “Sin U” and “Sin Ch’ang.”24 In the same era, the Wangs found champions in the realm of literary imagination. From 1928 to 1929, the Pyŏlgŏn’gon ran a seven-part, multiple-author historical fiction series, Morning (Ach’ŭm), in which various Korean actors assume roles that were continental in scope during the tumultuous Ming-Qing transition, including a Jurchen of Koryŏ Wang descent. In the first two parts, a young man, Kim Kaji, who is brave, skilled in the martial arts, and erudite in military stratagems, leaves home at twenty se, seeking to make a name for himself. Wandering in all directions, he acquires from a descendant of Yi Sunsin the latter’s secret map of the northwest. Kim becomes friends with Governor of P’yŏngan Pak Yŏp, who is a favorite of King Kwanghae Kun at the time and the country’s only true military strategist. Kim surveys Manchuria and North China in preparation for the invasion of the continent. Before they can act on their plan, however, the king is dethroned, and the succeeding court of Injo executes Pak. Kim has no option other than to return to Korea. Pretending to be a traveling Buddhist monk, he wanders in the mountains, awaiting another opportunity to realize his ambition.25 The third part, written by Yi Tonhwa (1884–1950), who was an intellectual and leader of Ch’ŏndogyo (“Religion of the Heavenly Way”), which the Tonghak reorganized into in 1905, brings Kim Kaji and the Wang-descended Jurchen together. After hunting, Kim spends a night at the house of a woman and her servant while her husband is out. The next morning when the husband returns, Kim sees a tall, well-built figure who appears to be not only a hunter but also an extraordinary man, a hermit with stymied ambitions. The man had

Epilogue

181

brought home a tiger that Kim had killed and left behind. For his part, the man senses from Kim’s huntsmanship that the monk is actually a warrior. As they feel mutual respect and admiration, Kim extends his stay, although for fifteen days the two reveal little to each other. Only thereafter do the host and the guest make a point of truly getting acquainted. During a long conversation over drinks, Kim confesses his ambition to have taken the Central Plain from the Ming before his patron, Pak Yŏp, died. The host responds with gestures of utmost respect before telling his own story.26 The tête-à-tête reaches a dramatic climax with the host’s revelation of his true identity and vision. Of the Chosŏn race (chong jok) but not a Chosŏn man, he is a Jurchen who is descended from a Wang who had fled the early Chosŏn court’s persecution of the Wangs and Koryŏ loyalists, eventually settling in Manchuria and becoming a Jurchen. Over the generations, the descendants changed their surname to Aiqin—apparently a deliberate formulation by author Yi Tonhwa to make it resemble, but not be identical to, the Qing royal surname, Aixin. The host continues, relating how his family prospered over time, even coming to wield paramount power among the Jurchens. At last fully introducing himself as Aiqin Youde, the Jurchen monarch’s third son, the host asserts the common origin of the Jurchen and Chosŏn peoples as the Great Puyŏ and Koguryŏ tribes, who were racially distinct from the Han of the Central Plain. Aiqin relates that the dream of his family is to unite the Chosŏn and Jurchen peoples against the Ming, conquer the Central Plain, and become the Son of Heaven. Since the family abounded in men of martial talent but lacked military strategists, Aiqin’s father had commanded his three sons to travel in three directions to look for talented strategists, telling them not to return—on pain of death—without bringing back strategists. Sent to Chosŏn, Aiqin had arrived seven years earlier, but only now has met a true military strategist in Kim. Overwhelmed by all he heard, at first Kim is skeptical about helping the Jurchens attack the Ming. But before long, Aiqin persuades him that whereas Chosŏn’s capacity is limited, the Jurchens are powerful, and that the two kindred peoples should unite.27 Not unlike Aiqin Youde of literary imagination, the new generation of Wangs, such as Wang Sangŭn (b. 1920), pursued their ambitions beyond Korea, as the expanding Japanese colonial empire offered new opportunities. One of a growing number of Koreans who studied in Japan and achieved distinction in specific areas of expertise, Sangŭn is a member of the Tongnaebased Kaesŏng Wang line that began appearing in the comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy only with the 1881 edition.28 Having completed his local pub-

182

Epilogue

lic school education in Pusan when he was eighteen se (1937), Sangŭn studied in Japan at Doshisha University, majoring in business and graduating in 1941. In Japan he discovered the world of maritime transportation and trade.29 What awaited him in the liberated Korea was a successful career as a businessman, nongovernmental diplomat, and philanthropist. In the context of the politics of divided Korea since liberation, the experience of the Majŏn lineage in particular is telling, as members have dealt with both Korean governments. Upon arrival in Majŏn, the Communists closely supervised farming and gave each household some free land to cultivate. Using a points system, the Communists took into consideration the number of persons and each person’s age in calculating the household’s overall need and productivity. Even Wang Hongjong, who by then had spent much of the family’s resources trying to obtain the Sungŭijŏn superintendentship, received some land.30 Although ideologically rejecting feudalism, the local authorities preserved the shrine and its rituals. To be sure, all “beautiful words and fine phrases” (misa yŏgu) were reserved for the Soviet Union’s designated leader for northern Korea, Kim Il-sung (1912–1994), but he stressed the importance of national history. Mindful of his rhetoric, the authorities did not find fault with the Sungŭijŏn, and the Wangs were free to continue performing their rituals—albeit without any financial support from the government.31 Later, the Sungŭijŏn suffered destruction, not by Communists or during the Korean War but as a result of sheer ignorance and neglect. As it did during the Imjin War, the shrine survived the devastating Korean War, which virtually razed North Korea, as the United Nations’ air force was unchallenged. The area has remained under South Korean control continuously ever since the battlefront stabilized along the present Military Demarcation Line, which divided North and South Korea by the summer of 1951. As of 1957, reportedly, the Sungŭijŏn was still standing. Sometime thereafter and long before the present structure was built in the 1970s, however, the shrine disappeared. Reportedly, local South Korean troops demolished it for firewood and other purposes.32 It was not until a decade or so into South Korea’s economic takeoff that the country began paying more attention to historical monuments, and the material legacies of Koryŏ in Majŏn were no exception. In December 1971, the government designated as a historic site some 17,800 square meters of land where the Sungŭijŏn used to stand, and in April 1974 the Wangs completed reconstruction of the shrine’s main hall. With funding from both the central and local governments, the shrine subsequently acquired additional structures, including three gates in 1977 (photograph E.1).33 Although some details differ,

Epilogue

183

Photograph E.1.  The fully restored Sungŭijŏn. Photograph taken by author.

in appearance it is more or less the same as the old structure.34 Then in 1988, during road construction, the long-lost grave of Wang Sullye, the first among the rehabilitated Wangs to serve as the Sungŭijŏn superintendent, was rediscovered when the work crew unearthed a Chosŏn-era tombstone identifying the grave.35 No descendant of Sullye is known, but subsequent private donations funded full restoration of the grave area, fitted with two stone memorial pillars flanking the grave mound.36 In North Korea too, especially since the 1990s, the state has put more effort into showcasing archaeological and historical artifacts, and an awareness of Koryŏ legacies seems to have become stronger. Upon Kim Il-sung’s directive, in 1993, North Korea’s Academy of Social Sciences excavated the Hyŏnnŭng. In the process of expanding and renovating the area, in October of the previous year, a large bronze statue had surfaced in the tomb’s vicinity. Initially thought to be a Buddha, subsequent studies concluded that the statue is that of Koryŏ T’aejo (photograph E.2).37 And since 2006, North and South Korea have collaborated—off and on, depending on the politics of inter-Korean relations—on the excavation of Manwŏltae in Kaesŏng, which has been a part of North Korea continuously since December 1950.38

184

Epilogue

Photograph E.2.  Bronze statue of Koryŏ T’aejo, excavated in 1992 in Haesŏn-ri, Kaep’ung-gun, Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea. Source: No Myŏngho, Koryŏ T’aejo Wang Kŏn ŭi tongsang: hwang je chedo, Koguryŏ munhwa chŏnt’ong ŭi hyŏngsanghwa, 45.

In such a milieu, even the younger generations of the Kaesŏng Wang in North Korea have become more aware of their ancestry. To begin with, the North Korean citizenry do not have ready access to kin group associations or public libraries with collections of printed genealogies, much less uploaded image scans or searchable online databases. Also, studying Chinese characters is not a part of their general educational curriculum. Not surprisingly, younger North Koreans tend not to know their ancestral seats. As is true of their southern counterparts, North Koreans generally do not have detailed knowledge of any particular branch affiliation within the descent group implied by their surname and ancestral seat, but they do speak of descent from or connection to historically famous individuals of the same surname–ancestral seat combination.39 For example, in 1992 when the government conducted excavations in Kaesŏng, Wang Chisong reportedly began showing his children an old Kaesŏng Wang genealogy (dated 1905) that his family had kept for decades. The son, who until then had known little about his ancestry, recognized that his father had apparently never felt the need to display the “feudal artifact” under the socialist system. The son recalled that, before he died two years later, his father had told the family much about their ancestors—instilling in them pride in their roots.40 Whereas we know little about the post-1945 plight of the Kaesŏng Wang in

Epilogue

185

North Korea, Wangs from all walks of life reflect South Korea’s own history, and the case of Wang Chaeil from the Kurye lineage is revealing. No longer a rough-and-tumble social activist, in 1947 Chaeil began working as an associate editor for a local newspaper. During the Korean War, he was taken captive by North Korean soldiers but eventually managed to escape. In 1954, Chaeil worked for the South Chŏlla Province Corporation (Chŏllanam-do sa) as a member of its compilation committee, which published Four Years of Local Autonomy in South Chŏlla (Chŏnnam chach’i sa nyŏn chi) in 1956. And in 1959, he worked for another newspaper, the Kwang ju sibo.41 In the meantime, Chaeil’s distant kin, Wang Sangŭn from the Tongnae lineage, became arguably the most prominent Kaesŏng Wang in contemporary South Korea. During the Korean War, he used what he had learned earlier in Japan about maritime transportation and trade. In 1950, Sangŭn founded the Hyupseong Shipping (Hyŏpsŏng haeun), which is one of the first, if not the first, maritime transportation companies of South Korea, and in 1957 the business began operating its own fleet of ships. His stature in the industry won him a series of recognitions, including presidency of the Pusan Tourism Association (1964), honorary British consul-generalship of Pusan (1969), and appointment as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1975). Even well into the new century, he remained active in the industry—serving as the chairman of another maritime transportation company, Pan Continental Shipping (Pŏmju haeun), which was founded in 1969.42 In the 1980s, Sangŭn’s stature as a notable businessman of Pusan helped him enter national politics, although his tenure would turn out to be relatively short. In 1981, he was elected to the National Assembly, where he served a four-year term representing a district in Pusan as a member of the Democratic Justice Party (Minju chŏngŭidang), the new ruling party formed by President Chun Doo-hwan (b. 1931). Then, from 1985 to 1988, he served another term, this time receiving one of the “national constituency” (chŏn’gukku) seats, of which, according to election law at the time, two-thirds were reserved for the number one party as a way of guaranteeing a comfortable majority for Chun’s supporters. Reflecting his standing within the Democratic Justice Party, Sangŭn chaired its national committee. A party colleague and the speaker of the National Assembly at the time, Yi Chaehyŏng (1914–1999), was especially supportive when Sangŭn later served as the head of the Kaesŏng Wang association. Incidentally, he was a Chŏnju Yi.43 Another successful businessman, Wang Yun’guk (1922–2013) is best known as the founder and chair of Dong Won Fisheries (Tongwŏn susan). A mem-

186

Epilogue

ber of the northern branch of Kaesŏng Wang descended from Wang Hŭng, Yun’guk was born in Ich’ŏn, Kangwŏn. Upon the Soviet occupation of the area, Yun’guk fled south and reestablished himself as a trader in Inch’ŏn. In December 1947, a police officer arrested him and a local tax official for transporting to Seoul for sale about 10 million wŏn’s worth of confiscated banned imports that had been in the local tax office’s storage. Not stymied by the runin with the law, in 1954 he founded a marine products processing company. After founding Dong Won in 1970, Yun’guk focused on deep-sea fishing, food processing, and marine products distribution. He also served as an adviser to the then Korea Overseas Fishing Association (Han’guk wŏnyang ŏŏp hyŏphoe). For his accomplishments as a businessman, he received awards and recognition, including Silver Tower grades in the Order of Industrial Service Merit from the South Korean government. Also interested in Kaesŏng Wangrelated matters, Yun’guk served as the Sungŭijŏn superintendent and as the head of the Kaesŏng Wang association.44 For the Kaesŏng Wang in South Korea, the kin group association has provided a focal point, especially through updates to the comprehensive genealogy.45 In 1961, the association finally produced a long-overdue update, as the previous edition dated back to 1918. Finding shortcomings in the 1961 edition, especially omissions, the association compiled another updated edition just thirteen years later, in 1974. With this edition, the Kaesŏng Wang comprehensive genealogy included for the first time the Chŏnggan Wang branch, which claims descent from the eighth Koryŏ monarch, Hyŏnjong. This edition notes that previously the Chŏnggan Wang branch members had compiled their own genealogy twelve times.46 Their inclusion signified the most recent, formal recognition of a descent group segment not descended from Hyoŭn T’aeja. The newly recognized members’ genealogical claim was accepted, with certain discrepancies noted.47 Besides compiling the comprehensive genealogy, another important function of the Kaesŏng Wang association is the election of Sungŭijŏn superintendents, for which the eligibility requirement has changed. A member of the Kwach’ŏn lineage assumed the position in 1962, and since then those who are not from the Majŏn lineage have served as superintendents. Perhaps significantly, though, no member of any of the four lines that the comprehensive genealogy began including only in the nineteenth or the twentieth century has held the position. Given that the concept of rotating the position among various descent lines and the social standing of the candidate have been the main considerations in recent times, problematic claims of descent

Epilogue

187

from earlier Koryŏ monarchs per se have not been what have kept members of the four lines from serving as modern-day Sungŭijŏn superintendents. The four lines are not only small in population, but none of them seem to have produced anyone of social standing comparable to Wang Sangŭn or Wang Yun’guk. In spite of the existence of the kin group association, the politics of postwar South Korea have divided even the Majŏn lineage, despite its unique historical identity as the guardian of the Sungŭijŏn. The shrine’s location within the Civilian Control Zone—which limits and controls the entrance of civilians into the area for the security of military facilities and operations near the Demilitarized Zone—continues to serve as a powerful reminder of North Korea, and the lineage population residing nearby had decreased from about one hundred households to just twenty as of August 2014.48 Reportedly, at that time, a lineage member, who was a restaurant owner and a grandson of a former Sungŭijŏn superintendent, and an immediate neighbor, who was a Kaesŏng Wang woman of the same lineage and also a restaurant owner, were not on good terms, in part due to the difference in their political party affiliations. The former was elected to the Yŏnch’ŏn County council as a member of South Korea’s main liberal party, whereas the latter supported the main conservative party, a more popular choice in the area.49 Side by side, the two restaurants faced the entrance of the Sungŭijŏn across the road. Besides contemporary politics, conflicting views on the genealogy of the entire Hyoŭn T’aeja branch fueled a controversy that lasted from at least 1991 to 2004 and affected more than just the local lineage. The 1991 edition of the comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy did not merely update the 1974 edition but also rejected outright all previous editions’ understanding of Wang Mi and Wang Hŭng as brothers descended from Koryŏ T’aejo’s fifteenth son, Hyoŭn T’aeja. Instead, the new edition identified Mi as the Kwangnŭng Hu (fl. 1298), who was also named Wang Mi (written with the same ideograph) and appears in the History of Koryŏ as a ninth-generation descendant of the Chŏnggan Wang, the fourth son of Hyŏnjong; it kept Hŭng’s genealogy as it was.50 The new claim contains an irreconcilable chronological problem: at least two of Mi’s known three sons—the father-to-sons relationship is documented in a highly reliable seventeenth-century genealogy—appear in early to mid-fifteenth century sources. Barring an outright dishonest insistence that the two Mis are the same person, somehow noticing a recorded royal of the same name in the History of Koryŏ and desiring to make the modern-day Wangs more closely related to the main line of Koryŏ royal succession were

188

Epilogue

likely reasons for the revisionist claim. After all, Hyŏnjong was a grandson of T’aejo and reigned nearly a century later. The new interpretation prompted pushback. In 2004, the Kaesŏng Wang association published a new edition of the comprehensive genealogy that was not only an update but also a reversion to the pre-1991 understanding of Mi and Hŭng as brothers descended from Hyoŭn T’aeja. In the 2004 edition’s preface, its author—Wang Sangŭn, who was the association president at the time and also its most generous individual benefactor (contributing 30,000,000 wŏn)—explains how the 1991 edition affected the recorded ancestry of various descent lines, reasoning that compiling the 2004 edition as the corrected version was unavoidable. All the same, he urges harmony among all the Wangs regardless of any differences in opinion over the “errors” (kwao) of the 1991 edition.51 The 2004 edition’s explanatory notes section concedes that the compilers of the 1991 edition arbitrarily changed the genealogy, and it emphatically says that the previous revision suddenly left Hyoŭn T’aeja’s descendant Mi, the ancestor of “ninety percent or more” of the Kaesŏng Wang in South Korea, without an heir.52 To minimize the possibility of an alternative genealogical claim further spreading and to express the resolve with which the rectification was being made, the association destroyed the remaining copies of the 1991 edition that it had in its possession and recalled those copies it could.53 And the 2004 edition’s list of all previous editions of the comprehensive Kaesŏng Wang genealogy leaves out the 1991 edition.54 For most Kaesŏng Wang, such particularities probably matter little for their collective identity as the progeny of the Koryŏ dynasty. When I interviewed a Majŏn lineage member whose grandfather once served as the Sungŭijŏn superintendent, the interviewee was well aware of the existence of other lineages descended from Hyoŭn T’aeja, especially those of Kurye and Kwach’ŏn. Also, observing—correctly so—that the Kaesŏng Wang who are not descended from Hyoŭn T’aeja are small in number, he noted that “All are the same Kaesŏng Wang” and all Wangs “get along.” When I mentioned the fact that the four lines not descended from Hyoŭn T’aeja have come to be included in the comprehensive genealogy only since the late nineteenth century, he was silent.55 Perhaps he was not familiar with the issue, or perhaps this is too sensitive a matter for comment. Even less likely to be aware of such details are the Kaesŏng Wang who have left Korea and self identify as the descendants of Koryŏ. When the Immigration Act of 1965 cleared the way for South Korean immigration to the United States, many Wangs found new lives in America, including Hye-Sook Wang,

Epilogue

189

who earned her doctorate in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1993) and became a linguistics professor in the Department of East Asian Studies at Brown. When first told that the man she wanted to marry was a Chŏnju Yi, her father was indignant—reminding her that the Wangs were not to marry the Chŏnju Yi. Until then, Hye-Sook had not thought much about her family name other than that her father kept a set of the genealogy in their house and sometimes told stories when she visited him. In addition, while growing up, Hye-Sook did not like her rare family name, which her classmates made fun of, many thinking that it was not Korean. Not bound by her surname, Hye-Sook insisted on marrying her future husband. As an educated man and as a father who did not want to see his daughter become a spinster, in the end her father gave his permission.56 Even among the Kaesŏng Wang born and raised outside of Korea, a historical awareness persists. In the United States in Rhode Island, when Hye-Sook’s child first heard that both of her parents were of royal descent, she took great pride in it, telling her friends and teachers. Later, when she learned that her father’s ancestors had destroyed her mother’s ancestors’ family, she was sad. Maybe, thanks to this family history, she became interested in history, because she did well in her history class and asking many questions about Korean history.57 Across the country in California, Jenny Wang Medina, who belongs to the Kaesŏng lineage, grew up hearing stories about her ancestors. While an undergraduate at Berkeley, she met a Korean Wang who lived in her dormitory. Not knowing how they were related to each other, the two quickly discovered that they had grown up hearing much the same family lore.58 Shared memories have endured through the progeny of fallen royals.

This page intentionally left blank

Koryŏ-Chosŏn Monarchs, Era Names, and Reign Years Note: For each monarch, the first column shows his temple name (myoho) except in the cases of the last ten Koryŏ rulers and two Chosŏn rulers: Eight names, beginning with “Ch’ung” or “Kong,” are posthumous names (siho) bestowed upon the individual by Yuan or Ming China. Both U and Ch’ang are given names. And both the Yŏnsan Kun and the Kwanghae Kun are princely enfeoffment titles. The second column shows known era names (yŏnho).

Koryŏ Dynasty (918–1392) T’aejo 918–943 Ch’ŏnsu 918–933 Hyejong 943–945 Chŏngjong 945–949 Kwangjong 949–975 Kwangdŏk 950–951 Chunp’ung 960–963 Kyŏngjong 975–981 Sŏngjong 981–997 Mokchong 997–1009 Hyŏnjong 1009–1031 Tŏkchong 1031–1034 Chŏngjong 1034–1046 Munjong 1046–1083 Sunjong 1083 Sŏnjong 1083–1094 Hŏnjong 1094–1095 Sukchong 1095–1105

Yejong 1105–1122 Injong 1122–1146 Ŭijong 1146–1170 Myŏngjong 1170–1197 Sinjong 1197–1204 Hŭijong 1204–1211 Kangjong 1211–1213 Kojong 1213–1259 Wŏnjong 1259–1274 Ch’ungnyŏl 1274–1298, 1299–1308 Ch’ungsŏn 1298–1299, 1308–1313 Ch’ungsuk 1313–1330, 1332–1339 Ch’unghye 1330–1332, 1339–1344 Ch’ungmok 1344–1348 Ch’ungjŏng 1348–1351 Kongmin 1352–1374 U 1374–1388 Ch’ang 1388–1389

192

Koryŏ-Chosŏn Monarchs

Kongyang 1389–1392

Chosŏn Dynasty (1392–1910) T’aejo 1392–1398 Chŏngjong 1398–1400 T’aejong 1400–1418 Sejong 1418–1450 Munjong 1450–1452 Tanjong 1452–1455 Sejo 1455–1468 Yejong 1468–1469 Sŏngjong 1469–1495 Yŏnsan Kun 1495–1506 Chungjong 1506–1544 Injong 1544–1545 Myŏngjong 1545–1567 Sŏnjo 1567–1608 Kwanghae Kun 1608–1623

Injo 1623–1649 Hyojong 1649–1659 Hyŏnjong 1659–1674 Sukchong 1674–1720 Kyŏngjong 1720–1724 Yŏngjo 1724–1776 Chŏngjo 1776–1800 Sunjo 1800–1834 Hŏnjong 1834–1849 Ch’ŏlchong 1849–1864 Kojong 1864–1907 Kŏnyang 1896–1897 Kwangmu 1897–1907 Sunjong Yunghŭi 1907–1910

Character List

Ach’ŭm 아츰 Aiqin 愛親 Aiqin Youde 愛親右德 Aixin 愛新 amhaeng ŏsa 暗行御史 Amnok 鴨綠 amun 衙門 An Chŏngbok 安鼎福 An Chunggŭn 安重根 An Hyang 安珦 An’gyŏng Kong 安慶公 Andong 安東 Andong Kim 安東金 Andong Kwŏn 安東權 Angam 仰巖 Anjong 安宗 Ansŏng 安城 Ashikaga 足利 Ashikaga Takauji 足利 尊氏 Beijing 北京 Cao Cao 曹操 Ch’a Sangch’an 車相瓚 Ch’a Sik 車軾 Ch’ambong 參奉 Ch’ambong nari 參奉 나리 Ch’amch’an’gwan 參贊官 Ch’amŭi 參議 Ch’ang (Koryŏ ruler) 昌

Ch’angdŏk 昌德 Ch’angŭi 彰義 Ch’il kŏ chi ak 七去之惡 ch’irŏn chŏlgu 七言絶句 ch’irŏn yulsi 七言律詩 ch’irŭi 七義 ch’ŏ 妻 Ch’oe Ch’anghyŏk 崔昌奕 Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn 崔致遠 Ch’oe Ikhyŏn 崔益鉉 Ch’oe Yŏng 崔瑩 Ch’oe Yŏngsu 崔永壽 Ch’ŏgo 尺五 ch’ogyŏng 初更 Ch’ŏlchong 哲宗 Ch’ŏmjŏlchesa 僉節制使 Ch’ŏnch’ong 千摠 Ch’ŏndogyo 天道敎 Ch’ŏngju 淸州 Ch’ŏngnyong 靑龍 ch’ŏnmin 賤民 Ch’ŏnsu 天授 ch’ŏnyŏk 賤役 ch’ŏp 妾 ch’ŏpka 帖加 Ch’ŏrwŏn 鐵原 ch’osi 初試 Ch’unch’ugwan 春秋館

194

Ch ar acter List

Ch’ungch’ŏng 忠淸 Ch’unghye 忠惠 Ch’ungigwi 忠翊衛 Ch’ungjangwi 忠壯衛 Ch’ungjŏng 忠定 Ch’ungju 忠州 Ch’ungmok 忠穆 Ch’ungnyŏl 忠烈 Ch’ungsŏn 忠宣 Ch’ungsuk 忠肅 Ch’ungsunwi 忠順衛 Ch’ungŭiwi 忠義衛 Chaemu kamdokkuk 財務監督局 Chaemusŏ Chang 財務暑長 Chai Ying 柴詠 Chakchegŏn 作帝建 Chan 禪 Chang 張 Chang Anse 張安世 Chang Chaesŏng 張載性 Changdan 長湍 Changhŭng 長興 Changnyewŏn Kyŏng 掌禮院卿 Changnyŏng 掌令 changwŏn 壯元 Changyongyŏng 壯勇營 chapkwa 雜科 Chasan 慈山 Che Uji 齊牛知 Chejo 提調 Cheju 濟州 Cheng 成 Cherŭng 齊陵 Chi Kyŏngyŏnsa 知經筵事 Chi Munhabusa 知門下府事 Chibŭi 執義 chigyŏk 職役 Chik chehak 直提學

Chikchang 直長 Chin’gwan 津寬 Chinan 鎭安 Chinhŏnsaek 進獻色 Chinju 晋州 chinsa 進士 chinsi 辰時 Chiphyŏnjŏn 集賢殿 Chipsa 執事 Chip’yŏng 持平 Chisinsa 知申事 cho 祖 Cho Chin’gwan 趙鎭寬 Cho Chun 趙浚 Cho Kwangjo 趙光祖 Cho Kyŏn 趙狷 Cho Kyŏngha 趙敬夏 Cho Saŭi 趙思義 Cho T’aeŏk 趙泰億 Cho Ŭisaeng 曺義生 chogang 朝講 chogun 漕軍 chŏkcha 嫡子 Chŏksŏng 積城 Chŏlla 全羅 Chŏllanam-do sa 全羅南道社 chŏlsa 節祀 chŏn 錢 Chŏn (“all”) 全 Chŏn (“field”) 田 chŏn 田 chŏn’gukku 全國區 Chŏng Chiyun 鄭芝潤 Chŏng Inbo 鄭寅普 Chŏng Inji 鄭麟趾 Chŏng Ku 鄭逑 Chŏng Mongju 鄭夢周 Chŏng Namjin 鄭南晉

Ch ar acter List Chŏng Sudong 鄭壽銅 Chŏng T’aehwa 鄭太和 Chŏng Tojŏn 鄭道傳 Chŏngan 定安 chongch’in 宗親 chongch’inhoe 宗親會 Chŏnggan Wang 靖簡王 Chŏnggang Kun 定康君 chŏnghyŏk 鼎革 Chŏngjo 正祖 chongjok 種族 Chŏngjŏlsa 旌政祠 Chŏngjong (3rd Koryŏ ruler, 2nd Chosŏn ruler) 定宗 Chŏngjong (10th Koryŏ ruler) 靖宗 Chŏngju 定州 Chongli 崇禮 chongmyo 宗廟 Chŏngmyo 丁卯 chŏngmyŏng 正名 Chŏngnang 正郞 Chŏngŏn 正言 chŏngsin hyŏkko 鼎新革故 Chŏngsin Kungju 貞信宮主 chongson 宗孫 Chŏngsŏng Kun 定城君 Chŏngsun 貞純 Chŏngwŏn Puwŏn’gun 定原府院君 Chŏngyang Puwŏn’gun 定陽府院君 chonho 尊號 Chŏnju 全州 Chŏnnam chach’i sa nyŏn chi 全南自治 四年誌

Chŏnnam sahoe undong hyŏbŭihoe 全 南社會運動協議會 Chŏnsŏlsa 典設司 choraengi ttŏkkuk 조랭이떡국 chorye 皁隷

195

Chosŏn 朝鮮 Chosŏn ssijok t’ongbo 朝鮮氏族統譜 Chubu 主簿 Chuch’ŏn 酒泉 chugang 晝講 Chŭngbo Tongguk munhŏn pigo 增補東 國文獻備考 Chungch’ubusa 中樞府事 Chungch’uwŏn Pusa 中樞院副使 Chunghwa 中華 chungin 中人 Chungjong 中宗 Chunp’ung 峻豊 Chusŏ 注書 Chwa ch’amch’an 左參贊 Chwa ch’ansŏng 左贊成 Chwa sŭngji 左承旨 Chwabu sŭngji 左副承旨 Chwarang 佐郞 Dao 道 Gaozu 高祖 Go 碁 Go-Daigo 後醍醐 guwen 古文 Hadong 河東 haeng 行 Haesŏn-ri 解線里 hain 下人 haksaeng 學生 Haksŏng Puwŏn’gun 鶴城府院君 hallyang 閑良 Ham Purim 咸傅霖 Ham Puyŏl 咸傅說 Haman 咸安 Hamgyŏng 咸鏡 Hamjong Ŏ 咸從魚 Han (dynasty, river) 漢

196

Ch ar acter List

Han’guk wŏnyang ŏŏp hyŏphoe 韓國遠 洋漁業協會 Han’gŭl 한글 Hansan 韓山 Hansŏng 漢城

Hansŏng ŭnhaeng 漢城銀行 hanyu chi min 閑遊之民 Hanzhong 漢中 Hapch’ŏn 陜川 Harbin 哈爾濱 Hŏ Wi 許蔿 hoesi 會試 Hoewŏn Kun 懷原君 Hogun 護軍 Hojo 戶曹 Hōjō 北条 hojŏk 戶籍 hŏn’gwan 獻官 Honam chŏrŭirok 湖南節義錄 Hong Kyŏngnae 洪景來 Hongmun’gwan 弘文館 Hongwu 洪武 Hŏnjong (Chosŏn ruler) 憲宗 Hŏnjong (Koryŏ ruler) 獻宗 Hŏnnap 獻納 hop’ae 號牌 hosaeng chi tŏk 好生之德 hu p’yewang 後廢王 Huangdi 黃帝 Hŭibin 禧嬪 Hŭijong 熙宗 Hullyŏnwŏn 訓鍊院 Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn’gun 興宣大院君 Hurŭng 厚陵 Hwahye T’aekchu 和惠宅主 Hwang 黃 Hwang Chini 黃眞伊 Hwang Hyŏn 黃玹

hwangdang 荒唐 hwangdo 皇都 Hwanghae 黃海 Hwanghaebuk-do 黃海北道 Hwangju 黃州 Hwasŏng 華城 hwi 諱 hyangan 鄕案 hyangni 鄕吏 hyangwŏn 鄕員 Hyejong 惠宗 Hyesan 惠山 Hyŏllyŏng 縣令 Hyomyŏng 孝明 Hyŏngjo 刑曹 Hyŏngjo Chŏnsŏ 刑曹典書 Hyŏngjo Ŭirang 刑曹議郞 hyŏnjik 顯職 Hyŏnjong 顯宗 Hyŏnnŭng 顯陵 Hyŏpsŏng haeun 協成海運 Hyoryŏng Taegun 孝寧大君 Hyoŭn T’aeja 孝隱太子 ianje 移安祭 Ich’ŏn (Kangwŏn) 伊川 Ich’ŏn (Kyŏnggi) 利川 Igwŏn Puwŏn’gun 益原府院君 Ijo 吏曹 Ijo Ch’amp’an 吏曹參判 Ijo P’ansŏ 吏曹判書 ikai 位階 Ikch’ŏn Kun 益川君 Iksŏng Puwŏn’gun 益城府院君 ilsu 日守 Im Kkŏkchŏng 林巨叱正, 林巨正 Im Kwŏn 任權 Im Sŏch’u 林瑞樞 Im Sŏnmi 林先味

Ch ar acter List Im Uch’un 林遇春 Imjin (river) 臨津 Imjin (war) 壬辰 Imo 壬午 in 人 Injong 仁宗 Jiali 家禮 Jin (dynasty, 265–420) 晉 Jin (dynasties, 1115–1234 and 1616–1636) 金

Jizi 箕子 Kabo 甲午 kaeguk 開國 kaeguk kongsin 開國功臣 kaehwa 開化 Kaehwadang 開化黨 Kaep’ung-gun 開豊郡 Kaesŏng Wang 開城王 kagaek 歌客 Kam 監 Kamakura 鎌倉 Kamch’al 監察 Kammu 監務 Kang Ch’ung 康忠 Kang Hoegye 姜淮季 Kang Kamch’an 姜邯贊 Kang Wan 姜完 Kang Wi 姜瑋 Kangdong 江東 Kanghwa 江華 Kangjong 康宗 Kangnam 江南 Kangnŭng 江陵 Kangwŏn 江原 Kansŏng 杆城 Kapsin 甲申 Karajang 假羅將 kasŏl 假設

197

Katkŏrjae 갓걸재 Katsura 桂 Kaya 伽倻 Kija 箕子 Kil Chae 吉再 Kim 金 Kim Che 金濟 Kim Chinmuk 金溱默 Kim Chinyang 金震陽 Kim Chŏnggyŏng 金定卿 Kim Chŏnghŭi 金正喜 Kim Chongsŏ 金宗瑞 Kim Chu 金澍 Kim Hongjip 金弘集 Kim It’an 金履彈 Kim Kae 金漑 Kim Kahaeng 金可行 Kim Kaji 金可之 Kim Poin 金寶仁 Kim Sangno 金尙魯 Kim Siyŏn 金始淵 Kim Sŏngil 金誠一 Kim Suhyŏn 金壽鉉 Kim T’aegyŏng 金澤榮 Kim Tŏngnyong 金德龍 Kim Yangno 金若魯 Kim Yŏji 金汝知 Kim Yŏn 金延 Kim Yugyŏng 金有慶 Kimhae 金海 kinyŏmjang 記念章 kisa 己巳 kisaeng 妓生 Kŏch’ang 居昌 kodŭng pot’ong hakkyo 高等普通學校 Koguryŏ 高句麗 Kŏidu 巨伊豆 Kŏje 巨濟

198

Ch ar acter List

Kojong 高宗 Kŏmt’ogwan 檢討官 Kong Sŏrin 孔瑞麟 Kongjo Ch’amp’an 工曹參判 Kongju 公州 Kongmin 恭愍 kongnap 貢納 kongnon 公論 kongsin 功臣 Kongyang 恭讓 Kongyang Kun 恭讓君 Kŏnyang 建陽 Koryŏ 高麗 Koryŏ ch’ungsin Tumun-dong 高麗忠臣 杜門洞

Koryŏ sŏngwŏnnok 高麗聖源錄 Koryŏsa 高麗史 Kosŏng (Kangwŏn) 高城 Kosŏng (Kyŏngsang) 固城 Kŏŭrgŭm 巨乙金 Koyang 高陽 Kukchagam 國子監 Kukcho pogam 國朝寶鑑 Kukcho sok Orye ŭi 國朝續五禮儀 Kŭm 琴 kŭm 琴 Kŭmgun samch’ŏng 禁軍三廳 Kŭmgwan Kaya 金官加耶 Kŭmwiyŏng 禁衛營 kun (county) 郡 kun (lord) 君 Kun Chusa 郡主事 Kun’gisi 軍器寺 Kun’guk kimuch’ŏ 軍國機務處 kŭnbon 根本 Kungnaebu 宮內府 Kungye 弓裔 Kunjagam 軍資監

kunp’o 軍布 Kunsu 郡守 Kurye 求禮 Kwa Songgyŏng 過松京 Kwach’ŏn 果川 Kwaegwanhyŏn 掛冠峴 Kwajŏnpŏp 科田法 Kwak Chonjung 郭存中 Kwanch’alsa 觀察使 Kwangdŏk 光德 Kwanghae Kun 光海君 Kwangjewŏn 廣濟院 Kwangjong 光宗 Kwangju (Chŏlla) 光州 Kwangju (Kyŏnggi) 廣州 Kwangju ch’ŏngnyŏnhoe 光州靑年會 Kwangju sibo 光州時報 Kwangmu 光武 Kwangnŭng Hu 廣陵侯 Kwanŭm 觀音 Kwanŭmno 觀音奴 Kwiŭi Kun 歸義君 Kyerim 鷄林 Kyo 敎 Kyodong 校洞 kyogwan 敎官 kyŏkchaeng 擊錚 kyoji 敎旨 kyŏl 結 Kyŏnam 見岩 kyŏng taebu 卿大夫 Kyŏngbok 景福 Kyŏnggi 京畿 Kyŏnggijŏn 慶基殿 Kyŏngguk taejŏn 經國大典 Kyŏnghwa Kungju 敬和宮主 Kyŏngje yukchŏn 經濟六典 Kyŏngjong 景宗

Ch ar acter List Kyŏngju 慶州 Kyŏngnyŏk 經歷 Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju 慶寧翁主 Kyŏngsang 慶尙 Kyŏngsun 敬順 Kyŏngun 慶運 Kyŏngwŏn 慶源 kyŏngyŏn 經筵 Kyŏngyŏn T’ŭkchin’gwan 經筵特進官 Kyori 校理 kyoryŏn’gwan 敎鍊官 Kyosŏgwan 校書館 Kyosu 敎授 Kyujanggak 奎章閣 Kyunyŏkpŏp 均役法 Liao 遼 Liaodong 遼東 Liu Bei 劉備 Lunyu 論語 Ma 馬 ma 馬 Maeksuga 麥秀歌 Maixiuge 麥秀歌 Majŏn 麻田 Majŏn-gun ŭpchi 麻田郡邑誌 mal 말 Manho 萬戶 Mansŏng taedongbo 萬姓大同譜 Manwŏltae 滿月臺 Manwŏltae hoego 滿月臺懷古 Min 閔 min 民 Min Chinhu 閔鎭厚 Minamoto 源 Minamoto Yoritomo 源 頼朝 Ming 明 Ming Shi 明史 Minju chŏngŭidang 民主正義黨

199

misa yŏgu 美辭麗句 Mit’ano 彌陁奴 Mogŭn 牧隱 Mokchong 穆宗 momchong 몸종 Muan Taegun 撫安大君 Mugwan hakkyo 武官學校 muhu 無後 mukhŭi 墨戱 mukwa 武科 Mun Ikchŏm 文益漸 munch’e panjŏng 文體反正 Munhabu Ch’ansŏngsa 門下府贊成事 Munhwa 文化 Munhwa Yu 文化柳 Munjong 文宗 munkwa 文科 Muromachi 室町 musin 武臣 myoho 廟號 myŏn 面 myŏnch’ŏn 免賤 Myŏngjong 明宗 Myŏngsŏng 明成 Myŏngwŏl 明月 Naebu Taesin 內部大臣 Naegak 內閣 Naegŭmwi Chang 內禁衛將 Naejasi 內資寺 Naesŏmsi 內贍寺 Naeŭiwŏn 內醫院 najang 羅將 Nam Kŭp 南伋 Nam Ŭlchin 南乙珍 Namhan 南漢 Namin 南人 Namp’yŏng Kun 南平君 Namwŏn 南原

200

Ch ar acter List

Namyang 南陽 Namyang Chŏn 南陽田 Nanggwan 郎官 Nanjing 南京 napsok 納粟 Niu 牛 No Cho 盧珇 nobi 奴婢 nongmin chohap 農民組合 Noron 老論 O Mongŭl 吳蒙乙 O Myŏnghang 吳命恒 oebang 外方 Ok 玉 ok 玉 Ok Andŏk 玉安德 Ok Ko 玉沽 Ok Sami 玉斯美 Ok Saon 玉斯溫 Oktang 玉堂 ŏl 孼 Onjo 溫祚 Owi toch’ongbu 五衛都摠府 Ŏyŏngch’ŏng 御營廳 P’aju 坡州 p’alch’on 八寸 P’alchŏn yungnŭng ko 八殿六陵考 P’an Chungch’ubusa 判中樞府事 P’an’gwan 判官 P’ap’yŏng Yun 坡平尹 P’oŭn 圃隱 p’un 分 P’ungdŏk 豊德 P’unggi 豊基 P’ungyang Cho 平壤趙 p’yewang 廢王 P’yojŏlsa 表節祠 P’yŏngan 平安

P’yŏngan Puwŏn’gun 平安府院君 P’yŏngyang 平壤 P’yŏngyang Kong 平壤公 Paduk 바둑 Paekch’ŏn 白川 Paekche 百濟 Pak Chiwŏn 朴趾源 Pak Chungjil 朴仲質 Pak Hŭngmu 朴興茂 Pak Hyŏkkŏse 朴赫居世 Pak Kyusu 朴珪壽 Pak Munsu 朴文秀 Pak P’aengnyŏn 朴彭年 Pak Sŏngmyŏng 朴錫命 Pak Wi 朴葳 Pak Yŏnghyo 朴泳孝 Pak Yŏp 朴曄 Panch’on 泮村 pangmok 榜目 Pansŏng 班城 Pibyŏnsa 備邊司 pijang 裨將 pin 賓 pisa 秘史 poch’ungdae 補充隊 Pŏmju haeun 泛洲海運 pŏmnye 凡例 ponggun 烽軍 Pongsa 奉事 Pongsangsi 奉常寺 ponjong 本宗 Pŏphwagyŏng 法華經 pot’ong hakkyo 普通學校 Pou 普愚 pu (ministry) 部 pu (regional center) 府 Pu chehak 副提學 Pu chejo 副提調

Ch ar acter List Pu sagwa 副司果 Pugin 北人 pugundang 府君堂 Pujang 部將 Pujohyŏn 不朝峴 pukpŏl 北伐 pun 分 purok 附錄 Pusa 副使 Pusan 釜山 Puyŏ 夫餘 Pyŏkp’a 僻派 Pyŏlchang 別將 Pyŏlche 別提 Pyŏlgŏn’gon 別乾坤 pyŏlmusa 別武士 Pyŏn Segi 卞世基 Pyŏngja 丙子 Pyŏngjo Ch’amŭi 兵曹參議 Pyŏngma chŏltosa 兵馬節度使 Qi 杞 Qin 秦 Qing 淸 ri 里 Sa 使 Saboksi 司僕寺 Sado 思悼 saengwŏn 生員 saengwŏn-chinsasi 生員進士試 Sagan’wŏn 司諫院 Sagwa 司果 Sahŏnbu 司憲府 Sain 舍人 sain 士人 Sajaegam 司宰監 Sajik 司直 sallim 山林 samasi 司馬試

201

Samch’ŏk 三陟 Samhan 三韓 Samhwa 三和 Samp’o 三浦 Sang changgun 上將軍 Sangju 尙州 Sangwŏn 上院 sanjik 散職 Saongwŏn 司饔院 Sarim 士林 siho 諡號 sijo 始祖 silchik 實職 Silla 新羅 Silla sijo 新羅始祖 Silla sijo wang 新羅始祖王 sillok 實錄 Sim Chŏng 沈泟 Sim Hyosaeng 沈孝生 Sim Wŏn’gwŏn 沈遠權 Sin Ch’ang 辛昌 Sin Chagŭn 申自謹 sin 臣 Sin Hŭm 申欽 Sin Koryŏsa 新高麗史 Sin Ton 辛旽 Sin U 辛禑 Sin U Wang 辛禑王 Sin’gye 新溪 Sinch’ang 新昌 Sinch’ŏn 信川 Sinch’ŏn nongŏp hakkyo 信川農業學校 Sindŏk 神德 Sinjong 神宗 Sinmun’go 申聞鼓 Sinŭi 神懿 Sip’a 時派 Sirhak 實學

202

Ch ar acter List

So Chunghwa 小中華 Sŏ Kyŏn 徐甄 Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk 徐敬德 Sŏ Yubang 徐有防 Sogyŏksŏ 昭格署 Sŏhak 西學 Sŏin 西人 sŏin 庶人 sŏk 石 Sok Taejŏn 續大典 Sok Yukchŏn 續六典 sokchŏn 贖錢 Sŏkchu 石柱 Sŏkchu’gwan ch’il ŭisa 石柱關七義士 sŏkkang 夕講 sokp’yŏn 續編 Sŏl Ch’ong 薛聰 sŏm 섬 Sŏn 禪 Son Hŭngjong 孫興宗 Sŏn’gonggam 繕工監 Song 宋 Sŏng Haeŭng 成海應 Sŏng Hyeyŏng 成蕙永 Sŏng Sammun 成三問 Song Siyŏl 宋時烈 Songak 松嶽 Songdo 松都 Songdo kii 松都記異 sŏnggyet’ang 成桂湯 sŏnggyeyuk 成桂肉 Songgyŏng 松京 Songgyŏng chapchŏl 松京雜絶 Songgyŏng hoego 松京回顧 Sŏnggyun’gwan 成均館 Sŏngjinhoe 醒進會 Sŏngjong 成宗 Sŏngnihak 性理學

Sŏngnŭng 釋能 Songsŏgwŏn sisa 松石園詩社 Sŏngun 性雲 Sŏngyŏ 性如 Sŏnjo 宣祖 Sŏnjong 宣宗 Sŏnjŏn’gwan 宣傳官 Sŏnjuk 善竹 Sŏnu 鮮于 sŏŏl 庶孼 sŏri 胥吏 soroe 少牢 Soron 少論 sosi 所弑 sŏwŏn 書院 Ssijok wŏllyu 氏族源流 Su 守 Such’ang 壽昌 sugun 水軍 Sui 隋 sui 歲 Sujikkwan 守直官 Sukch’ŏn 肅川 Sukchong 肅宗 Sumunjang 守門將 Sun’gŭmsa 巡禁司 Sungdŏkchŏn 崇德殿 sŭngguk 勝國 sŭngguk ch’ungsin myŏn kyese 勝國忠臣 勉繼世

sŭngguk huye 勝國後裔 Sunghyejŏn 崇惠殿 Sungil hakkyo 崇一學校 Sunginjŏn 崇仁殿 Sungjŏlsa 崇節祀 Sŭngjŏngwŏn 承政院 Sungnyŏlchŏn 崇烈殿 Sungnyŏng Kungju 肅寧宮主

Ch ar acter List Sungnyŏngjŏn 崇寧殿 Sungsinjŏn 崇信殿 Sungsŏnjŏn 崇善殿 Sungŭijŏn 崇義殿 Sungyang 崧陽 Sunhŭng Kun 順興君 Sunjo 純祖 Sunjong (Chosŏn ruler) 純宗 Sunjong (Koryŏ ruler) 順宗 Sŭptokkwan 習讀官 Suri Kamgwan 修理監官 Suro 首露 suryukchae 水陸齋 suryukhoe 水陸會 susinjŏn 守信田 Suwŏn 水原 Suyŏn Kun 壽延君 T’aebong 泰封 T’aejo 太祖 T’aejong 太宗 T’aep’yŏnggwan 太平館 T’akchibu 度支部 T’amna 耽羅 T’angp’yŏngch’aek 蕩平策 T’oegye 退溪 t’osŏng 土姓 Tae changgun 大將軍 taedongbo 大同譜 Taegan 臺諫 Taegu 大邱 Taegyo 待敎 Taehan cheguk 大韓帝國 Taehan ŭigun 大韓義軍 Taejong 戴宗 Taizu 太祖 Taejŏn hoet’ong 大典會通 Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn 大典通編 taeri ch’ŏngjŏng 代理聽政

203

Taesagan 大司諫 Taesahŏn 大司憲 Tamyang 潭陽 Tan’gun 檀君 tanch’ŏng 丹靑 Tang (dynasty) 唐 Tang (Shang ruler) 湯 Tangjian 唐鑑 tangsanggwan 堂上官 Tanjong 端宗 Tansŏng 丹城 To sŭngji 都承旨 To 道 Tŏkch’ŏn 德川 Tŏkchong 德宗 Tŏksu 德壽 tong 洞 Tongch’ŏnmyo 東泉廟 Tongdo Sŏgi 東道西器 Tongguk munhŏn pigo 東國文獻備考 Tongguk pyŏnggam 東國兵鑑 Tongguk saryak 東國史略 Tongguk t’onggam 東國通鑑 Tonghak 東學 Tonghak-sa hon’gi 東鶴寺魂記 Tongin 東人 Tongji Kyŏngyŏnsa 同知經筵事 Tongmong sŏnsŭp 童蒙先習 Tongmyŏng 東明 Tongnae 東萊 Tongnae Chŏng 東萊鄭 Tongnip 獨立 Tongnip hyŏphoe 獨立協會 Tongsa kangmok 東史綱目 Tongwŏn susan 東源水産 Tongyang Kun 東陽君 Tongzhi 同治 Top’yŏngŭisasa 都評議使司

204

Ch ar acter List

Tsushima 對馬島 tu 斗 Tu Ji 屠寄 Tuman 豆滿 Tumen 豆滿 Tumun-dong 杜門洞 tŭng 等 U (Koryŏ ruler) 禑 U Hongbu 禹洪富 U Sŏngbŏm 禹成範 U sŭngji 右承旨 U ŭijŏng 右議政 Uam 尤庵 ŭibyŏng 義兵 Ŭigŭmbu 義禁府 Ŭijong 毅宗 Ŭijŏngbu 議政府 Ŭijŏngbu Ch’amjŏng 議政府參政 ŭikwa 醫科 Ŭiryŏng 宜寧 Ŭiryŏng Kun 義寧君 ŭisa 義士 Ŭiyŏnggo 義盈庫 Ulsan 蔚山 ŭmjik 蔭職 Un’gok sisa 耘谷詩史 ŭngje 應製 Ŭnjin 恩津 uri 우리 Wakō 倭寇 wang 王 Wang Aebok 王愛福 Wang Andŏk 王安德 Wang Anse 王安世 Wang Ch’adong 王次同 Wang Ch’an 王瓚 Wang Ch’ang (An’gyŏng Kong) 王淐 Wang Ch’iguk 王治國

wang ch’iguk 王治國 Wang Ch’im 王沈 Wang Ch’ison 王致遜 Wang Ch’ŏjung 王處中 Wang Ch’ŏn’gye 王千繼 Wang Ch’ŏsam 王處三 Wang Ch’un’gyŏng 王春京 Wang Chaedŏk 王在德 Wang Chaegi 王在基 Wang Chaeha 王在夏 Wang Chaehyŏng 王在衡 Wang Chaeil 王在一 Wang Chaejun 王在儁 Wang Chaeso 王在韶 Wang Chaesŏl 王在卨 Wang Chang (Kaesŏng lineage) 王奬 Wang Chang (Kwach’ŏn lineage) 王璋 Wang Che 王濟 Wang Chedo 王濟道 Wang Chidŏk 王地德 Wang Chiil 王之逸 Wang Chijŏng 王之鼎 Wang Chijwa 王之佐 Wang Chimin 王之民 Wang Chinuk 王震旭 Wang Chinyŏl 王縉說 Wang Chip 王緝 Wang Chisong 王지송 Wang Chiu 王之右 Wang Cho 王珇 Wang Chŏk 王績 Wang Chŏng (Kaesŏng lineage) 王靖 Wang Chŏng (Kongyang’s uncle) 王鉦 Wang Chŏng (Kurye lineage) 王净 Wang Chongin 王宗仁 Wang Chongji 王宗智 Wang Chongnok 王宗祿 Wang Chongnye 王宗禮

Ch ar acter List Wang Chŏngsam 王鼎三 Wang Chongsin 王宗信 Wang Chŏngsŏl 王廷卨 Wang Chŏngu 王庭羽 Wang Chongŭi 王宗義 Wang Chŏngwŏn 王鼎元 Wang Chŏngyang 王庭楊 Wang Chundo 王遵道 Wang Hakchŏng 王鶴禎 Wang Hakkŭn 王鶴謹 Wang Hangnyŏng 王鶴齡 Wang Hanjwa 王漢佐 Wang Hanp’yŏng 王漢平 Wang Hansang 王漢相 Wang Hoejong 王會鍾 Wang Hongjong 王洪鍾 Wang Hŭi 王希 Wang Hŭigŏl 王希傑 Wang Hŭiji 王希祉 Wang Hun 王勳 Wang Hŭng 王興 Wang Hŭngdo 王興道 Wang Hŭp 王洽 Wang Hwa 王和 Wang Hwasang 王和尙 Wang Hwi 王煇 Wang Hyang 王珦 Wang Hyoch’ung 王孝忠 Wang Hyogon 王孝坤 Wang Hyogŏn 王孝乾 Wang Hyosaeng 王孝生 Wang Hyu 王休, 王庥 Wang Ido 王履道 Wang Ik 王翼 Wang Iksu 王益修 Wang In’gŏl 王仁傑 Wang Indong 王寅東 Wang Inwi 王仁偉

205

Wang Isŏng 王以誠 Wang Iwŏn 王履元 Wang Kang 王康 Wang Ki 王基 Wang Kisu 王夔修 Wang Kŏ 王琚 Wang Kon 王鵾 Wang Kŏn 王建 Wang Kŏruŭm 王巨乙于音 Wang Kŏŭromi 王巨乙吾未 Wang Kukpin 王國賓 Wang Kŭmman 王金萬 Wang Kwan 王琯 Wang Kwangyŏn 王光演 Wang Kwich’an 王貴贊 Wang Kwigŭm 王貴金 Wang Kyŏk 王鬲 Wang Kyŏnghyo 王景孝 Wang Kyŏngju 王景周 Wang Kyu 王珪 Wang Kyun 王鈞 Wang Maburi 王馬不里 Wang Man’gŭm 王萬金 Wang Mi (also known as Wang Kŏŭromi) 王美 Wang Mi (Chŏnggan Wang’s descendant, Hyoŭn T’aeja’s descendant) 王亹 Wang Mok 王穆 Wang Ok 王玉 Wang Ŏn’gam 王彦鑑 Wang Ŏnbak (Kaesŏng lineage) 王彦鎛 Wang Ŏnbak (Ŭiryŏng lineage) 王彦博 Wang Ŏnjang 王彦章 Wang Ŏnsang 王彦商 Wang P’il 王泌 Wang Paegan 王伯顔 Wang Pan 王潘

206

Ch ar acter List

Wang Poksam 王卜三 Wang Pongmyŏng 王福命 Wang Pyŏn 王昪 Wang Ryŏm 王廉 Wang Sach’an 王師瓚 Wang Sach’ŏn 王師天 Wang Sagak 王師覺 Wang Sahŏn 王師憲 Wang Sahŭi (Kaesŏng lineage) 王師羲 Wang Sahŭi (Wang Hŭi line) 王師熙 Wang Sangu 王上尤 Wang Sangŭn 王相殷 Wang Sebin 王世賓 Wang Seman 王世萬 Wang Semu 王世茂 Wang Sinnam 王信南 Wang So 王玿 Wang Sŏ (Yangyang Kong) 王恕 Wang Sŏ (Sunhŭng Kun’s son) 王瑞 Wang Sŏgu 王錫瑀 Wang Sŏk 王奭 Wang Sŏkchung 王錫中 Wang Sŏkpo 王錫輔 Wang Sŏnghyŏp 王性協 Wang Sŏngmok 王性穆 Wang Sŏngsun 王性淳 Wang Sŏngwŏn 王聖元 Wang Su 王璲 Wang Suhwan 王粹煥 Wang Sullye 王循禮 Wang Sun’gŭm 王順金 Wang Sŭng 王昇 Wang Sŭngbo 王承寶 Wang Sunson (Ch’ungnyŏl’s descendant) 王順孫

Wang Sunson (Wang Ch’an’s son) 王順 遜

Wang T’ae 王太

Wang T’ak 王濯 Wang Tang 王瑭 Wang Tŭgin 王得仁 Wang Tŭkchun 王得俊 Wang Tŭkto 王得道 Wang Tŭngmyŏng 王得命 Wang U (Kongyang’s brother) 王瑀 Wang Ŭisŏng 王義成 Wang Ŭiun 王義雲 Wang Uk (Hyŏnjong’s father Anjong) 王郁

Wang Uk (Sŏngjong’s father Taejong, Wang Inwi and Wang In’gŏl’s father) 王旭

Wang Ŭngjong 王應鍾 Wang Usun 王羽淳 Wang Wŏn 王瑗 Wang Wŏnbo 王元輔 Wang Wŏnp’il 王元弼 Wang Yaksano 王藥師奴 Wang Yanggwi 王陽貴 Wang Yŏ 王礪 Wang Yŏn 王淵 Wang Yŏn’gŭm 王延金 Wang Yongju 王用周 Wang Yugyŏng 王有慶 Wang Yun’guk 王允國 Wang Yundo 王允道 Wang Yundong 王尹東 Wang Yung 王隆 Wang Yusin 王有臣 wangdo 王道 Wansan 完山 Wasŏ 瓦署 Weihai 威海 Weiqi 圍棋 Weizi 微子 Wijang 衛將

Ch ar acter List wijŏng ch’ŏksa 衛正斥邪 wŏn 圓 Wŏn Ch’ŏnsŏk 元天錫 Wŏnjong 元宗 wŏnjong kongsin 原從功臣 Wŏnju 原州 Wŏnsubu 元帥府 Wu 武 Xia 夏 Xu zizhi tongjian gangmu 續資治通鑑 綱目 yadae 夜對 yagi 藥餌 Yakpang 藥房 Yalu 鴨綠 Yamagata 山形 Yan 燕 Yang 煬 yang 兩 Yang Saŏn 楊士彦 Yang Sŏngji 梁誠之 yangban 兩班 yangin 良人 Yangju 楊州 yangmin 良民 Yangyang Kong 襄陽公 Yao 堯 yasa 野史 Yebinsi Chubu 禮賓寺主簿 Yejo 禮曹 Yejo P’ansŏ 禮曹判書 Yejong 睿宗 Yemun’gwan 藝文館 Yi Chaehyŏng 李載灐 Yi Chŏnggwi 李廷龜 Yi Chonghak 李種學 Yi Hŏn’guk 李憲國 Yi Hŏnyŏng 李𨯶永

Yi Hŭngmu 李興茂 Yi Hwang 李滉 Yi I 李珥 Yi Injwa 李麟佐 Yi Ki 李墍 Yi Kwal 李适 Yi Kyejŏn 李季甸 Yi Maenggyun 李孟畇 Yi Maengjung 李孟衆 Yi Milch’ung 李密沖 Yi Nansu 李難守 Yi Nŭnghwa 李能和 Yi Paengnyŏ 李伯黎 Yi Pangbŏn 李芳蕃 Yi Pangwŏn 李芳遠 Yi Pŏmjin 李範晉 Yi Saek 李穡 Yi Sich’un 李時春 Yi Sik 李植 Yi Sil 李實 Yi Sŏnggye 李成桂 Yi Su 李穗 Yi Sungin 李崇仁 Yi Sunsin 李舜臣 Yi Tŏkhyŏng 李德馨 Yi Tonhwa 李敦化 Yi Un 李韻 Yi Ŭnsang 李殷相 Yi Yang 李陽 Yi Yŏngsang 李永常 Yŏhan sipka munch’o 麗韓十家文抄 Yŏhŭng Min 驪興閔 yŏkchol 驛卒 Yŏlcho kaengjangnok 列朝羹墻錄 yŏmjanggwan 鹽場官 Yŏn’gŏn 蓮建 Yŏnan 延安 Yŏnch’ŏn 漣川

207

208

Ch ar acter List

Yŏng 令 Yŏngbok Kun 永福君 Yongch’ŏn 龍泉 Yŏngdong 永同 Yonggŏn 龍建 Yŏngguk 寧國 Yŏnghae 寧海 Yŏngjo 英祖 Yŏngjong 英宗 Yongle 永樂 Yŏngp’yŏng Kun 鈴平君 Yŏngŭn 迎恩 yŏnho 年號 Yŏni 連伊 Yŏnsan Kun 燕山君 yŏp 葉 Yŏrŭng Ch’ambong 麗陵參奉 Yoshino 吉野 Yu (Shun’s fiefdom) 虞 Yu (Xia ruler) 禹 Yu Hŭich’un 柳希春

Yu Ŭnji 柳殷之 Yuan 元 yuan 儒案 Yuan Shikai 袁世凱 yuhak 幼學 Yukkyo sisa 六橋詩社 Yulgok 栗谷 Yun Kŭnsu 尹根壽 Yun Kwan 尹瓘 Yun Panggyŏng 尹邦慶 Yun Ŭn 尹殷 Yun Wŏnhyŏng 尹元衡 Yunghŭi 隆熙 yusaeng 儒生 Yusu 留守 Zen 禪 Zhao 趙 Zhonghua 中華 Zhou 周 Zhu Xi 朱熹 Zizhi Tongjian 資治通鑑

Abbreviations

HMMTS HYICCS KS KWC (1798) KWC (1918) KWS KWT SI SW

Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn [Encyclopedia of Korean culture], https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/ Han’guk yŏktae inmul chonghap chŏngbo sisŭt’em [Comprehensive system of Korean biographical information], http://people.aks.ac.kr/index.aks Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa [History of the Koryŏ Sungŭijŏn] Kaesŏng Wang-ssi chokpo [Kaesŏng Wang genealogy], 1798 edition Kaesŏng Wang-ssi chokpo [Kaesŏng Wang genealogy], 1918 edition Kaesŏng Wang-ssi sebo [Kaesŏng Wang genealogy], 2004 edition Kaesŏng Wang-ssi taedongbo [Comprehensive genealogy of the Kaesŏng Wang], 1974 edition Sŭngjŏngwŏn ilgi [Daily records of the Royal Secretariat] Ssijok wŏllyu [Origins of descent groups]

This page intentionally left blank

Notes

Prologue 1.  Unless noted otherwise, biographical information for an individual discussed comes from HYICCS and HMMTS. Korean-language sources typically provide lunar calendar dates for events before January 1, 1896, and whenever possible I have converted them to Gregorian calendar dates. 2.  On South Korea’s population as of 2000 by surname and ancestral seat, this study cites data provided by T’onggyech’ŏng, KOSIS Kukka t’onggye p’ot’ŏl, accessed April 19, 2017, http://kosis.kr/. The 1974 edition of the comprehensive genealogy (taedongbo) of the Kaesŏng Wang devotes some eight hundred out of roughly nine hundred pages to covering the members of this descent line. KWT Sang.15–Ha.828. In the most recent edition (published in 2004), 2,599 out of 3,144 pages (82 percent) cover the descendants of Wang Mi. KWS 1.1–1129, 2.1–1014, 3.1–456. 3.  On the number of Chosŏn civil, technical, and licentiate examination passers by surname and ancestral seat, this study cites data from HYICCS. 4.  Park, Chosŏn Military Examination Database, unpublished database of 35,405 degree holders, accounting for roughly one-fifth of Chosŏn military examination graduates. 5.  Records of Surname Origins (Sŏngwŏnnok), compiled in the late nineteenth century, records 365 specialist chungin descent group segments, representing some sixty surnames and 194 ancestral seats. Kim Tuhŏn, “Sŏngwŏnnok ŭl t’onghaesŏ pon Sŏul chungin kagye yŏn’gu”; HMMTS, s.v. “Sŏngwŏnnok.” 6.  Quinones, “Military Officials of Yi Korea, 1864–1910,” 697–700. 7.  For example, see Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn T’aejo ŭi wangkwŏn kwa chŏngch’i unyŏng,” 135–164; Han Chŏngsu, “Chosŏn ch’ogi Wang-ssi ch’ŏbun-non ŭi taedu wa chŏn’gae,” 6–30; Han Sanggil, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae sŏrhaeng ŭi sahoejŏk ŭimi,” 673–702; Kang Hosŏn, “Chosŏn T’aejo 4 nyŏn kukhaeng suryukchae sŏrhaeng kwa kŭ ŭimi,” 199–232; Kim Inho, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi Sungŭijŏn ŭi sŏlch’i wa yŏksa insik,” 114–143; Kim Kidŏk, “Koryŏ sidae wangsil sŏnwŏnnok ŭi pogwŏn sido,” 141– 185; Kim Ŭnyŏng, “Chosŏn hugi Kurye Kaesŏng Wang-ssi ka ŭi ko munsŏ kŏmt’o,” 167–186; Kuwano Eiji, “Richō shoki ni okeru Kōrai Ō-shi saishi,” 1–21; Sim Hyosŏp,

212

notes to Chapter 1

“Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae ŭi sorhaeng kwa ŭirye,” 223–243; Yi Uk, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi wŏnhon ŭl wihan chesa ŭi pyŏnhwa wa kŭ ŭimi,” 170–185. 8.  Some versions exclude Kim. For example, see Pak Chiwŏn, “Ch’ambong Wang Kun myogalmyŏng,” in Yŏnamjip, 2.54a. Unless noted otherwise, all literary anthology citations of this study refer to the original text as reprinted in Han’guk munjip ch’onggan. 9.  Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 10.  Chungang ilbosa, Sŏngssi ŭi kohyang, 1223. 11.  Pak Yŏngjin, interview by Kim Kidŏk, in Kim Kidŏk, “Koryŏ sidae wangsil sŏnwŏnnok ŭi pogwŏn sido,” 148, n. 18.

Chapter 1: Death and Resurrection: 1392–1450 1.  For a most comprehensive, critical English-language discussion of the early Chosŏn elite’s intellectual landscape, see Duncan, The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty, 241–262. 2.  Koryŏsa, 90.1a–31a, 91.1a–19b. 3.  Koryŏsa, 90.4a. 4.  Yi Sugŏn, Han’guk chungse sahoesa yŏn’gu, 142–143. 5.  T’aejo sillok, 2.15ab (1392.11.29), 3.3b (1393.2.15). 6.  See Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 1; Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn T’aejo ŭi wangkwŏn kwa chŏngch’i unyŏng”; Duncan, The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty, 99–106, 222–224; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 1. 7.  For a recent study of the events leading up to T’aejo’s accession and his supporter’s rationale, see Han Chŏngsu, “Chosŏn ch’ogi Wang-ssi ch’ŏbun-non ŭi taedu wa chŏn’gae,” 6–13. 8.  T’aejo sillok, 1.40a (1392.7.20); T’aejong sillok, 26.41ab (1413.11.15); SW 37, 391, 393; KWS 3.864–866, 3.993–994. All veritable record (sillok) citations refer to the original text as reprinted in Chosŏn wangjo sillok. 9.  T’aejo sillok, 1.43ab (1392.7.28). 10.  Hong Sunmin, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 11.  Ch’a Sangch’an, “Sam ch’ŏk changil ŭro obaek nyŏn taeŏp Yi T’aejo kŏn’guk sillok,” 31. 12.  Kukcho pogam, 1.8ab. 13.  Sin Yuhan, Chingp’a-gang pŏmwŏlgi, in Ch’ŏngch’ŏnjip, 4.38a; Chŭngbo munhŏn pigo, 64.13b. For an analysis of the early Chosŏn court’s criteria in honoring certain Koryŏ rulers, see Kim Inho, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi Sungŭijŏn ŭi sŏlch’i wa yŏksa insik,” 120–121. 14.  T’aejo sillok, 2.16a (1392.12.16). 15.  Serruys, “The Dates of the Mongolian Documents in the Hua-i i-yu,” 419–427; Serruys, The Mongols in China during the Hung-wu Period (1368–1398), 19–21; Serruys, “Were the Ming against the Mongols’ Settling in North China?” 140; Serruys, “Mongols Ennobled during the Early Ming,” 210–254; Serruys, “Land Grants to the

notes to Chapter 1

213

Mongols in China: 1400–1460,” 394; Serruys, “The Mongols in China: 1400–1450,” 233; Yi Kyŏngnyong, “Myŏngch’o Kŭmhwahak-p’a ŭi Hwai-ron hyŏngsŏng kwa pyŏn’gyŏng insik,” 183; Robinson, Empire’s Twilight, 285–286. 16. Serruys, The Mongols in China during the Hung-wu Period, 60, 154, 184–187; Serruys, “Mongols Ennobled during the Early Ming,” 210–211; Yi Kyŏngnyong, “Myŏngch’o Kŭmhwahak-p’a ŭi Hwai-ron hyŏngsŏng kwa pyŏn’gyŏng insik,” 184; Robinson, Empire’s Twilight, 18–21; Robinson, “The Mongol Legacy in Early Fifteenth Century East Asia,” 30–36. 17.  Hori, “The Economic and Political Effects of the Mongol Wars,” 193–196; Mass, “What Can We Not Know about the Kamakura Bakufu?” 21–22; Farris, Heavenly Warriors, 320–321; Goble, Kenmu, 121–135; Conlan, From Sovereign to Symbol, 49–50. A later family, the “Late Hōjō,” adopted the prestigious Hōjō name when it tried to conquer eastern Japan, but it had no blood connection to the earlier Hōjō. Turnbull, War in Japan, 30–32. 18. Goble, Kenmu, 252–261; Conlan, From Sovereign to Symbol, 49–60, 171; Stavros, Kyoto, 1, 103–104. 19. Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople, 3–5, 43–144, 181–182; Runciman, The Lost Capital of Byzantium, 49–84, 87–96, 139; Nicol, The Immortal Emperor, 3–35, 61, 65–70, 76–88, 110–114; Harris, The End of Byzantium, 165–167, 188–207, 228–241, 245, 247, 249–250. 20. Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople, 183–84; Runciman, The Lost Capital of Byzantium, 83–84, 139; Nicol, The Immortal Emperor, 115–16; Harris, “A Worthless Prince?” 539–540, 553; Harris, The End of Byzantium, 251–254, 256–258. 21.  Michael VIII (r. 1259–1282), the first Palaiologos to ascend the imperial throne, had two younger brothers, and the three, respectively, had three, one, and two sons— born in the mid- or the late thirteenth century. Recorded later male members of the dynasty, however, are all descendants of Michael’s second son and successor, Andronikos II (r. 1282–1328), whose older brother died as a child. See Miroslav Marek, Genealogy.eu., “The Palaiologos family.” http://genealogy.euweb.cz/byzant/byzant8.html, accessed February 3, 2017. Even if every one of Andronikos’s first cousins had at least one son, the total population of later male members of the dynasty could not have been more than a few hundred by the mid-fifteenth century, especially given the political turmoil, widespread warfare, and disenfranchisement of the children of morganatic marriages. 22.  T’aejo sillok, 1.43b (1392.7.28). 23.  T’aejo sillok, 1.51a (1392.8.7). 24.  T’aejo sillok, 1.53b (1392.8.20). 25.  T’aejo sillok, 2.4ab (1392.9.21). 26.  T’aejo sillok, 2.16b (1392.12.13). 27.  T’aejo sillok, 3.9b–10a (1393.5.26). 28.  T’aejo sillok, 4.13b (1393.12.1). 29.  T’aejo sillok, 5.2a (1394.1.16). 30.  T’aejo sillok, 5.2ab (1394.1.17); SW 391; KWS 3.862–867. 31.  T’aejo sillok, 5.2b (1394.1.20).

214

notes to Chapter 1

32.  T’aejo sillok, 5.2b (1394.1.21). 33.  T’aejo sillok, 5.2b–3a (1394.1.21), 5.3a (1394.1.25), 5.4a (1394.1.29). 34.  T’aejo sillok, 5.4ab (1394.2.6), 5.5a (1394.2.11), 5.5b (1394.2.17), 5.9ab (1394.2.21), 5.9b (1394.2.22), 5.9b (1394.2.23). 35.  T’aejo sillok, 5.10a–11a (1394.2.26). Although both the History of Koryŏ and various editions of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy all record that King Kongyang had just one son, the veritable records of King T’aejo refer to two. 36.  T’aejo sillok, 5.11ab (1394.2.26), 5.11b–12a (1394.2.29), 5.14b (1394.3.1). 37.  T’aejo sillok, 5.2b (1394.1.18), 5.2b (1394.1.21), 5.10a (1394.2.25), 5.11b–12a (1394.2.29), 5.14b–15a (1394.3.3). 38.  T’aejo sillok, 5.15b–16a (1394.3.13). 39.  T’aejo sillok, 5.17a (1394.4.1). 40.  T’aejo sillok, 5.17b–18a (1394.4.10). 41.  T’aejo sillok, 5.18b (1394.4.14). 42.  For example, see Han Sanggil, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae sŏrhaeng ŭi sahoejŏk ŭimi,” 675–677; Han Chŏngsu, “Chosŏn ch’ogi Wang-ssi ch’ŏbun-non ŭi taedu wa chŏn’gae,” 22–27. 43.  For example, see Kang Hosŏn, “Chosŏn T’aejo 4 nyŏn kukhaeng suryukchae sŏrhaeng kwa kŭ ŭimi,” 206–207. 44.  T’aejo sillok, 5.18b (1394.4.14). 45.  T’aejo sillok, 5.19a (1394.4.15). 46.  Kanghwa kunch’ŏng Munhwa yesul-kwa, “Wang-ssi ilchok ŭl sujang sik’in Ch’ŏngjip’ŏl,” interview of Han Myŏngdŏk, posted June 17, 2009, accessed April 19, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/hgla4wy. 47.  The rest are Kongyang’s second cousin, Wang Chin, the Yŏngan Kun (n.d.– 1394); two thirteenth-generation descendants of King Hyŏnjong through the Chŏnggan Wang, Wang Sŏ, the Iksŏng Puwŏn’gun (n.d.–1394), and Wang Pang, the Sunan Kun (n.d.–1394); and eight whose relationships to the royal house are unknown, the Hoewŏn Kun [no given name] (n.d.–1394), unnamed twin boys (n.d.–1394), Chŏngsŏn (n.d.–1394), Chunggano (n.d.–1394), Hansan (n.d.–1394), Pori (n.d.–1394), and Paektong (n.d.–1394). Recorded without surnames, the last five probably were illegitimate sons or slaves. SW 390–393; Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏngjae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.107sang.b–108sang.a. The original edition has no page numbers, and every citation of this source refers to the reprint edition, in which each numbered page’s “upper” (sang) half shows recto and verso surfaces of the folded page of the original source and the “lower” (ha) half does likewise with the source’s following page. 48.  T’aejo sillok, 5.19a (1394.4.17). 49.  Koryŏsa, 45.2a. 50.  HMMTS, s.v. “Koryŏ Kongyang Wang nŭng.” 51.  Hŏ Simyŏng, “ ‘ Tumun pulch’ul’ Tumun-dong 72 hyŏn ŭl ch’ajasŏ 12: Kangnŭng Ham-ssi wa Ham Puyŏl, tchokkyŏnan Kongyang Wang wihae salm pach’ida,” 68–69. 52.  Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏngjae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.103ha.b– 104ha.a; SW 389–90, 393; T’aejo sillok, 5.4a (1394.1.29), 5.10b (1394.2.26).

notes to Chapter 1

215

53.  T’aejo sillok, 5.19a (1394.4.20). 54. Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏng jae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.104ha.a–107sang.b. 55.  Nam Hyoon, Ch’ugang naenghwa, in Ch’ugangjip, 7.4ab. 56. Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏng jae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.98ha.b–99sang.a. 57.  For an English-language introduction to the functions and history of the ritual, see Choi Mihwa, “State Suppression of Buddhism and Royal Patronage of the Ritual of Water and Land in the Early Chosŏn Dynasty,” 184–187. 58. Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏng jae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.103ha.b–104sang.b. 59.  Many date from the early twentieth century; some among various extant editions of the Record of Tonghak Temple (Tonghakchi) feature the same list of victims. For example, see Yi Pŏmuk and Song Chuhŏn, Tonghakchi, Chungp’yŏn.10a–11a. 60.  Kang Hosŏn, “Chosŏn T’aejo 4 nyŏn kukhaeng suryukchae sŏrhaeng kwa kŭ ŭimi,” 216. 61.  Koryŏsa, 90.5b–12b, 91.1a–4a; Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏngjae chŏnjip: oejip, 37.107sang.b–108ha.a. 62.  Yun Kyŏngjin, “Koryŏ mal Chosŏn ch’o kyogun ŭi sŏlch’i wa chaep’yŏn,” 182–189. 63.  The figure of “some one hundred thousand” as the number of Kaesŏng Wang killed in early Chosŏn as stated in Chungang ilbosa, Sŏngssi ŭi kohyang, 1225, is unrealistically high, even for the total population of the Wangs at the time. 64.  Yi Sugŏn, Han’guk chungse sahoesa yŏn’gu, 142–143. 65.  Kim Kidŏk, “Koryŏ sigi wangsil ŭi kusŏng kwa kŭnch’in hon,” 8–21. 66.  I consulted the version reflecting corrections based on the royal kin section of the History of Koryŏ and included in KS 20–51. Most likely based on records as transmitted since the early Chosŏn, the Koryŏ royal genealogy nicely complements the information provided by the royal kin section of the History of Koryŏ, and various editions of Kaesŏng Wang genealogy published from 1798 to 1974 included the royal genealogy. Kim Kidŏk, “Koryŏ sidae wangsil sŏnwŏnnok ŭi pogwŏn sido,” 145–148. 67.  T’aejo sillok, 5.19a (1394.4.20). 68.  T’aejo sillok, 5.19b–20a (1394.4.26). 69.  The three daughters of Kongyang were married to, respectively, (1) Wang Chip, the Ikch’ŏn Kun (1369?–1394); (2) U Sŏngbŏm (ca. 1372–1392); and (3) Kang Hoegye (1364–1392). The husbands of Wang U’s five daughters were (1) Pak Sŏngmyŏng (1370–1406), who went on to have a successful political career after lying low for a few years; (2) Yi Pangbŏn, the Muan Taegun; (3) Yi Maengjung, the Ŭiryŏng Kun (1385–1423), the eldest son of T’aejo’s fourth son; (4) Sim Chŏng (ca. 1385–1418); and (5) Sin Chagŭn (ca. 1388–1454). SW 2, 53, 161, 391, 501, 625, 673, 680; Sunch’ŏn Pak-ssi sebo, 2.14; P’yŏngsan Sin-ssi Chejŏng Kong p’abo, 1.1; Sŏng ju Yi-ssi taedongbo, 1.79–80; Ch’ŏngsong Sim-ssi taedong sebo, 1.6. 70.  Pak Pyŏngno, “Kaesŏng Wang-ssi.” 71.  Sangam, February 24, 2012 (7:38 p.m.), comment on the origin of the Namyang

216

notes to Chapter 1

Chŏn, “Waegoktoen Namyang Chŏn-ssi sanggye ssijoksa rŭl paro insik haja” [Let us understand properly a distorted early history of the Namyang Chŏn], Daum Blog, accessed April 19, 2017, http://blog.daum.net/namyangjhun/7. 72.  Pak Pyŏngno, “Kaesŏng Wang-ssi.” 73.  Sejong sillok, 150.35b. 74.  SW 395. 75.  KWC (1798) Sang.18ab; Chosŏn hwanyŏ sŭngnam, 5.406. 76.  KWC (1918) 7.1a. 77.  Chungang ilbosa, Sŏngssi ŭi kohyang, 1215. 78.  Chŏng Haeŭn, “Pyŏngja Horan sigi kun’gong myŏnch’ŏnin ŭi mukwa kŭpche wa sinbun pyŏnhwa,” 76–93. 79.  Park, Chosŏn Military Examination Database. 80.  Koryŏsa, 126.44a–48a; T’aejo sillok, 4.2ab; Chŭngbo Munhŏn pigo, 52.28b; Yun Ch’anghyŏn, Chosŏn ssijok t’ongbo, 109a; Ŭiryŏng Ok-ssi sebo, 1–6; HMMTS, s.v. “Kammu.” 81.  T’aejo sillok, 6.4ab (1394.6.24). 82.  Yi Uk, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi wŏnhon ŭl wihan chesa ŭi pyŏnhwa wa kŭ ŭimi,” 186–187; Sim Hyosŏp, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae ŭi sorhaeng kwa ŭirye,” 224–226; Ch’a Changsŏp, “Tonghae Samhwa-sa kukhaeng Chosŏn chŏn’gi wŏnhon ŭl wihan ŭi paegyŏng kwa chŏn’gae,” 36–38; Choi Mihwa, “State Suppression of Buddhism and Royal Patronage of the Ritual of Water and Land in the Early Chosŏn Dynasty,” 192–193; Kang Hosŏn, “Chosŏn T’aejo 4 nyŏn kukhaeng suryukchae sŏrhaeng kwa kŭ ŭimi,” 208–209. 83.  Carving the golden sutras as a pious gesture demanded the utmost sincerity, and accordingly T’aejo included in the team of craftsmen Pyŏn Hon (n.d.–1401) for his excellent calligraphy, even though Pyŏn had earlier fled after committing a crime. T’aejo sillok, 6.6b (1394.7.17). 84.  Robert E. Buswell, Jr. and Donald S. Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), s.v. “Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” 85.  T’aejo sillok, 7.5b (1395.2.24). 86.  Taehan maeil sinbo, October 29, 1907. I base the square-meter conversion of kyŏl—an area measure of agricultural land depending on productivity—on the assumption that the court was assigning the highest of the six grades of land to the Sungŭijŏn. According to a system of six grades of kyŏl as standardized by the court in 1444 that would remain largely unchanged until the seventeenth century, one kyŏl of top-grade land was about 9,859.7 square meters in area. HMMTS, s.v. “Kyŏl.” 87.  T’aejo sillok, 7.11ab (1395.4.25). 88.  T’aejo sillok, 7.11b–12a (1395.4.26). 89.  T’aejo sillok, 11.4a (1397.2.24). 90.  T’aejo sillok, 12.6b (1397.10.10). 91.  Sejong sillok, 148.19a (“Chiriji”); Munjong sillok, 12.35b (1452.3.18); Kukcho pogam, 1.25b–26a; Yi Chŏnghyŏng, Tonggak chapki, Sang, “Ponjo sŏnwŏnnok,” in Taedong yasŭng, 53 ch’aek. All Taedong yasŭng citations refer to digitized texts as ac-

notes to Chapter 1

217

cessed through Han’guk kojŏn pŏnyŏgwŏn, DB of Korean Classics, http://db.itkc. or.kr/itkcdb/mainIndexIframe.jsp. 92.  Hong Manjong, Tongguk yŏktae ch’ongmok, Ponjo.2b; Sin Yuhan, Chingp’a-gang pŏmwŏlgi, in Ch’ŏngch’ŏnjip, 4.39a; Yi Yuwŏn, Imha p’ilgi, 16.132b. 93.  Sin Yuhan, Chingp’a-gang pŏmwŏlgi, in Ch’ŏngch’ŏnjip, 4.39a. 94.  T’aejo sillok, 12.3b (1397.7.25). 95.  T’aejo sillok, 1.14b–15a (ch’ongsŏ), 19b–20a (ch’ongsŏ); Chŏng jong sillok, 1.2a (1399.1.9), 1.4b–5a (1399.2.1); T’aejong sillok, 6.29ab (1403.intercalary11.15); Sejong sillok, 93.28a (1441.9.12); Kim T’aegyŏng, “Kyosŏ Kam Wang Kong myogalmyŏng,” in Sohodangjip, 14.12b; SW 395, 430, 473, 550. 96.  T’aejo sillok, 12.9ab (1397.12.1). 97.  T’aejo sillok, 12.9b (1397.12.8). 98.  T’aejo sillok, 13.2b–3a (1398.1.23). 99.  T’aejo sillok, 14.28b (1398.8.26). Without elaborating, Han Chŏngsu conjectures that Cho’s and Kwan’s deaths were “closer to suicides than deaths due to natural causes.” See Han Chŏngsu, “Chosŏn ch’ogi Wang-ssi ch’ŏbun-non ŭi taedu wa chŏn’gae,” 29. On Yi Pangwŏn’s coup in 1398, see Han Ch’unsun, “T’aejo 7 nyŏn (1398) ‘che 1 ch’a wangja ŭi nan’ ŭi chaegŏmt’o.” 100.  My summary of Chŏngjong’s reign is based on Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 1; Chŏng Tuhŭi, “Chosŏn kŏn’guk ch’ogi t’ongch’i ch’eje ŭi sŏngnip kwa kŭ yŏksajŏk ŭimi”; Duncan, The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty, 99–106, 224–225; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 1. 101.  Chŏngjong sillok, 1.10a (1399.4.27). On the court’s discussion leading up to selecting certain Koryŏ monarchs, see Kim Inho, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi Sungŭijŏn ŭi sŏlch’i wa yŏksa insik,” 126–132. 102.  Chŏng jong sillok, 2.15a (1399.10.19). 103.  Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe, Moban ŭi yŏksa, 176–183. 104. Duncan, The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty, 141. 105.  The following studies provide relevant discussions of T’aejong’s reign: Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yon’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 1; Chŏng Tuhŭi, “Chosŏn kŏn’guk ch’ogi t’ongch’i ch’eje ŭi sŏngnip kwa kŭ yŏksajŏk ŭimi”; Duncan, The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty, 106–116, 225–233; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 2. 106.  T’aejong sillok, 1.7ab (1401.1.14), 2.17b (1401.11.7), 3.16b (1402.4.3), 5.25b (1403.6.5). 107.  T’aejong sillok, 5.1b (1403.1.4). 108.  T’aejong sillok, 6.29ab (1403.intercalary11.15) 109.  T’aejong sillok, 10.18b (1405.10.11). 110.  T’aejong sillok, 17.15a (1409.3.16). 111.  T’aejong sillok, 21.15a (1411.3.29). 112.  T’aejong sillok, 19.5a (1410.1.22). 113.  T’aejong sillok, 26.41a (1413.11.15); SW 37, 393; KWS 3.993–994.

218

notes to Chapter 1

114.  T’aejong sillok, 26.41a–42a (1413.11.15); SW 37, 117, 389–390, 392–393, 395, 456, 681; KWS 3.993–994. 115.  T’aejong sillok, 26.45b–46a (1413.11.26). 116.  T’aejong sillok, 26.46a (1413.11.26). 117.  T’aejong sillok, 26.46ab (1413.11.29). 118.  T’aejong sillok, 26.46b–47a (1413.12.1). 119.  T’aejong sillok, 26.47a (1413.12.1). Other than this reference, the veritable records make no mention of Yanggwi and Kŏidu. Yanggwi does, however, appear in a later source, the Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls, which states that he died on Kŏje. See Sŏng Haeŭng, Tonghak-sa hon’gi sŏk, in Yŏn’gyŏng jae chŏnjip: oejip, 106sang.b. 120.  Yi Pŏmuk and Song Chuhŏn, Tonghakchi, Chungp’yŏn.11b. 121.  Kungnip minsok pangmulgwan, Han’guk sesi p’ungsok sajŏn [Dictionary of seasonal customs of Korea], s.v. “Choraengi ttŏkkuk,” accessed April 19, 2017, https:// tinyurl.com/ksqj954. 122.  HMMTS, s.v. “Yi Sŏnggye sŏrhwa.” 123.  Ch’uksup’yŏn, quoted in Yi Kŭngik, Yŏllyŏsil kisul, 1.611. 124.  Chungang ilbo, March 5, 1983. 125.  See an epigraph from the nineteenth century, Kim Iik, “Chisoldang Wang Kong Hangnyong myogalmyŏng,” in Kurye sokchi, Ha.52a–53b; and another dated 1919, Kim T’aegyŏng, “Kyosŏ Kam Wang Kong myogalmyŏng,” in Sohodang jip, 14.12ab. 126.  Tonga ilbo, July 23, 1924. 127.  Sim Hyosŏp, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae ŭi sorhaeng kwa ŭirye,” 227–228; Han Sanggil, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae sŏrhaeng ŭi sahoejŏk ŭimi,” 690. 128.  Yi Uk, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi wŏnhon ŭl wihan chesa ŭi pyŏnhwa wa kŭ ŭimi,” 174–176; Sim Hyosŏp, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae ŭi sorhaeng kwa ŭirye,” 228– 233; Ch’a Changsŏp, “Tonghae Samhwa-sa kukhaeng suryukchae ŭi paegyŏng kwa chŏn’gae,” 43–44; Han Sanggil, “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae sŏrhaeng ŭi sahoejŏk ŭimi,” 690–699. 129.  T’aejong sillok, 32.10b (1416.8.5). 130.  T’aejong sillok, 32.25a (1416.11.1); Sejong sillok, 85.33a (1439.5.16). 131.  T’aejong sillok, 32.25ab (1416.11.5). 132.  T’aejong sillok, 32.33b (1416.12.19). 133.  T’aejong sillok, 36.22b–23b (1418.11.8). 134.  Sejong sillok, 16.7a (1422.5.10). 135.  On Sejong’s reign, see Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapters 2–3; Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Sejonggi wangkwŏn kwa kukka unyŏng ch’eje; Duncan, The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty, 136–144; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 3. 136.  Sejong sillok, 29.28ab (1425.9.17); Sin Yuhan, Chingp’a-gang pŏmwŏlgi, in Ch’ŏngch’ŏnjip 4.38ab. The five royal ancestors of the Chosŏn dynasty whose spirit tablets the court enshrined, with those of their respective wives’, were T’aejo and his

notes to Chapter 1

219

four immediate patrilineal ancestors, all posthumously honored with temple names. T’aejong sillok, 17.28b–29a (1409.intercalary4.13). 137.  Sejong sillok, 34.14a (1426.12.3). 138.  Sejong sillok, 41.6b (1428.8.1). 139.  Sejong sillok, 47.27a (1430.3.7). 140.  Sejong sillok, 78.11b (1437.7.17). 141.  Sejong sillok, 84.3b (1439.1.12). 142.  Sejong sillok, 30.27a (1425.12.19). 143.  HMMTS, s.v. “Suryukchae.” 144.  Sejong sillok, 124.6b (1449.4.21). 145.  Sejong sillok, 11.3b (1421.1.13). 146.  The court gave the same amount also to Madam Sim (ca. 1383–1448), the widow of Pangbŏn’s full brother, Yi Pangsŏk, the Ŭian Taegun (1382–1398). Sejong sillok, 53.10a (1431.7.30). 147.  HMMTS, s.v. “Susinjŏn.” 148.  Sejong sillok, 25.11b (1424.7.20). 149.  Sejong sillok, 28.10b (1425.4.25). 150.  Sejong sillok, 31.27a (1426.3.14). 151.  Sejong sillok, 4.23b (1419.7.15); SW 242, 391; KWS 3.866–867; Ansan Kim-ssi chokpo, 2.6–7. 152.  Curiously enough, a Kim Poin, whose name is written with same ideographs as the name of Madam Wang’s husband, appears in an Ŭiryŏng Ok genealogy as a sonin-law of Ok Ko, who was an early Chosŏn civil examination passer. Not only is Ok one of the surnames that some surviving Wangs are supposed to have adopted, the Ok genealogy records some members who were contemporaries of documented Wangs with the same given names. See Ŭiryŏng Ok-ssi p’abo, 1.16b–20b. 153.  Sejong sillok, 100.15b–16a (1443.4.29). 154.  Sejong sillok, 37.11b (1427.8.10). 155.  Sejong sillok, 38.12b–13a (1427.11.11), 39.19ab (1428.2.15), 39.24b (1428.2.30), 39.31b (1428.3.22). 156.  Sejong sillok, 124.7a (1449.4.24). 157.  Sejong sillok, 125.5b (1449.7.19). 158.  SW 391. 159.  Sejong sillok, 24.4b (1424.4.7), 24.11a (1424.5.11), 24.13b (1424.5.16), 24.19a– 20a (1424.6.14), 25.9b (1424.7.14), 28.27b (1425.6.23); KWC (1798) Sang.1b–2a; KWS 1.3. 160.  Sejo sillok, 20.33a (1460.5.25). 161.  The 2004 edition of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy devotes 2,829 out of 3,144 pages (89 percent) to the descendants of Mi and his younger brother. KWS 1.1–1129, 2.1–1014, 3.1–686. 162.  Sejong sillok, 89.33ab (1440.6.20), 90.31a (1440.8.21), 90.34ab (1440.8.30). 163. In Tongmunsŏn, 17.15ab; Chunggyŏng ji, 7.41a. The English translation provided here is by Sixiang Wang. 164.  Kim Kwanŭi, P’yŏnnyŏn t’ongnok, in Koryŏsa, Koryŏ segye.2a.

220

notes to Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Search for a Ritual Heir, 1450–1589 1.  On Munjong’s reign, see Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 3; Ch’oe Chŏngyong, “Munjong yŏn’gan ŭi chŏngguk kwa Suyang Taegun”; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 4. 2.  Munjong sillok, 9.33a (1451.9.11). 3.  Munjong sillok, 10.16b–17a (1451.11.1); SW 100–101. 4.  Munjong sillok, 10.19b–20a (1451.11.6). 5.  Munjong sillok, 12.25a (1452.3.4). 6.  Nam Hyoon, Ch’ugang naenghwa, in Ch’ugangjip, 7.3b–4a. 7.  Sŏngjong sillok, 137.9b (1482.1.18); SW 395, 456; KWS 3.994. 8.  SW 456. 9.  Munjong sillok, 12.26ab (1452.3.5). 10.  Munjong sillok, 12.35b–36a (1452.3.18), 13.22a (1452.5.14). 11.  Relevant discussions of Tanjong’s reign include Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 3; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 4; Na Yŏnghun, “Chosŏn Tanjongdae kunggwŏl kyŏngyŏng kwa kŭ chŏngch’isajŏk ŭimi.” 12.  Tanjong sillok, 1.7ab (1452.5.19). 13.  Tanjong sillok, 2.1b (1452.7.2). 14.  Tanjong sillok, 4.22b–24a (1452.12.13). 15.  Tanjong sillok, 11.24b (1454.7.5). 16.  For a more detailed discussion of Sejo’s reign, see Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 4; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 5; Kim Kyŏngsu, “Sejodae Tanjong pogwi undong kwa chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi chaep’yŏn.” 17.  Sejo sillok, 2.19b (1455.9.8). 18.  Sejo sillok, 17.27ab (1459.9.19). 19.  Sejo sillok, 30.3a (1463.1.10). 20.  Sejo sillok, 36.11ab (1465.6.2). 21.  Sejo sillok, 38.2b (1466.1.3). 22.  Sejo sillok, 41.1ab (1467.1.3). 23.  Sejo sillok, 43.64b–65a (1467.9.24). 24.  Sejo sillok, 41.3a (1467.1.9). 25.  Sejo sillok, 43.55a (1467.9.8). 26.  Sejo sillok, 43.22b–23a (1467.7.30); SW 242; KWS 3.866–867. 27.  Sejo sillok, 43.24ab (1467.8.2). 28.  Sejo sillok, 43.27b–28b (1467.8.5). 29.  Relevant discussions of Yejong’s reign include Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 4; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 5. 30.  On Sŏngjŏng’s reign, especially with regard to the rise of the Sarim, see Wagner, The Literati Purges, 23–36; Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi, “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu”; Chŏng Tuhŭi, Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu, chapter 4; Ch’oe

notes to Chapter 2

221

Idon, Chosŏn chunggi Sarim chŏngch’i kujo yŏn’gu, chapters 1–2; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 6; Kim Pŏm, Sahwa wa panjŏng ŭi sidae, chapter 1. 31.  Kyŏngguk taejŏn, 1.45b–46b. 32.  Sŏngjong sillok, 11.9b (1471.7.29). 33.  Sŏngjong sillok, 24.3b (1472.11.8). 34.  Sŏngjong sillok, 70.6b (1476.8.10). 35.  Sŏngjong sillok, 75.1a (1477.1.1). 36.  Sŏngjong sillok, 137.9b–10a (1482.1.18); SW 117, 456. 37.  Sŏngjong sillok, 81.6b–7a (1477.6.7). 38.  Sŏngjong sillok, 180.8b (1485.6.10). 39.  Sŏngjong sillok, 180.11a (1485.6.14). 40.  KS 172. 41.  For an English-language introduction to Koryŏ marriage customs, see Deuchler, The Confucian Transformation of Korea, 68–71. 42.  Neither the year of T’aejo and his second wife’s wedding nor the year of their first child’s birth is known, but it is certain that the child was an older sister of the couple’s second child, the Muan Taegun, who was born in 1381. T’aejo’s first wife died in 1391. 43.  T’aejong sillok, 29.47b–50a (1415.6.25). 44.  Kyŏngguk taejŏn, 3.1b. 45.  Relevant studies on the Yŏnsan Kun’s tumultuous reign include Wagner, The Literati Purges, 36–69; Kim Ton, Chosŏn chŏn’gi kunsin kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye yŏn’gu, chapter 2; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 2, chapter 7; Kim Pŏm, Sahwa wa panjŏng ŭi sidae, chapter 2; Kim Pŏm, Yŏnsan Kun, chapters 2–4. 46.  Yŏnsan Kun ilgi, 21.24ab (1497.1.25). 47.  Yŏnsan Kun ilgi, 28.1a (1497.10.1). 48.  On the political upheavals of Chungjong’s long reign, see Wagner, The Literati Purges, 70–120; Ch’oe Idon, Chosŏn chunggi Sarim chŏngch’i kujo yŏn’gu, chapters 2–3; Kim Ton, Chosŏn chŏn’gi kunsin kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye yŏn’gu, chapters 3–4; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 3, chapter 8; Kim Pŏm, Sahwa hwa panjŏng ŭi sidae, chapter 3. 49.  Chungjong sillok, 20.32a (1514.6.6). 50.  HMMTS, s.v. “Suryukchae.” 51.  Chungjong sillok, 26.28a (1516.9.29). 52.  Chungjong sillok, 26.46b–47a (1516.10.22). 53.  Chungjong sillok, 29.11a–12a (1517.8.5). 54.  Song shi, juan 119, 2795–2799 (reprint pagination); Chung jong sillok, 34.74b (1518.11.24). 55.  Chungjong sillok, 52.58b (1525.1.16). 56.  Chungjong sillok, 77.51ab (1534.8.1). 57.  Chungjong sillok, 77.51b (1534.8.1). 58.  Chungjong sillok, 80.21a (1535.9.13), 80.21a (1535.9.14), 80.21b (1535.9.15); Kukcho pogam, 20.19b. 59.  Chung jong sillok, 94.15b (1540.10.21). No extant edition of the Kaesŏng Wang

222

notes to Chapter 2

genealogy that I have examined records an offspring of Wang Chŏk. The Kaesŏng Wang today consider the line of Wang Sullye to be extinct. Wang Kyusik, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 60.  For an English-language discussion of marginalization of illegitimate sons during this period, see Deuchler, The Confucian Transformation of Korea, 152–153, 209– 215. Deuchler refers to them as “secondary sons.” 61.  Chungjong sillok, 94.15b–16b (1540.10.21). 62.  Chungjong sillok, 94.17b (1540.10.22). 63.  Chungjong sillok, 95.53ab (1541.6.21); KWS 3.795–796. 64.  SW 395; KWC (1798) Sang.1b–28b; KWS 1.3–17, 1.664–670, 2.1–5, 2.308, 2.786–787, 2.816–845, 3.457–462. 65.  KWC (1798) Sang.21a; Chunggyŏng kwabo, 2.68a. 66.  For a recent English-language study of how scions of aristocratic descent groups established themselves as local elite lineages in Andong and Namwŏn in the early Chosŏn period, see Deuchler, Under the Ancestors’ Eyes, 89–101. 67.  Han Manyu and Cho Yunhyŏng, “Hyoja chŭng Chobong taebu Hojo Chwarang Namgye Wang Kong Chiik chi myogalmyŏng,” in Kurye sokchi, Ha.45b; Kim Iik, “Chisoldang Wang Kong Hangnyong myogalmyŏng,” in Kurye sokchi, Ha.53b; KWC (1798) Sang.5b; Kim Ŭnyŏng, “Chosŏn hugi Kurye Kaesŏng Wang-ssi ka ŭi ko munsŏ kŏmt’o, 171. 68.  Pongsŏng ji, 231 [reprint pagination number]; Chosŏn hwanyŏ sŭngnam, 10.294–296. 69.  Sangsanji (1617), 106; KWC (1798) Sang.16b–17a; Sangsanji (1929), 2.31a; KWS 2.1–4. 70.  Out of 6,799 household heads (hoju) as recorded in extant Seoul household registers from 1896 to 1907, excluding duplicates, two are Kaesŏng Wang. Although neither appears in the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, in both cases, the name of the household head’s patrilineal great-grandfather, the most distant ancestor the register records, uses a generational character unique to the Seoul lineage. The genealogy’s coverage of this lineage is spotty. See household registers of Wang Ch’un’gil (1903) and Wang Kyŏngch’an (1906) in Hansŏng-bu hojŏk taejang; KWC (1798) Sang.6ab, Sang.38b; KWS 1.6–7, 1.17, 1.104–108; Cho Sŏngyun and Cho Ŭn, “Hanmal ŭi kajok kwa sinbun,” 107–109. 71.  KWC (1798) Sang.1b–2b, Sang.5a; KWS 1.1–2, 3.457. 72.  KWS 3.458–462. 73.  KWS 3.687–690, 3.795–796, 3.867, 3.871–872, 3.894, 3.896–897. 74.  KWS 3.687–689, 3.795–796, 3.867, 3.871–872, 3.894, 3.896–897. 75.  On the brief yet eventful reign of Injong, see Kim Ton, Chosŏn chŏn’gi kunsin kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye yŏn’gu, chapter 5; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 3, chapter 9. 76.  For a more detailed discussion of Myŏngjong’s reign, see Ch’oe Idon, Chosŏn chunggi Sarim chŏngch’i kujo yŏn’gu, chapter 4; Kim Ton, Chosŏn chŏn’gi kunsin kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye yŏn’gu, chapter 6; Han Ch’unsun, “Myŏngjong ch’injŏnggi ŭi

notes to Chapter 2

223

kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye pyŏnhwa wa chŏngguk tonghyang”; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 3, chapter 9. 77. In Sohodangjip, 9.3b. O’Rourke, The Book of Korean Poetry, 63. 78.  Myŏngjong sillok, 9.103b–104a (1549.10.12). 79.  Myŏngjong sillok, 11.38a (1551.4.5). 80.  Myŏngjong sillok, 11.19a (1551.2.4). 81.  KWS 1.667. 82.  KWC (1798) Sang.9b–10b. Among Hŭigŏl’s more immediate descendants, the next to earn a degree was a grandson, Wang Kyŏngjo (1547–n.d.), who passed the military examination in 1572 and eventually served as a county magistrate (Kunsu). Mukwa pangmok, 3b; KWC (1798) Sang.10b–11b; KWS 1.667–668. 83.  Studies on Sŏnjo’s reign before the Imjin War generally focus on the triumph of Sarim political rhetoric and the commencement of increasingly hereditary partisan politics. See Ch’oe Idon, Chosŏn chunggi Sarim chŏngch’i kujo yŏn’gu, chapters 4–5; Kim Ton, Chosŏn chŏn’gi kunsin kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye yŏn’gu, chapter 7; Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 3, chapter 10; Kim Sŏngu, “Sŏnjodae Sarimp’a ŭi chŏngguk changak kwa kaehyŏk nosŏn ŭi ch’ungdol.” 84.  Sŏnjo sillok, 10.5b (1576.5.15). 85.  Yŏrŭng tŭngnok, quoted in KS 184. 86.  Sŏnjo sillok, 10.5b (1576.5.15). 87.  Sŏnjo sillok, 10.6b (1576.6.10); Chŭngbo Munhŏn pigo, 64.16ab. 88.  For a classic discussion, see Brown, “A Dark-Age Crisis,” 5–34. 89. Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, 204–205. 90.  Breuker, “Koryŏ as an Independent Realm,” 55–67; Breuker, Establishing a Pluralist Society in Medieval Korea, 131–139. 91.  More than one locale of this name existed in the Chosŏn period. KS 140, 172– 173; Sŏnjo sillok, 23.5a (1589.7.4), 23.5b (1589.7.9); KWC (1798) Sang.1b–2b, Sang.3b, Sang.14b–15a; KWS 1.1–4, 2.1, 3.795–796. 92.  Jeong, “Deconstructing the Official History of Koryŏ in Late Chosŏn, 347. 93.  Han’goltong, quoted in Yi Kŭngik, Yŏllyŏsil kisul, 1.591. 94.  Yi Ki, Songwa chapsŏl, in Taedong yasŭng, 56 ch’aek; SW 100–102. 95.  Sejo sillok, 47.8b (1468.7.21); Sŏnjo sillok, 23.4b–5a (1589.7.4); SW 389, 394–395; KWC (1798) Sang.1a–3a, Sang.5a–14b; KWS 1.1–4, 1.6–8, 1.664–670, 2.1–2; Han Manyu and Cho Yunhyŏng, “Hyoja chŭng Chobong taebu Hojo Chwarang Namgye Wang Kong Chiik chi myogalmyŏng,” in Kurye sokchi, Ha.45b. Neither the oldest extant (1798) nor the most recent (2004) edition of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy records Hwi, but both include a person with a given name pronounced and written similarly, Wang Wi (ca. 1560–n.d.). He also resided in Kwach’ŏn and was a great-grandson of Chongin and Chongŭi’s younger brother, Second Minister of War (Pyŏngjo Ch’amp’an, 2b) Wang Chongsin (fl. 1466–1494), and thus a second cousin of Yŏ and Hŭigŏl. KWC (1798) Sang.2a–4a, Sang.18b–19a; KWS 1.3–5, 2.786. 96.  Sŏnjo sillok, 23.5a (1589.7.4). 97.  Sŏnjo sillok, 23.5a (1589.7.5). 98.  Sŏnjo sillok, 23.5b (1589.7.9).

224

notes to Chapter 3

99.  KWS 2.1–2, 2.5–15, 2.24–80, 2.105–248, 2.299–307. 100.  KS 242. 101.  KS 242–247; KWC (1798) Sang.3a–4b, Sang.9b–11b, Sang.21ab; KWS 1.3–5, 1.664–668, 2.816–817.

Chapter 3: The Court and Society, 1589–1724 1.  KWS 1.7, 1.665, 1.670, 1.666–668, 1.689, 1.692–693, 1.698, 2.1–2, 2.827, 2.835, 2.844–845, 3.897, 3.995; Park, Chosŏn Military Examination Database. For every Kaesŏng Wang examination passer, I checked the most recent edition of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, published in 2004, which overall provides the most detailed biographical information for an individual’s entry. Given that a genealogy tends to record, at the least, an individual’s noteworthy achievements, the lack of any such mention likely indicates that the examination graduate in question did not hold any office. 2.  Studies on Sŏnjo’s reign during and after the war include Chi Tuhwan, Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa, part 3, chapter 10; Chŏng Chaehun, “Sŏnjo ch’oban ŭi chŏngguk kwa hangmunjŏk taeŭng.” 3.  KWC (1798) Sang.16b–17a; KWS 2.3–4. 4.  KWC (1798) Sang.16b, Sang.65a–68a; KWS 2.18–21. 5.  Kim Ŭnyŏng, “Chosŏn hugi Kurye Kaesŏng Wang-ssi ka ŭi ko munsŏ kŏmt’o,” 172–180. 6.  KWS 1.12–14. 7.  Sin Kyŏng, Chaejo pŏnbang ji, part 2, in Taedong yasŭng, 36 ch’aek; Yi Kŭngik, Yŏllyŏsil kisul, 4.713; KWS 1.664–667. 8.  KWC (1798) Sang.18ab, Sang.71b–74a; KWS 2.308–318. 9.  KWS 3.688–690. 10.  KWC (1798) Sang.24b–25b, Sang.26b–27a; KWS 2.829–834, 2.840–841, 931–937. 11.  KWS 2.1. 12.  KWS 2.1–2, 2.5–13. 13.  Sungŭijŏn tŭngnok, quoted in KS 121; KWC (1798) Sang.14b–15b; KWS 2.1. 14.  Sungŭijŏn tŭngnok, quoted in KS 121. 15.  Yi Sugwang, Chibong yusŏl, 17.44b, in Chibongjip. 16.  Sŏnjo sillok, 163.14ab (1603.6.17). 17.  Munhŏn pigo, quoted in KS 122; KWC (1798) Sang.14b–15a; KWS 1.1, 1.5–6. 18.  HMMTS, s.v. “Suryukchae.” 19.  KWS 3.795–799. 20.  On the Kwanghae Kun’s reign, see Han Myŏnggi, “P’okkun in’ga hyŏn’gun in’ga.” 21.  Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chŏngch’obon], 22.14a–15a (1609.11.30), 31.20b–21b (1610.7.25); Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chungch’obon], 8.133b–134b (1609.11.30), 11.116a–117b (1610.7.25). 22.  Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chŏngch’obon], 46.4a (1611.10.14); Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chungch’obon], 16.41a (1611.10.14).

notes to Chapter 3

225

23.  Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chŏngch’obon], 52.28ab (1612.4.27); Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chungch’obon], 18.109a (1612.4.27). 24.  Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chŏngch’obon], 77.2b (1614.4.4); Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Chungch’obon], 28.5a (1614.4.4). 25.  On Injo’s reign, see Kim Sebong, “Injo–Hyojongdae sanin seryŏk ŭi hyŏngsŏng kwa chinch’ul”; Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 17 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chunggi chŏngch’i wa chŏngch’aek, chapter 1. 26.  Injo sillok, 3.20a (1623.intercalary10.14). 27.  KWS 1.17. For a discussion of a comparable Seoul lineage, also descended from a commoner recognized as a minor merit subject for a role in quelling the Yi Injwa Rebellion (1728), see Park, A Family of No Prominence, 32–37. 28.  KWS 3.896–898, 3.901–908. 29.  KWS 2.3–4. 30.  Chosŏn hwanyŏ sŭngnam, 10.271, 285; KWS 1.12; HMMTS, s.v. “Kurye Sŏkchugwan-sŏng.” 31.  KWS 3.458–491. 32.  Wŏn’s death year is unknown, although the Wŏnju Wŏn genealogy states that he lived to be some ninety se old. See Wŏnju Wŏn-ssi sebo, 1.7. 33.  Jeong, “Deconstructing the Official History of Koryŏ in Late Chosŏn, 338–358. 34.  HMMTS, s.v. “Songdo kii.” 35.  Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 36.  Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 37.  Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 38.  Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, Purok, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 39.  Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, Purok, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 40.  Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, Purok, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 41.  Yi Sik, “Palmun,” in Yi Tŏkhyŏng, Songdo kii, Purok, in Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. 42.  Studies of Hyojong’s reign include O Hangnyŏng, “Chosŏn Hyojongdae chŏngguk ŭi pyŏndong kwa kŭ sŏngkyŏk”; Kim Sebong, “Injo–Hyojongdae sanin seryŏk ŭi hyŏngsŏng kwa chinch’ul”; Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 17 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chunggi chŏngch’i wa chŏngch’aek, chapter 1. 43.  KWS 1.664–700. 44.  Relevant discussions include Chŏn Kyŏngmok, Ko munsŏ rŭl t’onghaesŏ pon Uban-dong kwa Kim-ssi ŭi yŏksa, 280–282; Pak Hyŏnsun, “Chŏngjodae Sŏul-chibang ŭi punhwa wa chibang sajok ŭi tŭngyong,” 171–196; Pak Hyŏnsun, “Chibang chisigin Hwang Yunsŏk kwa kyŏnghwa sajok ŭi kyoyu,” 302–330. 45.  KWS 1.664–668, 1.698. 46.  KWS 1.664–666, 1.690. 47.  SI 186 ch’aek (1664.11.29), entry 22/22; 189 ch’aek (1665.7.1), entry 5/5; 189 ch’aek (1665.7.20), entry 4/15; 205 ch’aek (1667.12.20), entry 7/13; 206 ch’aek (1668.1.3), entry 4/15; KWS 1.3–4, 1.664–668, 2.1, 2.786, 2.788. 48.  The English translation is by Sixiang Wang.

226

notes to Chapter 3

49.  See Sima Qian, Shiji, 38.10b, accessed April 19, 2017, http://terms.naver.com/ entry.nhn?docId=1974991&ref=y&cid=49636&categoryId=56737#. 50.  On Hyŏnjong’s reign, see U Insu, “Chosŏn Hyŏnjongdae chŏngguk ŭi tonghyang kwa sallim ŭi yŏkhal”; Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 17 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chunggi chŏngch’i wa chŏngch’aek, chapter 1. 51.  Hyŏnjong sillok, 1.42ab (1659.9.10); Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok, 1.57ab (1659.9.10). 52.  SI 159 ch’aek (1659.12.27), entry 18/43. 53.  KWS 1.5–6. 54.  Hyŏnjong sillok, 3.29b (1660.9.4); Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok, 4.27a (1660.9.4); KWS 1.664–665. 55.  SI 164 ch’aek (1660.9.5), entry 13/13; Hyŏnjong sillok, 3.30b (1660.9.5); Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok, 4.27b–28a (1660.9.5). 56.  Hyŏnjong sillok, 3.44a (1660.10.7); Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok, 4.27ab (1660.10.7). 57.  Kukcho pogam, quoted in KS 185. 58.  SI 175 ch’aek (1662.8.26), entry 16/21. 59.  Hyŏnjong sillok, 6.12a (1662.10.7). 60.  SI 210 ch’aek (1668.10.29), entry 14/15. 61.  Hyŏnjong sillok, 18.43a (1670.10.23); Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok, 23.16b (1670.10.23). 62.  SI 232 ch’aek (1673.2.28), entry 25/25; Hyŏnjong sillok, 21.7b (1673.2.28); Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok, 26.51b (1673.2.28). 63.  KWC (1798) Sang.21a–28b; KWS 2.816–845. 64.  KWC (1798) Sang.21a–28b; KWS 2.816–845. 65.  Informed by a Confucian notion of treating all those of advanced age with respect, regardless of status, the court bestowed rank titles to eligible individuals upon receiving reports from provincial governors after they surveyed their jurisdictions for those of a certain minimum age and their previous ranks, if any. The minimum age and the rank titles granted varied during the Chosŏn period. HMMTS, s.v. “Noinjik” [Post for elderly]. 66.  KWC (1798) Sang.24a, Sang.26b, Sang.28b; KWS 2.828, 2.840, 2.845, 2.931. 67.  KWS 3.871–875. 68.  Relevant discussions of Sukchong’s reign include U Insu, “Chosŏn Sukchongdae chŏngguk kwa sallim ŭi kinŭng”; Yi Hŭihwan, Chosŏn hugi tangjaeng yŏn’gu, part 1. 69.  Sukchong sillok, 4.50b (1675.10.2); Kukcho pogam, quoted in KS 185–186. 70.  SI 183 ch’aek (1664.6.1), entry 4/4; 261 ch’aek (1677.8.23), entry 17/28; 513 ch’aek (1719.2.5), entry 13/51. 71.  SI 265 ch’aek (1678.5.5), entry 13/14; KWS 2.788. 72.  Sukchong sillok, 12.65a (1681.12.28); Kukcho pogam, quoted in KS 186; KWC (1798) Sang.26b; KWS 2.840. 73.  KWS 2.816, 2.840. 74.  SI 305 ch’aek (1684.9.3), entry 14/14. 75.  Sukchong sillok, 25.2b–3a (1693.8.30). 76.  Yŏrŭng tŭngnok, quoted in KS 178. 77.  Songdoji, quoted in KS 204.

notes to Chapter 4

227

78.  SI 397 ch’aek (1701.5.16), entry 18/19; Sukchong sillok, 35.24ab (1801.5.16). 79.  Sukchong sillok, 49.13b–14a (1710.9.16). 80.  Sukchong sillok, 35.33ab (1701.7.15). 81.  SI 447 ch’aek (1709.2.29), entry 14/16; KWS 2.788. 82.  SI 453 ch’aek (1710.4.19), entry 12/18; KWS 2.5–6. 83.  For a more in-depth discussion of Kyŏngjong’s reign, see Yi Hŭihwan, Chosŏn hugi tangjaeng yŏn’gu, part 2, chapter 2. 84.  Kyŏngjong sillok, 3.22b–23a (1721.5.11). 85.  SI 551 ch’aek (1723.2.18), entry 20/20; Kyŏngjong sillok, 12.19a (1723.6.16).

Chapter 4: Renewed Attention to the Koryŏ Legacies, 1724–1864 1.  Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 19 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chŏngch’isa, 1.165. 2. Park, Between Dreams and Reality, 88. 3.  On the region’s success in the civil examination, see Wagner, “The Civil Examination Process as a Social Leaven,” 22–27. 4.  For a more in-depth discussion of Yŏngjo’s reign, see Haboush, A Heritage of Kings, 29–233; Yi Hŭihwan, Chosŏn hugi tang jaeng yŏn’gu, part 2, chapter 3; Pak Kwangyong, Yŏngjo wa Chŏngjo ŭi nara, chapters 2–4; Ch’oe Sŏnghwan, “Yŏngjodae huban ŭi T’angp’yŏng chŏngguk kwa Noron ch’ŏngnon ŭi punhwa”; Yi Kyŏnggu, “Yŏngjo huban’gi T’angp’yŏng chŏngch’i ŭi pyŏnhwa wa chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi tonghyang.” 5.  SI 593 ch’aek (1725.5.18), entry 20/20. 6.  SI 601 ch’aek (1725.9.21), entry 17/17. 7.  Yŏngjo sillok, 11.17ab (1727.3.4). 8.  SI 639 ch’aek (1727.5.21), entry 16/16; KWS 2.820–821. 9.  SI 648 ch’aek (1727.10.21), entry 15/16; Yŏngjo sillok, 13. 38b–39a (1727.10.21). 10.  SI 652 ch’aek (1727.12.26), entry 32/32; Yŏng jo sillok, 14.21b (1727.12.26); Sin Chongu ŭi inmyŏng sajŏn [A biographical dictionary by Sin Chongu], s.v. “Kim Chu,” accessed April 19, 2017, http://www.shinjongwoo.co.kr/name/ga/gim/tjstks/tjs19. htm. 11.  SI 653 ch’aek (1728.1.3), entry 9/17. 12.  KWS 1.12, 1.55, 1.59, 1.67–68; HMMTS, s.v. “Honam chŏrŭirok.” The work honors those of Chŏlla Province who fought against the enemies of the state during the rebellion, as well as the Imjin, Chŏngmyo, and Pyŏngja Wars. The Kaesŏng Wang genealogy erroneously cites the Record of Patriotic Righteousness in Honam (Honam ch’angŭirok) for Ch’ŏsam and Ch’ŏjung’s roles during the rebellion. 13.  SI 669 ch’aek (1728.8.16), entry 38/38; Yŏngjo sillok, 19.7a (1728.8.16). 14.  SI 737 ch’aek (1732.1.11), entry 31/31; Yŏngjo sillok, 31.3b (1732.8.1); ChinaKnowledge.de, s.v. “Tangjian.” 15.  SI 806 ch’aek (1735.8.9), entry 28/28; Yŏngjo sillok, 40.37b (1735.8.9). 16.  SI 819 ch’aek (1736.2.15), entry 33/33; Sin Taeu, “Yejo P’ansŏ Chŏnghye Sim Kong sindo myop’yo,” in Wan’gu yujip, 5.21a.

228

notes to Chapter 4

17.  SI 827 ch’aek (1736.6.1), entry 41/41. 18.  KWS 2.820–821. 19.  SI 726 ch’aek (1731.7.8), entry 35/35; Yŏngjo sillok, 30.4b (1731.7.8); KWS 2.5–8. 20.  SI 726 ch’aek (1731.7.9), entry 9/13. 21.  SI 873 ch’aek (1738.6.20), entry 10/22; KWS 2.5–6, 2.24–25. 22.  Hong Chikp’il, Kwaegwanhyŏn’gi, in Maesanjip, 28.29ab, http://proxy.library. upenn.edu:3780/pcontent/?svcid=KR&proid=286&arid=764&ContentNumb er=120379&pagenumber=120378, accessed January 4, 2015; Yŏng jo sillok 52.19ab (1740.9.1), 74.19b–20a (1751.9.27). 23.  SI 918 ch’aek (1740.8.1), entry 21/21. 24.  SI 920 ch’aek (1740.9.1), entry 7/16; Yŏngjo sillok, 52.19a (1740.9.1). 25.  SI 920 ch’aek (1740.9.2), entry 19/19; Yŏng jo sillok, 52.20a (1740.9.2); KWS 2.819–821, 2.861. 26.  SI 920 ch’aek (1740.9.3), entry 10/13. 27.  SI 920 ch’aek (1740.9.4), entry 6/16; 1262 ch’aek (1766.12.29), entry 16/21. 28.  Pak Chiwŏn, “Ch’ambong Wang Kun myogalmyŏng,” in Yŏnamjip, 2.53b–54a; KWS 2.835, 2.958–972. 29.  Pak Chiwŏn, “Ch’ambong Wang Kun myogalmyŏng,” in Yŏnamjip, 2.54ab. 30.  SI 930 ch’aek (1741.4.13), entry 22/23; KWS 2.7–10, 2.24–25. 31.  Taejŏn hoet’ong, 1.42a. 32.  SI 1027 ch’aek (1748.3.5), entry 21/22. 33.  SI 1066 ch’aek (1751.3.12), entry 35/39. 34.  SI 1071 ch’aek (1751.7.22), entry 23/24; 1073 ch’aek (1751.8.20), entry 40/40; Yŏngjo sillok, 74.15a (1751.7.22). 35.  SI 1352 ch’aek (1774.6.1), entry 16/18; Yŏngjo sillok, 122.13b–14a (1774.6.1). 36.  SI 1205 ch’aek (1762.5.11), entry 9/9. 37.  SI 988 ch’aek (1745.7.12), entry 18/18. 38.  SI 996 ch’aek (1746.1.6), entry 31/31. 39.  SI 1074 ch’aek (1751.9.7), entry 8/8. 40.  SI 1074 ch’aek (1751.9.27), entry 18/18; Yŏngjo sillok, 74.19b (1751.9.27). 41.  SI 1078 ch’aek (1752.1.21), entry 18/18. 42.  SI 656 ch’aek (1728.2.22), entry 21/42; 657 ch’aek (1728.3.4), entry 21/50. 43.  SI 764 ch’aek (1733.8.19), entry 20/35; 764 ch’aek (1733.8.20), entry 18/26. 44.  SI 912 ch’aek (1740.5.29), entry 11/28; 913 ch’aek (1740.6.13), entry 2/16. 45.  SI 1027 ch’aek (1748.3.14), entry 12/24; 1029 ch’aek (1748.5.6), entry 16/36; 1074 ch’aek (1751.9.18), entry 12/12; 1077 ch’aek (1751.12.28), entry 41/56; 1080 ch’aek (1752.3.21), entry 32/45. 46.  SI 1086 ch’aek (1752.9.4), entry 19/19. 47.  SI 1100 ch’aek (1753.11.10), entry 41/41; Yŏngjo sillok, 80.23b (1753.11.10). 48.  SI 1075 ch’aek (1751.10.11), entry 29/29; 1126 ch’aek (1755.12.23), entry 19/19; Yŏngjo sillok, 86.18a (1755.12.23). 49.  SI 1110 ch’aek (1754.8.8), entry 24/36; Songdoji, 1, “Songdo kuji sŏ,” in Yŏji tosŏ, Sang.918. 50.  SI 1136 ch’aek (1756.9.5), entry 34/34.

notes to Chapter 4

229

51.  SI 1146 ch’aek (1757.7.9), entry 26/27. 52.  SI 1152 ch’aek (1758.1.4), entry 21/22. 53.  SI 894 ch’aek (1739.7.28), entry 22/29; 1171 ch’aek (1759.7.19), entry 39/39; 1174 ch’aek (1759.10.19), entry 2/19. 54.  SI 1286 ch’aek (1768.11.12), entry 19/19. 55.  SI 1344 ch’aek (1773.10.21), entry 17/18. 56.  SI 1300 ch’aek (1770.1.27), entry 26/28; Yŏng jo sillok, 114.7b (1770.1.27); HMMTS, s.v. “Tongmong sŏnsŭp.” 57.  SI 1301 ch’aek (1770.2.23), entry 11/15. 58.  Ŏyŏngch’ŏng tŭngnok, 66 (1771.10.2), 89 (1804.12.21); SI 1718 ch’aek (1793.6.11), entry 11/13. 59.  Ŏyŏngch’ŏng tŭngnok, 65 (1770.2.1); SI 1301 ch’aek (1770.2.1), entry 23/23; Yŏng jo sillok, 114.8a (1770.2.1). 60.  SI 1301 ch’aek (1770.2.2), entry 8/18. 61.  Ŏyŏngch’ŏng tŭngnok, 66 (1771.10.2). 62.  SI 1512 ch’aek (1782.6.20), entry 8/13. 63.  SI 1629 ch’aek (1787.7.13), entry 14/32. 64.  SI 1748 ch’aek (1795.7.28), entry 12/14. 65.  KWS 1.7. 66.  Reportedly, earlier, the wife of another death row convict had secured her husband’s release by appealing to the king and highlighting her own work of carrying the soil used for a government construction project, and Pyŏn’s wife was merely adopting her tactic. SI 1301 ch’aek (1770.2.5), entry 19/19; Yŏngjo sillok, 114.8b (1770.2.5). 67.  Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 154 ch’aek (1774.2.3); SI 1301 ch’aek (1770.2.26), entry 18/24. 68.  SI 1317 ch’aek (1771.5.18), entry 12/17. 69.  Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 156 ch’aek (1774.2.3). 70.  SI 704 ch’aek (1730.4.2), entry 21/21. 71.  Yŏngjo sillok, 59.31ab (1744.5.23). 72.  SI 975 ch’aek (1744.7.25), entry 25/35. 73.  Jeong Ho-hun, “Deconstructing the Official History of Koryŏ in Late Chosŏn, 352–358. 74.  Pak Chiwŏn, “Ch’ambong Wang Kun myogalmyŏng,” in Yŏnamjip, 2.54a. 75.  Critical discussions of the reign include Pak Kwangyong, Yŏng jo wa Chŏng jo ŭi nara, chapters 2–4; Han Sanggwŏn, “Chŏngjo ŭi kunjuron kwa wangjŏng”; Pak Hyŏnsun, “Chŏngjodae Sŏul-chibang ŭi punhwa wa chibang sajok ŭi tŭngyong”; Chŏng Chaehun, “18 segi kukka unyŏng ch’eje ŭi chaejŏngbi”; Yu Ponghak, Kaehyŏk kwa kaltŭng ŭi sidae, parts 1–2; Ch’oe Sŏnghwan, “Chosŏn hugi chŏngch’i ŭi maengnak esŏ T’angp’yŏng kunju Chŏngjo ilki”; Kim In’gŏl, Chosŏn hugi kongnon chŏngch’i ŭi saeroun chŏn’gae, 59–60, 83–85. 76.  SI 1669 ch’aek (1789.12.10), entry 23/54; Chŏng jo sillok, 28.63ab (1789.12.10); Han Munhong, “Sungŭijŏn chungjo sangnyangmun,” quoted in KS 126–127. 77.  Sungŭijŏn tŭngnok, as quoted in KS 144. 78.  SI 1797 ch’aek (1798.9.28), entry 41/42; Chŏngjo sillok, 49.39b (1798.9.28). 79.  SI 1798 ch’aek (1798.10.13), entry 14/34; KWS 2.24–25.

230

notes to Chapter 4

80.  SI 1458 ch’aek (1780.2.4), entry 37/44; Chŏngjo sillok, 9b–10a (1780.2.4). 81.  SI 1708 ch’aek (1792.8.21), entry 11/12; Chŏngjo sillok, 35.45a–47b (1792.8.21). 82.  Chŏngjo sillok, 39.27a (1794.2.15). 83.  Sejong sillok, 150.30a; SW 808. 84.  SI 1752 ch’aek (1795.9.18), entry 12/12; Chŏngjo sillok, 43.27b (1795.9.18). 85.  SI 1436 ch’aek (1779.2.29), entry 10/14; Chŏng jo sillok, 7.20b–21a (1779.2.29); Han’guk hyangt’o munhwa chŏnja taejŏn [Electronic encyclopedia of local cultures of Korea], s.v. “Chŏngjŏlsa,” accessed April 18, 2017, http://www.grandculture.net/. 86.  SI 1554 ch’aek (1784.intercalary3.1), entry 38/42; Chŏng jo sillok, 17.37ab (1784. intercalary3.1). 87.  Chŏngjo sillok, 16.15b–16a (1783.7.14). 88.  Chŏngjo sillok, 16.16ab (1783.7.14). 89.  Chŏngjo sillok, 16.16b–17a (1783.7.14). 90.  Chŏngjo sillok, 16.18b (1783.7.14). 91.  Chŏngjo sillok, 49.30a (1798.9.6). 92.  SI 1806 ch’aek (1799.3.27), entry 18/25; KWS 1.107–108; HMMTS, s.v. “Songsŏgwŏn sisa.” 93.  SI 1764 ch’aek (1796.6.3), entry 30/30; Chŏngjo sillok, 44.60b (1796.6.3). 94.  SI 1764 ch’aek (1796.6.24), entry 19/19. 95.  KWC (1798) Sang.1a–2a; KWS 1.666–667. 96.  Works published in the past three decades critique older studies that tend to portray Sunjo’s reign as the first of three successive reigns when the Chosŏn dynasty rapidly declined, and they offer more nuanced narratives, especially highlighting Sunjo’s abortive attempt through deputizing Prince Hyomyŏng. See Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 19 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chŏngch’isa; Kim Myŏngsuk, 19 segi chŏngch’iron yŏn’gu, chapter 1. 97.  SI 1837 ch’aek (1801.5.11), entry 12/19. 98.  Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 199 ch’aek (1809.1.10); SI 1961 ch’aek (1809.1.10). 99.  SI 2009 ch’aek (1811.11.22), entry 11/17. 100.  SI 2009 ch’aek (1811.11.23), entry 9/14. 101.  KWS 2.5–7, 2.24–43; KS 173. 102.  SI 2054 ch’aek (1815.1.26), entry 19/23. 103.  SI 2120 ch’aek (1819.9.24), entry 17/39; KWS 2.24–25. 104.  SI 2261 ch’aek (1830.12.16), entry 12/12; KWS 2.816–823, 2.835–837, 2.886–887, 2.979–981. 105.  Sahŭi received appointments as (1) the junior fifth-rank superintendent (1817) of Koryŏ royal tombs; (2) the superintendent (1821) of the Hurŭng, which was the joint tomb of Chosŏn King Chŏngjong and his queen; (3) a junior eighth-rank civil official (Pongsa, 1823) of the Construction Inspectorate (Sŏn’gonggam); (4) a junior seventh-rank civil official (Chikchang, 1825) of the Office of Palace Wines and Foreign Envoy Entertainment (Naesŏmsi); (5) a junior sixth-rank civil official (Pyŏlche, 1827) of the Tiles and Bricks Office (Wasŏ); (6) a junior sixth-rank civil official (Pyŏlche, 1828) of the Tents Office (Chŏnsŏlsa); (7) the auditor (1828) of the Storehouse of Oil, Honey, Beeswax, and Peppers (Ŭiyŏnggo); (8) the junior fifth-rank superinten-

notes to Chapter 5

231

dent (appointed in 1829) of the Hyŏnnŭng; and (9) the junior fifth-rank superintendent (1831) of the Cherŭng, which was the tomb of Chosŏn T’aejo’s first queen. SI 2083 ch’aek (1817.5.7), entry 24/34; 2142 ch’aek (1821.6.30), entry 35/57; 2167 ch’aek (1823.6.24), entry 16/38; 2198 ch’aek (1825.12.28), entry 10/18; 2213 ch’aek (1827.3.11), entry 42/43; 2219 ch’aek (1827.6.25), entry 18/40; 2224 ch’aek (1827.12.1), entry 28/28; 2233 ch’aek (1828.9.8), entry 26/41; 2240 ch’aek (1829.4.4), entry 28/47; 2261 ch’aek (1830.12.8), entry 11/16; KWS 2.886. 106.  Sunjo sillok, 6.35a (1804.9.2). 107.  SI 1888 ch’aek (1804.12.22), entry 8/18. For the court’s overall policy with regard to honoring individuals for cardinal Confucian virtues from 1800 to 1864, see Pak Chu, “19 segi ŭi chŏngp’yo chŏngch’aek,” Kuksagwan nonch’ong 57, 192–216. 108.  Sunjo sillok, 16.20a (1812.10.12). 109.  Kim Ŭnyŏng, “Chosŏn hugi Kurye Kaesŏng Wang-ssi ka ŭi ko munsŏ kŏmt’o,” 169–184. 110.  Sunjo sillok, 21.6b–7a (1818.2.24). 111.  Sunjo sillok, 21.7b–8a (1818.3.8). 112.  SI 2120 ch’aek (1819.9.17), entry 31/31. 113.  SI 2120 ch’aek (1819.9.18), entry 34/34. 114.  SI 2128 ch’aek (1820.4.19), entry 48/49; 2302 ch’aek (1834.5.18), entry 22/24; Baidu baike [Baidu encyclopedia], s.v. “Shang Lu.” 115.  Sunjo sillok, 25.29b (1822.12.26). 116.  Sunjo sillok, 32.9b (1831.7.19). 117. On Hŏnjong’s reign, see Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 19 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chŏngch’isa, vols. 1–2; Im Hyeryŏn, “Chosŏn hugi Hŏnjongdae Sunwŏn Wanghu ŭi suryŏm ch’ŏngjŏng.” 118.  SI 2444 ch’aek (1845.11.8), entry 15/15. 119.  SI 2444 ch’aek (1845.11.28), entry 18/18. 120.  SI 2447 ch’aek (1846.2.7), entry 32/32; 2762 ch’aek (1871.3.16), entry 10/15. 121.  KWS 2.979–981; HMMTS, s.v. “Cho Hŭiryong”; HMMTS, s.v. “Hosan oesa”; HMMTS, s.v. “Sohodangjip.” 122.  In many ways portrayed as the antithesis of the Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn’gun’s reform, Ch’ŏlchong’s reign receives an in-depth, multidimensional treatment in Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 19 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn chŏngch’isa; Im Hyeryŏn, “Ch’ŏlchongdae chŏngguk kwa kwŏllyŏk chipchung yangsang.” 123.  Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 239 ch’aek (1852.10.11). 124.  I examined the 1850 preface included the 1918 edition of the genealogy. KWC (1918) Su.4b–5a. 125.  Chŏng Chiyun, “Manwŏltae,” in Hawŏn sich’o, 4b. The English translation is by Sixiang Wang.

Chapter 5: Modernity, Kinship, and Individuals, 1864–1910 1.  Major studies of the Taewŏn’gun’s regency include Choe, The Rule of the Taewŏn’gun, 32–176; Palais, Politics and Policy in Traditional Korea, 23–271; Yŏn

232

notes to Chapter 5

Kapsu, Kojongdae chŏngch’i pyŏndong yŏn’gu (see “Taewŏn’gun chŏngkwŏn ŭi chŏngse insik kwa chŏngch’aek” [The Taewŏn’gun regime’s understanding of the state of affairs and its policies]). 2.  SI 2731 ch’aek (1868.9.14), entry 6/11; Kojong sillok, 5.43a (1868.9.14). 3.  The date of the discussion differs by one day, depending on the source. SI 2735 ch’aek (1869.1.24), entry 14/17; Ilsŏngnok, 81 ch’aek (1869.1.25). 4.  Kojong sillok, 2.57b (1865.11.30); Taejŏn hoet’ong, 1.38b. 5.  SI 2754 ch’aek (1870.8.28), entry 4/10; Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 252 ch’aek (1870.8.28); Kojong sillok, 7.21ab (1870.8.28). 6.  SI 2710 ch’aek (1867.1.14), entry 4/10; Kojong sillok, 4.4a (1867.1.14); and KWS 2.887–888. 7.  SI 2710 ch’aek (1867.1.15), entry 15/17. 8.  Kojong sillok, 8.15a (1871.3.9), 8.17b–18a (1871.3.18), 8.18b–19a (1871.3.20). 9.  SI 2774 ch’aek (1872.3.5), entry 20/21. 10.  SI 2774 ch’aek (1872.3.5), entry 20/21. 11.  SI 2774 ch’aek (1872.3.6), entry 31/31; Kojong sillok, 9.9a (1872.3.6); KWS 2.816– 823, 2.835–837, 2.886–887, 2.958–963, 2.979–985, 3.284. 12.  SI 2774 ch’aek (1872.3.6), entry 31/31. 13.  SI 2774 ch’aek (1872.3.21), entry 18/19. 14.  SI 2774 ch’aek (1872.3.21), entry 18/19. 15.  SI 2783 ch’aek (1872.12.26), entry 22/22. 16.  SI 2792 ch’aek (1873.8.13), entry 6/6. 17.  Kojong sillok, 10.20b–21a (1873.8.26). 18.  Kojong sillok, 10.23b (1873.10.10). 19.  Kojong sillok, 10.24ab (1873.10.25). 20.  Kojong sillok, 10.31a–35a (1873.11.3). 21.  Kojong sillok, 10.38a (1873.11.5). 22.  Relevant discussions of the Eastern Ways–Western Implements Reform include Pae Hangsŏp, “Kojong ch’injŏng ch’ogi kunsa chŏngch’aek kwa Muwiso”; Yi T’aejin, Kojong sidae ŭi chaejomyŏng; Yŏn Kapsu, “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn ijŏn ŭi kungnae chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi tonghyang”; Chang Yŏngsuk, “Tongdo Sŏgiron ŭi chŏngch’ijŏk yŏkhal kwa pyŏnhwa”; Kim Sŏnghye, “Kojong ch’injŏng chikhu chŏngch’ijŏk kiban hyŏngsŏng kwa kŭ t’ŭkching”; Ku Sŏnhŭi, “Kojong ŭi Sŏgu kŭndae kukchepŏpchŏk taeoe kwan’gye suyong kwajŏng punsŏk.” 23.  SI 2822 ch’aek (1876.2.26), entry 30/34. 24.  KWS 3.795–798, 3.810–817. The Kaesŏng Wang genealogy considers Sahŭi’s office term an outright usurpation, and his entry in the genealogy does not even mention it. KWS 3.816–817. 25.  Ilsŏngnok, 179 ch’aek (1876.4.5); KWS 2.60–61. 26.  KWS 2.5–9, 2.24–25, 2.60–61. 27.  HMMTS, s.v. “Kyŏkchaeng.” 28.  Ilsŏngnok, 179 ch’aek (1876.4.9); SI 2824 ch’aek (1876.4.9), entry 1/36. 29.  Ilsŏngnok, 179 ch’aek (1876.4.11). 30.  KWS 2.60–61.

notes to Chapter 5

233

31.  On enhanced authority of secret royal inspectors by the eighteenth century, see Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe Chosŏn sigi sahoesa yŏn’guban, Chosŏn ŭn chibang ŭl ŏttŏk’e chibae haennŭn’ga, 211–219. 32.  SI 2848 ch’aek (1878.3.9), entry 40/40. 33.  SI 2851 ch’aek (1878.6.22), entry 12/20. 34.  Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 259 ch’aek (1878.7.19); SI 2852 ch’aek (1879.7.19), entry 6/15; Kojong sillok, 15.21b–24a (1878.7.19). 35.  Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok, 259 ch’aek (1878.10.1); SI 2855 ch’aek (1878.10.1), entry 44/53; Kojong sillok, 15.33a (1878.10.1). 36.  KWS 2.9, 2.47–55, 60–61. 37.  I consulted the 1881 preface as reprinted in the 1918 genealogy. KWS Su.3a. 38.  KWS 2.886–887. 39.  KWC (1918) Su.3b–4a; KWS 2.886–887. 40.  For in-depth studies published in the past two decades, see Sŏ Inhan, “Imo kullan tangsi ŭi chunganggun chojik kwa kunbi silt’ae”; Yŏn Kapsu, “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn ijŏn ŭi kungnae chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi tonghyang”; Kim Yonggu, Imo kullan kwa Kapsin chŏngbyŏn, chapter 1. 41.  For a classic English-language discussion of the coup, see Cook, Korea’s 1884 Incident, 135–218. Critiquing many older studies that tend to present the coup leaders as radical visionaries, more recent scholarship produced in the past three decades highlights their limitations as well as the failed coup’s place in modern Korean history as a turning point in terms of further intensifying Sino-Japanese rivalry in Korea before the First Sino-Japanese War. Relevant discussions include Kim Yonggu, Imo kullan kwa Kapsin chŏngbyŏn, chapter 2; Pak Ŭnsuk, Kapsin chŏngbyŏn yŏn’gu; Kang Pŏmsŏk, Irŏ pŏrin hyŏngmyŏng; Chang Hŭihŭng, “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn kwa kungjung naebu seryŏk ŭi naeŭng kwa panbal”; Pak Pyŏngju, “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn kwa Kabo kyŏngjang sigi ŭi sadae wa tongnip ŭi ŭimi.” 42.  SI 2919 ch’aek (1883.12.3), entry 11/15. 43.  KWS 2.9, 2.48–60. 44.  Chobo, 89 (1888.5.29), “Chŏngsa”; SI 2973 ch’aek (1888.5.29), entry 28/38; KWS 2.47, 2.965–966. 45.  KWS 1.3–5, 2.1, 2.5–9, 2.47–48, 2.816, 2.835, 2.958–965. 46.  SI 3030 ch’aek (1892.1.29), entry 47/60. 47.  KWS 1.3–5, 2.1, 2.5–9, 2.36–38, 2.47, 2.816–823, 886–888. On April 7, 1898, the court relieved Sungŭijŏn Superintendent Wang Chaeso of his post upon his request. SI 3094 ch’aek (1898.3.18), entry 5/9; Tongnip sinmun, April 16, 1898. 48.  For more recent discussions of the Tonghak during this period, see Kim Ch’angsu, “Tonghak nongmin hyŏngmyŏng ŭi chŏn’gae”; Kallander, Salvation through Dissent, 117–123; Yi Yŏngho, Tonghak sasang kwa Chosŏn nongmin hyŏngmyŏng chŏnjaeng, chapter 4. 49.  On international relations in Northeast Asia during this period, see Paine, The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895; Ok’amot’o [Okamoto], Miwan ŭi kihoek, Chosŏn ŭi tongnip, 187–208; Larsen, Tradition, Treaties, and Trade, 241–271. 50.  On the Kabo Reform and its political base, see Wang Hyŏnjong, Han’guk

234

notes to Chapter 5

kŭndae kukka ŭi hyŏngsŏng kwa Kabo kaehyŏk, chapters 5–10; Yi Pangwŏn, Hanmal chŏngch’i pyŏndong kwa Chungch’uwŏn, 29–51. 51.  SI 2711 ch’aek (1867.2.3), entry 14/18; 3058 ch’aek (1895.5.27), entry 2/2; Kwanbo, November 5, 1896; Kwanbo, June 19, 1906; KWS 2.5–9, 2.36–47, 2.965–966. 52.  For an in-depth analysis of the Japanese planning and execution of the operation and the immediate aftermath, see Yi Minwŏn, Myŏngsŏng hwanghu sihae wa Agwan p’ach’ŏn, 65–107. 53. Chandra, Imperialism, Resistance, and Reform in Late Nineteenth-Century Korea, 85–210; Yu Yŏngnyŏl, Taehan chegukki ŭi minjok undong, 3–93; Yi Minwŏn, Myŏngsŏng hwanghu sihae wa Agwan p’achŏn, 111–175. 54.  See Breuker, Establishing a Pluralist Society in Medieval Korea, especially 111–139. 55.  See Yi T’aejin, Kojong sidae ŭi chaejomyŏng; Sŏ Yŏnghŭi, Taehan cheguk chŏngch’isa yŏn’gu; Kim Do-hyung, “Introduction: The Nature of Reform in the Taehan Empire,” 9–27; Duncan, “The Confucian Context of Reform,” 108–121; Hyŏn Kwangho, Taehan cheguk ŭi chaejomyŏng, part 1. 56.  According to a discussion at the court in October 1900, until recently, price of one tu of rice used to be one yang before increasing to two or three yang. SI, 3125 ch’aek (October 19, 1900), entry 6/6. According to the diary of Sim Wŏn’gwŏn (1850–1933), a farmer who lived in Ulsan, local rice price in 1898 was 1.096 yang for one toe, that is, 10.96 yang per tu. Considering that the per tu price in Ulsan could not have possibly have been ten times that of Seoul in 1898, Sim’s figure evidently is according to the old currency wŏn, which was worth one-tenth of the new wŏn cited in the October 1900 court discussion. Sim notes elsewhere in his diary that each day his family of four to five persons consumed one toe of rice. I would like to thank Holly Stephens and Yoo Hyun Jae for these references and observations. 57.  SI 3139 ch’aek (December 6, 1901), entry 5/6; Hwangsŏng sinmun, December 10, 1901; KWS 2.5–9, 2.24–25, 2.36–38, 2.47, 2.104–105. 58.  SI 3157 ch’aek (May 6, 1903), entry 6/6; Kojong sillok, 43.20a (May 6, 1903). 59.  Kojong sillok, 43.21a (May 19, 1903). 60.  Ch’oe Munhyŏng, Rŏil chŏnjaeng chŏnhu Ilbon ŭi Han’guk ch’imnyak; Yi T’aejin, “Han’guk pyŏnghap ŭn sŏngnip haji anatta,” 33–69; Dudden, Japan’s Colonization of Korea, 7–44; Toch’ŭk’a [Totsuka], “An Chunggŭn chaep’an ŭi pulpŏpsŏng kwa Tongyang p’yŏnghwa,” 105–118; Park, “The Phantasm of the Western Capital (Sŏgyŏng),” 169–185. 61.  Pae Kyŏngnyung, “Heigŭ t’ŭksa sakŏn kwa Ilbon ŭi taeŭng”; Kim Wŏnsu, Heigŭ man’guk p’yŏnghwa hoeŭi t’ŭksa oegyo wa kukche kwan’gye, chapter 3. 62.  O Yŏngsŏp, “An Chunggŭn ŭi ŭibyŏng undong,” 52–55. 63. Kuzuu Yoshihisa, Nikkan gappō hishi, Jyō.366–367, as quoted in Kang Ch’angsŏk, Chosŏn t’onggambu yŏn’gu, 2.54–55. 64.  Hwangsŏng sinmun, April 12, 1905; KWS 2.24–29, 2.104–105, 2.119–120. 65.  Taehan maeil sinbo, November 30, 1907; Kim Sŭnghak, Han’guk tongnipsa, Ha.88–89; Han’guk minjok undong yŏn’guso, Taehan min’guk tongnip undong kong­ hunsa, 687; Kukpangbu chŏnsa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, Ŭibyŏng hang jaengsa, 229–

notes to Epilogue

235

240; KWS 2.119; Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 66.  SI 3204 ch’aek (March 7, 1907), entry 4/8; Hwangsŏng sinmun, March 12, 1907; KWS 2.47–57. 67.  Kwanbo, March 26, 1901; Kwanbo, October 27, 1906; Kwanbo, December 30, 1906; Chōsen sōtokufu, Kanpō, March 5, 1914; KWS 2.925. 68.  KWS 2.922–925. 69.  Ilsŏngnok, 14 ch’aek ( January 27, 1909); SI 3228 ch’aek (January 27, 1909), entry 14/19; Sunjong sillok, 3.8a ( January 27, 1909); Hwangsŏng sinmun, January 29, 1909; HMMTS, s.v. “Sungyang sŏwŏn.” 70.  Han Myŏnggŭn, Hanmal Hanil happangnon yŏn’gu, chapter 2; To Sihwan, “1910 nyŏn ‘Hanil pyŏnghap choyak’ ch’egyŏl kangje ŭi yŏksajŏk chinsil kyumyŏng kwa kukchepŏpchŏk chomyŏng,” 295–324. 71.  Hwangsŏng sinmun, April 14, 1909. 72.  Hwangsŏng sinmun, May 26, 1910. The article erroneously renders Chaehyŏng’s name as “Chaesun.” 73.  KWS 2.819–823, 2.881–882, 2.886–888. 74.  Relevant studies of Hwang Hyŏn’s understandings of his time and world include Pak Kŏlsun, “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn ŭi tangdaesa insik ŭl tullŏssan nonŭi”; Han Ch’ŏrho, “Maech’ŏn yarok e nat’anan Hwang Hyŏn ŭi yŏksa insik”; Pak Maengsu, “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn ŭi Tonghak nongmin’gun kwa Ilbon’gun e taehan insik”; Yi Sangsik, “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn ŭi yŏksa ŭisik.” 75.  KWS 1.64–65, 1.440–41, 1.444, 1.451–52. 76.  Pak Ch’anmo, “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn kwallyŏn yŏksa sosŏl sogo,” 229–230; Pae Kip’yo, “Yukkyo sisa ŭi kyŏlsŏng kwa si segye (1),” 193–219; Jaseodang, February 24, 2016 (9:53 a.m.), comment on literary Chinese poems of Sŏng Hyeyŏng, Paek Chunbae, and Pae Chŏn, “Naksŏjang: Sŏng Hyeyŏng, Paek Chunbae, Pae Chŏn ŭi Hansi” [Scribbling board: literary Chinese poems of Sŏng Hyeyŏng, Paek Chunbae, Pae Chŏn], Naver Blog, accessed April 19, 2017, http://m.blog.naver.com/ jaseodang/220636465609. 77.  Taedong sisŏn, as quoted in KS 859. The English translation is by Sixiang Wang.

Epilogue 1. “P’alchŏn yungnŭng ko: (sang) Sungnyŏngjŏn, Sunginjŏn, Sungdŏkchŏn, Sungnyŏlchŏn, Sungsŏnjŏn, Sunghyejŏn, Sungŭijŏn, Sungsinjŏn,” Tonga ilbo, August 23, 1938, evening edition. 2.  Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, August 5, 2014, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea. 3.  The informant erroneously stated that the Japanese downgraded the superintendent position to the junior ninth-rank Chosŏn office of Ch’ambong. Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 4.  KWS 2.25–31, 2.119, 2.123; KS 176; Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 5.  Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014.

236

notes to Epilogue

6.  KWS 1.440–441; Kim Sŭngyong, “Uadang Wang Sŏngsun ŭi hyŏnsil insik kwa munhak e taehayŏ,” 299–324; No Kwanbŏm, “Kim T’aegyŏng kwa Kaesŏng munin,” 376–403. 7.  KWC (1918) Su.1ab. 8.  KWS 1.64–65, 1.440–441; Kim Chŏnghwan, “Unch’o Wang Suhwan ŭi si segye koch’al,” 420–438. 9.  KWC (1918) Su.1b–2a. 10.  KWC (1918) Su.8b, 1.23ab. 11.  KWC (1918) Su.9a, 10a. 12.  KWC (1918) Su.7a. 13.  KWC (1918) Su.8a. 14.  Kim T’aegyŏng, “Kyosŏ Kam Wang Kong myogalmyŏng,” in Sohodang jip, 14.12ab. 15.  Han’guksa teit’ŏ peisŭ Ilche kamsi taesang inmul k’adŭ, s.v. “Wang Kwangyŏn”; Il kija, “Kyŏngsin nyŏn ŭi kŏdŭm (Sang),” 66; Tonga ilbo, December 27, 1927; KWS 1.667–668, 1.698, 1.833. 16.  Chungoe ilbo, November 25, 1928; Maeil sinbo, January 3, 1932; Yi Tŏkchu, “Chosŏn ttang ŭi ŏmŏni Wang Chaedŏk,” 44–45; KWS 2.1001–1002. Likely indicating that many, if not most, of the members of the family currently reside in North Korea, even the most recent edition of the Kaesŏng Wang genealogy provides a highly incomplete coverage of the family, and neither Chaedŏk nor her husband is recorded. Also, the genealogy records her father’s name as Chigwŏn instead of Sigwŏn, as he is alternatively known. Otherwise, the genealogy records her only elder sibling and grandfather, as well as their residence location, all of which match the information as provided by other sources on Chaedŏk. 17.  SI 3224 ch’aek (September 7, 1908), entry 4/4; 3247 ch’aek (August 22, 1910), entry 3/3; Chōsen sōtokufu, Kanpō, December 26, 1910; Kanpō, March 5, 1914; Ch’inil inmyŏng sajŏn p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, Ch’inil inmyŏng sajŏn [Biographical dictionary of pro-Japanese individuals] (Minjok munje yŏn’guso, 2009), 2.556; P’ŭrip’ia, July 30, 2009 (10:30 p.m.), comment on medals awarded by the Japanese government on the second anniversary of Japan’s annexation of Korea, “Myŏngch’i 43 nyŏn Han’guk pyŏnghap kinyŏmjang” [Medal of the 43rd year of Meiji era in commemoration of Japan’s annexation of Korea], Naver Blog, accessed April 19, 2017, http://blog.naver. com/duck1044/70064835121. 18.  KWS 1.440–442; T’ae Tonghyŏk, “Kwangju haksaeng undong ŭi chuyŏk Wang Chaeil e kwanhan sae palgul charyo yŏn’gu,” 96–102. 19.  KWS 1.440–441; Tonga ilbo, October 28, 1930; Tonga ilbo, June 14, 1931; Han’gyŏre, April 20, 1990; T’ae Tonghyŏk, “Kwangju haksaeng undong ŭi chuyŏk Wang Chaeil e kwanhan sae palgul charyo yŏn’gu,” 102–127; Yi Sangsik, “1920 nyŏndae ŭi Kwangju chibang kwa haksaeng undong.” 20.  Unnamed informant, from fifty-column Tonga ilbo series from June 25 to August 16, 1924, later published together as Tonga ilbosa ch’ulp’anbu, Kyŏngsŏng paek sŭng (Kyŏngsŏng: Tonga ilbosa, 1929), quoted in Kang Myŏnggwan, Sarajin Sŏul, 310. 21.  Koryŏsa, 133.1b.

notes to Epilogue

237

22.  Yi Nŭnghwa, “Pulgyo wa Chosŏn munhwa,” 80. 23.  Ch’a Sangch’an, “Chosŏnsa sang p’ungp’a manŭn ch’ilsip-il kisarok,” 2–3. 24.  Ch’a Sangch’an, “Chosŏnsa sang p’ungp’a manŭn ch’ilsip-il kisarok,” 3–7. 25.  Summary of parts one and two according to Yi Tonhwa, “Yŏnjak kangdam Ach’ŭm,” 92. 26.  Yi Tonhwa, “Yŏnjak kangdam Ach’ŭm,” 92–97. 27.  Yi Tonhwa, “Yŏnjak kangdam Ach’ŭm,” 97–99. 28.  Also, the genealogy somehow records the Tongnae line’s founding ancestor, ostensibly born in either 1610 or 1617 depending on the edition of the genealogy, as a younger brother of a Kaesŏng lineage member who was born in 1674. KWS 2.816, 2.845, 2.851–852, 3.38–51, 3.436. 29.  Kyŏnghyang sinmun, March 31, 1983; Cho Sŏnggwan, “94 se edo maeil ch’ulgŭn hanŭn namja,” http://weekly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=C01&nNewsN umb=002256100023. 30.  His son, the informant, spoke rather favorably of the overall change under communist administration. Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 31.  Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 32.  Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. This testimony contradicts the commonly told official account, according to which the shrine was destroyed during the war. For an example of the latter account, see HMMTS, s.v. “Sungŭijŏn.” 33.  Tonga ilbo, April 22, 1974; HMMTS, s.v. “Sungŭijŏn.” 34.  Tonga ilbo, April 22, 1974; Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 35.  Wang Kyusik, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 36.  Wang Kyusik, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 37.  No Myŏngho, Koryŏ T’aejo Wang Kŏn ŭi tongsang, 13. 38.  Kyŏnghyang sinmun, August 23, 2016, http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_ art_view.html?code=960201&artid=201608232122015, accessed December 28, 2016. 39. Yi Yŏngjong, “Pukhan chumindŭl ege itch’ŏjin minjok yusan chokpo,” Han’gugin 17.5 (1988): 74–75. 40.  Kim Chiyŏng, “Sahoe chuŭi to chabon chuŭi to anin, Nam-Puk habŭipŏp ŭro unyŏngdoel t’ongil kukka ŭi yet sudo.” 41.  T’ae Tonghyŏk, “Kwangju haksaeng tongnip undong ŭi chuyŏk Wang Chaeil e kwanhan sae palgul charyo yŏn’gu,” 103; KWS 1.440–441. 42.  Chugan Chosŏn, May 13, 2013; Pusan ilbo, June 21, 2013; KWS 3.436. 43.  Pak Pyŏngno, “Kaesŏng Wang-ssi”; Chugan Chosŏn, May 13, 2013; Pusan ilbo, June 21, 2013; KWS 3.436. 44.  Tonga ilbo, December 16, 1947; Chosŏn ilbo, December 31, 1958; Chosŏn ilbo, March 11, 2011; KWS 3.457, 3.461, 3.488–490, 3.648; KS 177. 45.  The association is headquartered in the Sŏch’o subdistrict of Seoul’s Kangnam district. Wang Kyusik, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 46.  KWT Ha.883.

238

notes to Epilogue

47.  KWT Ha.829, Ha.838, Ha.859, Ha.883; KWS 3.687. 48.  Wang Kyusik, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014; Wang Yŏngnok, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 5, 2014. 49.  An Yut’aek, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 50.  KWS Su.33, Su.40–41 51.  KWS Su.33–36, Su.324. 52.  KWS Su.40. 53.  KWS Su.33. 54.  KWS Su.323. 55.  Wang Kyusik, personal interview, Yŏnch’ŏn, South Korea, August 4, 2014. 56.  Hye-Sook Wang, personal interview, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 18, 2015. 57.  Hye-Sook Wang, e-mail message to author, March 22, 2017. 58.  KWS 2.961–964, 3.290–292; Jenny Wang Medina, e-mail message to author, May 26, 2015; Jenny Wang Medina, e-mail message to author, February 10, 2017.

Bibliography

Unless otherwise stated, all Korean works are published in Seoul.

Primary Sources “1872 nyŏn chibang chido Majŏn-gun chido” [Map of Majŏn county, local map of 1872]. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University. Catalog Kyu 10366. Ansan Kim-ssi chokpo [Ansan Kim genealogy]. 4 vols. Kwangju, Kyŏnggi-do: Ansan Kim-ssi pyŏnginbo suboso, 1989. Ch’a Sangch’an. “Chosŏnsa sang p’ungp’a manŭn ch’ilsip-il kisarok” [A record of tumultuous seventy-one kisa years in Korean history]. Pyŏlgŏn’gon 18 ( January 1, 1929): 2–7. ———. “Sam ch’ŏk changil ŭro obaek nyŏn taeŏp Yi T’aejo kŏn’guk sillok” [A true account of Yi T’aejo’s accomplishment of five hundred-year great enterprise with a three ch’ŏk blade]. Pyŏlgŏn’gon 20 (April 1, 1929): 27–36. Ch’ŏngch’ŏnjip [Collected works of Sin Yuhan]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 200. Ch’ŏngsong Sim-ssi taedong sebo [Comprehensive genealogy of the Ch’ŏngsong Sim]. 12 vols. (Su, 1–10, index). Ch’ŏngsong Sim-ssi taedong sebo kanhaeng wiwŏnhoe, 2002. Ch’ugang jip [Collected works of Nam Hyoon]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 16. Ch’uksup’yŏn [Warding off sleep]. Quoted in Yi Kŭngik, Yŏllyŏsil kisul, vol. 1. Chibong jip [Collected works of Yi Sugwang]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 66. Cho Sŏnggwan. “94 se edo maeil ch’ulgŭn hanŭn namja” [A man who goes to work every day, even at the age of ninety-four years]. Chugan Chosŏn 2256 (May 13, 2013). http://weekly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=C01&nNewsN umb=002256100023. Chobo [Court gazette]. Chŏng jo sillok [Veritable records of King Chŏngjo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Chŏngjong sillok [Veritable records of King Chŏngjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok.

240

Bibliography

Chōsen sōtokufu. Kanpō [Official gazette]. 142 vols. Asea munhwasa, 1985. Chosŏn hwanyŏ sŭngnam [An all-around survey of Korea]. Compiled by Yi Pyŏngyŏn. 16 vols. Han’guk inmun kwahagwŏn, 1998. Chosŏn ilbo (Chosun Ilbo). Chosŏn sidae sach’an ŭpchi [Privately compiled town gazetteers of the Chosŏn period]. 55 vols. Edited by Yi T’aejin and Yi Sangt’ae. Han’guk inmun kwahagwŏn, 1989–1990. Chosŏn wang jo sillok [Veritable records of the Chosŏn dynasty]. 48 vols. Edited by Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe (National Institute of Korean History). Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 1955–1958. Chŭngbo Munhŏn pigo [Expanded reference compilation of documents on Korea]. 250 vols. Hansŏng: n.p., 1908. Chunggyŏng kwabo [Genealogy of examination graduates from Kaesŏng]. 2 vols. (Sang, Ha). Kaesŏng: Songyang munyesa, 1918. Chunggyŏng ji [Kaesŏng gazetteer]. In Chosŏn sidae sach’an ŭpchi. Chung jong sillok [Veritable records of King Chungjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Chungoe ilbo [Daily nation and abroad]. Han Munhong. “Sungŭijŏn chungjo sangnyangmun” [Commemorative text on the occasion of completing the wooden frame of the renovated Sungŭijŏn]. Dated 1789 of lunar calendar. Quoted in Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa. Han’goltong [Idler’s miscellany]. Quoted in Yi Kŭngik, Yŏllyŏsil kisul, vol. 1. Han’guk kŭndae ŭpchi [Town gazetteers of modern Korea]. 64 vols. Edited by Han’guk inmun kwahagwŏn p’yŏnjippu. Han’guk inmun kwahagwŏn, 1991. Han’guk munjip ch’onggan [Comprehensive collection of literary anthologies]. 350 vols. Minjok munhwa ch’ujinhoe, 1989–2005. Han’gyŏre (Hankyoreh). Hansŏng-bu hojŏk taejang [Household registers of the Seoul magistracy]. In Kankoku koseki seisatsu [Bound volumes of Korean household registers]. 165 vols. Manuscript. 1896–1907. Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto University. Individual household register listed by hoju (head of household): Wang Ch’un’gil. 7-8 Tŭngja-dong, T’ongnaeu-gye, Yŏnhwa-bang, Tong-sŏ, Hansŏng-bu, 1903. Wang Kyŏngch’an. 148-10 Okp’ok-tong, Chaha-gye, Pansong-bang, Sŏ-sŏ, Hansŏng-bu, 1906. Hawŏn sich’o [Collected poems of Chŏng Chiyun]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 312. Hŏ Simyŏng. “ ‘ Tumun pulch’ul’ Tumun-dong 72 hyŏn ŭl ch’ajasŏ 12: Kangnŭng Hamssi wa Ham Puyŏl, jjokkyŏnan Kongyang Wang wihae salm pach’ida” [“Not coming out of Tumun” 72 worthies of Tumun-dong visited 12: the Kangnŭng Ham and Ham Puyŏl, dedicating the life to expelled King Kongyang]. Chugan Tonga 518 ( January 10, 2006): 68–69. Hong Manjong. Tongguk yŏktae ch’ongmok [Survey history of Korea]. Hand-copied edition. N.p., n.p., n.d. Jangseogak Archives, Academy of Korean Studies. Catalog K2-46.

Bibliography

241

Hwangsŏng sinmun [Capital gazette]. Hyŏnjong kaesu sillok [Revised veritable records of King Hyŏnjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Hyŏnjong sillok [Veritable records of King Hyŏnjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Ilsŏngnok [Record of daily reflections]. 86 vols. Edited by Sŏul taehakkyo Kyujanggak. Sŏul taehakkyo Kyujanggak, 1992. Injo sillok [Veritable records of King Injo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Kaesŏng Wang-ssi chokpo [Kaesŏng Wang genealogy]. 2 vols. (Sang, Ha). N.p., n.p., 1798. National Library of Korea. Catalog Ko 2518-54-3. Kaesŏng Wang-ssi chokpo [Kaesŏng Wang genealogy]. 15 vols. (Su, 1–14). Kaesŏng: Wang-ssi taedongboso, 1918. Kaesŏng Wang-ssi sebo [Kaesŏng Wang genealogy]. 4 vols. (Su, 1–3). Kaesŏng Wang-ssi chungang chongch’inhoe, 2004. Kaesŏng Wang-ssi taedongbo [Comprehensive genealogy of the Kaesŏng Wang]. 2 vols. (Sang, Ha). Taejŏn: Hoesangsa, 1974. Kanghwa kunch’ŏng Munhwa yesul-kwa. “Wang-ssi ilchok ŭl sujang sik’in Ch’ŏngjip’ŏl” [Ch’ŏngjip’ŏl where the entire Wang clan drowned]. Interview of Han Myŏngdŏk. Posted June 17, 2009. Accessed April 19, 2017. http://tinyurl.com/ hgla4wy. Kim Chiyŏng. “Sahoe chuŭi to chabon chuŭi to anin, Nam-Puk habŭipŏp ŭro unyŏngdoel t’ongil kukka ŭi yet sudo: Kaesŏng kongŏp chigu ro tallinŭn Kaesŏng saramdŭl” [Neither socialist nor capitalist, the united nation’s old capital to be administered by the North-South agreement: the people of Kaesŏng rushing to the Kaesŏng industrial district]. Minjok 21, April 1, 2003. Accessed January 12, 2016. http://www.minjog21.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1396. Kim Kwanŭi. P’yŏnnyŏn t’ongnok [Abridged chronological history]. In Koryŏsa. Kojong sillok [Veritable records of Emperor Kojong]. In Kojong-Sunjong sillok. Kojong-Sunjong sillok [Veritable records of Emperors Kojong and Sunjong]. 3 vols. T’amgudang, 1986. Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa [History of the Koryŏ Sungŭijŏn]. Edited by Wang Chunhang. Yŏnch’ŏn: Sungŭijŏn Angamjaejung, 1992. Koryŏsa [History of Koryŏ]. 3 vols. Yŏnse taehakkyo Tongbanghak yŏn’guso, 1955. Kukcho pogam [Precious mirror for succeeding reigns]. Translation and reprint. 9 vols. Minjok munhwa ch’ujinhoe, 1994–1997. Kurye sokchi [Updated Kurye gazetteer]. In Han’guk kŭndae ŭpchi. Kwanbo [Official gazette]. Asea munhwasa, 1973. Kwanghae Kun ilgi [Daily records of Kwanghae Kun]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Kyŏngguk taejŏn [Great code of administration]. Reprint with translation by Yun Kugil. Nuri midiŏ, 2001. Electronic book accessed through KRPIA, http://www​ .krpia.co.kr. Kyŏnghyang sinmun (Kyunghyang Shinmun). Kyŏng jong sillok [Veritable records of King Kyŏngjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Maeil sinbo [Daily news].

242

Bibliography

Maesanjip [Collected works of Hong Chikp’il]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vols. 295–296. Majŏn-gun ŭpchi [Majŏn county gazetteer]. Hand-copied edition. Majŏn: Majŏn-gun, 1899. Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University. Catalog Kyu 10725. Mansŏng taedongbo [Comprehensive genealogy of ten thousand surnames]. 3 vols. (Sang, Ha, Sokp’yŏn). Kyŏngsŏng: Mansŏng taedongbo kanhaengso, 1931–1933. Mukwa pangmok [Military examination roster]. In Yunggyŏng yung nyŏn imsin sibi wŏl ch’o i il munmukwa. Munhŏn pigo [Reference compilation of documents on Korea]. Quoted in Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa. Munjong sillok [Veritable records of King Munjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Myŏng jong sillok [Veritable records of King Myŏngjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. O’Rourke, Kevin, ed. and trans. The Book of Korean Poetry: Chosŏn Dynasty. Singapore: Stallion Press, 2014. Ŏyŏngch’ŏng tŭngnok [Records of the Royal Division]. 133 vols. Jangseogak Archives, Academy of Korean Studies. Catalog K2-3349. P’yŏngsan Sin-ssi Chejŏng Kong p’abo [Genealogy of Chejŏng Kong branch of the P’yŏngsan Sin]. 10 vols. (Sajŏkp’yŏn, 1–9). Taejŏn: P’yŏngsan Sin-ssi Chejŏng Kongp’a chongjung, 1993. Pak Pyŏngno. “Kaesŏng Wang-ssi” [The Kaesŏng Wang]. Paek se sidae, July 16, 2007. http://www.100ssd.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=3541. Pibyŏnsa tŭngnok [Records of the Border Defense Council]. 28 vols. Edited by Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe. Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 1959–1960. Pongsŏngji [Kurye gazetteer]. In Chosŏn sidae sach’an ŭpchi. Pusan ilbo (Busan Ilbo). Sangsanji [Sangju gazetteer]. 1617 edition. In Chosŏn sidae sach’an ŭpchi. Sangsanji [Sangju gazetteer]. 1929 edition. In Han’guk kŭndae ŭpchi. Sejo sillok [Veritable records of King Sejo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Sejong sillok [Veritable records of King Sejong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Sim Sanghun. “Kak chibang hyangsa e kwanhan ch’ŏngŭi” [Request concerning statefunded local ancestral rites]. July [n.d.], 1898. In Kakpu ch’ŏngŭisŏ chonan, vol. 6. Accessed April 19, 2017. http://db.history.go.kr/item/level.do?setId=2&itemId=mk& synonym=off&chinessChar=on&position=1&levelId=mk_007_0060_0500. Sima Qian. Shiji. Accessed April 19, 2017. http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=19 74991&ref=y&cid=49636&categoryId=56737#. Sin Kyŏng. Chaejo pŏnbangji [Record of Korea rebuilt]. In Taedong yasŭng, 36 ch’aek. Sohodang jip [Collected works of Kim T’aegyŏng]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 347. Song shi [History of Song]. 4 vols. Taipei: Ding wen shu ju, 1980. Songdoji [Kaesŏng gazetteer]. In Yŏji tosŏ. Sŏng jong sillok [Veritable records of King Sŏngjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Sŏngju Yi-ssi taedongbo [Comprehensive genealogy of the Sŏngju Yi]. 8 vols. Sŏngju: Sŏngju Yi-ssi taedongbo p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 2011.

Bibliography

243

Sŏnjo sillok [Veritable records of King Sŏnjo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Sŏul taehakkyo Kyujanggak Han’gukhak yŏn’guwon. Chiriji chonghap chŏngbo [Comprehensive information on geographical treatises]. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://kyu.snu.ac.kr/geo/contents/con_map_list. jsp?c1=02&c2=D&c3=K04#map_1872. Ssijok wŏllyu [Origins of descent groups]. Compiled by Cho Chongun. Pogyŏng munhwasa, 1991. Sukchong sillok [Veritable records of King Sukchong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Sunch’ŏn Pak-ssi sebo [Sunch’ŏn Pak genealogy]. 4 vols. Sunch’ŏn Pak-ssi sebo kanhaeng wiwŏnhoe, 1990. Sŭngjŏngwŏn ilgi [Daily records of the Royal Secretariat]. 126 vols. Edited by Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe. T’amgudang, 1961–1977. Sungŭijŏn tŭngnok [Records of the Sungŭijŏn]. Quoted in Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa. Sunjo sillok [Veritable records of King Sunjo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. T’aejo sillok [Veritable records of King T’aejo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. T’aejong sillok [Veritable records of King T’aejong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. T’onggyech’ŏng. KOSIS Kukka t’onggye p’ot’ŏl (Korean Statistical Information Service). Accessed April 19, 2017. http://kosis.kr/. Taedong sisŏn [Anthology of Korean poems]. Compiled by Chang Chiyŏn. 12 vols. Kyŏngsŏng: Sinmun’gwan, 1918. Quoted in Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa. Taedong yasŭng [Collected unofficial accounts of Korea]. 72 ch’aek. Reprinted in 13 vols. Sŏul taehakkyo ch’ulp’anbu, 1968. Taehan maeil sinbo (Korea Daily News). Taejŏn hoet’ong [Great code reconciliation]. Reprint. Pogyŏng munhwasa, 1985. Tanjong sillok [Veritable records of King Tanjong]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Tonga ilbosa ch’ulp’anbu. Kyŏngsŏng paek sŭng. Kyŏngsŏng: Tonga ilbosa, 1929. Quoted in Kang Myŏnggwan, Sarajin Sŏul. Tongmunsŏn [Anthology of Korean literature]. Kyŏnghŭi ch’ulp’ansa, 1966. Tongnip sinmun (Independent). Ŭiryŏng Ok-ssi p’abo [Branch genealogy of the Ŭiryŏng Ok]. 4 vols. Hamp’yŏng: Ok Ch’iwŏn pang, 1937. Ŭiryŏng Ok-ssi sebo [Ŭiryŏng Ok genealogy]. Ŭiryŏng Ok-ssi P’yŏngjangsagong-p’a. 2012. “Wang Kwangyŏn.” Han’guksa teit’ŏ peisŭ Ilche kamsi taesang inmul k’adŭ [Profile cards of individuals under Japanese surveillance, Korean history database]. Accessed April 19, 2017, http://db.history.go.kr/item/level.do?levelId=ia_3218_2487. Wan’gu yujip [Collected works of Sin Taeu]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 251. Wŏnju Wŏn-ssi sebo [Wŏnju Wŏn genealogy]. 3 vols. Wŏnju: Wŏnju Wŏn-ssi taedongboso, 1986. Yi Chŏnghyŏng. Tonggak chapki [Miscellany from Yi Chŏnghyŏng]. In Taedong yasŭng, 53 ch’aek. Yi Ki. Songwa chapsŏl [Miscellany from Yi Ki]. In Taedong yasŭng, 56 ch’aek. Yi Kŭngik. Yŏllyŏsil kisul [Narratives of Yi Kŭngik]. Translated by Minjok munhwa ch’ujinhoe. 12 vols. Minjok munhwa ch’ujinhoe, 1977.

244

Bibliography

Yi Nŭnghwa. “Pulgyo wa Chosŏn munhwa” [Buddhism and Korean culture]. Pyŏlgŏn’gon 12 and 13 combined (May 1, 1928): 79–85. Yi Pŏmuk and Song Chuhŏn. Tonghakchi [Record of Tonghak Temple]. Wooden movable type edition. N.p., n.p., 1921. National Library of Korea. Catalog Ŭisan Ko 2107-98. Yi Tŏkhyŏng. Songdo kii [Strange tales of Kaesŏng]. In Taedong yasŭng, 71 ch’aek. Yi Tonhwa. “Yŏnjak kangdam Ach’ŭm, che sam hoe: chŏngmak sanjung ŭi yangung” [Multipart story Morning, part three: two heroes deep in the mountains]. Pyŏlgŏn’gon 18 ( January 1, 1929): 92–99. Yi Yuwŏn. Imha p’ilgi [ Jottings of Yi Yuwŏn]. Sŏnggyun’gwan taehakkyo Taedong munhwa yŏn’guwŏn, 1961. Yŏji tosŏ [Collection of county gazetteers]. 2 vols. (Sang, Ha). Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 1973. Yŏnamjip [Collected works of Pak Chiwŏn]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vol. 252. Yŏngjo sillok [Veritable records of King Yŏngjo]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Yŏn’gyŏngjae chŏnjip [Collected works of Sŏng Haeŭng]. In Han’guk munjip ch’onggan, vols. 273–279. Yŏnsan Kun ilgi [Daily records of Yŏnsan Kun]. In Chosŏn wang jo sillok. Yŏrŭng tŭngnok [Records on Koryŏ tombs]. Quoted in Koryŏ Sungŭijŏnsa. Yun Ch’anghyŏn. Chosŏn ssijok t’ongbo [Comprehensive genealogy of Korean descent groups]. Kyŏngsŏng: Hansŏng tosŏ chusik hoesa, 1924. Yunggyŏng yung nyŏn imsin sibi wŏl ch’o i il munmukwa [Civil and military examinations of the second day of the twelfth month of the imsin sixth year of Longqing era]. Harvard-Yenching Library, Harvard University. Catalog TK 2291.7 1746 (1564a).

Secondary Sources Breuker, Remco E. “Koryŏ as an Independent Realm: The Emperor’s Clothes?” Korean Studies 27 (2004): 48–84. ———. Establishing a Pluralist Society in Medieval Korea, 918–1170: History, Ideology and Identity in the Koryŏ Dynasty. Leiden: Brill, 2010. Brown, Peter. “A Dark-Age Crisis: Aspects of the Iconoclastic Controversy.” The English Historical Review 88, no. 346 ( January 1973): 1–34. Ch’a Changsŏp. “Tonghae Samhwa-sa kukhaeng suryukchae ŭi paegyŏng kwa chŏn’gae” [Background and development of Tonghae Samhwa Temple’s state-sponsored Ritual of Water and Land]. Chosŏnsa yŏn’gu 17 (October 2008): 31–51. Ch’oe Chŏngyong. “Munjong yŏn’gan ŭi chŏngguk kwa Suyang Taegun” [Politics of Munjong’s reign and Suyang Taegun]. Ch’angwŏn sahak 3 (1997): 101–156. Ch’oe Idon. Chosŏn chunggi Sarim chŏngch’i kujo yŏn’gu [Structure of mid-Chosŏn Sarim politics]. Ilchogak, 1994. Ch’oe Munhyŏng. Rŏil chŏnjaeng chŏnhu Ilbon ŭi Han’guk ch’imnyak [ Japanese aggression toward Korea in the Russo-Japanese War period]. Ilchogak, 1986.

Bibliography

245

Ch’oe Sŏnghwan. “Yŏngjodae huban ŭi T’angp’yŏng chŏngguk kwa Noron ch’ŏngnon ŭi punhwa” [Politics under the Policy of Impartiality during the latter part of Yŏngjo’s reign and the breakup of the Patriarchs’ pure discourse]. Yŏksa wa hyŏnsil 53 (2004): 45–73. ———. “Chosŏn hugi chŏngch’i ŭi maengnak esŏ T’angp’yŏng kunju Chŏngjo ilki” [Reading Chŏngjo as a Policy of Impartiality sovereign in the late Chosŏn political context]. Yŏksa pip’yŏng 115 (2016): 127–155. Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi. “Chosŏn ch’ogi ŏn’gwan e kwanhan yŏn’gu: ŏn’gwan ŏllon kwa wangkwŏn ŭi sanggwan kwan’gye” [Remonstrance officials of early Chosŏn: the relationship between remonstrance officials’ discourse and royal power]. Tonga munhwa 13 (1976): 195–217. ———. “Chosŏn T’aejo ŭi wangkwŏn kwa chŏngch’i unyŏng” [Chosŏn T’aejo’s royal power and management of politics]. Chindan hakpo 64 (December 1987): 133–172. ———. “Sejonggi wangwŏn kwa kukka unyŏng ch’eje” [Royal power in Sejong’s era and the system of national governance]. Han’guksa yŏn’gu (1994): 45–115. Chandra, Vipan. Imperialism, Resistance, and Reform in Late Nineteenth-Century Korea: Enlightenment and the Independence Club. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Center for Korean Studies, 1988. Chang Hŭihŭng. “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn kwa kungjung naebu seryŏk ŭi naeŭng kwa panbal: t’ŭkhi naesi Yu Chaehyŏn ŭl chungsim ŭro” [The Kapsin Coup and the responses and resistance of intra-palace forces: a eunuch attendant, Yu Chaehyŏn]. Tonghak yŏn’gu 26 (March 2009): 57–80. Chang Yŏngsuk. “Tongdo Sŏgiron ŭi chŏngch’ijŏk yŏkhal kwa pyŏnhwa” [Political role of the Eastern Ways–Western Implements and its change]. Yŏksa wa hyŏnsil 60 (2006): 345–374. Chi Tuhwan. Chosŏn chŏn’gi chŏngch’isa [Early Chosŏn political history]. Yŏksa munhwa, 2001. Cho Sŏngyun and Cho Ŭn. “Hanmal ŭi kajok kwa sinbun: Hansŏng-bu hojŏk punsŏk” [Hanmal family and status: an analysis of Seoul household registers]. Sahoe wa yŏksa 50 (December 1996): 96–133. Choe, Ching Young. The Rule of the Taewŏn’gun, 1864–1873: Restoration in Yi Korea. Cambridge, Massachusetts: East Asian Research Center, Harvard University 1972. Choi Mihwa. “State Suppression of Buddhism and Royal Patronage of the Ritual of Water and Land in the Early Chosŏn Dynasty.” Seoul Journal of Korean Studies 22, no. 2 (December 2009): 181–214. Chŏn Kyŏngmok. Ko munsŏ rŭl t’onghaesŏ pon Uban-dong kwa Kim-ssi ŭi yŏksa [History of Uban-dong and its Kims as seen through historical documents]. Chŏnju: Sina ch’ulp’ansa, 2001. Chŏng Chaehun. “18 segi kukka unyŏng ch’eje ŭi chaejŏngbi” [Reorganization of 18thcentury statecraft]. In Chŏngjo wa Chŏngjo sidae, coauthored by Kim In’gŏl et al., 201–233. ———. “Sŏnjo ch’oban ŭi chŏngguk kwa hangmunjŏk taeŭng: Yi Hwang kwa Ki Taesŭng ŭl chungsim ŭro” [Politics in the early part of Sŏnjo’s reign and the reac-

246

Bibliography

tions of scholars: Yi Hwang and Ki Taesŭng]. Han’guk sasang kwa munhwa 80 (December 2015): 83–108. Chŏng Haeŭn. “Pyŏngja Horan sigi kun’gong myŏnch’ŏnin ŭi mukwa kŭpche wa sinbun pyŏnhwa: Chŏngch’uk chŏngsi munmukwa pangmok (1637 nyŏn) ŭl chungsim ŭro” [Freedmen with military merits during the Pyŏngja War passing the military examination and social mobility]. Chosŏn sidae sahakpo 9 ( June 1999): 71–104. Chŏng Tuhŭi. Chosŏn ch’ogi chŏngch’i chibae seryŏk yŏn’gu [Early Chosŏn political ruling elite]. Ilchogak, 1983. ———. “Chosŏn kŏn’guk ch’ogi t’ongch’i ch’eje ŭi sŏngnip kwa kŭ yŏksajŏk ŭimi” [Early Chosŏn establishment of the governing system and its historical significance]. Han’guksa yŏn’gu 67 (1989): 53–75. Chungang ilbosa. Sŏngssi ŭi kohyang [Surname homes]. Chungang ilbosa, 1989. Conlan, Thomas Donald. From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Cook, Harold F. Korea’s 1884 Incident: Its Background and Kim Ok-kyun’s Elusive Dream. Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch, 1972. Deuchler, Martina. The Confucian Transformation of Korea: A Study of Society and Ideology. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1992. ———. Under the Ancestors’ Eyes: Kinship, Status, and Locality in Premodern Korea. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, 2015. Dix, Dom Gregory. The Shape of the Liturgy. London: Dacre Press, 1945. Dudden, Alexis. Japan’s Colonization of Korea: Discourse and Power. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻ i Press, 2005. Duncan, John B. The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000. ———. “The Confucian Context of Reform.” In Reform and Modernity in the Taehan Empire, edited by Kim Dong-no, John B. Duncan, and Kim Do-hyung, 105–125. Farris, William Wayne. Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan’s Military, 500–1300. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1992. Goble, Andrew Edmund. Kenmu Restoration: Go-Daigo’s Revolution. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1996. Ha Ubong, Pak Maengsu, Han Ch’ŏrho, Pak Kŏlsun, and Hong Yŏnggi. Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn kwa yŏksa sŏsul [Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn and historical narrative]. Chŏnju: Tijain hŭrŭm, 2011. Haboush, JaHyun Kim. A Heritage of Kings: One Man’s Monarchy in the Confucian World. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. Han Ch’ŏrho. “Maech’ŏn yarok e nat’anan Hwang Hyŏn ŭi yŏksa insik” [Hwang Hyŏn’s understandings of history as seen in Maech’ŏn yarok]. In Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn kwa yŏksa sŏsul, coauthored by Ha Ubong et al., 7–33. Han Ch’unsun. “Myŏngjong ch’injŏnggi ŭi kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye pyŏnhwa wa chŏngguk

Bibliography

247

tonghyang” [Change in power dynamics and politics in the period of Myŏngjong’s personal rule]. Chosŏn sidae sahakpo 12 (2000): 1–42. ———. “Munjongdae ŭi kukchŏng unyŏng” [Management of state affairs in Munjong’s reign]. Chosŏn sidae sahakpo 33 (2005): 39–76. ———. “T’aejo 7 nyŏn (1398) ‘che 1 ch’a wangja ŭi nan’ ŭi chaegŏmt’o” [Reconsidering the ‘first prince’s rebellion’ in the seventh year of T’aejo’s reign (1398)]. Chosŏn sidae sahakpo 55 (December 2010): 5–39. Han Chŏngsu. “Chosŏn ch’ogi Wang-ssi ch’ŏbun-non ŭi taedu wa chŏn’gae” [Emergence and advancement of the early Chosŏn argument for disposing of the Wangs]. Sahak yŏn’gu 114 ( June 2014): 1–36. Han Myŏnggi. “P’okkun in’ga hyŏn’gun in’ga: Kwanghae Kun tasi ilki” [Tyrant or sage king: rereading Kwanghae Kun]. Yŏksa pip’yŏng 44 (Fall 1998): 156–227. Han Myŏnggŭn. Hanmal Hanil happangnon yŏn’gu [Hanmal discourse on Japanese annexation of Korea]. Kukhak charyowŏn, 2002. Han Sanggil. “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae sorhaeng ŭi sahoejŏk ŭimi” [Social significance of administration of the Ritual of Water and Land in early Chosŏn]. Han’guk sŏnhak 23 (August 2009): 671–710. Han Sanggwŏn. “Chŏngjo ŭi kunjuron kwa wangjŏng” [Chŏngjo’s discourse on the sovereign and monarchy]. In Chŏngjo wa Chŏngjo sidae, coauthored by Kim In’gŏl et al., 143–170. Han’guk minjok undong yŏn’guso. Taehan min’guk tongnip undong konghunsa [A history of exploits of the Korean independence movement]. Han’guk minjok undong yŏn’guso ch’ulp’anbu, 1971. Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe. Moban ŭi yŏksa: yŏksa nŭn kŭdŭl ŭl yŏngmoja ra pullŏtta [A history of treason: history labeled them as conspirators]. Sejong sŏjŏk, 2001. Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 17 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban. Chosŏn chunggi chŏngch’i wa chŏngch’aek: Injo–Hyŏnjong sigi [Mid-Chosŏn politics and policy: Injo–Hyŏnjong period]. Ak’anet, 2003. Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe 19 segi chŏngch’isa yŏn’guban. Chosŏn chŏngch’isa (1800– 1863) [Chosŏn political history (1860–1863)]. 2 vols. (Sang, Ha). Ch’ŏngnyŏnsa, 1990. Han’guk yŏksa yŏn’guhoe Chosŏn sigi sahoesa yŏn’guban. Chosŏn ŭn chibang ŭl ŏttŏk’e chibae haennŭn’ga [How Chosŏn ruled local areas]. Ak’anet, 2000. Harris, Jonathan. “A Worthless Prince? Andreas Palaiologos in Rome, 1465–1502.” Orientalia Christiana Periodica 61 (1995): 537–554. ———. The End of Byzantium. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Hori, Kyotsu. “The Economic and Political Effects of the Mongol Wars.” In Medieval Japan: Essays in Institutional History, edited by John W. Hall and Jeffrey P. Mass, 184–198. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974. Hyŏn Kwangho. Taehan cheguk ŭi chaejomyŏng [Reexamining Imperial Korea]. Sŏnin, 2014. Il kija [A reporter]. “Kyŏngsin nyŏn ŭi kŏdŭm (Sang)” [Kyŏngsin year in a bundle]. Kaebyŏk 6 (December 1, 1920): 60–68. Im Hyeryŏn. “Chosŏn hugi Hŏnjongdae Sunwŏn Wanghu ŭi suryŏm ch’ŏngjŏng” [Re-

248

Bibliography

gency of Queen Sunwŏn during Hŏnjong’s reign]. Han’guk inmulsa yŏn’gu 3 (2005): 197–237. ———. “Ch’ŏlchongdae chŏngguk kwa kwŏllyŏk chipchung yangsang” [Politics of Ch’ŏlchong’s reign and concentration of power]. Han’guk sahakpo 49 (November 2012): 121–158. Jeong Ho-hun. “Deconstructing the Official History of Koryŏ in Late Chosŏn: The Discovery of the Un’gok sisa and the Refutation of the Theory that Sin Ton Sired Kings U and Ch’ang.” Seoul Journal of Korean Studies 26, no. 2 ( June 2013): 335–360. Kallander, George L. Salvation through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻ i Press, 2013. Kang Hosŏn. “Chosŏn T’aejo 4 nyŏn kukhaeng suryukchae sŏrhaeng kwa kŭ ŭimi” [Performance of the Ritual of Water and Land in the fourth year of Chosŏn T’aejo’s reign and its meanings]. Han’guk munhwa 62 ( June 2013): 199–234. Kang Myŏnggwan. Sarajin Sŏul: 20 segi ch’o Sŏul saramdŭl ŭi Sŏul hoesanggi [Seoul that has disappeared: early 20th-century Seoul residents’ recollections of Seoul]. P’urŭn yŏksa, 2010. Kang Pŏmsŏk. Irŏ pŏrin hyŏngmyŏng: Kapsin chŏngbyŏn yŏn’gu [Lost revolution: the Kapsin Coup]. Sol, 2006. Kim Ch’angsu. “Tonghak nongmin hyŏngmyŏng ŭi chŏn’gae” [Unfolding of the Tonghak peasant revolution]. In Tonghak ŭi hyŏndaejŏk ihae, edited by Pak Sŏngju, 87–106. Pŏmhaksa, 2001. Kim Chŏnghwan. “Unch’o Wang Suhwan ŭi si segye koch’al” [The world of Unch’o Wang Suhwan]. Han’guk munhak yŏn’gu 30 ( June 2006): 417–442. Kim Do-hyung. “Introduction: The Nature of Reform in the Taehan Empire.” In Reform and Modernity in the Taehan Empire, edited by Kim Dong-no, John B. Duncan, and Kim Do-hyung, 1–34. Kim Dong-no, John B. Duncan, and Kim Do-hyung, eds. Reform and Modernity in the Taehan Empire. Jimoondang, 2006. Kim In’gŏl. Chosŏn hugi kongnon chŏngch’i ŭi saeroun chŏn’gae: 18, 19 segi hyanghoe, minhoe rŭl chungsim ŭro [New developments in late Chosŏn politics of public consensus: local elite assemblies and people’s assemblies in the 18th and19th centuries]. Sŏul taehakkyo ch’ulp’an munhwawŏn, 2017. Kim In’gŏl, Mun Chungyang, Pae Usŏng, Han Sanggwŏn, Pak Hyŏnsun, and Chŏng Chaehun. Chŏng jo wa Chŏngjo sidae [Chŏngjo and the age of Chŏngjo]. Sŏul taehakkyo ch’ulp’an munhwawŏn, 2011. Kim Inho. “Chosŏn chŏn’gi Sungŭijŏn ŭi sŏlch’i wa yŏksa insik” [Establishment of the Sungŭijŏn and understandings of history in early Chosŏn]. Sahak yŏn’gu 78 ( June 2005): 111–146. Kim Kidŏk. “Koryŏ sidae wangsil sŏnwŏnnok ŭi pogwŏn sido: Koryŏ Sŏngwŏnnok ŭi punsŏk ŭl chungsim ŭro” [An attempt to reconstruct Koryŏ royal genealogy: an analysis of the Koryŏ Sŏngwŏnnok]. Yŏksa wa hyŏnsil 43 (2002): 141–185. ———. “Koryŏ sigi wangsil ŭi kusŏng kwa kŭnch’inhon” [Composition of the Koryŏ royal house and consanguineous marriage]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 49 (1993): 1–25. Kim Kyŏngsu. “Sejodae Tanjong pogwi undong kwa chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi chaep’yŏn”

Bibliography

249

[The Tanjong restorationist movement and political realignment in Sejo’s reign]. Sahak yŏn’gu 93 (September 2006): 73–113. Kim Myŏngsuk. 19 segi chŏngch’iron yŏn’gu [Political discourse in the nineteenth century]. Hanyang taehakkyo ch’ulp’anbu, 2004. Kim Pŏm. Sahwa hwa panjŏng ŭi sidae: Sŏngjong, Yŏnsan Kun, Chung jong kwa kŭ sinhadŭl [The age of literati purges and coups: Sŏngjong, Yŏnsan Kun, Chungjong, and their officials]. Yŏksa pip’yŏngsa, 2007. ———. Yŏnsan Kun: kŭ in’gan kwa sidae ŭi naemyŏn [Yŏnsan Kun: the man and the inner workings of the era]. P’aju: Kŭl hangari, 2010. Kim Sebong. “Injo–Hyojongdae sanin seryŏk ŭi hyŏngsŏng kwa chinch’ul” [Formation and advancement of rusticated literati in the reigns of Injo and Hyojong]. Tongyanghak 24 (1994): 165–190. Kim Sŏnghye. “Kojong ch’injŏng chikhu chŏngch’ijŏk kiban hyŏngsŏng kwa kŭ t’ŭkching (1874–1876)” [Formation of political base upon the beginning of Kojong’s personal rule and its characteristics]. Han’guk kŭnhyŏndaesa yŏn’gu 53 (March 2010): 7–48. Kim Sŏngu. “Sŏnjodae Sarimp’a ŭi chŏngguk changak kwa kaehyŏk nosŏn ŭi ch’ungdol: Sŏnjo 8 nyŏn (1575) Tong-Sŏ pundang ŭi sahoe kyŏngjejŏk paegyŏng kwa kwallyŏn hayŏ” [Sarim political takeover in the reign of Sŏnjo and clash of reform policy lines: socioeconomic backgrounds of the Easterner-Westerner division in the eighth year of Sŏnjo’s reign (1575)]. Han’guksa yŏn’gu 132 (March 2006): 33–73. Kim Sŭnghak. Han’guk tongnipsa [History of Korean independence]. 2 vols. (Sang, Ha). Tongnip munhwasa, 1965. Kim Sŭngyong. “Uadang Wang Sŏngsun ŭi hyŏnsil insik kwa munhak e taehayŏ” [Uadang Wang Sŏngsun’s understanding of reality and his literary works]. Hanmun hakpo 7 (2002): 295–328. Kim Ton. Chosŏn chŏn’gi kunsin kwŏllyŏk kwan’gye yŏn’gu [Early Chosŏn power dynamics of monarchs and officials]. Sŏul taehakkyo ch’ulp’anbu, 1997. Kim Tuhŏn. “Sŏngwŏnnok ŭl t’onghaesŏ pon Sŏul chungin kagye yŏn’gu” [Seoul chungin descent lines as seen through the Sŏngwŏnnok]. Sŏurhak yŏn’gu 39 (May 2010): 41–77. Kim Ŭnyŏng. “Chosŏn hugi Kurye Kaesŏng Wang-ssi ka ŭi ko munsŏ kŏmt’o: Kurye Kaesŏng Wang-ssi ka ŭi sŏngjang kwa hyŏnjo hyŏnyang hwaltong ŭl chungsim ŭro” [Late Chosŏn documents of the Kaesŏng Wang lineage of Kurye: growth of the Kurye Kaesŏng Wang lineage and its promotion of eminent ancestors]. Komunsŏ yŏn’gu 31 (August 2007): 165–191. Kim Wŏnsu. Heigŭ man’guk p’yŏnghwa hoeŭi t’ŭksa oegyo wa kukche kwan’gye [Emissary diplomacy at the Second Hague Conference and international relations]. Sŏnin, 2016. Kim Yonggu. Imo kullan kwa Kapsin chŏngbyŏn [The Imo Mutiny and the Kapsin Coup]. Wŏn, 2004. Ku Sŏnhŭi. “Kojong ŭi Sŏgu kŭndae kukchepŏpchŏk taeoe kwan’gye suyong kwajŏng

250

Bibliography

punsŏk” [An analysis of Kojong’s acceptance of modern Western legal notions of international relations]. Tongbuga yŏksa nonch’ong 32 ( June 2011): 105–141. Kukpangbu chŏnsa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe. Ŭibyŏng hang jaengsa [History of righteous army resistance]. Kukpangbu chŏnsa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 1984. Kuwano Eiji. “Richō shoki ni okeru Kōrai Ō-shi saishi” [Early Chosŏn ancestral rites for the Koryŏ Wang]. Nenpō Chōsengaku 2 (1992): 1–21. Kuzuu Yoshihisa. Nikkan gappō hishi [A secret history of the Japanese annexation of Korea]. Tokyo: Hara shobō, 1966. Quoted in Kang Ch’angsŏk, Chosŏn t’onggambu yŏn’gu [A study of the Residency-General of Korea], vol. 2. Kukhak charyowŏn, 2004. Larsen, Kirk W. Tradition, Treaties, and Trade: Qing Imperialism and Chosŏn Korea, 1860–1910. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, 2008. Mass, Jeffrey P. “What Can We Not Know about the Kamakura Bakufu?” In The Bakufu in Japanese History, edited by Jeffrey P. Mass and William B. Hauser, 13–30. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985. Marek, Miroslav. “The Palaiologos family.” Genealogy.eu. http://genealogy.euweb.cz/ byzant/byzant8.html. Accessed February 3, 2017. Na Yŏnghun. “Chosŏn Tanjongdae kunggwŏl kyŏngyŏng kwa kŭ chŏngch’isajŏk ŭimi” [Palace administration in the reign of Chosŏn Tanjong and its meanings in the context of political history]. Yŏksa wa hyŏnsil 82 (December 2011): 163–198. Nicol, Donald M. The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. No Kwanbŏm. “Kim T’aegyŏng kwa Kaesŏng munin” [Kim T’aegyŏng and the Kaesŏng literary circle]. Minjok munhwa 43 ( June 2014): 371–415. No Myŏngho. Koryŏ T’aejo Wang Kŏn ŭi tongsang: hwang je chedo, Koguryŏ munhwa chŏnt’ong ŭi hyŏngsanghwa [Bronze statue of Koryŏ T’aejo Wang Kŏn: visualization of the emperor system and cultural tradition of Koguryŏ]. P’aju: Chisik sanŏpsa, 2012. O Hangnyŏng. “Chosŏn Hyojongdae chŏngguk ŭi pyŏndong kwa kŭ sŏngkyŏk” [Politics during Chosŏn Hyojong’s reign]. T’aedong kojŏn yŏn’gu 9 (1993): 37–86. O Yŏngsŏp. “An Chunggŭn ŭi ŭibyŏng undong” [Righteous army activities of An Chunggŭn]. In Yŏngwŏnhi t’aorŭnŭn pulkkot, coauthored by Yi T’aejin et al., 23–63. Ok’amot’o T’ak’asi [Okamoto Takashi]. Miwan ŭi kihoek, Chosŏn ŭi tongnip [Unfinished project, Korea’s independence]. Sowadang, 2009. Pae Hangsŏp. “Kojong ch’injŏng ch’ogi kunsa chŏngch’aek kwa Muwiso” [Military policies in the early years of Kojong’s personal rule and the Military Guard Agency]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 83 (1999): 1–26. Pae Kip’yo. “Yukkyo sisa ŭi kyŏlsŏng kwa si segye (1): Kang Wi ŭi Yukkyo yŏnŭmjip ŭl chungsim ŭro” [Formation of the Sixth Bridge Poetry Society and the world of poetry (1): Kang Wi’s Yukkyo yŏnŭmjip]. Hanmun hakpo 27 (2012): 191–222. Pae Kyŏngnyung. “Heigŭ t’ŭksa sakŏn kwa Ilbon ŭi taeŭng” [The Hague emissary incident and Japan’s response]. In Heigŭ t’ŭksa wa Han’guk tongnip undong [The Hague emissaries and the Korean independence movement], edited by Tongnip

Bibliography

251

kinyŏmgwan Han’guk tongnip undongsa yŏn’guso, 229–262. Ch’ŏnan: Tongnip kinyŏmgwan Han’guk tongnip undongsa yŏn’guso, 2007. Paine, S. C. M. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pak Ch’anmo. “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn kwallyŏn yŏksa sosŏl sogo” [Some thoughts on historical novels about Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn]. Honam munhwa yŏn’gu 48 (December 2010): 215–241. Pak Chu. “19 segi ŭi chŏngp’yo chŏngch’aek: Sunjo, Hŏnjong, Ch’ŏlchongdae rŭl chungsim ŭro” [Policy of officially honoring virtuous individuals in the nineteenth century: in the reigns of Sunjo, Hŏnjong, and Ch’ŏlchong]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 57 (1994): 191–216. Pak Hyŏnsun. “Chŏngjodae Sŏul-chibang ŭi punhwa wa chibang sajok ŭi tŭngyong” [Seoul-countryside separation during Chŏngjo’s reign and the court’s promotion of local aristocrats]. In Chŏngjo wa Chŏngjo sidae, coauthored by Kim In’gŏl et al., 171–196. ———. “Chibang chisigin Hwang Yunsŏk kwa kyŏnghwa sajok ŭi kyoyu” [Interactions between a countryside intellectual Hwang Yunsŏk and capital aristocrats]. Han’guksa yŏn’gu 163 (2013): 299–335. Pak Kŏlsun. “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn ŭi tangdaesa insik ŭl tullŏssan nonŭi” [Discussions surrounding Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn’s understandings of the history of his time]. Han’guk kŭnhyŏndaesa yŏn’gu 55 (December 2010): 61–89. Pak Kwangyong. Yŏngjo wa Chŏngjo ŭi nara [Yŏngjo and Chŏngjo’s country]. P’urŭn yŏksa, 1998. Pak Maengsu. “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn ŭi Tonghak nongmin’gun kwa Ilbon’gun e taehan insik” [Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn’s understandings of Tonghak peasant armies and Japanese armies]. In Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn kwa yŏksa sŏsul, coauthored by Ha Ubong et al., 34–60. Pak Pyŏngju. “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn kwa Kabo kyŏngjang sigi ŭi sadae wa tongnip ŭi ŭimi” [Meanings of shida and independence at the time of the Kapsin Coup and the Kabo Reform]. Han’gukhak yŏn’gu 34 (September 2010): 39–64. Pak Ŭnsuk. Kapsin chŏngbyŏn yŏn’gu: Chosŏn ŭi kŭndaejŏk kaehyŏk kusang kwa minjung ŭi insik [The Kapsin Coup: the Chosŏn vision of modern reform and understandings of the people]. Yŏksa pip’yŏngsa, 2005. Palais, James B. Politics and Policy in Traditional Korea. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1975. Park, Eugene Y. Chosŏn Military Examination Database. Unpublished database of 35,405 degree holders. ———. Between Dreams and Reality: The Military Examination in Late Chosŏn Korea, 1600–1894. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, 2007. ———. A Family of No Prominence: The Descendants of Pak Tŏkhwa and the Birth of Modern Korea. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2014. ———. “The Phantasm of the Western Capital (Sŏgyŏng): Imperial Korea’s Redevelopment of P’yŏngyang, 1902–1908.” International Journal of Asian Studies 12, no. 2 ( July 2015): 167–191.

252

Bibliography

Quinones, C. Kenneth. “Military Officials of Yi Korea: 1864–1910.” In Che 1-hoe Han’gukhak kukche haksul hoeŭi nonmunjip, 691–700. Sŏngnam: Han’guk chŏngsin munhwa yŏn’guwŏn, 1980. Robinson, David M. Empire’s Twilight: Northeast Asia under the Mongols. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, 2009. ———. “The Mongol Legacy in Early Fifteenth Century East Asia.” Unpublished paper, 2015. Runciman, Steven. The Fall of Constantinople, 1453. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965. ———. The Lost Capital of Byzantium: The History of Mistra and the Peloponnese. Foreword by John Freely. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2009. Reprint of Mistra: Byzantine Capital of the Peloponnese published 1980 by Thames and Hudson (London). Serruys, Henry. “The Dates of the Mongolian Documents in the Hua-i i-yu.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 17, no. 3/4 (December 1954): 419–427. ———. The Mongols in China during the Hung-wu Period (1368–1398). Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques, vol. 11. Brussels: L’Institut Belge des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1959. ———. “Were the Ming against the Mongols’ Settling in North China?” Oriens Extremus 6, no. 2 (December 1959): 131–159. _______. “Mongols Ennobled during the Early Ming.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 22 (December 1959): 209–260. ———. “Land Grants to the Mongols in China: 1400–1460.” Monumenta Serica 25 (1966): 394–405. ———. “The Mongols in China: 1400–1450.” Monumenta Serica 27 (1968): 233–305. Sim Hyosŏp. “Chosŏn chŏn’gi suryukchae ŭi sorhaeng kwa ŭirye” [Performance of the Ritual of Water and Land and ceremonies in early Chosŏn]. Tongguk sahak 40 (2003): 219–246. Sŏ Inhan. “Imo kullan tangsi ŭi chunganggun chojik kwa kunbi silt’ae” [Central military organization and military preparedness during the Imo Mutiny]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 90 (2000): 85–110. Sŏ Yŏnghŭi. Taehan cheguk chŏngch’isa yŏn’gu [A political history of Imperial Korea]. Sŏul taehakkyo ch’ulp’anbu, 2003. Stavros, Matthew. Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻ i Press, 2014. T’ae Tonghyŏk. “Kwangju haksaeng tongnip undong ŭi chuyŏk Wang Chaeil e kwanhan sae palgul charyo yŏn’gu” [Newly discovered sources on Wang Chaeil, a leading role in the Kwangju Students’ Independence Movement]. Tongyanghak 17 (1987): 51–128. To Sihwan. “1910 nyŏn ‘Hanil pyŏnghap choyak’ ch’egyŏl kangje ŭi yŏksajŏk chinsil kyumyŏng kwa kukchepŏpchŏk chomyŏng” [Ascertaining the historical truth behind the coersive 1910 ‘Korean-Japanese annexation treaty’ and insights from the perspective of international law]. In Hanil kangje pyŏnghap 100 nyŏn ŭi yŏksa wa kwaje [100 years of Japan’s annexation of Korea by force and its legacies], co-

Bibliography

253

authored by To Sihwan, Yi T’aejin, Chu Chino, Wada Haruk’i [Wada Haruki], Massŭda Tosihik’o [Matsuda Toshihiko], Sasagawa Norigach’ŭ [Sasagawa Norikatsu], Arai Sinich’i [Arai Shin’ichi], et al., 291–328. Tongbuga yŏksa chaedan, 2013. Toch’ŭk’a Ech’ŭro [Totsuka Etsurō]. “An Chunggŭn chaep’an ŭi pulpŏpsŏng kwa Tongyang p’yŏnghwa: 1905 nyŏn Han’guk poho choyak hyoryŏk kwa kwallyŏn hayŏ” [An Chunggŭn trial’s illegality and peace in the East: on the validity of the 1905 Korean Protectorate Treaty]. In Yŏngwŏnhi t’aorŭnŭn pulkkot, coauthored by Yi T’aejin et al., 99–145. Turnbull, Stephen. War in Japan, 1467–1615. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002. U Insu. “Chosŏn Hyŏnjongdae chŏngguk ŭi tonghyang kwa sallim ŭi yŏkhal” [Politics of Chosŏn Hyŏnjong’s reign and the role of rusticated literati]. Chosŏnsa yŏn’gu 1 (1992): 87–138. ———. “Chosŏn Sukchongdae chŏngguk kwa sallim ŭi kinŭng” [Politics of Chosŏn Sukchong’s reign and the function of the rusticated literati]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 43 (1993): 121–162. Wagner, Edward Willett. The Literati Purges: Political Conflict in Early Yi Korea. Cambridge, Massachusetts: East Asian Research Center, 1974. ———. “The Civil Examination Process as Social Leaven: The Case of the Northern Provinces in the Yi Dynasty.” Korea Journal 17, no. 1 ( January 1977): 22–27. Wang Hyŏnjong. Han’guk kŭndae kukka ŭi hyŏngsŏng kwa Kabo kaehyŏk [Formation of the modern Korean state and the Kabo Reform]. Yŏksa pip’yŏngsa, 2003. Yi Hŭihwan. Chosŏn hugi tangjaeng yŏn’gu [Late Chosŏn factional strife]. Kukhak charyowŏn, 1995. Yi Kyŏnggu. “Yŏngjo huban’gi T’angp’yŏng chŏngch’i ŭi pyŏnhwa wa chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi tonghyang” [Change in the Policy of Impartiality and political forces in the latter half of Yŏngjo’s reign]. Yŏksa wa hyŏnsil 53 (2004): 15–21. Yi Kyŏngnyong. “Myŏngch’o Kŭmhwahak-p’a ŭi Hwai-ron hyŏngsŏng kwa pyŏn’gyŏng insik” [Formation of Jinhua school’s Hua-Yi discourse in the early Ming and understandings of border regions]. In Chungguk ŭi pyŏn’gang insik kwa kaltŭng [China’s understandings of border regions and conflict], coauthored by An Pyŏngu, Yi Yusŏng, Yi Sŏngje, Kim Chŏnghŭi, Yi Kyŏngnyong, No Kisik, Pak Sangsu, et al., 154–190. Osan: Hansin taehakkyo ch’ulp’anbu, 2007. Yi Minwŏn. Myŏngsŏng hwanghu sihae wa Agwan p’ach’ŏn [Murder of Empress Myŏngsŏng and Kojong’s flight to the Russian legation]. Kukhak charyowŏn, 2002. Yi Pangwŏn. Hanmal chŏngch’i pyŏndong kwa Chungch’uwŏn [The Hanmal political change and the Privy Council]. Hyean, 2010. Yi Sangsik. “1920 nyŏndae ŭi Kwangju chibang kwa haksaeng undong: Kwangju haksaeng tongnip undong ŭl chungsim ŭro” [The Kwangju area in the 1920s and the student movement: the independence movement of Kwangju students]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 64 (1995): 103–135. ———. “Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn ŭi yŏksa ŭisik” [Maech’ŏn Hwang Hyŏn’s historical consciousness]. Hyangt’o munhwa 30 (2010): 7–22. Yi Sugŏn. Han’guk chungse sahoesa yŏn’gu [Social history of medieval Korea]. Ilchogak, 1984.

254

Bibliography

Yi T’aejin. Kojong sidae ŭi chaejomyŏng [Reexamining the Kojong era]. T’aehaksa, 2000. ———. “Han’guk pyŏnghap ŭn sŏngnip haji anatta: Ilbon ŭi Taehan cheguk kukkwŏn ch’imt’al kwa choyak kangje” [Annexation of Korea did not take effect: Japan’s robbery of the Korean Empire’s sovereignty and imposition of treaty]. In Han’guk pyŏnghap, sŏngnip haji anatta [Annexation of Korea, it did not take effect], edited by Yi T’aejin, 29–75. T’aehaksa, 2001. Yi T’aejin, O Yŏngsŏp, Toch’ŭk’a Ech’ŭro [Totsuka Etsurō], To Chinsun, Wang Wienjjŏu [Wang Yuanzhou], Ch’oe Pongnyong [Cui Fenglong], Hirada Kenich’i [Hirada Ken’ichi], et al. Yŏngwŏnhi t’aorŭnŭn pulkkot: An Chunggŭn ŭi Haŏrbin ŭigŏ wa Tongyang p’yŏnghwaron [An eternal flame: An Chunggŭn’s action in Harbin and discourse on peace in the East]. P’aju: Chisik sanŏpsa, 2010. Yi Tŏkchu. “Chosŏn ttang ŭi ŏmŏni Wang Chaedŏk” [Mother of Korean land, Wang Chaedŏk]. Sae kajŏng 362 (October 1986): 44–50. Yi Uk. “Chosŏn chŏn’gi wŏnhon ŭl wihan chesa ŭi pyŏnhwa wa kŭ ŭimi: suryukchae wa yŏje rŭl chungsim ŭro” [Evolution of sacrificial rituals for vengeful spirits in early Chosŏn and its meaning: the Ritual of Water and Land and the ritual for abandoned spirits]. Chonggyo munhwa yŏn’gu 3 ( January 2001): 169–187. Yi Yŏngho. Tonghak sasang kwa Chosŏn nongmin hyŏngmyŏng chŏnjaeng [Tonghak ideology and Chosŏn peasants’ revolutionary war]. Tongin t’ongmun, 2016. Yi Yŏngjong. “Pukhan chumindŭl ege itch’ŏjin minjok yusan chokpo” [Genealogies, a national legacy forgotten by the North Korean residents]. Han’gugin 17, no. 5 (1988): 74–75. Yŏn Kapsu. “Kapsin chŏngbyŏn ijŏn ŭi kungnae chŏngch’i seryŏk ŭi tonghyang” [Activities of political forces in Korea before the Kapsin Coup]. Kuksagwan nonch’ong 93 (2000): 333–365. ———. Kojongdae chŏngch’i pyŏndong yŏn’gu [Political change in the reign of Kojong]. Ilchisa, 2008. Yu Ponghak. Kaehyŏk kwa kaltŭng ŭi sidae: Chŏngjo wa 19 segi [The age of reform and conflict: Chŏngjo and the nineteenth century]. Sŏngnam: Sin’gu munhwasa, 2009. Yu Yŏngnyŏl. Taehan chegukki ŭi minjok undong [Nationalist movements in the Korean Empire period]. Ilchogak, 1997. Yun Kyŏngjin. “Koryŏ mal Chosŏn ch’o kyogun ŭi sŏlch’i wa chaep’yŏn: Kyŏng­sang-do chiyŏk ŭl chungsim ŭro” [The establishment and reorgan­ization of transferred county administrations in late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn: the Kyŏngsang region]. Han’guk munhwa 40 (December 2007): 179–210.

Index

academies, private: eliminated by Taewŏn’gun due to abuses, 151 agricultural land, productivity of, 216n86 Aiqin (surname), 181 Aiqin Youde, 181 Amended Great Code, 111, 119 Amended Six Codes (Sok Yukchŏn), 40, 53 An Chunggŭn, 167 An Hyang, 74, 105, 168 ancestral rites: Chŏngjo and, 129–130, 132, 134; Munjong of Chosŏn and, 53–54, 57; performed at Sungŭijŏn, 47, 51, 53, 54, 57, 59, 64, 66, 72, 88, 89, 98, 103, 130; Sukchong and, 103–106; Wang Sullye (Che Uji) and, 51, 53, 54; Yŏngjo and, 120, 121, 130, 166. See also Rites, Ministry of Ancestral Rites Administration (Pongsangsi), 74, 159 Andong Kim, 136, 141, 142 Andronikos II Palaiologos, 213n21 Angam Temple, 30 anti-Wang persecution (1394–1413), 2, 3, 21–33, 38; by Censorate, 20–23, 29–31, 34–36, 39, 141; ending of, 37, 39; targeting only bona fide royal Wangs, 26; U of Koryŏ and, 3, 13, 21, 23, 26, 29–30, 37, 76. See also massacre of the Wangs in May 1394 aristocracy. See yangban; specific topics aristocrat-commoner distinction, abolition of social hierarchy based on, 161 army, Korean, 167. See also military; righteous army leaders Ashikaga family, 16 Association for Awakening and Advancement (Sŏngjinhoe), 178–179 Astrological Rituals, Office of, 64 Ayushiridara, 16

Baekje/Paekche. See Onjo of Paekche Balkans, regime changes in the, 16, 18t, 19 banishment, 20, 37, 45, 73, 90, 125, 142, 156; caning and, 31, 35, 44, 156; of former kings, 19, 20, 25, 27, 180; of Wangs, 19–21, 25, 33, 37, 44, 125 banquets, 60 beheadings, 21, 31, 35, 36, 87 Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara. See Ayushiridara Border Defense Council (Pibyŏnsa), 63, 71, 73, 105, 106, 147 Britain, 147, 163, 166, 185 Buddhism, 10, 13, 25, 29, 49, 81; and anti-Buddhist ethos, 10, 49, 64, 72–73; Confucianism and, 2, 10, 13, 49, 64, 72–73; Koryŏ and, 13, 73; Monk Pou and, 49, 72, 73; Queen Munjŏng’s promotion of, 49, 72 Buddhist monks, 24–26, 30, 34, 50, 72, 83 Buddhist rituals, 2, 47, 49, 60. See also Ritual of Water and Land Buddhist schools, 72–73 Buddhist temples, 23, 43, 63, 72 burials, illegal, 99, 100, 104, 138, 139. See also tombs Byzantine-Ottoman transition, 17–19, 18t caning, 20, 31, 35, 37, 44, 156 capital punishment. See death row; executions Catholicism, 81, 110–111, 129, 142; anti-Catholic persecution, 136, 141, 142, 148 Censorate (Taegan), 36, 58; anti-Wang persecution, 20–23, 29–31, 34–36, 39, 141; interrogations and, 20–21, 31, 39; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 20–23, 29, 30, 141; T’aejong and, 34–36; Wang Kŏŭromi and, 35, 36; Wang U and, 29, 30 Ch’a Sangch’an, 179, 180 Ch’a Sik, 75–76 Ch’ang. See Wang Ch’ang

256

index

Chang, Lady. See Hŭibin Lady Chang Chang Anse, 140 chastity, female, 42, 43. See also widowhood Che Uji. See Wang Sullye Cheng of Zhou, King, 64 Cheoljong of Joseon. See Ch’ŏlchong of Chosŏn China, 110, 146, 154, 160; Kojong and, 146, 154, 155, 159; Korea as contested zone between Japan and, 155; Manchu rule over, 92, 96, 110, 147; regime changes, 19, 180. See also Ming China/ Ming dynasty; specific topics Chinese surnames, Silla individuals adopting, 10 Chinggisids, 15–16, 19 Chin’gwan Temple, 41 Cho Chin’gwan, 135, 136 Cho Chun, 13, 15, 94 Cho Kwangjo, 63, 71 Cho Kyŏn, 132 Cho Kyŏngha, 157 Cho Saŭi, 32 Cho T’aeŏk, 107, 121, 127 Cho Ŭisaeng, 132, 133 Ch’oe Ch’anghyŏk, 121–122 Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn, 74 Ch’oe Ikhyŏn, 154–155 Ch’oe Yŏng (1316–1388), 37, 93, 95, 179 Ch’oe Yŏngsu, 93–94 Ch’ŏlchong of Chosŏn, 109–110, 142–143, 147 Chŏlla Province, 83; map of, xviii Chŏng Chiyun (Chŏng Sudong), 144–145 Chŏng Inji, 54, 60 Chŏng Mongju, 54, 93, 107; attack on, 118; Chŏngjo and, 134; Chŏngyang and, 153; Confucianism and, 151; Kojong and, 151; loyalty to Koryŏ, 11, 65, 95, 113, 118, 153; portrait of, 151; spirit tablet, 153, 168; T’aejo of Chosŏn, 65; T’aejong and, 33; tomb, 91; Yi Sŏnggye and, 11, 13 Chŏng Namjin, 22, 23 Chŏng Sudong (Chŏng Chiyun), 144–145 Chŏng T’aehwa, 98, 99 Chŏng Tojŏn, 13, 93, 94, 114 Chŏnggan Wang (P’yŏngyang Kong), 11; descendants, 23, 34, 36, 91, 186, 187 Chŏnggan Wang branch, 186 Chŏngjo of Chosŏn, 145; ancestral rites and, 129–130, 132, 134; appointments made by, 134–135; ascent to the throne, 109; Cho Chin’gwan and, 135; compilations of writings commissioned by, 139; death, 136; reign, 109, 111, 129–135; shrines and, 129–132; Sŏ Yubang and, 133, 134; Sungdŏkchŏn and, 130–132; Sunginjŏn

and, 131–132; Sungŭijŏn and, 129–132, 134, 135; tombs and, 134, 135; Wangs and, 134–135; Yŏngjo and, 129, 130 Chŏngjong of Chosŏn (King Jeongjong): death, 40; as figurehead, 9, 32; Koryŏ and, 32; Pangwŏn and, 32; T’aejong and, 9, 32; tomb, 104 Chŏngmyo War, 80, 90, 91. See also Manchus: Injo’s capitulation to Chŏngsin Kungju, 27, 41–42, 44 Chŏngsun, Queen, 136, 161 Chŏnju Yi, 175, 185, 189 Chosŏn dynasty, 175; Eastern Ways–Western Implements (Tongdo Sŏgi) Reform (1873–1894), 155–160; founding of, 175 (see also Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change); Koryŏ legacies and the Chosŏn dynasty in turmoil (1800–1864), 136–145; legacies of Koryŏ and the final phase of dynastic renovation (1776–1800), 129–136; partisan strife at its peak (1649–1674), 96–103; the sage king and the vanquished state (1724–1776), 111–129; securing the third line of ritual heirs (1540– 1589), 66–78; sowing the seeds of the coming end-of-the-Chosŏn-dynasty turmoil, 111; Taewŏn’gun’s conservative reform (1864–1873), 147–149, 151–155; toward a stronger kingship (1674–1724), 103–107; wars, politics, and identity (1589–1649), 81–96. See also specific topics Chosŏn Korea: map of, xv. See also specific topics Christianity, 17, 74–75. See also Catholicism Chun Doo-hwan, 185 chungin (middle class), xiii, 4, 69, 81, 91, 110, 144, 147 chungin poets, 135, 171 Chungjeong of Goryeo. See Ch’ungjŏng of Koryŏ Chungjong of Chosŏn, 63–67, 72, 75, 79, 89; abdication, 71; ancestral rites and, 64, 66; ascent to the throne, 48–49, 63, 65; Cho Kwangjo and, 63; Daoists and, 64; death, 71; descendants, 89; half brothers, 48, 63; sons, 48–49; Sungŭijŏn and, 64–66; Wang Hŭi and, 67, 75, 79; Wangs and, 65, 67 Ch’ungjŏng of Koryŏ, descendants of, 11, 70, 84, 177 Ch’ungnyŏl of Koryŏ, 15, 32, 66, 67, 69 civil examination (munkwa), 3, 151–152; Confucian Academy and, 3; Hamjong Ŏ passing, 4 civil examination graduates/passers, 4, 169, 172; ceremony for, 152; civil offices held by, 3; first Kaesŏng Wang to pass, 177; Kaesŏng Wang, 3, 4,

index 67, 81–82; Kwach’ŏn lineage members, 67–68, 82, 108, 172 Civilian Control Zone, 187 colonial bureaucrats promoted in Japanese court rank, 178 colonial Korea. See Japanese rule Communists, 182. See also North Korea Comprehensive Great Code (Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn), 129, 132 concubines, 19, 33, 49, 57, 60, 61, 95; children of, 9, 32, 33, 60, 61; elevation of, 103 Confucian academies, 3, 63, 126, 140, 151 Confucian cultural transformation, 49 Confucian monarchs, 59 Confucian morality, 49, 58–59, 81 Confucian rituals, 65, 87 Confucian scholars, 25, 73, 127, 128, 133, 143. See also Neo-Confucian scholars Confucian student register (yuan), 151 Confucian students, 123; anti-Buddhist ethos among, 64, 72–73; of Kaesŏng, 72–73; Kojong and, 151; Koryŏ and, 140, 151; of Kyŏnggi, 132; memorials from, 119, 132, 134, 140 Confucian texts, 10 Confucian virtues, 2, 43, 145, 226n65, 231n107 Confucian worthies, honoring, 151, 168 Confucianism, 74, 81, 113, 128, 129, 144; Monk Pou and, 49, 73; Myŏngjong and, 49, 73; Reformed Confucianism, 110, 128; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 13, 127; Taewŏn’gun and, 151; Wang Sŏkpo and, 143–144; Wangs and, 47, 58–59; Yŏngjo and, 123, 127, 128, 151. See also Neo-Confucianism Confucius, 103, 131 conspiracies, 20, 89, 94; punishments for, 20; to restore the Koryŏ dynasty, 2, 20–21; Wangs accused of, 20–21, 29–30, 42, 89–90 Constantine XI Palaiologos, 17 Constantinople, 17 corporal punishment. See caning corruption, 136, 159, 160, 170. See also academies coups, 37, 54, 56, 88. See also Injo coup of 1623; Kapsin Coup cultural landscape, changes in, 147 currency, units of, xiv Dangun. See Tan’gun Danjong of Joseon. See Tanjong of Chosŏn Daoism, 10, 64 death penalty. See death row; executions death row, releases from, 125, 229n66 Demetrios Palaiologos, 17 Demilitarized Zone, 187

257

Democratic Justice Party (Minju chŏngŭidang), 185 Disciples (Soron), 106, 107, 111; vs. Patriarchs, 80–81, 103, 107, 109, 111; Southerners and, 103, 107, 109, 111, 129 distance, measures of, xiv divorce, 33, 43 Dong Won Fisheries (Tongwŏn susan), 185, 186 Donghak. See Tonghak Donghak Peasant Revolution. See Tonghak Uprising dreams, 30, 87; of Ch’oe Yŏngsu, 93–94; of T’aejong (Yi Pangwŏn), 38, 143, 177; of temple monks, 30, 72 Eastern Ways–Western Implements (Tongdo Sŏgi) Reform (1873–1894), 155–160 Easterner (Tongin)–Westerner (Sŏin) split of 1575, 49 Easterners (Tongin): split into Northerners and Southerners, 80, 82; vs. Westerners (Sŏin), 49, 74 education, 151, 178. See also Confucian students; learning; schools elders, respect for, 226n65 emancipation of Wang slaves, 125–126 Empire of Korea. See Korean Empire Enlightenment Party (Kaehwadang), 154, 159 Equal Service Law, 111 examination degrees, 157. See also civil examination graduates/passers; military examination graduates/passers examination system, abolishment of, 161. See also civil examination; military examination executions, ordered by Ministry of Punishments, 21, 22, 31, 35, 36. See also anti-Wang persecution; beheadings; death row; Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls Expediency faction (Sip’a), 109, 136 female chastity, 42, 43. See also widowhood female slaves, 31, 45, 126 female Wangs, 33, 41–44; benevolent gestures toward, 33, 41; sparing of, 26; surviving, 43, 44, 56, 58 feudalism, 173, 182 filial piety, 43, 133 Finance, Ministry of, 169 Financial Supervision, Bureau of, 169 First Literati Purge of 1498, 63 First Sino-Japanese War, 146, 160, 161, 170 “Fond Thoughts of Full Moon Terrace” (Manwŏltae hoego), 71–72

258

index

Fourth Literati Purge of 1545, 73 France, 148, 162–163 “Full Moon Terrace” (Chŏng), 144–145 Gabo Reform. See Kabo Reform Gangwon Province. See Kangwŏn Province Gaozu of Tang, Emperor, 114, 115 Gapsin Coup. See Kapsin Coup gender roles. See women Geoje. See Kŏje Geonyang. See Kŏnyang Gija. See Kija Gim clan of Andong. See Andong Kim Go-Daigo, Emporer, 16–17 Gojong of Korea. See Kojong of Korea Gongmin of Goryeo. See Kongmin of Koryŏ gongs, beating. See kyŏkchaeng Gongyang of Goryeo. See Kongyang of Koryŏ Goryeo. See Koryŏ dynasty government service examinations, 170; Kaesŏng Wang passing, 3; rehabilitated Wangs taking, 1 graves, illegal, 99, 138–139. See also burials; Rites, Ministry of; tombs Great Code of Administration (Kyŏngguk taejŏn), 56, 59, 61. See also Amended Great Code; Comprehensive Great Code Great Code Reconciliation (Taejŏn hoet’ong), 148–149 Gregorian calendar, xiv Gung Ye. See Kungye Gwacheon. See Kwach’ŏn Gwanghaegun of Joseon. See Kwanghae Kun of Chosŏn Gwangjong of Goryeo. See Kwangjong of Koryŏ Gwangmu Reform. See Kwangmu Reform Gyeongjong of Joseon. See Kyŏngjong of Chosŏn Gyeongsun of Silla. See Kyŏngsun of Silla Hall of Worthies (Chiphyŏnjŏn), 40, 50, 56 Ham Purim, 22, 23 Ham Puyŏl, 23 Hamgyŏng Province, 117 Hamjong Ŏ family, 4 Hansŏng. See Seoul Heungseon Daewongun. See Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn’gun; Taewŏn’gun History of Koryŏ (Koryŏsa), 75, 95, 175, 179; compilation, 32, 41, 50, 92; criticisms of, 92, 95, 175; genealogical coverage of royal Wangs, 11; influence, 32; royal kin (chongch’in) section, 11, 26, 70, 215n66; Sejong and, 41; T’aejong (Yi Pangwŏn) and, 32; Wang Mi and, 187

History of Ming (Ming Shi), 127, 128 Hŏ Wi, 168 Hōjō family, 16, 19 Hong Gyeong-nae. See Hong Kyŏngnae Rebellion Hong Kyŏngnae Rebellion, 136 Hong lineage, 175 Hongwu Emperor, 13, 15, 16, 19 Hŏnjong of Chosŏn, 141; age upon accession, 109, 141; death, 142; in-law governance during the reign of, 109–110, 141; Koryŏ and, 141, 142; relatives, 142; Wang Sullye and, 141–142 Huangdi. See Yellow Emperor Hŭibin Lady Chang, 103, 107 Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn’gun, 146, 147 Hwahye T’aekchu, 42, 56, 58, 59 Hwang (surname), 31 Hwang Chini (Myŏngwŏl), 71–72, 92 Hwang Hyŏn, 144, 170, 171, 176 Hwanghae Province, map of, xvii Hye-Sook Wang, 188–189 Hyejong of Koryŏ, 15, 32, 40 Hyojong of Chosŏn, 90, 96, 98, 106 Hyomyŏng, Crown Prince, 136, 147, 230n96 Hyŏnjong of Chosŏn, 98–101; overview, 98; Sukchong and, 80, 103 Hyŏnjong of Koryŏ, 15, 32, 40; ancestors, 188; descendants, 11, 13, 23, 33, 34, 36, 51, 70, 91, 186, 214n47; sons, 11, 187; tomb, 100, 104 Hyoryŏng Taegun, 41 Hyoŭn T’aeja (Tongyang Kun), 11; descendants, 3, 75, 77, 136, 143, 187, 188 Im (surname), 122, 123 Im Kkŏkchŏng, 71 Im Kwŏn, 64, 72 Im Sŏch’u, 122, 123 Im Sŏnmi, 122, 132, 133 Im Uch’un, 125 Imjin River, 15, 30, 46 Imjin War, 80, 82–83, 88; casualties, 82, 132–133; Kurye lineage and, 83, 138; and partisan strife, 80; Sungŭijŏn and, 85–86, 182; Wang Ok and, 83–84; Wangs and, 83–85, 108 Imo Mutiny, 146, 158–159; Kojong and, 146, 158–159 Impartiality, Policy of, 109, 111 Imperial Korea. See Korean Empire imperialism, age of, 147, 155. See also Japanese rule Injo coup of 1623, 88–90 Injo of Chosŏn, 90–91; ascent to the throne, 90, 96; capitulation to Manchus, 90, 95, 96; court of, 90–92, 180; death, 96; father, 98; reign, 90; sons, 90, 96

index Injong of Chosŏn, 48–49, 71 inspection of tombs. See under tombs Inspector-General, Office of the, 4, 43–45, 58, 63 intermarriage, 175 internment sites, 25, 28. See also specific sites interrogations, 34, 87, 103, 139; Censorate and, 20–21, 31, 39; and the court, 20, 31; Ministry of Punishments and, 20–21, 31, 39, 125; State Tribunal and, 34, 36, 39; of Wangs, 20–21, 31, 34, 39, 65, 90, 125 Jang Ok-jeong. See Hŭibin Lady Chang Japan: Kojong and, 146, 155, 159, 162; Korea as contested zone between China and, 155; regime changes, 16–18, 18t; treaty relations with, 146, 155 Japanese demands for trade, 146, 148 Japanese invasions (1592–1598). See Imjin War Japanese rule, Korea under, 173, 178–179, 181; anti-Japanese resistance, 146, 155, 162, 167–168, 173, 178–179; end of, 173; Korean response to colonial masters, 173; Majŏn lineage during, 175; shrines and, 174; Sungŭijŏn superintendents and, 174; Wang Sŏngsun and, 175; Wangs and, 173, 175, 178, 179, 181 Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876, 155 Japan-Korea Treaty of 1904, 166 Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905, 167, 170 Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910, 169 Jeongjo of Joseon. See Chŏngjo of Chosŏn Jeongjong of Joseon. See Chŏngjong of Chosŏn Jeongsun, Queen. See Chŏngsun, Queen Jizi. See Kija Joseon. See Chosŏn Jungjong of Joseon. See Chungjong of Chosŏn Jurchen Later Jin dynasty, 90 Jurchens, 74, 75, 90, 180; Kim Kaji and, 180–181; vs. the Ming, 181; raids/attacks, 40, 63, 168. See also Manchus Kabo Reform, 160; phases, 160–162 Kaesŏng lineage, 68–69; Kwach’ŏn lineage and, 68, 82, 83, 96, 101, 108; Yŏngjo and, 114, 116, 118, 120–123, 148, 153 Kaesŏng magistrate, 60, 74, 113, 158; ancestral rites and, 120, 148; Kojong and, 148, 149, 151, 152, 157; Majŏn lineage and, 156, 157; Ministry of Rites and, 118, 138–139, 148; reports, 121, 122, 137, 139; shrines and, 148, 149; State Council and, 149, 157; Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and, 108, 143, 157; Sunjo and, 137–139; tombs and, 113, 118, 120, 139, 148, 152; Tumun-dong and, 120–123;

259

Wang Sahŭi and, 156, 157; Wangs and, 106, 113, 114, 120, 123, 126, 149, 157; Yŏngjo and, 113, 114, 116, 117, 120–123, 126. See also specific magistrates Kaesŏng Wang, 1–5, 68–69; appointment to prestigious posts, 131; impact of Chosŏn dynasty on the lives of the, 171–172; Wang Hŭi and, 70, 75, 79. See also Majŏn lineage Kaesŏng Wang descent group segments, 12f Kaesŏng Wang examination, 224n1 Kaesŏng Wang genealogy, comprehensive, 45, 67, 69, 70, 77, 82–85, 88, 91, 124, 156, 157, 172, 173, 184, 186, 188, 222n70, 232n24; 1798 (first) edition, 27–28, 85, 102, 103, 135–136, 145, 176; 1850 edition, 138, 143, 149, 176; 1881 edition, 84, 158, 176, 181; 1918 edition, 175, 176, 186; 1991 edition, 187, 188; 2004 (most recent) edition, 78, 187, 188, 204n16, 219n161, 224n1; prefaces, 138, 143, 149, 158, 175–176, 188. See also History of Koryŏ Kamakura, Japan, 16, 19 Kamakura-Muromachi transition, 16 Kamakura shogunate, 16 Kang Ch’ung, 46 Kang Kamch’an, 168 Kang Wan, 39 Kang Wi, 171 Kanghwa, 25, 29, 142; persons relocated to, 13, 19, 22, 25, 26, 30, 37, 142; raided by Wakō, 25; remains at, 3; tombs on, 135, 152; Wangs and, 13, 19, 22, 25, 26, 29, 37 Kangnŭng, 76 Kangwŏn Province, 4, 19, 41, 75, 167 Kapsin Coup, 146, 159, 161, 233n41 Kija: descendants, 89, 105, 112; introduction of morality, 134; shrines honoring, 87, 89, 107, 112, 131–132, 149, 164t, 174; Sunginjŏn and, 89, 107, 132, 149, 164t, 174 Kil Chae, 65, 91, 95, 107, 113, 134 Kim Che, 134 Kim Chŏnggyŏng, 42, 43, 56 Kim Chongsŏ, 43, 54 Kim Chu, 113, 134 Kim Hongjip, 160–162 Kim Il-sung, 182, 183 Kim It’an, 138–139 Kim Kae, 58 Kim Kahaeng, 20–22 Kim Kaji, 180–181 Kim Poin, 43, 219n152 Kim Sangno, 117, 122 Kim Siyŏn, 143, 155 Kim Sŏngil, 82, 83

260

index

Kim Suhyŏn, 158 Kim Suro of Kaya. See Suro of Kŭmgwan Kaya Kim T’aegyŏng, 169, 170, 175–177 Kim Tŏngnyong, 90 Kim Yangno, 116, 120 Kim Yŏji, 33–36 Kim Yugyŏng, 112–113 kings. See monarchs Kŏidu (surname), 36 Kŏje, 24; deaths on, 24–27, 29, 218n119; names, 28; Oks and, 27, 28; persons relocated to, 13, 19–22, 24, 24f, 26, 28–29, 37; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 13, 19, 21; Wangs and, 13, 19–22, 24, 24f, 26–29, 37 Kojong of Korea (Kwangmu), 146, 148, 149, 151–155, 159, 162–163, 166; abdication, 167; appointments and, 149, 152, 154, 155; ascent to the throne, 147; China and, 146, 154, 155, 159; Chŏng Mongju and, 151; civil and military examinations overseen by, 151–153; Confucianism and, 149; descendants, 11, 70, 177; Eastern Ways–Western Implements Reform pursued by, 155; Hyomyŏng and, 147; Hyŏnnŭng and, 152; Imo Mutiny and, 146, 158– 159; Japan and, 146, 155, 159, 162; Kaesŏng and, 148, 149, 151–153, 156, 157; Kapsin Coup and, 159; Koryŏ and, 148, 151; Kwangmu Reform and, 163; and the military, 167; Ministry of Personnel and, 149, 155; names, 162; nationalist activities supported by, 167; pursued treaty relations with Western nations, 146; reform policies, 159; ritual sacrifice and, 152, 153; Russia and, 146; State Council and, 149, 157; Taewŏn’gun and, 147, 148, 154, 155; tombs and, 78, 148, 149, 152, 158; Wang Chŏngyang and, 149, 152–154; Wang Indong and, 156; Wang Sahŭi and, 155; Wang Sŏngsun and, 169; Wangs and, 149, 151–153, 157, 158; Yi Hŏnyŏng and, 156–157; Yŏngjo and, 151, 153, 166 Kong Sŏrin, 131 Kongmin of Koryŏ, 50, 93, 179, 180; concubine, 19; Kongyang and, 39; legacy, 32, 93, 95, 176, 179; progeny, 94, 95, 176, 179, 180 (see also U of Koryŏ: as Kongmin’s son); sacrificial rituals in honor of, 15; Wang Ch’ang and, 39, 50, 176, 179 Kongs, 131 Kŏnyang (Kojong), 162; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 22–23, 27. See also Kojong of Korea Kongyang of Koryŏ, 19, 23, 50, 127; abdication, 13; ascent to the throne, 23, 26; brothers, 13, 141; deposed, 27; execution, 23; Koryŏ and, 39; legacy, 39; portrait, 41; progeny, 23, 26–27, 44, 215n69; relatives, 14f, 19; T’aejong (Yi

Pangwŏn) and, 39; T’aejo’s edict to, 22–23; tomb, 101 Korea: as “little China,” 110; regime changes and transitions, 16, 18t, 65, 172, 180 (see also Korean Empire; Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change; MingQing transition). See also specific topics Korean Empire (Taehan cheguk), 146; rise and fall of Imperial Korea (1894–1910), 160–171 Korean War, 86, 182, 185; Sungŭijŏn and, 86, 174, 182 Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change (1392), 10, 33, 46, 96, 97; critics of, 116; Hŏnjong and, 141; interpretations of, 145, 173; official line on, 140, 141, 173; resistance to, 33; surname changes following, 128, 143; Wangs and, 2, 3, 127, 128, 145, 173, 176. See also Chosŏn dynasty: founding of Koryŏ dynasty: descendants (see Kaesŏng Wang); monarchs, 191–192. See also specific topics Koryŏ T’aejo. See T’aejo of Koryŏ Koryŏ worthies, 54, 55f, 63 Kungye, Emperor, 30, 94, 163 Kurye County, 68, 82–83, 114. See also Kurye lineage Kurye lineage, 68–69, 108, 138, 188; Imjin War and, 83, 138; Kaesŏng Wang of, 68, 83, 170; nature of, 172; scholars in, 144, 170, 172, 176 (see also Wang Suhwan); Wangs and, 83, 108, 113–114. See also Kaesŏng Wang; Kurye County; Wang Chaeil; Wang Sŏkpo; Wang Ŭisŏng Kwach’ŏn, Wangs in, 97 Kwach’ŏn lineage, 188; Kaesŏng lineage and, 68, 82, 83, 96, 101, 108 Kwach’ŏn lineage members: accomplishments, 68, 97; examination passage, 67–68, 82, 96–97, 108, 172; office holding, 68, 73, 82, 101; who fought against Japanese, 83 Kwak Chonjung, 34, 42, 43 Kwanghae Kun of Chosŏn, 80, 88–90, 180 Kwangjong of Koryŏ, 11, 163 Kwangju, 131–132 Kwangju magistrate, 131, 132; Kim It’an and, 138–139 Kwangju Student Movement, 179 Kwangju Youth Association (Kwangju ch’ŏngnyŏnhoe), 178 Kwangmu. See Kojong of Korea Kwangmu Reform (1897–1904), 163 Kwangnŭng Hu. See Wang Mi (1365–n.d., descendant of Chŏnggan Wang and Hyoŭn T’aeja) Kwangyŏ, 177

index Kwanŭm Hermitage, 29, 60 Kwiŭi Kun, 13, 15, 19, 30 kyŏkchaeng (beating gong to gain king’s attention), 156 Kyŏnggi Province: governor, 59, 74, 78, 101, 114, 118–119, 130, 148 (see also Yi Chŏnggwi); Hyŏnjong and, 99–101; maps of, xvi, xviii; Wangs in, 5, 97, 101, 114 Kyŏnghwa Kungju, 27, 44 Kyŏngjong of Chosŏn, 4, 80, 107, 111 Kyŏngju Ok, 28 Kyŏngnyŏng Ongju, 27, 33, 42, 44 Kyŏngsun of Silla, 106, 119, 130, 131, 174 land, measures of agricultural, 216n86 Later Jin dynasty, 90 Later Jin invasion of Chosŏn. See Chŏngmyo War; Manchus: Injo’s capitulation to learning, 110–111. See also education; Nature and Principle Learning; Tonghak; Western Learning licentiate examinations (samasi, saengwŏn-chinsasi) for admission into Confucian Academy, 3 lineages, xiii–xiv. See also specific lineages literati purges, 59; First Literati Purge of 1498, 63; Fourth Literati Purge of 1545, 73; Second Literati Purge of 1504, 63; Third Literati Purge of 1519, 63, 71 Liu Bei, 127 loyalty, virtue of, 2, 65, 92, 133, 134, 166, 171 Maidiribala, Marquis of Chongli, 16 Majŏn County, maps of, 150f, 165f Majŏn lineage, 156–157, 175, 182; divisions in, 187; Kaesŏng magistracy and, 156, 157; Sungŭijŏn and, 174–175, 187; Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and, 82, 85, 102, 136–137, 149, 156–158, 165–166, 172, 175, 186, 188; Wang Sahŭi and, 156, 157; Wangs and, 159, 165, 167–168, 182 Majŏn magistrate, 103, 104, 129, 168 Manchu conquest of China, 92. See also MingQing transition Manchu rule over China, 96, 110, 147 Manchuria, 168, 180 Manchus, 90, 92, 95, 96, 110, 138, 147; Injo’s capitulation to, 90, 95, 96. See also Jurchens Mandate of Heaven, 15, 39, 57, 94, 140; Chosŏn and, 10, 47, 50; Koryŏ as recipient of, 10, 50; recipients of, 10, 50, 127–128; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 127–128; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 94; Wangs and, 35

261

manumission, 10, 28, 125, 126 Manwŏltae, 151–152, 183 marriage, xiv, 49, 175; serial, 42, 43, 58. See also polygamy marriage ties, Wangs maintaining, 11, 83 massacre of the Wangs in May 1394, 20, 27–30, 38; accounts of, 177; aftermath, 4, 25, 29, 30; casualties, 20, 22–25, 27, 33; persons responsible for, 50; ritual in memory of, 87; survivors and escapees from, 33–34, 143. See also anti-Wang persecution; T’aejong of Chosŏn: 1413 edict of toleration maternal surname, adoption of, 26 Matthew Palaiologos Asen, 17 measurement, units of, xiv Medina, Jenny Wang, 189 Mehmed II (Mehmed the Conqueror), 17–18 Michael VIII Palaiologos, 213n21 military, 167, 187. See also righteous army leaders; War, Ministry of Military Academy, 163 military aid from China, 160 military cloth (kunp’o) tax, 49, 105 military commanders (pijang), 54, 90, 133, 157; Koryŏ civil officials serving as, 168 Military Demarcation Line, 182 military duties. See military service military examination (mukwa), 3; Kojong and, 151–153; overseeing, 117; participation base, 28 military examination graduates/passers, 4, 28, 85, 118, 153; appointment to military posts, 97, 133, 134; awarding degrees to, 117; ceremonies for, 117, 152, 153; Kaesŏng Wang, 67, 81–82, 101, 145; Kwach’ŏn lineage members, 67–68, 82, 96–97, 108; Ministry of War and, 134; offices held by, 85, 97; Oks, 28; positions in the military bureaucracy, 85, 101–102; Wangs, 3, 4 military instructor (kyoryŏn’gwan), 124 military officers, 124, 133–134; training of, 163; Wangs as, 70–71 military service, 69, 151; exemptions from, 89, 99, 123; principle of universal, 49 military strategists, 180, 181 military taxpayers, 111. See also military cloth (kunp’o) tax Military Training Administration (Hullyŏnwŏn), 84; auditor, 69, 92, 117 Military Training Command (Hullyŏn togam), 133 Min Chinhu, 105 Minamoto family, 16 Minamoto Yoritomo, 16

262

index

Ming China/Ming dynasty, 9, 13, 90, 180; Chinggisids and, 15–16, 19; envoys, 45, 93, 113; vs. Jurchens, 88, 181; Kim Kaji and, 181; Maidiribala and, 16; Mongols and, 15–16; political and military conflicts, 15–16, 82, 88, 92, 181; stabilization of Korea’s relations with, 32; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 13; U of Koryŏ and, 30; virgins and horses demanded by, 42; Yuan dynasty and, 15–16, 19 Ming court, 15–16, 30, 79 Ming-Qing transition, 90, 180. See also Manchu conquest of China Ming refugees, 126 Ming Shi (History of Ming), 127, 128 “Miscellaneous Quatrain on the Pine Capital” (Songgyŏng chapchŏl), 171 modernization, 161–163 monarchs: banishment of former, 19, 20, 25, 27, 180; characters reserved for, 176; Chosŏn, 98, 140, 192; Confucian, 59; Koryŏ, 191–192. See also specific topics Mongols and Mongolia, 15–16 monks, 41; royals becoming, 26, 39, 136. See also Buddhist monks moral virtue. See Confucian virtues; loyalty Munjŏng, Queen, 49, 71, 72 Munjong of Chosŏn, 49, 50, 79; ancestral rites and, 53–54, 57; Che Uji and, 51–53; death, 48, 54; legacy, 40; Ministry of Rites and, 53–54; overview, 48; reign, 48, 50, 53; Sejong and, 48, 50, 51, 56, 57; State Council and, 53; Sungŭijŏn and, 51, 53, 57; Wangs and, 50–51; Yi Kyejŏn and, 50–51 Munjong of Koryŏ: ancestral rites for, 15; descendants, 11; enshrinement of spirit tablet of, 32; tomb, 100, 104 music, 142, 152–154 Musin Revolt. See Yi Injwa Rebellion of 1728 Myeongseong, Empress. See Myŏngsŏng, Queen Myŏngjong of Chosŏn, 49, 71–73 Myŏngsŏng, Queen, 146, 159, 162 Myŏngwŏl (Hwang Chini), 71–72 Nature and Principle Learning (Sŏngnihak), 59, 110, 168 Neo-Confucian scholars, 45, 56 Neo-Confucianism, 10, 74, 81, 110; Buddhism and, 2, 10, 49; shaping political discourse and social norms, 49; Yi Hwang and Yi I schools, 74 Neo-Confucianists, 2, 10, 63, 73, 97 No Cho. See Wang Cho

North Korea, 173, 182–185, 187. See also specific topics Northerners (Pugin), 80, 82, 88 O Myŏnghang, 106 Ok (surname), 5, 27, 28 Ok Andŏk, 28 Ok Ko, 29, 219n152 Ok Saon, 28–29 Oks and the Ok lineage, 27–29 Onjo of Paekche, 87, 131–132, 164, 164t, 174 Origins of Descent Groups (Ssijok wŏllyu), 27, 131 Ottomon Empire, rise of. See Byzantine-Ottoman transition Paekche. See Onjo of Paekche Pak Chiwŏn, 128, 176, 177 Pak Chungjil, 20–22 Pak Hyŏkkŏse, 107, 119, 132, 149, 164t, 174; Sungdŏkchŏn and, 107, 119, 132, 149, 164t, 174 Pak Kyusu, 154 Pak Munsu, 115, 119 Pak P’aengnyŏ, 40, 56, 65 Pak Wi, 20–22 Pak Yŏp, 180, 181 Pangwŏn, Yi. See T’aejong of Chosŏn “Passing by the Pine Capital” (Kwa Songgyŏng), 97–98 Patriarchs (Noron), 4, 105, 107, 109, 111; Chungjong and, 48; vs. Disciples, 80–81, 103, 107, 109, 111; Song Siyŏl and, 97, 103; Southerners and, 103; Yŏngjo and, 111. See also Principle Patriarchs patrilineality, xiv persecution (1394–1413). See anti-Wang persecution Personnel, Ministry of, 98, 107, 123, 134, 157; Chŏngjo and, 130, 134; Kojong and, 149, 155; Sukchong and, 106; Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and, 98, 106–107, 115, 130, 137, 143, 149, 155, 159; Wang Kon and, 98, 99; Wangs and, 98, 106, 113–115, 125, 137, 149, 157, 159; Yŏngjo and, 113–115, 119, 120, 122, 123, 125, 130 pirates. See Wakō plagues, 18 poems/poetry, 118, 144; Classical Chinese, 45–46, 71–72, 97–98; “Fond Thoughts of Full Moon Terrace” (Manwŏltae hoego), 71–72; “Full Moon Terrace” (Chŏng), 144–145; “Miscellaneous Quatrain on the Pine Capital” (Songgyŏng chapchŏl), 171; “Passing by the Pine Capital” (Kwa Songgyŏng), 97–98 poetry examination (ŭng je), 135

index poets, 71–72, 134, 135, 144, 170, 171, 176 Policy Council (Top’yŏngŭisasa), 21 political parties, 80, 185. See also specific parties polygamy, 60, 61 Pou, Monk, 49, 72, 73 Principle faction (Pyŏkp’a), 109, 129, 136 Principle Patriarchs, 142 P’ungyang Cho, 136, 141 punishments. See banishment; caning; executions; torture Punishments, Ministry of, 22, 126, 156; executions ordered by, 21, 22, 31, 35, 36; interrogations and, 20–21, 31, 39, 125; Kim Yŏji and, 35, 36; Kongyang and, 22–23; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 20, 21; T’aejong (Yi Pangwŏn) and, 22–23, 34–36; torture used by, 20–21; Wang Indong and, 156; Wang Kŏŭromi and, 35, 36; Wang Sangu and, 39; Wangs and, 20–23, 31, 34; Yŏngjo and, 125 purges, literati. See literati purges Pyŏn Segi, 125 Pyŏngja War, 80, 90, 92. See also Manchus: Injo’s capitulation to Qing court, 90, 127, 154 Qing dynasty. See Ming-Qing transition Qing invasion of Chosŏn. See Manchus: Injo’s capitulation to; Pyŏngja War Qizi. See Kija Rank Land Law of 1391, 42 rank titles, 226n65 Record of Venerable Deeds of Royal Ancestors (Yŏlcho kaeng jangnok), 139–141 rectification of names (chŏngmyŏng), 49, 127, 177 regime changes, 16–19, 18t. See also under specific countries rice, 33, 44, 103, 124, 153, 158–159; consumption, 164, 234n56; harvested and donated by Wang Chaedŏk, 178; price of, xiv, 103, 164, 234n56; for slaves, 125–126 righteous army leaders, 83–84, 138, 143, 167 Righteous Army of Korea (Taehan ŭigun), 167 Rites, Ministry of, 41, 42, 78, 105, 107, 118, 138; ancestral rites and, 15, 63, 65, 74, 77, 88, 137, 148; Chŏngjo and, 132; Chŏngjong and, 32; Chung­ jong and, 65–67; documents from, 157; Kaesŏng magistrate and, 118, 138–139, 148; Kongyang and, 39; Koryŏ rulers and, 15, 32, 39–42, 54, 63, 65, 74, 77, 106, 140; Munjong of Chosŏn and, 53, 54; portraits and, 40, 56, 74; recommendations, 15, 39, 40, 56, 61, 63, 99–100, 137, 138, 140, 148; regulations devised by, 42, 53, 54, 61; reports

263

from, 78, 103–104; reports to, 106, 118; section chiefs, 66; Sŏngjong and, 60, 61; Sŏnjo and, 74, 77, 157; spirit tablets and, 32; State Council and, 53, 54; Sungŭijŏn and, 54, 56, 63, 74, 78, 99; Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and, 61, 106; Sunjo and, 137, 138, 140; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 15; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 15, 32, 40, 56, 60, 74, 148; T’aejong (Yi Pangwŏn) and, 39; Taewŏn’gun and, 148; Tanjong and, 54; tombs, graves, and, 42, 99, 100, 103–104, 106, 138; Wang Hun and, 77; Wang Sullye and, 61; Wangs and, 61, 66–67, 99, 100, 103–105, 157. See also Yi Chŏnggwi Ritual of Water and Land: performances, 2, 25, 32, 41, 60, 87; popularity, 87; shrine for, 41; state sanctioning and sponsorship of, 2, 25, 29, 32, 38, 41, 47, 64; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 25, 29, 32, 41 Royal Decrees, Office of, 63, 95, 131, 148 Royal Division Command (Ŏyŏngch’ŏng), 124 Royal Lectures, Office of the, 63, 74 royals, formal: debate about the, 10–11, 13, 15–22. See also specific topics Russia, 146, 160–163, 166. See also Soviet Union Russo-Japanese War, 146, 166–167 Sado, Crown Prince, 109, 111, 129 Sanctum Guard Division (Kŭmwiyŏng), 124 Sangju: Kaesŏng Wang lineage of, 68, 69, 82, 83; Wangs of, 20, 83 Sangwŏn Temple, 41 Sarim (“rusticated literati”): Chungjong and, 63; Injong and, 71; Queen Munjŏng and, 71, 72; recruiting, promoting, and supporting, 56, 59, 63; Sejo and, 56; Sŏngjong and, 59; Sŏnjo and, 73, 74, 223n83; vision of the, 73; Yŏnsan Kun and, 63 Sarim political rhetoric, 74, 80, 223n83 Sarim victims of purges, 63, 71 schools, 72–74, 178. See also Confucian academies Second Literati Purge of 1504, 63 Sejo of Chosŏn, 56–59, 89; accomplishments, 56; ascent to the throne, 25, 54, 56; Buddhism and, 25; characterizations of, 56; death, 59; followers and supporters, 48, 50, 54, 59, 65; Kim Kae and, 58; kings who were descendants of, 89; Tanjong and, 25, 48, 50, 54, 56, 89; Wang Sullye and, 56–59, 79; Wangs and, 25, 58 Sejong the Great, 9, 40, 42, 48; ascent to the throne, 39, 40; death, 44; Koryŏ and, 40–41, 50, 53, 56; Munjong and, 48, 50, 56, 57; Sejo and, 56, 57; State Council and, 40, 43, 53; T’aejong (Yi Pangwŏn) and, 4, 9, 39–41, 50; Wangs and, 39, 41–44, 50, 51, 57

264

index

self-elevation, 127, 128 Seongjong of Joseon. See Sŏngjong of Joseon Seonjo of Joseon. See Sŏnjo of Chosŏn Seoul, 4, 69, 97, 104, 126, 159, 179; and the capital of Korea, 13, 32, 33; Japanese occupation of, 166; Kaesŏng and, 91, 122, 123; Kaesŏng Wang and, 91; politics and, 80, 159; Russian naval troops in, 162; T’aejo of Chosŏn in, 29, 33; Wangs from, 124–126; Wangs in, 31, 77; Yŏngjo and, 117, 122–126. See also specific topics Seoul-based aristocratic lineages, 109 Seoul lineage, 69, 91; social status of, 69; Wang Yusin and, 91 Seoul lineage members, 91, 135 Seoul magistracy, 138 shamanism: Confucianism and, 10, 81; opposition to, 10, 64; popularity, 10, 49, 81; rituals and, 2, 37, 47 shamanistic practices, 10, 37 Shang dynasty, 114, 153; collapse of, 98; descendants, 15, 64, 129; Zhou dynasty and, 57, 129, 136, 139, 141, 153 shrines: Chŏngjo and, 129–132; “Eight Shrines,” 174; for Kija, 87, 89, 107, 112, 131–132, 149, 164t, 174; for Silla rulers, 107, 130, 131, 164–165, 174; Sŏnjo and, 74, 75, 87; Sungnyŏngjŏn and, 131–132, 174; for Tan’gun, 112, 131–132, 164, 164t, 174. See also spirit tablets; Sungdŏkchŏn; Sunginjŏn; Sungnyŏlchŏn; specific topics Shun, Emperor, 112, 129 Silla, 46, 120; final years of, 10, 104; Sukchong and, 104 Silla rulers, 149; founder and founding king, 107, 119, 164–165; shrines for, 107, 130, 131, 164–165, 174; tombs, 149. See also specific rulers Sim Wŏn’gwŏn, 234n56 Sin Chagŭn, 44 Sin Ch’ang. See Wang Ch’ang Sin Ton, 50, 93, 127, 128 Sin U Wang. See U of Koryŏ Sinch’ang, 70 Sinch’ŏn Agricultural School (Sinch’ŏn nongŏp hakkyo), 178 Sinjong of Koryŏ, descendants of, 11, 70, 102, 177 Sinŭi, Queen, 32, 66, 104 Six Codes of Administration (Kyŏngje yukchŏn), 13, 40. See also Amended Six Codes Six Martyred Subjects (Sayuksin), 56 slaves/slavery, 10, 60, 64, 126; affairs with, 31; in Changdan, 125, 126; ch’ŏnmin, 81; economics and, 10, 13, 43, 125, 126; efforts to emancipate, 125–126 (see also manumission); female slaves,

31, 45, 126; Grant Uji and, 53, 54; Kurye and, 138; and the law, 43–45, 53; manumission and, 10, 28, 125, 126; Sejong and, 42; Wang Sullye and, 57, 60; Wangs and, 13, 19, 23–24, 31, 34, 39, 43–45, 125–126; Yŏngjo and, 125–126 Sŏ Yubang, recommendations of, 132–134 social hierarchy: based on aristocrat-commoner distinction, 161. See also status groups social mobility, increased, 147 social revolution of 1920s, 178–179 Sŏkchu Pass, 83 Son Hŭngjong, 22, 24 Song dynasty, 51, 65, 127, 140, 141 Sŏng Haeŭng, 24f, 25 Sŏng Hyeyŏng, 171 “Song of Ripened Wheat,” 97–98 Sŏng Sammun, 40, 56, 65 Song Siyŏl, 96, 97, 101, 103, 106, 110, 129 Sŏngjong of Joseon, 15, 32, 63; ascent to the throne, 59; death, 49, 63; reign, 48, 59, 60; son, 48, 63; Wang Sullye and, 59–61, 67, 79 Sŏngnŭng, Monk, 20, 21 Sŏngyŏ, Monk, 35 Sŏnjo of Chosŏn, King, 79; appointments, 77–79; ascent to the throne, 73; court of, 78, 79, 82, 87; death, 88; historical legacies promoted by, 74; Japan and, 82; Ministry of Rites and, 74, 77, 157; Myŏngjong and, 49, 73; reign, 49, 73–74, 223n83, 224n2; Sarim and, 73, 74; shrines and, 74, 75, 87; sons, 80, 82, 88; state councilor and, 76–78; studies on, 223n83, 224n2; successor, 80, 82; Sungŭijŏn and, 74, 78, 79, 87; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 74, 157; Wang Hun and, 75, 77–79; Yi Hŏnyŏng and, 156–157 South Korea, 174, 182, 183, 185–188. See also specific topics Southerners (Namin), 98, 103; Chŏngjo and, 129; Disciples and, 103, 107, 109, 111, 129; Easterners and, 80, 82; Hŭibin Lady Chang and, 103; Kyŏngsang and, 107; vs. Northerners, 80, 82; Wangs of Sangju and, 83; Yi Injwa Rebellion and, 109, 111; Yŏngjo and, 109, 111 Soviet Union, 182, 186 Special Counselors, Office of, 4, 63, 73, 134, 139, 154 spirit tablets, 119, 148, 168; in boat, 15; discarding/ disposing of, 56, 95; enshrinement, 12f, 30, 32, 86, 95, 101, 148, 151, 153, 170, 218n136; hall housing, 55f; hidden, 86; repairing, 101 State Council (Ŭijŏngbu), 34, 125, 157, 160, 164; Border Defense Council and, 63, 147; Kaesŏng magistrate and, 149, 157; Kojong and, 149,

index 157; Koryŏ rulers and, 40, 53, 54; Ministry of Rites and, 53, 54; Munjong of Chosŏn and, 53; recommendations, 53–54; replaced with Cabinet, 161; Sejong and, 40, 43, 53; Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and, 149, 157; Tangjong and, 54; Wang Sullye (Che Uji) and, 53, 54; Wangs and, 34, 43, 51, 53–54, 105, 157, 158; Yŏngjo and, 112, 125 state councilors, 4, 58; Chungjong of Chosŏn and, 64–67; Sŏngjong and, 59–61; Wang Hun and, 77–78; Wang Yŏ and, 77 State Records, Bureau of, 40, 50 State Tribunal (Ŭigŭmbu/Sun’gŭmsa), 34–36, 39, 56, 90, 105; interrogations and, 34, 36, 39 status groups, 81. See also social hierarchy Sui dynasty, 114, 127 suicide, 18t, 176, 217n99; of Hōjō family, 16, 19 Sukchong of Chosŏn, 80, 112; ancestral rites and, 103–106; ascent to the throne, 103; concubine, 103; death, 107; Hyŏnjong of Chosŏn and, 80, 103; Hyŏnnŭng and, 104, 105; Koryŏ tombs and, 103–106; played one group off against another, 80, 103; reign, 80, 103–107, 112; Sungŭijŏn and, 103, 106; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 104, 105; tomb, 125; Wangs and, 105, 106; wives, 103, 125 Sungdŏkchŏn (shrine), 148; Chŏngjo and, 130– 132; and other shrines, 107, 119–120, 130–132, 148, 149; Pak Hyŏkkŏse and, 107, 119, 132, 149, 164t, 174; spirit tablet at, 119 Sungdŏkchŏn superintendent, 149 Sunginjŏn (shrine), 89, 91, 120, 143; Chŏngjo and, 131–132; Kija and, 89, 107, 132, 149, 164t, 174; Pak Hyŏkkŏse and, 107, 119; Sungŭijŏn and, 89, 107, 119, 148 Sunginjŏn superintendents, 107, 131, 143 Sungnyŏlchŏn (shrine), 132, 164t, 174 Sungnyŏng Kungju, 26, 44 Sungnyŏngjŏn, 164t; shrines and, 131–132, 174; superintendents, 143 Sungsŏnjŏn (shrine), 164t, 174 Sungŭijŏn (shrine), 64, 88, 107, 115, 149, 169, 216n86; ancestral rites performed at, 47, 51, 53, 54, 57, 59, 64, 66, 72, 88, 89, 98, 103, 130; budget, 164, 164t; Chŏngjo and, 129–132, 134, 135; Chungjong and, 64–66; colonial Korea and, 173, 174; and the court, 47, 54, 86, 87, 89–91, 99–101, 106, 112, 115, 148; destruction, 174, 182; establishment of, 30, 47, 57, 63, 79; government and, 107, 174; halls, 55f, 174, 182; Imjin War and, 85–86, 182; inspections, 106, 118–119, 130; Kija and, 89; Kojong and, 148; Korean War and, 86, 174, 182; Majŏn County and, 72; Majŏn lineage and, 85, 99, 174–175, 187; maps showing, 150f, 165f; Ministry of Rites and,

265

54, 56, 63, 74, 78, 99; Munjong of Chosŏn and, 51, 53, 57; number of Koryŏ rulers to be venerated at, 53; and other shrines, 89, 107, 119, 130–131, 148 (see also Sunginjŏn: Sungŭijŏn and); Pak Hyŏkkŏse and, 107, 119; Pak Munsu and, 115; patronage, 87; photographs of, 55f, 183f; portraits at, 56, 74; purpose, 63, 79; repairs and upkeep, 72, 86, 87, 99–101, 106, 108, 111–113, 115, 118–120, 130, 131, 136–137, 148, 168; restored, 183f; ritual sacrifices at, 1, 2, 64, 85, 103; rituals at, 87, 174; slaves working at, 64; Sŏnjo and, 74, 78, 79, 87; spirit tablets at, 12f, 30, 86, 148; State Council and, 53, 54; Sukchong and, 103, 106; Sunjo and, 136–137; Sunjong and, 168; supernatural forces and, 86–87; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 30, 56, 74, 75, 132, 148; theft from, 86–87; tombs and, 64, 66, 99–101, 106; Wang Sullye (Che Uji) and, 53, 54, 61, 141, 183; Wangs and, 1, 2, 47, 115, 119; Yŏngjo and, 111–113, 115, 118–119, 129, 130 Sungŭijŏn superintendents, 52f, 61, 65, 85, 107, 131, 149; appointment of, 66, 106, 119, 137, 165, 172; Majŏn lineage and, 82, 149, 156; promotion of, 98; responsibilities, 59; Wang Sahŭi and, 155–156; Wangs as, 65, 66, 75, 131, 135–137, 149, 155–161, 183, 186. See also specific superintendents Sungŭijŏn superintendentship, 98, 168; competition for, 66, 75; and the court, 157, 171–172; government and, 165, 174; Great Code of Administration and, 59, 61; individuals stripped of, 87; Kaesŏng magistrate and, 108, 143, 157; Kojong and, 155–157; length of tenure, 85, 157; Majŏn lineage and, 82, 85, 102, 136–137, 156–158, 165–166, 172, 175, 186, 188; Ministry of Personnel and, 98, 106–107, 115, 130, 137, 143, 149, 155, 159; Ministry of Rites and, 61, 106, 137; nature of, 174; as rotating position, 174, 186–187; Sŏnjo and, 78, 79; State Council and, 149, 157; Wang Hŭi and, 70, 75 Sunhŭng Kun. See Wang Sŭng/Wang Pyŏn Sunjo of Chosŏn: Andong Kim (Sunjo’s in-laws) and, 136; ascent to the throne, 109, 136; Chang Anse and, 140; Kaesŏng magistrate and, 137– 139; Kim It’an and, 138–139; and Koryŏ burials and tombs, 137–139; Ministry of Rites and, 137, 138, 140; reign, 136–137, 230n96; relatives, 142; Sungŭijŏn and, 136–137; Wangs and, 78, 136–140; widow, 141 Sunjong of Korea, 167–169 surnames: changes in, 5, 38, 50, 128, 143, 177; ideographs for, 5, 5f; Silla individuals adopting Chinese, 10 Suro of Kŭmgwan Kaya, 119–120, 164t, 174

266

index

T’aejo of Chosŏn, 33, 37, 99, 118, 132, 140; accession to the throne, 13, 15, 19, 127; Buddhism and, 13, 30; and the Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land, 25, 29, 32, 38, 41; Censorate and, 20–23, 29, 30, 141; characterizations of, 21, 139–140; Confucianism and, 13, 127; descendants and progeny, 9, 11, 13, 31, 32, 112, 143, 187, 188, 221n42; family, 10; founding of Chosŏn, 127; Kaesŏng and, 37, 118, 143, 151; Kim T’aegyŏng and, 177; Kongyang and, 22–23, 27; Koryŏ and, 13, 15, 19, 21, 127, 140; Koryŏ T’aejo and, 38; Mandate of Heaven and, 39, 127–128; memorialization, 29–30; Ming and, 13; Munjong and, 50; Pak Wi and, 20–22; Policy Council and, 21; reign, 13, 21, 48, 139–140; sacrificial rituals in honor of, 15; in Seoul, 29, 33; slaves and, 19; Sŏnjo and, 74; temples, shrines, and, 25, 29, 30; Wang executions, anti-Wang persecution, and, 13, 21–22, 27, 29, 35, 37–38, 114, 136 (see also anti-Wang persecution); Wangs and, 15, 19–21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 38, 50, 92, 127–128, 139, 141, 143, 177, 187; wives, 32, 61, 104; Yŏngjo and, 112, 127 T’aejo of Koryŏ (Wang Kŏn), 30, 41, 46, 79, 94, 141, 163, 168; abdication of the throne, 32; descendants, 10, 26, 75, 77, 177; Kaesŏng and, 32; Mandate of Heaven and, 94; Ministry of Rites and, 15, 32, 40, 56, 60, 74, 148; portraits and visual depictions of, 56, 74, 148, 176; Samhan and, 99, 140; Sejo and, 56; shrine honoring, 148, 164t; Silla and, 131; Sŏnjo and, 74, 157; spirit tablet, 148; statue of, 183, 184f; Sukchong and, 104; Sunjong and, 168; tomb, 66, 78, 97, 104; Wangs and, 38, 104, 141; wives, 66; Yŏngjo and, 120 T’aejong of Chosŏn (Yi Pangwŏn), 9, 125; 1413 edict of toleration ending anti-Wang persecution, 33–35, 39, 50, 177; abdication, 39; aggressive behavior toward perceived enemies, 32; ascent to the throne, 61; Censorate and, 34–36; children and, 9–10, 33; Chŏngjong and, 9, 32; compared with other kings, 41, 48, 50, 148; concubines and, 9, 61; dream, 38, 143, 177; executions, 9, 31–33, 35, 40, 61; family, 31–33, 61; government service examination administered by, 117; Kongyang and, 39; Koryŏ and, 33, 143; Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change and, 33; Mi and, 143; Ministry of Punishments and, 22–23, 34–36; names, 31; overview, 32–33; punishments ordered by, 9, 33–38; reign, 9, 32–33; retirement, 40; search for the progeny of Koryŏ, 143; Sejong and, 4, 9, 39–41, 50; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 35, 38; Wang Mi and, 143; Wangs and, 33–39, 41, 50, 114, 177

Taewŏn’gun, 148; conservative reform, 1864–1873, 147–149, 151–155; Kojong and, 147, 148, 154, 155 Taft-Katsura Agreement, 166–167 Taizu of Song, 140 Takauji, Ashikaga, 16–17, 19 Tang dynasty, 114, 127 Tang of Shang, 153 Tan’gun, shrines honoring, 112, 131–132, 164, 164t, 174 Tanjong of Chosŏn, 48, 50, 54, 56; death, 25, 56; deposed, 25, 89; legacy, 65; Sejo and, 25, 48, 50, 54, 56, 89; supporters/protectors, 48, 50, 54, 56; tomb, 74, 88, 89, 122 Taoism. See Daoism tax collection, 32, 40, 44, 151 tax officials, 17, 186 Taxation, Ministry of, 58, 124–126 taxes, 44, 49, 81, 105, 111, 147, 155, 159, 169 technical examination (chapkwa) graduates/degree holders, 4, 67, 82 Theodora Asanina, 17 third-cousin radius, xiii–xiv Third Literati Purge of 1519, 63, 71 Three Cardinal Virtues of Confucianism, 43. See also chastity; Confucian virtues Three Ports (Samp’o), 40, 63 T’oegye. See Yi Hwang tomb superintendentships, 137–138. See also Sungŭijŏn superintendentship tombs, royal: inspection of, 74, 99, 104, 106, 120, 135, 139, 152, 168, 171 (see also Sungŭijŏn: inspections); Kaesŏng magistrate and, 113, 118, 120, 139, 148, 152; Kojong and, 78, 148, 149, 152, 158; prohibited/proscribed/off-limit zones around, 100, 104; of surviving royal Wangs, 41– 42; upkeep/maintenance of, 42, 74, 88, 101, 106, 108, 111, 119, 138. See also burials; Rites, Ministry of; specific individuals Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”), 121, 142, 161, 180 Tonghak Temple Record of Perished Souls (Tonghak-sa hon’gi), 25, 26, 218n119; commentary, 22–24, 24f Tonghak Uprising, 160 Tongmyŏng of Koguryŏ, 164t, 174 Tongzhi Emperor, 154 torture, 20, 34, 65. See also caning trade, Western and Japanese demands for, 146, 148 treason, accusations of, 22, 40; against Wangs, 20, 29, 36, 42, 73, 90 tribute tax (kongnap), 44 Triple Intervention, 161, 166 Tumun-dong and Kaesŏng magistrate, 120–123

index Tumun-dong worthies, 133, 140; Chŏngjo and, 133, 134; and the court, 123; descendants, 120–123; Kojong and, 166; Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change and, 116; legend of the, 116; Yŏngjo and, 116, 117, 120–123, 166 U Hongbu, 34, 35 U of Koryŏ (Wang U/Sin U), 117, 127, 128, 173, 175, 176, 179–180; ascent to the throne, 127; Ch’a Sangch’an and, 179–180; concubine, 33, 95; daughters, 26–27, 33, 44, 215n69; death, 3, 23, 30, 50, 76, 94, 95, 180; deposed, 3, 75, 94, 176; as false vs. true Wang, 3, 75, 76, 92, 95, 128, 173, 175, 179; historiography’s depiction of, 3, 13, 23, 39, 50, 75, 76, 92, 94, 95, 128, 173, 175, 176, 179–180; as illegitimate occupant of throne, 39; as Kongmin’s son, 50, 94, 95, 176, 179, 180; legacy, 13, 15, 19, 30, 50, 75, 94, 95, 128, 173, 175, 176, 179, 180; marriages, 31; Ming and, 30; names, 50, 94, 95, 179, 180; parents, 50, 93–95; relatives, 13, 14f, 76; sacrificial rituals performed by, 15, 19, 21; scales on his body, 76, 180; as Sin, 50, 76, 95, 127, 179, 180; sons, 13, 20, 21, 23, 176 (see also Wang Ch’ang); T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 13, 15, 20, 21, 29, 30, 37, 127–128; Wang executions, anti-Wang persecution, and, 3, 13, 21, 23, 26, 29–30, 37, 76; Yi Sŏnggye and, 50, 76, 179–180; Yi Tŏkhyŏng and, 92, 94, 95 Uiryeong County. See Ŭiryŏng Ŭiryŏng, 27, 84 Ŭiryŏng Ok, 27–29, 219n152 Uji, Che. See Wang Sullye United States, 147, 160, 163, 166–167, 188–189 virgins, 42. See also female chastity virtues. See Confucian virtues; loyalty volume, measures of, xiv Wakō, 25, 26, 40, 63 Wang (surname), 5, 5f Wang, Madam (daughter of Wang Hŭng), 33, 43 Wang Andŏk, 28 Wang Anse, 88 Wang Chaedŏk, 177–178, 236n16 Wang Chaegi, 156, 165 Wang Chaeha, 165 Wang Chaehyŏng, 168, 169 Wang Chaeil, 178–179, 185 Wang Chaejun, 159, 160 Wang Chaeso (Wang Chaesŏl), 160, 161, 233n47 Wang Chang (Kaesŏng lineage), 68 Wang Ch’ang (Sin Ch’ang), 39, 94, 128, 180;

267

deposed, 75, 92, 176, 180; execution, 50, 92, 94, 180; as false vs. true Wang, 75, 92, 95, 128, 173, 175, 179–180; historiography’s depiction of, 12f, 50, 75, 92, 94, 95, 128, 173, 175, 176, 179–180; Kongmin and, 39, 50, 176, 179; names, 94, 180; as Sin, 76; U of Koryŏ and, 50; Yi Sŏnggye and, 50, 75, 179, 180 Wang Chedo, 117 Wang Chiil, 27, 84 Wang Chimin, 138–139 Wang Chinuk, 117–118 Wang Chinyŏl, 161 Wang Chiu, 114 Wang Cho (No Cho), 13, 20, 30–32, 61, 217n99 Wang Ch’ŏjung, 114 Wang Chŏk, 64, 66, 67, 79 Wang Chŏng, 22, 68 Wang Chongin, 68, 69, 77 Wang Chongnok, 91 Wang Chŏngsam, 104, 106 Wang Chongsin, 136 Wang Chŏngsŏl, 83 Wang Chŏngu, 158 Wang Chongŭi, 73, 77 Wang Chŏngwŏn, 115, 119 Wang Chŏngyang, 149, 152–154, 160; Kojong and, 149, 152–154 Wang Ch’ŏn’gye, 61, 63, 64, 79 Wang Ch’ŏsam, 114 Wang Chundo, 83, 91 Wang Ch’un’gyŏng, 90 Wang Hakchŏng, 84–85 Wang Hangnyŏng, 78, 84, 101, 102 Wang Hanjwa, 124 Wang Hanp’yŏng, 124 Wang Hansang (Wang T’ae), 134–135 Wang Hoejong, 167, 168, 175 Wang Hŭi, 79; ancestral seat recorded as Chuch’ŏn, 70, 75; Chungjong and, 67, 75, 79; and the court, 67, 70, 75; death, 75; descendants, 79, 87, 155, 157; family, 70; Koryŏ and, 67, 70, 75, 79; Ministry of Rites and, 67; sons, 70, 75, 79; Sungŭijŏn superintendentship and, 70, 75; Wang Hun and, 85, 157; Wangs and, 67, 70, 75, 79 Wang Hŭigŏl, 73, 77, 83, 97, 101, 136; descendants, 177, 223n82 Wang Hŭiji, 102 Wang Hun, 75, 77, 78; ancestors, 75, 79; appointments and positions held by, 77–79, 85; Sŏnjo and, 75, 77–79; sons and descendants, 77, 78, 85–86, 98, 156, 157

268

index

Wang Hun line of ritual heirs: 1589–1724, 86f; 1724–1864, 116f Wang Hŭng, 31, 177; ancestors, 38, 187, 188; changed surname, 38, 177; descendants, 31, 33, 38, 67, 68f, 70, 77, 186 Wang Hŭngdo, 31 Wang Hŭp, 100 Wang Hwa (Yŏngp’yŏng Kun), 20, 21, 42, 56, 102 Wang Hwasang, 39, 45 Wang Hwi, 77, 78, 223n95 Wang Hyoch’ung, 45, 68 Wang Hyogŏn, 44–45 Wang Hyosaeng, 102–103 Wang Hyu, 34, 35, 51, 60 Wang Ido, 158 Wang Ik, 92 Wang Iksu, 159 Wang Indong, 156 Wang In’gŏl, 69 Wang Inwi, 66, 69 Wang Isŏng, 85, 104 Wang Kang, 13, 27 Wang Ki, 11, 45 Wang Kisu, 157, 159 Wang Kŏ, 20, 21, 43 Wang Kŏn. See T’aejo of Koryŏ Wang Kon (Wang Yugyŏng’s son), 87, 98–99 Wang Kŏŭromi (Wang Kŏruŭm/Wang Mi, 1394– n.d., son of Wang Hyu), 33–37, 51 Wang Kukpin, 97, 98 Wang Kwan, 13, 20, 31–32, 217n99 Wang Kwangyŏn, 177 Wang Kyŏnghyo, 130, 137 Wang Kyŏngju, 137 Wang Kyu, 34 Wang Mi (1365–n.d., descendant of Chŏnggan Wang and Hyoŭn T’aeja), 30–31, 143, 177, 188; ancestors, 187, 188; descendants, 3, 27, 38, 44, 60, 67–70, 68f, 75, 79, 81, 143, 188, 211n2, 219n161; names, 38, 176, 177, 187 Wang Mi (Wang Kŏŭromi/Wang Kŏruŭm, 1394– n.d.), 33–37, 51 Wang Ok, 83, 136 Wang Ŏnbak, 27, 161 Wang Ŏn’gam, 159, 161 Wang Ŏnjang, 75, 76, 87–88, 156 Wang Ŏnsang, 152, 153 Wang Pyŏn. See Wang Sŭng/Wang Pyŏn Wang Sach’an, 170 Wang Sach’ŏn, 170 Wang Sagak, 170, 176 Wang Sahŏn, 137, 149

Wang Sahŭi (1787–1861, Kaesŏng lineage): appointments, 137, 230n105; overview, 137–138; relatives, 143, 149, 158; writings, 138, 143, 158 Wang Sahŭi (1848–1885, Wang Hŭi line), 155–158, 232n24 Wang Sangu, 39, 45 Wang Sangŭn, 181–182, 185, 187, 188 Wang Sebin, 115, 119, 130 Wang Seman, 106 Wang Sŏ (fl. 1592, Wang Chiil’s grandson), 27, 84 Wang So (Igwŏn Puwŏn’gun, n.d.–1394), 22, 36 Wang Sŏkchung, 142 Wang Sŏkpo, 143–144, 170, 171 Wang Sŏnghyŏp, 152, 153 Wang Sŏngmok, 160 Wang Sŏngsun, 169–170, 175, 176 Wang Sŏngwŏn, 106–107, 113, 115 Wang Su, 69, 91 Wang Suhwan, 175–176, 178 Wang Sullye (Che Uji), 54, 56–60, 79; ancestral rites and, 51, 53, 54; concubine, 57, 61; death, 60, 61, 67, 79; descendants, 61, 141–142, 183; family and relatives, 51, 60; grave, 62f, 183; Hyŏnjong and, 51; Koryŏ and, 51, 53, 54, 59, 61, 141; line of ritual heirs, 52f; Munjong and, 51, 53; names, 51, 54; Sejo and, 56–59, 79; slaves and, 53, 57, 60; son, 61; Sŏngjong and, 59–61, 67, 79; State Council and, 53, 54; successors (1485–1540), 61, 63–66; Sungŭijŏn and, 53, 54, 61, 141, 183 Wang Sŭng/Wang Pyŏn (Sunhŭng Kun), 13, 33, 53 Wang Sun’gŭm, 126 Wang Sunson, 67 Wang T’ae (Wang Hansang), 134–135 Wang Tang, 69 Wang Tŭgin, 83, 138, 170 Wang Tŭkchun, 124 Wang Tŭkto, 70, 92 Wang U (1680–1742, of Kaesŏng lineage), 113, 115, 117 Wang U (Kongyang’s brother). See U of Koryŏ Wang Ŭisŏng, 83, 92, 138, 143 Wang Ŭiun, 91 Wang Uk (Hyŏnjong’s father Emperor Anjong), 11, 69 Wang Un, 88 Wang Ŭngjong, 165, 167 Wang Usun, 168, 178 Wang Wŏnbo, 70, 75 Wang Wŏnp’il, 75 Wang Yanggwi, 36, 218n119 Wang Yŏ, 77 Wang Yongju, 152, 159

index Wang Yugyŏng, 85–87 Wang Yundo, 124, 134 Wang Yundong, 137 Wang Yun’guk, 185–186 Wang Yusin, 91 Wangs: edict of toleration (December 23, 1413), 33–38; interrogations of, 20–21, 31, 34, 39, 65, 90, 125; Kaesŏng magistrate and, 106, 113, 114, 120, 123, 126, 149, 157; Kanghwa and, 13, 19, 22, 25, 26, 29, 37; Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change and, 2, 3, 127, 128, 145, 173, 176; Majŏn lineage and, 159, 165, 167–168, 182; memorials for perished (see Ritual of Water and Land); Ministry of Personnel and, 98, 106, 113–115, 125, 137, 149, 157, 159; Ministry of Rites and, 61, 66–67, 99, 100, 103–105, 157; offices achieved by, 4 (see also specific offices); Sejong and, 39, 41–44, 50, 51, 57; slaves, slavery, and, 13, 19, 23–24, 31, 34, 39, 43–45, 125–126; State Council and, 34, 43, 51, 53–54, 105, 157, 158; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 13, 15, 19–22, 25, 27, 29, 33, 35, 37–38, 50, 92, 114, 127–128, 136, 139, 141, 143, 177, 187; T’aejong of Chosŏn (Yi Pangwŏn) and, 33–39, 41, 50, 114, 177; from toleration to promotion (1413–1450), 38–46; worthy, 105, 112–114, 119, 120 (see also worthies). See also anti-Wang persecution; female Wangs; Kaesŏng Wang; massacre of the Wangs in May 1394; specific individuals; specific topics War, Ministry of, 106, 113, 114, 120, 122, 123, 134, 143, 170 Weizi (brother of Zhou of Shang), 15 Western demands for trade, 146, 148 Western Learning (Sŏhak), 81, 90, 110, 111 Western nations, Korea’s relations with, 146, 154, 155 Westerners, 88, 96–98, 103; split into Patriarchs and Disciples, 80, 103 Westerners coup. See Injo coup of 1623 Westernization, 147. See also Eastern Ways– Western Implements (Tongdo Sŏgi) Reform widowhood, chaste, 42, 58, 66, 133. See also marriage: serial women, xiv; religious belief systems, 49; role of, 41–44. See also female slaves; female Wangs Wŏn Ch’ŏnsŏk, 92, 94, 95 Wonders of the Pine Capital (Songdo kii), 92, 95, 96 Wŏnjong, 15, 32, 40; tomb, 100, 104 worthies, Koryŏ, 54, 55f, 63. See also Confucian worthies; Hall of Worthies; Tumun-dong worthies; Wangs: worthy; specific topics Wu of Zhou, King, 51, 112, 139, 141

269

Yang Saŏn, 75–76 Yang Sŏngji, 58 yangban (aristocracy), 1, 4, 81 Yangju, 69, 91, 125, 132, 167 Yejong of Chosŏn, 48, 59 Yellow Emperor, 112, 143 Yi, House of, 41 Yi Chŏnggwi, 87–89 Yi Hŏnyŏng, 156–157 Yi Hŭngmu, 20–22 Yi Hwang (T’oegye), 73 Yi Hwang school of Neo-Confucianism, 74 Yi I (Yulgok), 73, 110, 168 Yi I school, 74 Yi Injwa Rebellion of 1728, 109, 111, 114 Yi Ki, 76 Yi Kwal, 91 Yi Kwal Rebellion, 91 Yi Maenggyun, 45–46, 76 Yi Milch’ung, 33–35 Yi Nŭnghwa, 179 Yi Pangbŏn, 27, 44 Yi Pangwŏn. See T’aejong of Chosŏn Yi people, 35 Yi Pŏmjin, 162 Yi Saek, 45, 50, 76, 93, 95, 134 Yi Sich’un, 76 Yi Sik, 95–96 Yi Sil, 39 Yi Sŏnggye, 13, 50, 75, 179–180; U of Koryŏ and, 50, 76, 179–180; Wang Ch’ang and, 50, 75, 179, 180 Yi Sŏnggye faction, 50, 76 Yi Su, 39 Yi Sungin, 95, 134 Yi Sunsin, 82, 84, 180 Yi Tŏkhyŏng, 92–95; U of Koryŏ and, 92, 94, 95; Wonders of the Pine Capital (Songdo kii), 92, 95, 96 Yi Tonhwa, 180–181 Yi Ŭnsang, 100 Yi Yang. See Wang Kŏŭromi Yi Yŏngsang, 60 Yŏngguk Temple, 41 Yŏngjo of Chosŏn, 111, 115, 117–119; ancestral rites and, 120, 121, 130, 166; appointments made by, 111–117, 120–124, 148; calligraphy, 151; Ch’oe Ch’anghyŏk and, 121; Chŏngjo and, 129, 130; compilations of writings commissioned by, 111; Confucianism and, 123, 127, 128, 151; court of, 108, 109, 115–116; Disciples and, 111; executions, 109, 111; Kaesŏng and, 114, 116, 118, 120–123,

270

index

Yŏngjo of Chosŏn (continued) 148, 153; Kaesŏng magistrate and, 113, 114, 116, 117, 120–123, 126; Kim Sangno and, 117, 122; Kim Yangno and, 116, 120; Kim Yugyŏng and, 112–113; Kojong and, 151, 153, 166; Koryŏ and, 114–118, 120, 127, 145, 148, 151; Koryŏ-Chosŏn dynastic change and, 108, 111–112, 127; Ministry of Personnel and, 113–115, 119, 120, 122, 123, 125, 130; Ministry of War and, 122; Patriarchs and, 111; poetry, 118; Policy of Impartiality, 109, 111; Prince Sado and, 109, 111; reign, 109, 111, 126, 129; Seoul and, 117, 122–126; shrines and, 112, 130; slaves and, 125–126; State Council and, 112, 125; successor designated by, 111; Sungŭijŏn and, 111–113, 115, 118–119, 129, 130; T’aejo of Chosŏn and, 112, 127; T’aejo of Koryŏ and, 120, 145; T’aejong (Yi Pangwŏn) and, 114, 148; tombs and, 111, 114, 120, 125; Tumun-dong worthies and, 116, 117, 120–123, 166; Wang Chinuk and,

117, 118; Wang Sullye and, 59–61, 67, 79; Wang U and, 113; Wangs and, 108, 111–115, 117–120, 123–128, 148; widow, 136 Yŏngp’yŏng Kun. See Wang Hwa Yŏngŭn Gate, 163 Yŏni (Pyŏn Segi’s wife), 125 Yŏnsan Kun, 48, 63, 74, 88, 89, 191 Yu Hŭich’un, 94, 95 Yu the Great, 153 Yu Ŭnji, 31, 33 Yuan dynasty, 15–16, 19 Yun Kwan, 168 Yun Panggyŏng, 22 Yun Wŏnhyŏng, 71, 73, 78 Zhou dynasty, 15, 114, 129, 136, 141, 153. See also Wu of Zhou Zhu Xi, 10, 56, 110, 127